Flattening stitching

[Riem]

I'm Johnny-ccome-late on this post. Like your stitching - very consistent and neatly laid. About the hammering - although some people swear by their hammers, I prefer using a wallpaper edge roller to flatten stitches. That said, it's a case of each to his own.

[Danne]

That hammer works good if you modify it slightly. Take a file and round off the edges. And sandpaper from low to high grit until you have a really nice finish. And of course, because of the small diameter, you have to be a little careful.

[chrisash]

I have one of those small handle (just one hand width long) hammers and have covered the head in a layer of goat skin veg tan, find its just the right weight for tapping down and the leather head stops it marking

[garypl]

I use a small dead blow hammer with a disk of 10-12 oz veg tan glued to the face.

 

[TargetRockLeather]

On 2/4/2019 at 12:20 AM, ADubya said:

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

I use an Osborne 66. The reason it works so well is that the face is slightly rounded and polished. It's great for stitching but I also use it when cementing two pieces of leather together. I find that it makes the bond stronger. If you do get one, don't ever use it on anything other than leather. You do NOT want even the slightest ding in the face of the hammer. As others have mentioned, any blemishes will be transferred to your leather with each impact.

[jcuk]

I also use a cobbler's hammer and i lay a clear piece of plastic over my work,  i also do do this when forming running and fixed loops on my bridle work - 

where i use smaller faced hammer.  Only i use clear sandwich bags and wrap it around several times but you can still see where you are hitting your work.

 

Hope this helps

JCUK

[penguineer]

If you're having a problem with using the right hammer how about using a bone folder to press the stitching down?

Slightly dampen the leather beforehand if it's too hard work.

Cheers!

[SilverForgeStudio]

Ill toss a more frugal (cheaper) alternative to the Osbourne hammer- a Car body work dolly/hammer set at Harbour Freight/Princess Auto or your local Chinesium metal tool distributor will have these in a small set (in the US its about 35 bucks) and you get a couple (one round and one square) head and a couple of "dollies"

I use the dollies as mini anvils and pattern weights.

Just a beginners alternative