sheath drilling

peter r

peter r

Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Messages
1,690
howdy, i am making a sheath for one of my knives and have been having some trouble. i stacked several layers of leather in order to make the sheath. its now about 1 inch thick. i tried to use a drill press to drill the holes where the thread will go for stitching. when i did so the holes were all lined up perfectly on the side facing the drill bit, but the other side was all off. i assume the bit travelled throught the leather due to its thin profile. how do i make sure my holes line up on both sides??
 
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I can't say that I've ever made a sheath that has reached a full inch in thickness, but I would guess that you are probably not going to be able to get the holes to line up using a drill press, because you would be using a very small bit through a lot of leather, and that bit is going to flex some. Now, it could simply be how you are holding the sheath--fold-over sheaths can be difficult to keep flat, for example.

Using an awl to make your holes takes practice to get the holes straight (I still can't quite get them right using an awl) but you would have more control than using the drill press. A drill press works fine on sheaths that are .5" and less in thickness, but above that they seem to drift. Try an awl and see how that works for you.

~Noah
 
What size drill bit are you using? Some times it will wonder off ,if this is the case try going slower when you press down. you can also put a small block of macarta or wood under the sheath, that way the sheath doesnt flex into the hole thats in the press table.
 
i think i figured it out..... i just need to make sure the bit is centered perfectly over the indents in the leather. and drill super slowly. but i would sure like to know if their is some super trick out there that would make this easy.
 
Peter, I don't think anything is easy about leather work when you're at 1" thick.

Usually, my trouble comes when I'm working over the skived layers....gotta take it really slow, or else the drill will want to slide down the skived parts and the back will be all out of whack. I've improved on this just by taking it real slow.
 
one thing you could try, is to "lay out" your stitching on both sides and drilling roughly half way through on each side. if the holes are slightly off in the middle the needle will compensate. i use a hand stitcher, and they are sturdy enough to handle a fair amount of stress.
 
I have found that it helps to drill the holes a size bigger (the bigger drill bit will reduce flex a little) and wet the outside layers of the seam before you stitch it. Pull the stitches really tight and try to stretch the holes into alignment as you go. Pull the thread as tight as you reasonably can, this will help straighten the holes a little more and allows the thread to sink into the surface of the leather a bit. You can carefully burnish the leather back over the holes to cover them if they are still visible, but they will usually all but disappear as the leather dries and adjusts its shape to the tension of the thread. It usually dosen't look as bad after you stitch it as it might now. With 1" of thickness you shouldn't have to worry about the seam scrunching up no matter how tight you pull the stitches.
 
my thought process was at the drilling half way both sides. but the larger bit may do the trick. i even have extra thick waxed nylon thread that would hide the evidence well.
 
The super trick is simple:

Put a piece of leather inside the sheath before you drill it. It should be the same thickness as the welt. Doing this prevents the sheath from leaning over when you drill and leaving uneven holes on the other side.


Al P

www.polkowskiknives.com
 
One thing you need to make sure is that when you grind down the side of the sheath you need to be square to both the front and back. If you are off a little one way or the other it will throw the stitches off.
Mace
 
Even better than a nail is to use an old bike spoke. Taper it to a sharp point, and polish the surface smooth. Cut/break it off about 3" long. Chuck it in the drill press, leaving about 1.5" sticking out. Set the stop as needed so you won't hit the sheath with the chuck jaws. Run the drill on slow and use the press as a power awl. It will work well even without the drill running.
Stacy
 
thanks all i am off to the shop to try all this out!!! ill post results here later..maybe some pics.
 
here it is. i used a larger bit and went real slow.

sheath002.jpg
 
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