How I now straighten leather for strap cutting

[RockyAussie]

5 hours ago, blue duck said:

You sir are full of brilliant ideas. Thanks for sharing. 

Thanks for the kind thoughts and may God smile on you always.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

Thank you very much for the details!  I do a fair amount of strap work, so it will come in handy.

[Caesar]

Excellent post.  Thank you so much for showing us all this.  I have seen similar setups, but with folks cutting it ON the table.  Yours looks  so much easier to cut with it hanging off.  

I have been planning on putting together a setup like this for a while.  This helps a ton.  Lately I've been cutting more and more straps and it is desperately needed.  

I really like the door idea as well.  Was planning on doing this in my garage. A door or something else I can stand up and put out of the way would be ideal for me.

I have been laying out sides on my bed and using a strap cutter.... 

Thanks again @RockyAussie!

[JazzBass]

On 1/1/2019 at 5:33 PM, RockyAussie said:

A door should be long enough...set it up so you have loose pins in the hinges and lay it down on some horses when you need it. The steel could stay hung up with it as well.

I love this kind of thinking! Here's another possibility:

Space at a premium? Set up that door/table like a horizontal, "Murphy Bed". Store it against the wall with hinges that allow it to be lowered to the horizontal when needed.
Hmm... 

[Treesner]

On 12/31/2018 at 6:03 AM, RedDun said:

Adding that to the "when I have a cutting table" list. Thanks!

would like to work that into my current cutting table build 

 

 

[Treesner]

so thinking maybe this end with the screw could just be a threaded insert in the table then you have a knob+bolt that threads through the hole to tighten down. or the metal could just have keyhole and you just have a screw in the table so the metal just fits over the keyhole, slides back and is locked in place 

[Treesner]

for this leather part that you say is temporarily glued down, does it have to be set back 1/4" from the bar or could it go under the bar? maybe just have the leather with grommets that slide over the screws you use for the leather bar

 

[RockyAussie]

On 02/02/2019 at 8:33 AM, Treesner said:

for this leather part that you say is temporarily glued down, does it have to be set back 1/4" from the bar or could it go under the bar? maybe just have the leather with grommets that slide over the screws you use for the leather bar

 

Hey Treesner, I can not say whether it would work or not as what I have done I know works for me quite well enough. Each persons requirements will differ of course but for myself I need to be able to get back to a bench without any permanent obstructions and it must happen quickly and easily as well. The HDPE cutting board is good for cutting in any direction which is good but allows the leather to slip around on it easily which is not so good sometimes. The 1/4" back strip is good for leather that is say between 3 and 6mm or 1/8 to 1/4" but if you were doing thinner leather it would need to be a bit closer. It helps to stop it sliding back by the leather being forced down when the end of the steel gets pushed under the screw. If the leather were under the steel it would need to have a stronger angle or box steel that could have more pressure applied and would then need a more serious clamping system. For now it works fine for me as is.

[papadan]

I do use this method on an old door, the only difference is, instead of the leather strip to stop slipping, I glued down an old sanding belt. Works for me. 

[bikermutt07]

 

Bump for future pictures, if I can get this version of photo resizer to work.

[bikermutt07]

Here is my bastardized version of this table. And, I figured out a bonus trick for the strap cutter. I won't say I invented it, but I have never seen this done or mentioned anywhere. It works really well for smaller strap goods. Things about 3 square feet or so.

Here is a trick for cutting on a narrow table. I'm using monkey hooks picture hangers. I just stab them thru the leather and wall where I need them. This gets the rest of the leather out of the way.

And here is the new contraption... The straight edge isn't necessary to run the strap cutter like this, but I was taking scrap and straightening it on the left and then running it thru the strap cutter on the right side so the clamp is just running double duty.

This worked like a champ.

[bermudahwin]

@bikermutt

Each of those looks interesting, I'd never of thought of the hooks for smaller pieces, in a month of Sundays,

H

[bikermutt07]

30 minutes ago, hwinbermuda said:

@bikermutt

Each of those looks interesting, I'd never of thought of the hooks for smaller pieces, in a month of Sundays,

H

The hooks are actually a brand of wall hanger for pictures. I'll take a better picture when I have a side hanging up. My original plan was french cleats with clamps attached, but necessity is the mother of invention.

And like Red Green always said "now remember folks, this is only temporary............ unless, it works."

The strap cutter clamped to the bench is what is working for the smaller pieces.

[bikermutt07]

I whipped out all these shorter straps in about 2 hours.

I still have to cut and punch them though.

[RockyAussie]

Excellent @bikermutt07 . Where there is a will there is a way I always say. Just saying....

[bikermutt07]

On 2/17/2019 at 4:47 PM, RockyAussie said:

Excellent @bikermutt07 . Where there is a will there is a way I always say. Just saying....

@hwinbermuda, here are some more pictures to clarify what I am doing with the full sides.

Edited February 19, 2019 by bikermutt07

[bermudahwin]

6 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

here are some more pictures to clarify what I am doing with the full sides.

Thats really useful thank you.

H

[Doc Reaper]

On 12/30/2018 at 8:53 PM, koreric75 said:

This is awesome, but space prevents having one for now... so for now, a long straight edge and an expandable table makes it work

All you need is a long metal yardstick from a hardware store

[GMHLeather]

I've been trying so hard to figure this out and I had an idea like this but was not inspired to try it.  You gave me the inspiration.  Thank you.

[Mark842]

Good to see this post up revived again. It was a head slapper for me and I did steal the idea from Rocky. Makes it so much easier. I must say though, I thought I did a lot of straps running 2-3 hides a week thru my strap cutter. Holy Mackerel  Rocky! How many straps you going through?

[bikermutt07]

7 hours ago, GMHLeather said:

I've been trying so hard to figure this out and I had an idea like this but was not inspired to try it.  You gave me the inspiration.  Thank you.

My pleasure. That's what we're here for.

[RockyAussie]

8 hours ago, Mark842 said:

Good to see this post up revived again. It was a head slapper for me and I did steal the idea from Rocky. Makes it so much easier. I must say though, I thought I did a lot of straps running 2-3 hides a week thru my strap cutter. Holy Mackerel  Rocky! How many straps you going through?

No they are not all mine. I normally cut these and split them for a customer who goes through a fair bit more than me. These hundred normally turn into around 1200+ 1 1/2" strips and that comes through generally every 2 to 3 months as a rule. Believe it or not they are for my biggest competitor in the hornback belt sector but they cant figger out how to use their splitter and I suspect they could not do them as cheap or quick as I do for them.