Perfect chisel holes and stitching lines ?

[Bigfoote]

You have to make sure your holding your chisel straight up and down, don't lean it or the back will be out of line. The backing isn't that important. Cut a small wood block, and use it to hold your chisel 90 degrees to your leather until you get used to holding it properly. 

[Hildebrand]

I never used the stitching chisels but when i was hand stitching I would use a groover front and back then wet the leather and use a stitching wheel to mark hole locations front and back then I would use an awl to push front to back.  You get a pretty good feel for where the point is coming out and rarely did it miss the stitch groove.  Not sure if thats an option for you but I can tell you it was a lot less stressful than what you are trying to line up.

Todd

[Rahere]

@mike02130' point on axis might be better explained. If you're punching left-right of right-left across in front of you, the punch post will appear vertical, it can hardly be otherwise with five or six teeth either side of it, without being so in a front-back alignment. The answer's to spin things 90 degrees, so the fore-aft wobble is looked after by the outrigging of the pins, and you can see any transverse. Also, have a slightly greater overlap, 2 pins, into the previous set. Only come down to the two-pin punch on curves.        

[JustPete]

In my experience, it's been just as much the angle of my hammer strikes as it is the angle of the irons. A calculated, direct down blow drives the chisels right where I've positioned them leaving a straight and true stitching hole- any variance in angle produces an equally offset stitching hole. This observation really helped my son straighten out his lines on both the front and the back of his pieces. 

[mike02130]

9 hours ago, Rahere said:

@mike02130' point on axis might be better explained. If you're punching left-right of right-left across in front of you, the punch post will appear vertical, it can hardly be otherwise with five or six teeth either side of it, without being so in a front-back alignment. The answer's to spin things 90 degrees, so the fore-aft wobble is looked after by the outrigging of the pins, and you can see any transverse. Also, have a slightly greater overlap, 2 pins, into the previous set. Only come down to the two-pin punch on curves.        

Huh?  Is that what I said or are you saying something else?  I punch like I drive, straight, looking at the road/line in front of me.

[johnv474]

Wisdomsleather, it looks like you are using the diamond stitching forks/chisels that Tandy sells.  Is that correct?

 

Your holes appear straight, as does your stitch line.  However, those punches are not especially sharp (hence, pushing the leather) and they are not especially polished (I believe they have a black painted or powdercoated coating).

 

You can use those punches and get good results but you will do well to have an awl--it doesn't matter the brand but you will have to sharpen and polish it until it has nearly a mirror finish.  You use that awl to stretch the holes and pull your thread through.  Otherwise, you need to buy better punches.  Bang for the buck, I suggest Kevin Lee or Wuta tools (both are available on Ebay or Amazon).

 

Check out Nigel Armitage's video on Youtube about sharpening an awl.  A sharp awl + practice is more important than good punches.

 

PS  skip using wing dividers and definitely skip the stitch groover.  You don't want a groove for the stitch.  You don't want wing dividers unless you are absolutely 100% certain that your edge has been cut perfectly straight.  Instead, use your scratch awl ($3) and a straight edge and drag the awl along the ruler/straightedge to guarantee a straight stitch line.  Then, be sure your forks have pointed tips so they can nestle into that line.  There are even steps to being sure you hit it straight down.  Then, when you pull out, don't yank it out.  Hold the leather down on both sides of your stitching fork/chisel or else the leather and holes will stretch (and each one will stretch differently. You don't want that).

 

PPS if you want the back to look just as good, then let the chisels punch/push through, then flip your piece over and tap your stitching chisel/fork into the SAME HOLES.  You are NOT trying to punch through but just to smooth out the top half of the leather so the pushed out leather is instead in that hole.  Yes, it will make them slant the other way, some.  Ignore that.  Use it that way, and return and report.

Best of luck!

Edited December 9, 2020 by johnv474

[mike02130]

Hmm, The poster seems to be M.I.A.?

 

[Wisdomsleather]

Thanks for all the Info i work crazy hrs my regular job:/ I have two sets I bought set from weaver leather craft and then I bought set from Kevin lee noticed Mascon leather uses his products had hard time finding good chisels they seem to be better then weaver ones and I will definitely get something better to punch into I also think my hammering skills need work too cause I just have really small mallet takes quite few swings just get it go through the leather and smallness of the mallet doesn’t help it’s Amazon special I been practicing with cheap tools and slowly up gradeing things as I go but definitely couple things that would significantly help and alots of practice holding my stitching chisels straight 

[Tugadude]

24 minutes ago, Wisdomsleather said:

Thanks for all the Info i work crazy hrs my regular job:/ I have two sets I bought set from weaver leather craft and then I bought set from Kevin lee noticed Mascon leather uses his products had hard time finding good chisels they seem to be better then weaver ones and I will definitely get something better to punch into I also think my hammering skills need work too cause I just have really small mallet takes quite few swings just get it go through the leather and smallness of the mallet doesn’t help it’s Amazon special I been practicing with cheap tools and slowly up gradeing things as I go but definitely couple things that would significantly help and alots of practice holding my stitching chisels straight 

Good old practice works wonders.  I've seen videos where people get excellent results from mediocre tools.  

[johnv474]

On 12/9/2020 at 3:40 PM, mike02130 said:

Hmm, The poster seems to be M.I.A.?

 

As often happens.  People are so desperate to get answers and never return to tell you what worked, what didn't, what they already tried, etc.

It can make it feel less worthwhile to answer these quesitons at all.