Getting extra hole punched in leather bands- thoughts?

[goldmac2006]

Y’all just discovered a charming BCBG leather Apple Watch band adorned with adorable charms. I decided to replace my aging black classic buckle replica, which had become too shiny and patina a lot, with this leather band for my gold stainless steel 40mm watch with silver lugs.

However, when I first unboxed and put it on, I realized it was too big for my wrist, even at the smallest hole. I usually wear a size 2-3 in a Solo Loop, 5.5 inch wrist/13cm, but I still adore this design. They only have one size for this band.

I have a leather punch specifically designed to create holes in belts. I’m curious to know how many of you wear leather bands and punch holes in them when they don’t offer them for shorter lengths. Do you have any suggestions or ideas on how I can DIY this myself?

Edit: did measurements of this band vs a s/m Sport Band for comparison. I have to wear it far back from the wrist bone in order to get it to fit properly. But kind of awkward to wear my Apple Watch further back.

 

[Pug72]

I've used a leather hole punch for my wife's Modern Buckle strap. The smallest punch was a little bigger than the original holes but still worked great.
Just make sure you line it up perfectly as you can't unpunch it. 😄

 

[goldmac2006]

I've used a leather hole punch for my wife's Modern Buckle strap. The smallest punch was a little bigger than the original holes but still worked great.
Just make sure you line it up perfectly as you can't unpunch it. 😄

So, here’s the thing when I move around, the band slides down so easily that I can’t use it for much. There’s a lot of space between the buckle and the strap.

On the bright side, I do have a 3mm leather punch that should work just fine for this type of buckle. It’s the smallest one I have.

I’ll have to wait until the weather’s perfect to go outside and punch the hole. While it’s still wet, I’ll do some sketching and CAD drawing of my bands to figure out how much space I need to leave between the hole and the strap. Use my ruler and tape measure to measure it vs Apple measure app~

 

[Pug72]

I have the one pictured below, a few quid from Amazon. Makes it easier as you can hold the strap with it and gently manoeuvre before clamping down to make the hole.

 

[goldmac2006]

I have the one pictured below, a few quid from Amazon. Makes it easier as you can hold the strap with it and gently manoeuvre before clamping down to make the hole.

View attachment 2481887

Hey, it seems like a cool little tool, I can check daiso this weekend if they have it available or in my school’s maker space if there’s a tool like that. I’m curious about the diameter of the leather punch you used when you DIYed that modern buckle. By the way, I have two modern buckles, but since the small ones fit me perfectly, I don’t need to worry about punching an extra hole into them. It’s just this third-party band that made it one size only for wrists that can fit an 46/45 Apple Watch or Apple Watch Ultra. Or more specifically, 6.5-inch wrists or bigger that fit size 5 solo loops to an 8 or 9.

 

[Pug72]

Looking on the packaging picture, the smallest is 2.5mm.

 

[goldmac2006]

Looking on the packaging picture, the smallest is 2.5mm.

That’s almost as big as my smallest leather punch. That one cost only $1.75 at Daiso for a two-pack of 3-4mm diameter punches that you can hammer into it. In a Daiso in your area, you can get it for a quid 💷 and 39p for this set.

If you have a chance, could you share some pictures of the modern buckle you modified? I never considered using my leather punch until I realized that this leather band could only fit a wrist that could accommodate an Apple Watch Ultra.

Thanks a lot! 😊

 

[goldmac2006]

@Pug72 Thanks for the ideas I watched a few YT videos with these types of hole punches and I am going to start measuring up my band with a ruler to determine the spacing. The Apple measure app even though my 15 Pro has LiDAR is great for getting a general idea but the tolerances may be off when I compare it with my sport band. I am planning to use my existing 3mm punch as that should be OK with the type of buckle I have but I sent an enquiry to the machine shop I use at my school to see if they have any extras and will be punching my band there so I do not risk damaging my furnishings.

Here is the vid I saw with the type of hole punch I have and the puncher you used. It was on a belt but can be done on AW straps:

 

[goldmac2006]

Hey everyone 👋 a quick update! Guess what? My mentor, who runs the maker shop at school, has everything I need to punch the hole in the Apple Watch band. He replied to my message and said he’ll have hammers, big clips to hold the band on the workbench, and rags to protect the bench top. I’m planning to line up the holes with the Apple Watch band, all the way up to before the metal piece on top, and then punch it from there. I’ll also add some CAD drawings later. What do you think? Does it look good?


Images are not to scale.

@Pug72, I intend to use a piece of vellum over the band to mark the holes. Since marking holes for punching or drilling in leather is different from when I did woodworking, I’m unsure whether to use a sharpie or a chisel to mark the boundaries. Please let me know your thoughts.

