How-To: Leather Buttons and Toggles

Posted in Tips & Tricks on June 21st, 2016 by The Cyberwolfe

Working a project and need a cheap-and-easy method of fastening two things together? A button sounds like just the thing. We’ve been using them for a few millenia, but surprisingly enough the button pre-dates the button hole by several centuries.

Before the button hole was invented, folks would make a loop of leather, cord or twine and push the button through that. It helps to have a wider button with this method, so they made toggles, which can really be anything vaguely stick-shaped – or even a stick. Antler tips lend themselves to the task well since they polish up nice, but a scrap of leather can work just as well.

Here I’m going to show you one way of making a leather toggle. There’s always more than one way to do something like this though, so feel free to improvise.

ButtonToggles

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Making use of vertical space

Posted in Projects on June 19th, 2016 by The Cyberwolfe

Bows On the Wall

Since the move to the smaller apartment, the archery equipment has been relegated to the bedroom closet, and the Wife thought it should be out where people could see it – and more importantly, clear out valuable shelf space. With that in mind, I came up with using a couple of spare belt blanks to act as the anchors, and some simple loop-and-toggle pairs to secure the items to the straps.

Loop and toggle detail

Just a simple loop of lace wrapped up and around the toggle. Yes, my stamping is a little off. I wasn’t measuring.

Button? Toggle?

Those toggles are just a strip of leather rolled up with a bit of lace run through it to secure the roll – and I just decided to do a tutorial on those as a separate post – come back tomorrow for that. Unless you’re reading this at some point in the future, in which case you probably just read it.

Timelines are hell.

Anyway, for those that are interested: Yes, I made the quiver on the right, see this post. The quiver on the left was left behind with the bottom bow.

From top to bottom:

  • Das Flingenstick, a 35# English-style longbow. Red oak backed with linen.
  • My daughter’s 25# Samick recurve
  • A wimpy flatbow a buddy left behind when he moved out. It’s mostly decorative.

Workbench 2.5

Posted in Projects on June 11th, 2016 by The Cyberwolfe

After about a year with the modded computer desk as a primary workbench, we’ve made some adjustments. One of these is we balanced a board between my right-hand drawers and the computer case on the left at the back of the desk to keep the kitten from playing in the cords back there. This of course turned into Kitty Highway 101, and eventually to both cats deciding my desk was an onramp, no matter what sharp bits may have been laying out.

This was starting to piss me off pretty good. Plus, I have all these sharp bits laying out and needed more organization. So, viola! Pegboard walls to block the cats and hang my tools on.

Workbench 2.5

Home Despot carries pegboard in 1/4 sheet “hobby boards”, and the birch 2×2’s were easy enough to trim to length with my jigsaw. The walls were screwed to the 2×2’s, and then I ran a pocket screw through each of the uprights and down into the work surface. So far I haven’t needed to brace it any.