# Leather Die Cutter



## phil (Dec 6, 2012)

Hi fellas any one here tried making a die for cutting leather pouches all the same size and shape how are they made and what are they made from thanks phil.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I seem to recall someone on the forum detailing the process of having pouch cutting dies made. However, I cannot now find it. You might contact one of the vendors that sells pouches.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

try tandy leather they may have them.


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Track down a local Tool & Die maker. Give him a pouch or an accurate drawing of one and ask for a quote.

CLICK ME


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

I have been thinking of making a few dies. There are easy ways and hard ways, each with their pros and cons.

Given the thin leather we use, the difference comes down to trading cost off against life span.

I'll post something when mine is done.

In the meantime, Leon13 is a pro in this area. Message him for details on what dies he can make and what kind of pressing gadget is required.


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Steel strapping tape (the spring steel kind) wrapped around an aluminium former is a great way to start.

I spent some time looking into it and the best price I got for a quality commercial die was $130 for a 2-up cutter.

Sadly though, I ordered it and they never came through. After a month of chasing them I gave up.


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Dead bandsaw blade or hacksaw blade with a sharpened edge is also good knife material. I you could get some scraps of the real thing from a die maker.

Cut the shape out of a piece of plywood that is half the thickness of the blade strip, then put is all back together with the blade strip in the saw cut slot.

I made one last night and will try and add some hole punches today.


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## phil (Dec 6, 2012)

Thanks for the help fellas some pics of home made dies would be great


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Here's a picture of my DIY pouch die. This just cuts the outline at this stage. The leather strip was cut by this die. I will add hole punches made of sharpened steel tube where the crosses are marked.

The black base is 18mm birch ply. The knife holder is 6mm birch ply. I drew the shape on it, cut along the lines with the bandsaw, bent the knives to shape and re-assembled it all with the knives in the slots. Then I stapled the 6mm ply pieces in place. Next, i took the knives out, filled the slots with epoxy and slowly pressed the knives in to the desired depth with a block so that the edges were all at the same height and left it to cure.

The knives are made of a broken 1/2" bandsaw blade with the teeth ground off and a sharp bevel ground into the edge. The bandsaw blade steel is pretty hard, but you can bend it cold if you're careful and gentle. I will probably make the hole punches with stainless steel tube sharpened with a bevel on the outside.


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## Gardengroove (Feb 13, 2012)

Thank you ash for showing this. It looks very promising so far. Do you stick your leather to another plywood sheet and then press down from top on the cutting base? I think it is more effective to bring the cutter to the hide when someone plans to make more pouches and wants to get out the most of the leather. Have you thought of resharpening the cutter from time to time?

Cheers, Simon


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Gardengroove said:


> Thank you ash for showing this. It looks very promising so far. Do you stick your leather to another plywood sheet and then press down from top on the cutting base? I think it is more effective to bring the cutter to the hide when someone plans to make more pouches and wants to get out the most of the leather. Have you thought of resharpening the cutter from time to time?
> 
> Cheers, Simon


In testing I have been laying a scrap of leather onto the cutter and pressing a piece of MDF onto it with the drill press. This is the easiest way for one-off tests. In actual use, your suggestion is better. My original plan was to only have the end knives and the hole punches. The leather could be cut into straight strips of the correct width with a roller cutter and fed into the die cutter zone between two guides to have the ends trimmed and holes punched. This would be easier to align and require less press/punch force.

Re-sharpening - Can be done with a needle file or a small stone. Eventually the blades will have to be pulled out and replaced. That's much easier to do with a professional die system.


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## The Gopher (Aug 25, 2010)

I bought a little arbor press from harbor freight with a coupon for 30 bucks and had a die made from a local company. I think the die cost about 75. seems like a lot but i think it was worth every penny.


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## phil (Dec 6, 2012)

Wow fellas they look great are they made from carbon steel


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Yes, bandsaw blade is a pretty run of the mill high carbon steel. Bimetal hacksaw blades might also work well. High Speed Steel hacksaw blades would be good for straight lines, but you can't bend it far.


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

The Gopher said:


> I bought a little arbor press from harbor freight with a coupon for 30 bucks and had a die made from a local company. I think the die cost about 75. seems like a lot but i think it was worth every penny.


That looks great. It would only take about an hour of punching and ebaying to get that thing to pay for itself.

Do you have a close-up of the die itself?


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## The Gopher (Aug 25, 2010)

I'll get a pic of the die this evening. The clear base makes it so nice for lining up a cut, really lets me maximize the use of the leather.


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## S.S. sLinGeR (Oct 17, 2013)

Very nice!!!!


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Here's a video demonstration of pouches being cut by one of the Chinese slingshot suppliers:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzc0OTg5ODg4.html

You can buy the dies from them, too, if you can speak Chinese.


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

http://kelehw.com/?product-55.html


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## Dr J (Apr 22, 2013)

Great information, thanks for sharing!


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