Leather Watch Band for Timex Weekender


With some extra time on my hands yesterday and some extra leather lying around, I worked up a new band for my Timex Weekender. Its a great watch, but the band was made of some impossibly thin fabric/canvas that never quite did it for me. And although a new band had been on the "try" list for some time, the idea of making a watchband has been an intimidating project. Something about the small dimensions and the needed uniformity, I think.


This model has a 38mm case and a 19mm band. I have slowly and stealthily stolen many of my leatherwork tools from my wife's sewing supply bin. Most recently, I freed a rotary tool from her, and it cuts leather like a dream! I'd been using an xacto knife up to this point, but I can't promote the rotary tool for this task enough. I wish I'd discovered that option long ago!


Normally glue isn't part of my leatherworking process, but it did prove to be helpful this time holding some of the small folds in place. It took a conscious effort to go slow, follow precise measurements, and not just wing things in the rush of the moment.


Another recent addition to my tool set is this small leather punch set - $6 on ebay. Simple to use, cheap to buy, and the outcome looks much cleaner than the hole I have been making with a nail or a drill press up to now.


Finished product with a coat of beeswax rubbed in - it's not perfect and the flaws are noticeable to me, but good enough to use and I'll chalk the flaws up to handmade character.


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