bruce johnson

Chrome tan - I wanted something with at least a 5 in the weight like 5/6. My overall favorite was anything with a shrunken grain since that tends to be heavier. Customers with no cost constraints - shrunken grain bison. I can't remember the exact cutting size. I gave all my templates and patterns for purses, bags, home decor, etc. to an up and comer years ago. Tooling leather - something with an 8 - 7/8 or 8/9 weights cut from lower side or mid belly-between the flanks remnants from those weights or split to 8 oz from skirting leftovers. They were 2 inch strips as I recall. Pretty sure I rarely cut many strips from a whole fresh side, just remnants mostly.

No help with the little Consew. I am not usually a Tandy basher but I would seriously like to see anyone at Tandy do even half of what they say that machine can do. The Janome - run away fast. That is a fabric machine. If they tell you it is what you need, that tells me all I need to know about their knowledge of sewing leather and/or business integrity. For what it costs you can buy the heaviest duty leather machine out there. Look up Bob Kovar or Leather Machine Co - people that sell real leather sewing machines. @Wizcrafts to customer service please

I would knock as much rust off as you can with a wheel or brush. Then soak in EvapoRust or Metal Rescue - WD-40 makes a similar product I have not tried. Wire wheel off the residue, use what ever abrasives are indicated to work out deep pitting, oil dip and work the hinges some, oil again until it comes out clear. Might end up OK. Here are a few I have had through here with the cast bells. The #10005 is a Barnsley.

After a rocky start to retirement I finally have most of that past me. I am nearly full time in the leather tool shop now. With that, my goal of being able to open up the leather tool sharpening service has come about. I still have the same 15 year old policy free resharpening for tools purchased from me. If you have other tools were not purchased from me or have not been a previous customer, I can take those tools for resharpening now. I have a new page on my website describing the services and cost estimates, plus a brochure/pricelist for downloading at https://brucejohnsonleather.com/sharpening-services . Thank you! - Bruce

I made a couple hundred probably. Some stock and some custom. My favorites (and most popular) were made from heavy chrome tan and then tooled side panels. The veg tan were harder to clean and tended to roll a bit over time. These chrome tan could roll up in a drawer for storage and lay right out flat. Handy for the folks with living quarter horse trailers. Heavy chrome tan and tooled strips. I treated them with at least three coats of acrylic finish and they wiped off well with minimal staining. I treated vegtan coasters the same.

A bit different but - First tip I EVER learned on the internet was from the old IILG group and Verlane Desgrange. (fun factoid - this group morphed out of the IILG - courtesy of a leather artist from Africa and a pizza baking momma from Ohio @Johanna). Verlane posted about chucking your mini or maxi punches in the drill press and turn it on. I literally read that, walked straight out to the shop and tried it. You want to make punching holes easy and no effort to remove? Even on damp sticky skirting with a big tube punch? This is it. That single tip was worth my annual dues right there. If you have visited the shop, I expect Rundi has demonstrated punching round holes with a drill press and using a rein trimmer to cut pieces. NOTE - As the punch tubes fill up the punchings will will fly out the ejection port in random directions. Eye protection is recommended.

Rodney, I sure don't know of any off the rack patterns for modern riggings. I can only think of three rigging makers now and I don't think there is anybody wants to sell their patterns there either.

Did you buy this from a reseller or direct from the tannery? Is this supposed to be normal vegtan tooling leather - not milled, dyed, jacked, rolled or otherwise treated? Does it look way different in color or feel than the other sides? It just appears a little glossy in the picture. The three evenly spaced vertical crease lines looks like it was almost folded or flattened. How long did you have it before you found this side was subpar? What do you use to measure thickness and where on the side?

That kind of thickness stacked - a plough gauge slight maybe but eat a good breakfast, a draw gauge - better have a grip on the strap and the gauge and a sharp a*s blade. I'm not sure how far you are from any draft or pulling harness makers because I don't think we have any on the forum. I would get with one of those guys and ask how they do it. I'm betting one piece at a time and then stack them though.

Sometimes I have noticed my own topics that I start do not show up in the side bar topic list right away even though they are in the forum and visible in that side bar for other viewers. I think I have noticed it more on my phone and iPad than on the computer but haven't really checked it further.

Size - far and away I sell more 1-3/4 inch to makers than any other size for pancakes. The standard 1-1/2 inch belt and the cant of the slots. The guys who wear a 1-3/4" duty or heavy concealed carry belt - then we go to 2". Some makers have patterns with less or more cant and they call for 1-5/8 inch or 1-7/8 inch punches. The big thing is for the belt to fill the slot and no up-and-down play.

Now for the stranger thing. I bought one in a set a few months ago- the first I had actually seen. I asked a guy at the Sheridan leather show if he'd seen them or used one before. He bought it. There is a glimmer of hope more than one made it to the US. However, there are other versions made here in the US that are available.

Yes you will need to take the skirts off and separate them to reline them. These nails help to seal up that top edge and keep stuff from getting down in between that skirt pocket and tree. The strength is in the screws. Lift the nails out, don't punch around them. The idea of fasteners is to have the shank fill the hole in the leather so it doesnt work around as much. If you punch the leather you will have a hard time finding nails to fill that hole without being so big you risk splitting the tree. Start at the back nail and get under the leather around the nail with your puller, pry it up until the nail lifts a bit. Go to the top side and remove the nail with the puller. Work your way forward a nail at a time. Since they are smooth nails you should not have much of a problem.

Yes You can clean and condition a saddle without totally taking it apart. If that is the purpose then you are as far was you need to go in the front end. If you are taking apart totally, then to get these rigging nails off then first remove the screws. I always have better luck lifting the nails from under the leather with a heavy tack puller. Once you get them lifted a little then you can go on top of the leather to pull them the rest of the way out. Otherwise you can chew up the leather around them trying to get that first bite. Here are the two I like and now carry for sale. If they are ring shank nails, be ready to say bad words and all bets are off.

If you have room then yes another table. Besides making your own, you can check around. The cutouts for a lot of these tables are standard. I have been in a couple industrial sewing machine shops with tables in a give-away section. The heads in some industrial settings give out before the tables. FaceBook marketplace sometimes has a "machine doesn't work - $50" listing with a good motor and table under the boat anchor.