fivewayswelshcobs

Try your local library, I managed to borrow a copy.

A consortium of 3 suppliers including Abbey England, Kilger Lederfabrik and another hide supplier have saved Sedgewicks according to Equestrian Trade News yesterday.

You are probably better off looking at bag and general bag repairs as they are better paid and need less product knowledge. Bear in mind most saddlers have many years training and have a good understanding of the thread and leather needed for tack repairs as a poorly repaired piece of tack can be highly dangerous. You also need to understand when not to repair certain items as not worth the risk to both horse and rider, let's face it no will die from a poor repair on a bag, this is not to suggest that your work would be of a poor quality. As you admit yourself you know little of horses and their tack. Rug repairs would be possible but can be quickest way to destroy a sewing machine, rugs often come in dirty and full of grit etc As a working Master Saddler I have seen some really bad repairs done by people with no or little knowledge of saddlery and most riders prefer to have repairs done by either trained or at the very least in training saddlers. Also bear in mind the level of insurance needed to cover yourself in this line of work, to have at least £5million cover is not cheap and needs to be done before you even start repairs.

Hope this works News for Our United Kingdom Customers_04092018.eml

Hi All, I had a surprise this evening in the form of an email saying Northampton branch is shutting at the end of the month and Manchester will be the main site in the UK. Unfortunately this is too far for me to use as often as I use Northampton , 2 1/2 hours and a frequent giant car park in the form of the M6 as against 45 minutes, so I will be looking at other suppliers, sadly probably abroad because of costs. It doesn't affect my main saddlery and harness business but mainly light leather goods belts etc (not leather). I now know how people feel with few local suppliers, I know I prefer to see a fitting to see it is what I want and the quality is right. I have used it and it's predecessor at the leather factory for over 25 years. Sorry mini rant over!!

Hi , 3/8" work is fiddly but worth it on fine ponies, it makes a massive difference to the appearance. Keepers are normally sewn with 3 stitches across, 2 rows in back stitch or single hand so really only takes very little time. For a basic turnout headcollar/ halter I would keep it simple, if the nose is a single layer apart from the turn backs then if caught they will break especially if not too thick, cheaper to repair than a damaged horse. Steinke's book is Ok For basics but there is alot of detail missing , good for sizing when starting.

If you spit on a finger and touch it to the creaser if it sizzles it is probably too hot but I also test on a small piece of leather, the same as the work being creased, as different leathers tolerate different temperatures of crease. If it burns the test it is too hot allow to cool which doesn't take long or even dip into water to cool it off before creasing the work piece. Mostly you learn what works for you and the leather you use. 99% of my work is using English bridle or harness leather which would react very differently to natural unstained veg tan.

When heated the crease lasts longer but if too hot it will burn the leather. An initial crease can act as a guide to stitchmarking and if repeated after stitching when finishing it will improve the finished look. The only time I may not heat the crease is if the leather is wet but 99% of the time it is heated. I normally use a camping gas hob but have been known to use a large blowtorch which got a little interesting.

This is a polite question - have you read the pinned post about suppliers in the uk ? It woulds also help to know what type of leather you are looking for as most suppliers stock different types.

For smaller collars I will often use the thin foam from craft shops as only a few mm thick but can have problems with length on some collars otherwise use neoprene.

To go round corners the easiest way is to re-angle the crease and continue round the corner using the front tip of the creaser, not tried it with a Tandy one but works well with a Dixons screw crease. With practice can be done in one movement not lifting off the leather, this saves time and keeps the crease neat.

Try Marcus Gear in Walsall

Have you got pictures of what you want

There are 2 different methods in this picture. The top is known as french binding which is basically binding which is stitched face to face on the flap then folded back over the edge and a second row of stitching holds down the binding and gives the row of stitching below the binding on the face of the bag flap, the first row of stitching is hidden by the binding being folded over it. The other finish is the piping in the seams of the bag where the the sides of the bag are placed face to face with the piping inbetween so all you see when stitching is one edge consisting of the 3 layers this is then turned the right way out the piping conceals the seam and gives a clean finish. Sorry no pictures but hope this helps.

Marcus Gear in Walsall

The original leather would have been vegetable tanned hide and to keep the character the only thing you can try is to prevent further damage as over time leatherwork eventually rot. If you move it damage will occur but I would talk to a specialist leather restorer before you do anything. If you replace the leather much of the character will be lost , if you wanted to restore it to working order then the leather would be replaced but if just to display I would stabilize and not replace.

