Modify Arbor press or a Leather Press hole punch?

T

Taz

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 28, 1999
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I am looking at getting something for Christmas to make doing the holes for sheaths easier and quieter instead of hammering away and help me punch straighter thru multiple layers. I know those Cobbler hand crank sewing machines need a lot of work and don't work well, but I figure if I can make the pounding less and the holes straighter, the actual stitching would be easier!

I saw some modify a 1 ton arbor press and use that for punching holes, stamping, etc. Basically drill a hole in the end of the ram and another hole into that hole from the side for a set screw and put the shank of the chisel punch/stamp into the hole. You also replace the work plate with something more leather working friendly. Found some with a hole and set screw already in them for holding drifts and I can use them for setting kydex eyelets, snaps, etc.

Then I found the manual leather punch presses with a drill press chuck mounted, but seems to put out a lot less force. It's basically a lighter weight frame and a ram/pinion like an arbor press with the drill press chuck and a flat work surface, but 160kg of force instead on 1 ton?:
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Which would work better for punching thru multiple layers of 7-9oz leather for sheaths? I am thinking the arbor press (more oomph and stiffer frame?), but figured I would check here for other ideas! I am looking at making the process quieter and easier to do at night/early morning when the rest of the household is sleeping!
 
Have you tried the idea of using an awl blade chucked up in your drill press and then with the drill press not running punching your holes that way. I've heard of folks having great success with that method.
 
Drill press is in the garage, I'm looking for something so I can do the hole punching in the house, especially with the cold winter coming up!

will an old small drill press have enough to punch stitching prongs through the leather? and maybe able to pick up a cheap one online and just use that inside the house as a press
 
Many years ago I did exactly what Dave has suggested. I had an old benchtop drill press (my only one at the time) that I used to make the holes. I made up a 12" x 12", 1 1/2 inch block of wood and covered it with two layers of 9 oz veg tan leather as a backing. I did not have an awl blade to my name then so I used a large sized hand sewing needle that was checked for straightness and had the eye removed so it would not influence clamping in the chuck. I stoned a point on the needle, chucked it in the press and proceeded to punch holes. Typically, I was punching through as much as two layers of 7 to 9 oz og veg tan leather for my sheaths. Even on that small press it really was not that difficult to punch that one needle through the leather. Plenty of leverage on the spindle to do the job. The hard part with the crap leather I used back then was getting it out. I ended up having a block of candle wax was nearby that I would periodically push the needle in to make it easier, both in and out. The only real challenge was keeping the holes straight. You have to be careful not to deflect the needle as you push it in or it will not go straight through. Maybe an awl would be better from that perspective.

Anyway, a press has more that enough leverage for a single, sharp needle in a reasonable thickness of average temper veg tan. Since the needle is round you can even turn on the press to make it easier. Can't do that with a bladed awl. The real trick is keeping things aligned for straight holes.

Hope this helps.
Randy
 
I tried my Jet floor standing 16 speed drill press. Thru 3 layers of 8-9oz leather cleanly, no issues with the 6 prong diamond chisel!

Wife wil not like a drill press in the house though .. lol. So maybe the drill press looking leather punch will actually work?

my dad may have an old drill press in his basement that has a separate motor and belt on it, I can probably grab that and try it and see if it works. that way just be the frame of the drill press itself and not the motor and all the electrical components
 
I have used a small variable speed benchtop drill press with a tiny drill bit for drilling holes in especially thick leather sheaths. An awl blade did not work for me but I forget why. Three main factors prevent me from using it regularly:
1) I found it difficult to find a supply of small enough bits but that is a solvable problem.
2) it was tricky to keep the leather consistently perpendicular to the bit (altho I'm sure someone more skilled in jig-making could solve that problem) so straight holes were not always guaranteed. I ruined too many sheaths with poor holes or crooked lines to continue with the practice.
3) I get much straighter stitch lines by using stitching prongs (as shown in the top left of the picture in the original post) even when I need to totally bury the prongs in the leather to punch the holes. If necessary in thick leather, it's easy to finish punching the holes with an awl.
Works for me but I don't work in the evenings or need to be quiet. With practice I'm sure you could make a drill press work, others have.

