dirtclod

Try looking at a fabric store and see what patterns they have. Or you might try looking on ebay.

Todd your best bet is to wet the leather and put in a plastic bag over night to case. Or that's what i would do. Then mold it over your form and tack the leather down and wait till it drys. You will need to take the form out before you sew if i'm reading your post right or you won't be able to get the form out with a bluge on it. I would cut both pieces front and back over size and trim after i had it sewed. Unless you want the sew a loop on the back, if you do you need to put the loop on first so it can be sewn. That's how i have done the case's i have made.

Your seat turned out great and the fins look great to. Your customer should be real happy.

Sparks i have all most the same tools. They came out a old whip and collar factory that was here back in the thirty's and forty's but like you i have no ideal what they were / are used for.

What ever you put on your saddle don't soak it. If you do you probley ruin it. I have seen several saddles ruined by over oiling even after they were told not to do it. If you over oil with neetsfoot oil it come out on your clothes and anything else it touches for years. Personally i would use Lexol or Blackrock conditioner. But their lots of good conditioners out there. Follow the directions they will tell you not to put to much on at one time. When i use neetsfoor oil or lexol i put it on with sheep skin scrap and trim the wool on the sheep skin. Be sure and oil the backs of the finders, billets and back gurith and sturipp leathers. They get alot of sweat off of a horse.

Take a piece of paper and lay it over the flower then rub it with the pencil lead and you have something that you make a pattern off of.

I belive your best bet is to try and find some new or used tools that are close as you can get to the orginal . Unless you want to spend the money to have tool maker make them for you. I would look at all of the web sites that sell tools and on ebay and see if you get lucky and find the right stamp or one close enough to the orginal.

You did a nice job, it looks great.

The pictures are gone.

John your welcome. Post a picture of it when you get it made. John

When i had a shop in town it got real bad customers wanted to stand right beside you and look. So i built a counter that went all the way across the shop. I had a work area and selling / display area and door built into the counter that raised up. That helped for a little while and they started coming on in. Then put sliding locks under the part that raised up. That worked for a while and they strted undoing the locks. So i finally made a sign that said I DON'T NEED HELP !!! KEEP OUT !!! That worked and i'm sure it PO some people but i was at the point to where i didn't care anymore and i told a few to hit the road and NEVER come back.

Look for Tex Tan / Herford. The Herford saddles were better line of saddles that they made. As far as it being a show saddle i think your wrong there. It just has buckstiching and the part on the seat jockeys is wore out / off and laced with stainless steel lacing on the roll on the back of the seat. Show saddles generally have silver plates on the corners. One other thing check the post on the Belivins buckles to see if all right. They will coroade over time and break off.

Sheep skin with the wool on it should be fine. The suede is just to keep the sling from slipping off of you shoulder and the wool on sheep skin do the same thing.

I've never made one like your talking about but this is what i do. Make a pattern the size you want. Cut 1 piece of suede, tow pieces of leather and 1 piece of foam or what ever type of padding you want. Then cut two slots 1 1/4 inches wide in the top piece for the sling to slide through. Glue the suede, padding and middle piece of leather togeather. Then glue the top piece around the edges and around the edges of the leather next to the padding stick togeather and sew. Then thread you sling through and put it on your rifle.

Here's a thread from a couple of weeks ago about making them. Theirs nothing to it. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=26980&st=0&p=170010&hl=+leather%20+suspenders&fromsearch=1entry170010

Nice job ! I've 9 or 10 scabbards for a scoped rifle over the years. Mine were a different design than yours. But i LIKE your design the best by far.

My thinking is that the places gougeing on shipping will pay for it in the long run because people will quit buying from them as soon as they find a place that treats them fairly. Plus word travels faster now that it ever has. Used to be you told maybe 2 or3 people now thousands can see who will treat you right and who won't. When i called Weaver they said they had lost a contract with some shipper. Now i don't belive that one bit but if they did, i'm sure some other company would be glad to step in and be glad to have their shipping business. Bigundoctor sounds to me like their might of been a kick back for somebody on that $50.00 a roll bubble wrap. I buy mine on ebay and yes it has went up but nothing like that. Personally i use the post office and priority mail for all of my shipping with delivery conformation. Unless it's just a little item and then i send it first class. Orders that go outside the U. S. i use the post office and give them the choice of how they want it sent and if they want insurance. Plus i make sure they understand if they don't get insurance and it gets lost it's their baby. I scan the receipt from the post and email that to them to show that their package has been mailed along with a picture of the item and the box. Most of my orders that go out of the U.S. i make a triangle box for them. That really helps on size limits and weight.

Here are the labels. The red and yellow can is the all purpose cement and the green looking lable is the rubber cement.

I've never done fins either but if you use a straight edge like a ruler and modeling tool that might work. Try it on a piece of scrap first.

Duke i would put some bigger pictures on the site. The ones you have are just a little bigger than a thumbnail picture.

Nice job. Not sure i would want the spears on the end of my handle bars though.

Dave what i ment when i said it wouldn't sew deep was that the throat isn't very deep. It will sew just about anything you can get under foot as long as it's leather. If you try to sew nylon you break lots of needles because the hook on the needle will hang in the nylon. Pilgrim sewing machine has quite a few parts for them. http://www.pilgrimshoemachine.com/ their nice folks and ship quick. You might want to call or email for a catalog. New England Needle had the best price i found on needles. I did a search for them but the web address i found is a different place i think. I had mine before computers. John

Dave i think i have a manual or a copy of one. I'll look around and see if i can find it. What do you need to know about it ? I had one for several years. Their pretty nice machines if you don't need to sew deep. John

Looks like it should work fine. Wonder if you could just weld up the top bolt hole and redrill the hole ? That might work.

They look pretty durn good for your first couple of projects.