Dangerous Dave

I'm looking for a source for trees, both the 1859 McClellan and the Jenifer tree. I'm aware of Bowden but I am looking for other sources. Are there any out there? Dave Myrick

Leather from the period is often referred to by its intended purpose rather than anything else. I've been studying the mid 19th century for some time and have yet to find a resource that lists things like weights of leather used in any definitive format that can be translated. The best option is to examine original items and equipment and go from there. From what I have learned, bag leather is light weight, some where around 6 ounces or so. Sole leather is in the 14 ounce range. Do not forget that leathers of the period were produced differently than veg tanned leathers of today. They were all pit tanned rather than tanned in a drum and as such more often were very much more firm than most veg tanned leathers found today. I hope this is of some help. Dave

There are several keys to neat hand stitching. The key is preparation and layout. This is what I do and it works so well that I often get questions about it. After the leather is ready to stitch, lay it flat on a granite slab. Take a pair of wing dividers and lightly scribe a line down the edges of the strap roughly 1/8th inch from the edge. If you are creasing your leather, the scribe line should fall on the crease. Next layout where your holes are going to be. Personally I use pricking irons, either 7,8,9 or 10 SPI. Prick the stitch locations and follow up by piercing the leather with a polished diamond awl. Lightly coat the mating surfaces with Barge cement and allow it to tack dry. Slipping two needles through matching yet opposite holes and gently and evenly push the pieces together. Clamp the work into a stitching horse and begin stitching right to left away from you. After passing the right needle through the work, do not pull tight rather leave a small loop. Pass the left needle over top of the right thread and as the left needle exits the right side hole, pull on the loop of thread while pushing the needle. This make certain that the two threads are separate of each other, then pull both tight at the same time. Another key is consistant thread tension. After completeing the stitches and trimming the thread, pound the stitches with a flat faced hammer against that granite slab. If done correctly and after lots of practice, the stitches will be as even and tight and consistant as any made with a machine. I'll attach a couple of photos that show some finished work. Dave

The dyes are all full strength. After dyeing, I hand rub 100% neatsfoot oil and then hand rub atom wax to seal everything. You are correct in that it yields an even and rich color. Thanks for the compliment. Dave

Here are a few of my more recent projects. All are 8 ounce veg tanned leather and are hand dyed and hand stitched. Dave Here are a few more pics. Dave And some more.

I dont use groovers or over stitching wheels. I use a pricking iron to mark the holes, diamond awl to pierce the leather and pound the stitches when finished. Good firm leather is far superior to fleshy stuff and is ideal for cutting straps. I use 10/11 ounce stuff for stirrup straps and 9/10 ounce for quarter/rigging straps with no problems. The key is the firmness of the leather.

Rather than shears, I use a strap cutter for strapping, and a head knife for all detail work. I have also used x-acto knives with good results.

I tried but it requires an Intel based mac to run, mine is a G5

I know that is the setting on camera but the pictures aren't on there anymore. Do you know of any other way to change the format? Dave

No sir, that saddle was complete and ready to go out for a ride. Military saddles for the common troopers of the period (1860's) were simply rawhide covered wooden trees with skirts and straps attached. Officer's saddles may or may not be built on the same tree and may or may not be leather covered or have padded seats and the like. The files were taken with a Nikon camera and saved as NEF files. I dont know how to convert them to .jpgs to modify them on my iMAC. Thanks to all for the cudos. Dave

An absolute work of art. A job very well done. Just for curiosity sakes, what would a saddle such as that cost?

I dont know how to do that and they are large files. Dave

Let me know if this works: http://gallery.me.com/dtmyrick#100070 http://gallery.me.com/dtmyrick#100047 Dave

I thought I would share some photos of two projects that I am most proud of. First is a reproduction 1859 Pattern McClellan saddle. The tree is an exact copy of an original contractor made tree from 1863. The second is a cartridge box used by cavalrymen. It is an EXACT copy complete down to the same number of stitches as the original I copied. Saddle project: http://www.me.com/gallery/#100047 Cartridge box: http://www.me.com/gallery/#100070 ANY comments are welcome. Both projects were completed with the assistance of a true master at his craft and great friend, Nick Duvall. Dave