Dremel drill press?Awl?

[KennethM]

Hey guys, I have a Dremel and s Dremel drill press attachment.I was wondering if any of you ever attached an awl to one to make stitching holes for sheaths? I want to do this but not sure if an awl shaft would fit.

[Rockoboy]

I have used a drill press, which is just a huge copy of a dremel press.

I don't turn on the drill. I just use the drill to hold the awl blade and use the press to cut the hole in some very hard thick leather..

[steelhawk]

I have two drill presses, a full size and a non-working bench top model.  Before I bought my Cobra I used the bench top to drill the holes. I first used a 1/16 inch drill and drilled each hole. Then I got the idea to turn the bit around and ground a point on the flat end. With the drill running, it makes a nice hole without removing any leather. After the motor burned out I got the larger press so now I only use the smaller drill press for things the Cobra won't do well. And instead of a drill bit I chucked a #24 needle and punch the holes. It goes in easy but takes some effort to hold down the leather when removing the needle. I recently bought an awl so now I have an awl blade and next time I might use it instead of a needle.

[Bert51]

Many years ago before I got my first sewing machine, I brought a couple awls from ebay and sadly they were not ideal and I read somewhere, that you can make a good awl from a drill bit. I have just one or two broken bits laying around the drill press.

I found that worked well in my drill press. Like stellhawk I found it hard to remove the awl, so I cut a slot in a piece of 5 ply and that allowed me to make it easier to remove the awl.

Bert.

[Dwight]

Hey, guys, . . . many of us have done the drill press bit, . . . and there is an easy "cure" for the leather sticking once you punch it.

Swipe the sides of your awl with beeswax, . . . you will be amazed at how well it works.

May God bless,

Dwight