Flattening stitching

[ADubya]

I started practicing my saddle stitching today.  I have the Stohlman stitching leather book and am reading it, trying to stick as close to his method as possible.  I see a few things here I could improve on.  This is on a scrap piece of leather that was already beveled.  I assume it would be better to use my wing divider on a squared off edge before beveling.  This is Tiger thread, 0.8mm.  Chisels are Weaver 6mm.  5 TPI I think.  Awl is a small Kyoshin-Elle.  I used wing divider, then chisels, then awl to clean up holes about 3 at a time right before needles/stitching in pony.

My main equation here....  I hammered with the tack hammer after the stitching.  I see indentions in the leather from the hammer head.  Too much hammer pressure or wrong hammer?

When doing for real, I will also start my chisel at the belt tip point.

Any other tips based on what you see here?  

Thanks.

[buzzardbait]

Wrong hammer. You need one with a wider face and rounded edges like a cobblers hammer.

[fredk]

Wrong hammer; a rubber head mallet, a very small one should be sufficient

[zuludog]

Wrong hammer - that looks like an upholsterer's hammer, which has a narrow diameter, flat face for hitting tacks .

What you want is a cobbler's hammer, which has a larger diameter, slightly domed head. They're a bit pricey; a cheaper alternative would be a soft faced mallet, like hide or wood

By the way, if you've just started practising your saddle stitch, that's pretty good. Get a bevel edger next

[Matt S]

As others have suggested you want something with a larger face than that tack hammer. A cobbler's hammer is ideal but I lost mine a while ago and have been using the flat face of a ball-pein ever since.

[ADubya]

Thanks all...will try my rubber mallet and/or ballpeen.  If those don't work well I'll probably go with an osborne #66.

[Tugadude]

One point on the belt end to think about.  If you begin by putting a round hole in the exact middle of the belt, then work backwards down each side, you will end up with a perfect outcome.  As it is, when you simply go around the point of the belt as if it is a curve, it can end up looking wonky.  Nigel Armitage discusses this in relation to corners and calls the round hole a "hinge" for the thread, where it changes direction.  Otherwise, people often struggle with stitch spacing when they approach the corner.  Well, to me a belt is similar.  I always try to begin at the point of the belt with a round hole and then work backwards.  I do this on watch straps too.  I think it provides a professional look.  Try it and see if you agree.  Borrowed this pic from Nigel's facebook page.  This shows one way of doing it.  You may notice the "corner" stitches are a tad longer, they don't have to be, but it looks even and attractive.

[AndyNext]

Keep an eye on eBay, old cobbler's hammer are advertised quite regularly at much better prices than new ones.

[timesofplenty]

make sure the face of the cobblers hammer is polished smooth, no dents, dings, etc

[VabaX]

I just use a large ball peen. I say 'large ballpeen' because really its the same sized head as a normal hammer you'd use to hit nails (obviously dont use one that has hit nails before), but has the ball peeny bit on the other side, and isnt' as unweildly