The issue I see with using stitching prongs in the drill press or arbor press is I find I need to wiggle the punch out of the leather, not side to side but lengthwise to the line of holes. Pulling the punch straight up out of the leather may be tricky. Rigging up something to support the top of the leather would help in prong extraction.
 
I was able to use the smaller press at my parents house to go through the three layers of leather that I use with a six-prong punch. I have a little tool that makes removing the chisel punches so much easier from the leather so I will be using that to hold the leather down while I bring the arm back up on the drill press. I'll try to get it cleaned up and get some pictures of it later today for you guys.

I may still get the arbor press for christmas, but this will get me through until then!
 
These tools work great for stubborn punch removal! I found these after the first day of my leather working class this past summer and passed it around the class. Made a huge difference. Instructor had some nice Weaver punches she couldn't use because they were a PITA to remove from thick leather. She tried this and went online and ordered 10 for her classes! LOL.

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I am making up a few for her in thicker G10 and rounding out the edges on the top and bottom (or adding thin leather?). The metal one can dig into the leather a bit. I plan on using this to hold the sheath down while I lift up on the punch.

Didn't get to clean up the old drill press last night, maybe tonight? I tested it with a 6 prong diamond chisel punch on 3 stacked pieces of 8-9 pre dyed veg tan leather, no problems. 9-10 oz veg tan leather, no dye, was a little harder, but I think it will work (the press had an adjustable height on the column and I gotta tighten it better so it doesn't slide up). This drill press doesn't have a deep throw to it, so I don't have a ton of vertical movement like a real drill press. The chuck is a keyless chuck, so I need to hold the gear pulleys above it to tighten, so it's harder to tighten on the punches. I may get a set of punches with the round shank instead of the flat to make it easier.

Most of the depth limitation is the prongs themselves aren't super deep, so I really need to bottom out the punch and indent into the leather. I have a smaller pondo board and small cutting board to use as the base. Also tested my cheap 8 speed Harbor Freight drill press and that worked no problem, too! So yes, a drill press should be able to push a 6 prong punch thru 3 layers of 8-9oz leather!

I saw someone make up a piece where they made up a stack of wood and leather to raise the sheath up with a slot for the belt loop, so the sheath would sit flatter when punching holes, so I will make up that too.

I may still do the arbor press for Christmas though, or get one on Fb marketplace. This should work until then!
 
This is interesting but figuring out a way to buffer the noise of hammering might be an easier way to go.

I punch all of my sheaths with prongs and transfer the holes through each of the 3 layers (can only punch two layers at a time due to the length of the prongs). The use of wax for the prongs is a must for thick leather.

It would seem very time consuming to use an arbor press with a prong attachment rather than just using drill bit (but you still have to punch pilot holes for drilling).
 
The noise is part of the issue, but I am also getting misaligned holes where the punch isn't vertical during the hammering, so it's going off kilter from my stitch groove line. I spent a lot of time re punching the holes with the awl after using the prongs and trying to realign the holes to go into my stitch groove.
 
Taz said:
The noise is part of the issue, but I am also getting misaligned holes where the punch isn't vertical during the hammering, so it's going off kilter from my stitch groove line. I spent a lot of time re punching the holes with the awl after using the prongs and trying to realign the holes to go into my stitch groove.
Click to expand...

3 layers of leather. Punch the top (pilot) holes while the leather pattern is flat. Fold and lightly glue, punch holes to the bottom using pilot holes from top. Pull apart, add welt, punch through welt using pilot holes from top. Glue up, use diamond awl through all 3 layers to punch through glue.
 
May have to try that and see how long it takes versus the 3 layers at a time! Doing the 2 layers for the fold over belt loop is easy, it's the 3rd layer that messes me up!
 
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