Any help on punching a clean tip on the end of a strap? >>

[DONAG]

I place my English tip punch at the end of my strap.  Check both side to see the amount of overhang and rarely get a good cut

I have the center marked, so I know the tip is in the middle

Angle is 50% of the time off which means I have to re-cut the tip.  Little heavier to the left or right

I'm using a 1" punch for 22, 24 and 26 mm.  I have a 3/4" for 18 and 20 mm

A section that was supposed to be 125 mm is now 120 as I had to cut it 3 times to get it close to even

Thanks

DON

[alpha2]

I do what you are describing, and don't have the issue. I'd suggest putting lines on your table, outlining the strap, and the ends of the punch, to align it. And yes, the big thing is the center has to be in the right place.

Other than that, I'd suggest cutting a long piece of strap and practicing for a bit.

Jeff

[DONAG]

Funny thing is.  When I do tests cuts.  Works fine.  When I do the actual strap.  50/50.  Like it has a mind of it's own and knows 

I have Rhino board on my downstairs desk, but will check a cheap cutting board to see if it has lines on it.  Rhino board doesn't have them

Thanks

DON

[Squilchuck]

I put the two lower points of the punch on the cutting board, then pivot forward to place the tip in the center.  That helps but is not perfect all the time.  Might do a couple times to make sure of even distance between strap and bottom end of punch before hitting the punch.  Or might reverse order - point first then bottom. --John  

[Dwight]

I have a similar problem with oval punching the holes for some of my belts.

How I've "cured it" is to first hit a very light stroke, . . . allowing me to see if it is where it should be, . . . adjusting if necessary, . . . then punching.

My belt holes have become significantly better since I started that practice.

Try it, . . . just might work for you as well.

May God bless,

Dwight

[klstclair]

I have found my subscription to Nigel Armitage's (Dangerous Beans) Vimeo series of 57 videos valuable for things like this. Episode 20 covers Strap end punch centering and Episode 21 covers Using a crew bag oblong punch. Information is available at: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/armitageleather.

Well worth the small monthly fee of less than US$4.00

Enjoy,

Kevin

[JLSleather]

SOunds like you might benefit from a template and a knife.  My preference, template and a sharp knife trumps a punch.  Or if you're doing 10+ per week consistently, certainly would warrant purchasing a die, which would incorporate "wings" to line up the piece to the strap.

[DONAG]

Thanks guys.  Will try different things.

Die doesn't help as I'm working with different widths and tapers

Can't do a light stroke tap.  If not right.  it's on the face of the strap and customer will see it

Will do tests tomorrow and see what works best

DON

[Squilchuck]

Tandy sells nice templates with a half dozen strap sizes in one - round and tapered.  I use them too with a knife. --John

[DONAG]

41 minutes ago, Squilchuck said:

Tandy sells nice templates with a half dozen strap sizes in one - round and tapered.  I use them too with a knife. --John

Saw that, but in Canada it's $36.00 with a jacked up exchange rate,  tax and s/h

I'm stuck between stores which are at opposite ends of two district city limits, so getting out there is a chore

Will just keep practising, but will check Ebay on the template

DON

Bought a template off Amazon just to have and included free s/h.  Same price as Canadian store price with exchange rate.  Just don't have to drive out to get it or pay for s/h

Edited November 6, 2018 by DONAG

[jcuk]

Don't know if this will help but might work it does take a little practise

but once you get it you get it and once you get it you might find you can't help your self

any scrap leather you have you will have a little practise

 

hope this helps

JCUK

 

[Sheilajeanne]

Okay, one thing to check: is your punch razor-sharp? That could make a huge difference.

[Bob Blea]

19 hours ago, Dwight said:

I have a similar problem with oval punching the holes for some of my belts.

How I've "cured it" is to first hit a very light stroke, . . . allowing me to see if it is where it should be, . . . adjusting if necessary, . . . then punching.

My belt holes have become significantly better since I started that practice.

Try it, . . . just might work for you as well.

May God bless,

Dwight

Great tip Dwight, thank you!  Kind of common sense but I've never thought to do it that way.

[billybopp]

Strap end punches are a lovely thing, but as you've found getting them lined up exactly can be a challenge.  If you're using them often enough, a jig might be the way to go.  I made one of these some time ago, but gave it to a friend that admired it with the intention of making an improved version for myself...Which I never quite got around to!  It would be easier to describe this with a drawing or picture than words, but here we go...

Get a cheap plastic cutting board, cut two strips off the ends an inch or so wide and make sure that the ends are square to the long side.  Glue or screw these to the cutting board at the width of your strap and dead straight across the ends.  In use, lay the belt between the strips then rest the "wings" of your strap punch right up against the skinny end of the strips.  Provided that the punch "wings" are true, that will help you get the angle just right, you then only have to worry about centering it.  If the "wings" are not true, you can either remove a little metal from the "high side", or adjust the positioning of the strip to compensate for that "high side".  If you're feeling ambitious, you can cut a little notch out of the business end of the strips that will just cradle your punch to get it centered as well.

I hope that description helps ... I'll try to put together a drawing at some point if words aren't helpful.

- Bill

[DONAG]

Thanks Bill.

As mentioned though.  I do various widths and tapers, so can't use screw or glue down frames to hold the leather in place.

Good idea though for belt makers

Punch is sharp.  I hone it on water stones and then green honing compound to finish the edge

Thanks for the other suggestions

DON

[TheCyberwolfe]

The most-versatile method is to put away the punch and just use a sharp knife. Cut about a zillion 4" straps to practice with, and by the time you run out of practice straps it will be muscle-memory.

The technique is to hold the edge of a razor-sharp knife vertically and perpendicular to the edge of the table with your 'off' hand, and then you take the strap in your other hand, place it flat on the table with the side against the edge of the blade, and with a bit of a "swooshing" motion rotate that strap against the blade. Now flip the strap over and repeat. The resulting cuts should give you a nice English point.

At the start of this "swooshing" motion, the strap should be touching the blade at an acute angle, and the natural motion of your wrist pulls the strap through in such a way that the angle rotates through and traces the bottom of a Nike "swoosh" emblem, from the tip of the long end through the curve at the front, and eventually all the way trough the leather. When you flip it over and do the other side, the two sharper ends of the curve cuts come together in the middle to make the point. The biggest trick is making sure you start both cuts at the same "longitude" of the strap and use the exact same motion.

[JamesR]

Made these jigs a while back. They are fixed width 1" and 1 1/4"

 

The strap lays in the groove and the tips of the punch press against the shoulder of the jig. The wider area of the jig is an exact fit for the punch which centers it. They work quite well.