The Final Stage of Making a Multi-Tool Carrier

To all of you who have been faithfully visiting this blog I want to offer a heartfelt apology for not getting this post out sooner. About the time I began preparing this post I started a new job and I have been trying to adjust to the different schedule and the commute. It took too long to get this one done and it is my fault. I will try to get more done, possibly much shorter than this one, as soon as I can. I will share some tricks that I have learned from someone or on my own.

To pick up where we left off, with the fold made in the belt loop it is a good idea to let it dry so that it will retain its shape. Having this fold already in the leather will be a little bit of a challenge when the top part of the loop is sewn on but it will make the loop a bit flatter against the back of the pocket. It will also help to align the top of the belt loop to the height you want it.

To align the belt loop on the back of the carrier pocket I will once again rough-fit the belt loop so that I can mark the outline of the areas onto which I want to apply Barge Cement. I believe that you will find it better to rough-fit the loop and mark the glue points before either machine or hand sewing it to the back. The photo below shows the alignment of the loop with the excess leather to the left side of the back. It is not mandatory that you allow for the excess leather in this manner but you will want to plan your mode of attack before actually cutting the leather.

Belt loop on back after being folded

The photo below shows how the belt loop might look after being attached. Doing this will also give you an idea of how you want to place the top of the belt loop in relation to the top of the multi-tool. Variations may come from the different lengths of the multi-tool and the way in which you might like it to sit on your belt. Again, this is just a trial fit and placement to see how it will look and for marking your glue points.

Side view of belt loop before being attached

In the photo below, you can almost see a rectangle marked in pencil. This rectangle area is where I will place the glue to attach the portion of the belt loop to the back of the carrier pouch. It might be possible to get by without gluing the piece down and successfully stitching it in place but I would not take the chance. At this point if the loop slips while stitching it on it will be difficult to relocate the whole loop and then poke more holes in the leather. What will happen is that the holes could be so close together that you would run the risk of the leather tearing or that you might have such large holes in the back of the pocket that sewing would be difficult as well. 

Belt loop glue area marked on back

The area, which is marked for applying the glue, is on the grain side of the pocket and it is smooth. This means that the glue will not adhere as well to this surface as it would the flesh side of the leather. If you have read the earlier posts, you will see that the smooth side of the leather is the grain and the rough side is the flesh. What I like to do before applying the glue to the grain of the leather is to scuff it up a little so that the glue will adhere much better. The photo below shows that I roughed up or scuffed the area in which the glue will be applied. To scuff the leather I used the tip of a flat-bladed knife. Coarse sandpaper can be used to scuff up the leather but caution should be taken to make sure that you do not scuff too much or too deeply. Either way that the scuffing is done it is a good idea to blow the leather dust off from the scuffed area to ensure that the glue will stick to the leather. At this point, it is also a good idea to scuff the area of the belt loop that will be attached to the back of the pocket.

Glue area on back after being roughed up for better adhesion

The photo below shows the glue applied to both of the pieces of leather mentioned in the above paragraph. The glue I used on this project is Barge Cement, which is my favorite adhesive to use on my projects. I have tried rubber cement and the results were all right immediately but it did not last as long as I would have liked. I learned that rubber cement does not last as long as the Barge Cement on projects that might have any oil applied to it. In most cases, you will probably not have any problems with the longevity of rubber cement unless you are gluing lining leather to the inside of a project that might be oiled.

After the glue has been applied to the upper areas

In the photo below, you can see that the belt loop has been glued to the back of the pocket. I evidently forgot to take a picture of the upper portion of the belt loop after it was stitched to the pocket. The black rectangle superimposed on the photo is there to show the basic stitch lines that I would use. The only thing that someone might want to include would be to add stitching diagonally across the rectangle shown. I do not think that it is necessary to do that but you might want to consider the thickness of the leather used as well as the weight of the tool to be carried in the pocket.

Upper portion of belt loop glued to the back of the pocket

Once the upper portion of the belt loop has been stitched onto the back of the pocket it is a good time to rough up the area where the lower part will be attached, that is if you have not already done it. Do not apply the glue to both ends of the loop or the back of the pocket at the same time. Doing so is a good recipe for a disaster or some headaches with sewing an alignment of the loop in general. Besides that, it is extremely difficult to complete the stitching the upper part of the loop with the lower part already attached.

The photo below shows the lower portion of the belt loop after it has been glued and stitched onto the pocket. I sew/stitched it on with my sewing machine because it is much faster than doing it by hand. You will notice that the distance between the two lines of stitching are spaced at the length of one stitch apart. I did it this way to make sure that there was ample room for a belt to slip through the loop and because this area will not be carrying the majority of the weight of the tool on it.

Closeup of belt loop as stitched on the back

Okay, by now we have the belt loop stitched onto the back of the pocket of the tool carrier and now it is time to attach the pocket. I like to line up the pocket with the center of the back, mark the upper edges of the sides of the pocket, and make sure that the lower part of the pocket  can be easily stitched I then apply Barge Cement to the areas below those marks. Place about a quarter-inch wide strip of glue all around the bottom part of the back where the pocket is to be attached. Put glue around the outer, flat edges of the pocket on both the edges and the bottom. It will not hurt it you get more than a quarter-inch strip of Barge Cement on either piece. A little extra is better than not enough in this case. Remember to put cement on both surfaces where they will meet each other.

