awl needle length

[littlebiglane]

Can anyone recommend the length of awl needle I need to ***** holes in 12mm of leather? I am going to make a sheath and I suppose I need to put holes through the edge of the sheath where there are two side and a welt (3x4mm). Also, with this thickness should I use a pricking iron?


LBL

 

[FGYT]

id use a 1.5mm drill

but im lasy
the awl i do have is a std one and is long enough to do that but im guessing you would need a decent stitch pony to clamp and hold it so you can push it thro with out it moving etc

ATB

Duncan

 

[littlebiglane]

id use a 1.5mm drill

but im lasy
the awl i do have is a std one and is long enough to do that but im guessing you would need a decent stitch pony to clamp and hold it so you can push it thro with out it moving etc

ATB

Duncan

Darn it...I should have known it would not be that easy. More kit needed then How do other sheath makers here cope with stitching through leather that thick?

 

[Tadpole]

Can anyone recommend the length of awl needle I need to ***** holes in 12mm of leather? I am going to make a sheath and I suppose I need to put holes through the edge of the sheath where there are two side and a welt (3x4mm). Also, with this thickness should I use a pricking iron?


LBL

Personally I mark and awl one bit of leather, then clip the next piece/other side of the sheath to it with, either a bulldog clip or fastened to the table with a clamp and mark the second piece (going through the holes made in the first piece) when they line up as they should.
I then insert the welt and mark it with the tip of my diamond awl, take it all apart and using a slightly larger awl make the holes. (Same with the fire steel loop) You have to be very careful when gluing the welt in, but once that is done, stitching them all together is not a problem.

Rather than buy a stitching pony can you make one for yourself, using some 4x1” pine and a dozen screws. It’s not all that complicated.

 

[Dave Budd]

to be honest if the awl is properly sharpened I find it much faster than using the drill press. if you go for an awl, mostly ask for the smallest size (I forget the actual size, but the smallest leaves a hole that is about 2.5mm long at full penetration)

I only use the drill (but with a sharp spike not a twist bit) because it leave a neat round hole so you don't have to get the angle of the diamond awl lined up correctly to get tidy stitching

 

[g4ghb]

I use a similar technique to tadpole now though I used to use a drill. Both work but the end stitching looks different.

A pricking iron is just for marking the stitches and although i've started to use a homemade pony (looks more like a mule to be honest) i still tend to awl the holes before i start to stitch and press first onto my cutting mat to make the inital hole then onto a 'stamping' mat (kinda like a dense karimat that I liberated from swmbo..... it is intended for helping to ink stamp cleanly) to punch deeper. I then finish it through in the pony or by holding the pad in the air and finishing it off.

 

[g4ghb]

Just realised I never answered the inital question!

for length, as long as the awl is long enough to completely go through your work at its full width (ie the awl is parallel and not still pointed) any length is fine really.

If the awl you have is too short you can always follow it back through the other way

 

[Chainsaw]

I use an awl too, goes through 3x3-4mm thicknesses no bother, as dave says, just make sure it's sharp. I use a 2 inch one of these. I glue on the welt to one side then position the top side and awl as you go making sure that nothing slips and you're vertical and the awl is at the right angle (I put a dot on the handle which faces out the way) Use a cork mat to let the awl penetrate right through. I use a 6 to the inch overstitch wheel to mark the holes.

Cheers,

Alan

 

[Hugo]

Interesting thread, I'm about to start a bit of leather craft.
At my local boot market last week I picked up an awl, over stitch wheel, scratch awl, and a small 5mm auger with attached handle for the princely sum of £ 5.00. Missed out on a very nice looking draw knife lovely looking £ 3.00, I was hoping the guy who picked it up would put it back again.
The auger will be for tree tapping for sap obviously.

 

[littlebiglane]

Thanks guys. This is MOST useful

I love this forum. I really do.

 

[mr dazzler]

When I stitched by recent billhook sheath I used a needle (about 1 1/2 mm thick with the eye ground off) as a little punch which I hammered through-a lot less effort than writhing about with an awl. But I did it in stages not all three 3mm layers in one go. I set the stitches out on a cardboard template, then used it to ***** a mark on one side, then flipped it to mark the other side-so they would coincide exactly. The welt was glued to one side, so I punched one 3m layer, and one 6mm layer. I have a job getting each hole perfectly plumb, I want the stitchs neat both sides, this seemed a workable solution, probably bad practice though..... My thread is about 1mm thick so I still needed pliers to pull the needles through

 

[rancid badger]

I normally use the smallest; 1+1/4" diamond awl. They need to be sharp and kept in profile for best penetration.

I used a drill for my very early stuff but it really does spoil the finished piece in my opinion.

R.B.

 

[Black Sheep]

I have an awl made out of a large needle (1.5mm dia x 65mm), I heated the eye end and flattened it little then set it into a handle. It's sharp enough to go through 20mm of welt on my axe covers I find that if I'm careful I can awl the holes for a sheath through all 3 layers a once.

As for drilling hose I used to then someone pointed out your removing leather from the holes where as with an awl your just displacing and it can shrink back afterwards.

Richard