I have Brockman parer which is similar to the one shown, it will not do heavy leathers as the blades are very fragile as they are designed to shave hair not leather. The lighter thinner leather is ok and can easily be shaved down. The leather needs to be flexed as it is pulled through the blade and care is needed as it is easy to cut right through or scalp an area ruining the strap. Blades need to be replaced frequently as pulling harder will distort the leather. With the splitter is it the blade or the actual frame that is damaged. The blade can be reground (talk to a wood tool supplier) and the frame can be welded even if it is cast. Depending on the leather I would repair the splitter or replace it with a splitter as the parer does different leather.

You can catch the lining in the seams to hold it in place on bags , I'm not entirely sure of the technique so I would try it out. You can use interface , most bags are made with thinner leather than most of us would believe which is why they wear badly and frequently fail in use. I usually recommend 'The design and construction of handbags ' by W C Double it is long out of print but useful for techniques.

I get my hafts made by a friend who turns wood that way they fit my hand as many comercial ones are bigger than I like, also they are much cheaper.

Hi they are hound couples, Abbey England do them but also F Martin and Son who are based in Walsall. There are 2 versions.

Thank you for the information as not far from me.

Since George picked up he might know me (I met him a number of times a few years ago at SMS events) I will tell a bit more. I am a Qualified Master Saddler and Qualified Master Harnessmaker and a current member of the Society Of Master Saddlers (UK) but like everyone on this forum I am here to learn new and different skills as there a large number of highly skilled leather workers that are willing to share their experience and knowledge with everyone on the forum. I wanted to do saddlery for a good few years before I got the chance to learn it and my first belt was on a day course at Walsall Leather Museum with Val Micheal and I was hooked

To be a Qualified Master Saddler you need at least 7 years in the trade, you need to take City and Guild exams at different levels to become a Qualified Saddler and then apply to become a Master Saddler after at least the 7 years it is not automatic. Anyone can become a Qualified Saddle Fitter after attending training although flocking training is also recommended and could be compulsory as could the Qualified Saddler qualification because of the problems of untrained people working on saddles causing problems to both horse and rider and damaging expensive saddles. No college course or private course would automatically qualify you it gives you the basics. I know very little of their courses but I do know people that started their training there before working at other saddlers for experience. The City And Guild exams are standard where ever they are taken. You could consider an apprentice position but then these can be hard to find but may do the saddlery side and fitting that you want.

Unfortunately there is now only one college offering saddlery courses and that is Capel Manor which is on the outskirts of London. We did try to get another to take on the course from Walsall College but they couldn't agree on the price for tools etc- I think the truth was they didn't have room or money for it. You do get to learn all aspects ie bridles, saddles and harness if you want so you get to cover more than just saddles which is very useful for repairs, ie stitching and strap work. The only problem with a college course it works at a slower rate but that allows more time to absorb and practice the required skills but not always at a level required for a business. Most of us learn the basics and then practice and use follow up courses to further develop skills and learn new ones. Customer saddles used to come in the house on the spare bed but most are on a rail on the pallet racking.

I've not been on George's courses although I've been told he is a very good teacher by a friend of mine. I met him a few years ago at a couple of things but he is a very experienced saddler and saddle fitter and has rejoined SMS. I know George and other SMS members have run courses in the US including saddle fitting My training was college based in Walsall, when I started I didn’t know whether to do lightgoods or saddlery but went with saddlery as have had horses for many years and was lucky enough to be close enough to Walsall to go to the college before it stopped the leather courses, but as I prefer bench work saddle fitting is a small part of my business but I know many saddlers manage both repairs and fitting as they can often alter the saddle on site without the need of returning to the workshop or only taking the more complicated repairs back. It is very possible to have part of the week fitting and the rest of the week workshop based. Saddle fitting is probably better paid than bench work especially repairs but then it involves a higher capital outlay for stock ie saddles. My workshop sounds a good size until you fit in 3 sewing machines (2 busm no.6 one on treadle a 45k also on a treadle) ,a large splitter,a skiver, a large work bench (8'×4') 2 pallet racks for leather storage and numerous other bits for storing buckles, straps, tools etc. One day when I finish bringing in new machines it will finally be tidy and organised but until then I always seem to be moving stuff to find room for a new toy or trying to find space to put a customer's saddle rather than in the middle of the bench ! Problem is I keep adding stuff when I can afford it and as it comes up as most of my stuff is not new apart from some of the hand tools even the bench came from a garage sale, an engineer was selling up and had 2 benches one he wanted to keep the other cost me £50 . One day I will find time to post photo's.