 

[Pug72]

I'd just measure the gap between the centre of two current holes then place the metal ruler across the middle of all the holes and mark out the new ones. To mark I'd prob use a pencil or whatever the correct leather marking tools you have at your disposal like an awl.

 

[goldmac2006]

I'd just measure the gap between the centre of two current holes then place the metal ruler across the middle of all the holes and mark out the new ones. To mark I'd prob use a pencil or whatever the correct leather marking tools you have at your disposal like an awl.

That’s what I did. I measured the gap between the holes of both straps (I used my sport band as a reference to punch the hole that fits my wrist). Then, I used the third hole of my sport band to get an idea of where I should punch the hole. I don’t have an awl at home, but I’ll ask my mentor if he has one when I discuss my plan with him about punching the holes. I started on the CAD drawing to show the measurements where the holes I’ll be punching should be.

When you punched the modern buckle, did you punch the hole from the front or back of the band? It’s a bit tricky to measure it with my ruler when I flip it over to the back because the charms are not removable and are welded together. But I can tighten the clips or brackets to make sure the band stays flat at all times. Last thing is for it to move and the hole ain’t aligned correctly.

 

[Pug72]

You punch from above for the cleanest finish. I did the Modern Buckle without measuring, just eyeballed it adding a hole in line with the others. It wasn't super important to do a perfect job as the holes are hidden on that strap and with the hand punch you can hold the strap very lightly to manoeuvre accurately.

 

[BigBlur]

I measured the gap between the holes of both straps (I used my sport band as a reference to punch the hole that fits my wrist). Then, I used the third hole of my sport band to get an idea of where I should punch the hole.

Do you only plan to punch one hole that fits your wrist? If so, are you measuring the distance between the buckle/nub on the top sport band strap to the hole you use on the bottom sport band strap? That will be the distance you need between the buckle and hole on the leather straps. You can't just measure from the edge of the bottom straps alone, as the lengths of the top straps are likely to be different. It's not entirely clear from your posts and drawing, but maybe you were already doing that...or used the bottom sport band strap with the top leather strap. In that case, carry on!

If you plan to punch multiple holes, I'd just continue using the same spacing that's on the leather strap and not worry about the sport band at all.

 

[goldmac2006]

Do you only plan to punch one hole that fits your wrist? If so, are you measuring the distance between the buckle/nub on the top sport band strap to the hole you use on the bottom sport band strap? That will be the distance you need between the buckle and hole on the leather straps. You can't just measure from the edge of the bottom straps alone, as the lengths of the top straps are likely to be different. It's not entirely clear from your posts and drawing, but maybe you were already doing that...or used the bottom sport band strap with the top leather strap. In that case, carry on!

If you plan to punch multiple holes, I'd just continue using the same spacing that's on the leather strap and not worry about the sport band at all.

Hey man, I’m not going to mix bands! You can’t mix leather with fluoroelastomer bands. But to be honest, I accidentally omitted the top part of the band, which will affect how it connects to the top. I will measure that out too. I’ll make multiple holes as one, but it’ll look weird because I’ll have to move a bit further up as I go based on the sizing of solo loop and sport bands. That’s how most Apple Watch bands that are fitted like solo loops are made based on sport band sizes, which varies depending on the size Apple Watch you wear. 40/41/new 42mms use the s/m sizing numbers for solo loops, larger watches go based off m/l sport bands. The leather band is longer than the sport band. But I understand about the spacing, I’ll punch it out based on the 8mm spacing between holes on the leather band.

You punch from above for the cleanest finish. I did the Modern Buckle without measuring, just eyeballed it adding a hole in line with the others. It wasn't super important to do a perfect job as the holes are hidden on that strap and with the hand punch you can hold the strap very lightly to manoeuvre accurately.

Oh, there’s a different story about that. This one I am using is similar to how the classic buckle and traditional leather straps would fasten, so the holes would be visible from the strap. I still would have to mark with a pencil, and since it’s a black band, I have to punch it from the back. Alternatively, I can use a metallic pen and mark a dot on the strap on the top so that I don’t have to hold it down too tightly with the clamps on the bench.

By the way, was it aligned correctly? I didn’t measure it out. Sorry for the messy handwriting on my note.

 

[goldmac2006]

@Pug72, I apologize for not responding sooner. I had to prioritize completing a midterm essay. I visited a craft store, but the punch you showed me is beyond my budget. An adjustable punch like that you used costs over $18, while a punch that can make smaller holes up to 2mm for straps costs $15. That’s like almost 15 quid 💷
Hey, I’ll just use the one I have and test it on a scrap piece of leather. If it seems too big for my buckle on my strap to fit in, I’ll buy one from Daiso with smaller diameter next time. I checked the nearest one, but it doesn’t have it. I’ll have to check the second nearest one to get it.