Good Idea: Trendware Eyelets
I wish I had good photos to share, but unfortunately my iPhone 13 Mini is not a great macro camera. The long story short is that I’m very pleased.
The formula this time was:
- Trendware AA XLG Brass Eyelets, Gunmetal Finish (These are the ones I’m selling in sample bags of multiple finishes, while supplies last.)
- 4 mm Hole Punch in SPS twist press
- Kember DBS ballpoint stylus tool to seat the lining around the barrels of the eyelets
- Moro 051 setter tooling in SPS twist press to set
The 4 mm holes were definitely tight. I pulled the punch out and reamed it through the holes to widen them out so I could slide the eyelets in. The tight fit also necessitated the ball stylus tool. I mentioned the Kemper I used, which my local art store sells for about $5, but a Tandy tracing stylus or fine enough stick would work.
I originally tried to mark circles to target with the hole punch on the leather, using a mini compass. That really wasn’t worthwhile. What did work out was positioning the upper under the press, turning the handle just enough to leave a slight impression on the surface, letting it rise, checking the positioning, and only turning to punch through once the creasing on the leather showed the punch was centered. It’s no big deal to leave impressions from a few tries around the hole. They’re not cuts, so they’ll come out. And they’re mostly or entirely hidden by the flange of the eyelet once it’s in.
I also tried a 4.5 mm punch on a similar stack-up of upper leather and lining. That seemed tight enough, but I told myself I’d go with the tightest host I could get the eyelets in, extra work futzing with the lining be damned. Maybe that’s just wasted effort.