Pocket glued to the back - with edges untrimmed

In the photo above you can see that the pocket is narrower than the back piece. You might also notice that the edges of the pocket are not straight. There are at least a couple of ways you can manage the task of trimming off the excess leather from the sides of the project. Using a ruler, the edges of the project can be marked with a pencil, making sure that the same width is kept the full length of the cut and that enough surface area is left to perform the stitching. With the pocket attached to the back it is a little more difficult to put a straight edge on the leather where you want to cut it and hold it in place while cutting. I prefer to mark the line and trim the edged with a sharp knife.

In the photo below you can see that I trimmed the corners of the bottom of the pocket simply by cutting them at a 45 degree angle. I made these cuts before I trimmed the edges. It does not matter when you trim the corners, just be sure that you do not cut too close to the edge of the pocket and leave enough room to stitch around it.

Bottom corners trimmed off

After I have trimmed the corners of the pocket I do not want to leave them with the blunt angles that you see in the photo above. Generally, with two smaller cuts I can trim the points from the corners left by previous cuts. You will notice that the corners are not perfectly round but they are closer than before. The photo below shows the corners after the points have been trimmed a little more. What I have found is that when I complete the cuts previously described, by the time that I bevel the edges on the project and burnish them the corners will look very well rounded.

Bottom corners of pockets trimmed more

The next step in the process is to sew or stitch the pocket to the back. If you look closely you can see that I used my sewing machine to sew the two pieces together. I simply did this for the speed of completing this stage. Something that you might want to consider when stitching your project by either hand or by machine is to double stitch the top three to five stitches on each side of the pocket. That means that to have three double stitches on the side where you begin stitching you would need to start at the fourth hole down and sew backwards to the top. In the same manner to double stitch the side you finish on it would be necessary to backstitch until the desired number is reached.

Pocket after being sewn onto the back

Once the pocket and back have been sewn together I like to set the snaps on the pocket and the portion of the back that is to be the flap that covers the multi-tool. The photo below shows the four parts of the type of snap that will be used on our project. The upper left piece is the cap, which is the rounded piece you will see on the outside of the flap. The socket is just to the right of the cap and it will be attached to the cap to form the outer portion of the snap. The third part of the snap is the post, which is the piece that the socket will be snapped onto. The piece in the lower right hand corner is the rivet portion of the post. Holes will be punched in the upper-center of the pocket and the lower center of the flap. (Be sure to look at the photos showing the finished product.

The four pieces of a snap

Setting snaps is a simple process as long as you have the correct tools and the right length of rivets for your snaps. Snaps are basically set by a riveting process. If you look back at the photo above notice the two pieces on the left. The cap on the top is the finished side of your snap that will be seen on the outside of the flap. The bottom left piece is the post, which will be seen on the outside of the pocket. You might consider them as the finish sides of your snaps.

As previously mentioned, it is necessary to have the proper tool for setting the snaps. The photo below shows the tip of the snap setting tool. Although difficult to see, the center portion of the tool is rounded like a nob and it flares out the closer it gets to the wide portion. The wider portion is concave so that it will give a rounded effect once the rivet is set. To complete the riveting action, once the correct snap pieces are put together, place the setting tool with the tip in the center of the rivet and strike it with a non-metal hammer or mallet. I do not like to use metal hammers on my tools because it will mushroom the end of the tool and make it look ugly and give it sharp edges. The snap setting tool can be purchased at many craft stores and most of them will come as part of a complete set that will include a small concave anvil and other tools for setting different types of snaps.

 

The tip of a snap setting tool

To line up the snaps on your project it is necessary to know the diameter of the snap to be used. Place it a reasonable distance from the edges of the pocket and flap. What I like to do is to find the center of my flap where I will be placing the cap and socket and mark the center with  an awl or pencil. I place the socket over the center mark to make sure that it will not be too close to the edge before punching any holes. I then punch a hole that is just large enough to allow the rivet portion of my cap to fit through it. I want the cap to show on the outside of my flap and have the socket on the inside or the flesh side of the leather. The photo below shows how the inside of the socket will look after the it has been riveted to the cap. You can see that the snap setter automatically rounded the end of the rivet.

View of inside of socket after setting it

To mark and position of the post part of the snap I will put the multi-tool into the pocket and close flap, which now has the cap and socket set on it. I will use it to mark the position of the post by centering the flap on the pocket and press down hard on the cap to mark the outline of the socket. This will allow me to easily locate the center of of the position for the post. Once I have the center marked I will punch a hole in the leather large enough to place the rivet through. I will then place a piece of wood or something harder and close to the right size, in the pocket to be a backing for setting the rivet on the post. Be sure that the base of the rivet is on the inside of the pocket. Place the carrier on a smooth surface where you can set the rivet by striking the setting tool with your mallet. Do not attempt to set the snap using the multi-tool as your backing because it may render it unusable.

Now, with the multi-tool in the pockets try out your snap. For all intents and purposes your project should be complete except for putting the finishing touches on the flap if so desired. The manner in which you finish the flap is entirely up to your If you would like to round the end a little to take off the corners you might have something that looks like what you see below. The only thing I would advise you to do before applying any stain or oil to the leather is to burnish the edges and do any additional trimming that you feel is important to give your project the finished look you want.

Front of flap after the snap has been set and snapped in place

Let me know if you have any questions or comments. I will try to get another post out sooner than this one.

Have fun!