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"Well, by God, I’ll take my men in and if they outflank me I’ll face my men about and cut my way out. Forward, men!” Gen. John R. Cooke at Bristoe Station,VA
Andrew,
I would find a nice sturdy table (usually I do this on my workbench which is made from 3" butcher block) and lay your box out. Put the plate where you want it and put some pressure on it which will leave two indentations where the loops need to pass through the leather. Using a flat head screwdriver and a maul, hammer the blade through the leather. Repeat for the other loop. Put your plate on and attach it. Just keep in mind that whatever is under the screwdriver blade is going to get a nice gash in it. I have a piece of rubber specifically for this. You can also use a knife to cut the slits, but I would definitely use more caution when utilizing this method. There is the possibility of slicing your outer flap or worse yet.... losing a digit!
Hope this helps!
Bill Lomas
Bill Lomas
[B][SIZE="4"][FONT="Century Gothic"][COLOR="SeaGreen"]E. J. Thomas Mercantile[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE][/B]
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Hatboro, PA 19040
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[email]info@ejtmercantile.com[/email][/FONT]
I basically did the beginning of Bill's suggestion (pressing the plate to get the 2 marks), but then I just used the leather punch on my Leatherman tool, and punched through the leather, lickety split! Then, I put the little rings of the plate through, and I used an old piece of leather shoestring from one of my brogans, and put that through the loops with about 2 inches extra on each side of the loop. Works great, and the loops won't be bent and break off after repeated bending (should I need, and have needed, to remove the plate)
-Ty "Tic-Tac" Gladden
Co. A, 1st Texas Infantry
One of the "Three Jesi", and founding member of the Shire Mess.
Part of the Chocolate People Mess, of the Texmosippiana Society...
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French and Indian War, Uniforms, Revolutionary War Uniforms, War of 1812 Uniforms, Mexican War, Uniforms, shoes, leather goods, tin, etc. for Men 1750 1776 1779 1812
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"Well, by God, I’ll take my men in and if they outflank me I’ll face my men about and cut my way out. Forward, men!” Gen. John R. Cooke at Bristoe Station,VA
One thing to plan for: If you ever choose to put another plate on the box (for example, switch from a "US" to an "OVM" plate and back again), there's no guarantee that the loops are going to be the exact same distance apart.
Then you can either cut two new slots, or use one of the old ones with a single new one (however it centers best).
Bernard Biederman
30th OVI
Co. B
Member of Ewing's Foot Cavalry
Outpost III
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