Leather Skills

Most of us, when we first start out in leather craft, begin by making wallets and other items from kits and belts from belt blanks that already have the snaps attached and the buckle tongue slot cut out. Then, as our skills increase, we decide to take the plunge and buy a side of leather and start cutting out our own items rather than using a belt blank or a kit. Belts are usually one of the first items that we attempt to make from “scratch”. It is very satisfying and in the long run much cheaper to do it this way than to use a blank.

After I had made several belts I realized that much of the layout is repetitive regardless of the size, type or width of the belt. You always have to make a tip end and a buckle end. So, I decided to make a template to reduce the amount of time spent laying out a belt. Mine is made from ¼” plexiglass. As you can see from the picture, it has seen a lot of wear and tear, but the measurements are still accurate and it is still functional. Other suitable materials would be plywood, fiberboard, heavy cardboard, or any other firm material.

The drawing above gives you the dimensions that I have settled on over the years. You can alter these to fit your own methods. For example, some folks like to allow one inch between buckle holes rather than the 3/4” that I use. Others might use a rounded tip instead of the style on my template. Also, note that these dimensions are for a center bar buckle. If you are making a belt using a western style or trophy buckle they will be different depending on the length of the buckle.

I hope you find this tip useful.
Yours Aye,
Al

When setting snaps on your project, it is important that the tube of the snap’s cap (the post) is the proper length to ensure that the snap setter can roll (or mushroom) the tube correctly to have a good looking fastener that won’t come apart. If the tube is too long, it will end up bending and the snap will be misaligned. If the tube is too short, the snap setter won’t be able to roll the tube enough to keep the snap from failing and coming apart.

To shorten a too long tube, start with a piece of thick scrap leather with a hole punched in it to accommodate the tube. Grab your gloves, safety glasses and rotary tool with its cutoff wheel. Insert the snap’s tube into the punched hole with the amount to be cut off protruding from the grain or hair side of the leather (because it is smoother). Use the cutoff wheel to cut off the desired amount of the tube. For this, I find it is much easier to mount the rotary tool in a vice and hold the scrap of leather. It is not necessary to clean up the cut marks on the tube. The snap setter will take care of them when mushrooming the tube. 

Cutting Off Tube

If the post is too short, some of the project’s leather can be removed from around the punched hole ensuring that there is enough tube available for proper snap setting. I find that the easiest way to do this is with a French Edge Skiving Tool. Simply place one heel or edge of the skiver in the hole for the snap on the flesh side and rotate the skiver, removing the required amount. Make sure to keep your non working hand behind your tool hand to prevent injury if the tool slips.

Removing Excess Leather

Workshop Hazard

I’ve had my strap cutter hanging on my workshop pegboard in the same spot for years. Recently, as I was reaching for a pencil in the cup sitting under the the strap cutter, I cut my arm on the exposed part of the blade. (It was just a flesh wound.) Having broken my wife’s “Rule Number One” (Don’t hurt her husband!), it suddenly became obvious to me that I needed something to cover the blade and prevent that from happening again.

Swivel knife blades come with little caps, but none of those fit the strap cutter blade. I looked around the garage and found that I had some of those little caps that fit over the end of the coated wire shelves in the closets of our house. (Lots of them, in fact, because we’ve got those shelves in nearly every room.) And happily, these extra caps fit the blade perfectly. Problem solved. 

Disaster Averted