fivewayswelshcobs

I would also try J Hewit and Sons Ltd for an English paring knife they sell bookbinding tools and leather and their knives are good to use and sharpen. They are based north of the border in Scotland.

Walsall is not the main base Knutsford is and if you want to look at the leather they put it on the counter where the light is better and you can see the whole piece front and back or once you get to know them you can go behind the counter but the leather on the counter is more usual. If you want to see what they have either go to Knutsford or talk to them up there and get them to bring a selection down to Walsall. Abbey is very willing to work with you.

I'm surprised about the comment for Abbey for poor leather as they actually have one of the largest supplies of leather in the UK, it may be they do not stock what you are looking for but that doesn't mean a poor leather selection and as for Dixon tools you get what you pay for these will last for the lifetime not just a couple of years. As for glue and thread go to Abbey it usually cost more to go else where.

I also use Abbey, Sedgewicks, Marcus Gear, Pittards , Clayton and Bakers depending on what leather I want at the time, prefer Bakers as best harness and bridle leather and I also get a day out on the coast when I go to collect the leather !

I have used them several times and had no problems, they also do one off colours which is great for collars, bags etc.

Hi Kikilamour, I have heard of people using storage units as small workshops as more secure and usually have electric I don`t know if they have rules against this here but could be an alternative to a lock-up garage which doesn`t sound a good solution because of security.

You can flatten the seams by running a bone round to push the seams out or if that doesn`t do it tap round the seams with the flat edge of a hammer (watch the edge of the hammer as this can cut the leather) I often do this when making English saddles to get the leather to lie flat.

This is an easy pattern to make, work out how large you want the end circle to be and add seam allowance ( for me usually 1/4 inch for 2 seams) flatten one edge. Measure around circle for length of rectangle to make main body the add some for overlap and shape edge for flap. There is nothing complicated as this leather is flexible enough to bend to seam directly onto other pieces so no need to bend crease etc. Length of tube depends on what is wanted. A stiffer or more solid leather would need a more complex pattern and/or a different construction method eg butt stitching or shaping of end leather

Personally I winced when I read about hitting a crew punch with a metal hammer as we were taught never to hit metal on metal for safety reasons, I first tried a rubber mallet but they bounced too much to get a clean easy cut so I now use a thor nylon hammer which is heavy enough to get a clean cut without the bounce of the rubber and easily replaced if needed- I have replaced one end as it split in 13 years of constant use. I agree about a lead block as ideal but I use a cutting board with a piece of scrap butt leather on top so the punch stops in the second piece of leather so the edge is not damaged and the bit being cut has a clean finish on the lower side which doesn`t always happen if the lower bit of leather is not used so far no damage to any tools not even to Tandy mini punches I bought early on.

Sewing English bridles at 12 spi is normal for me, 8 or10 spi is more common for manufacturing but I do work to 15 spi when needed- I have repaired tandem driving reins at 14 spi and they were not thin leather and very fine work in harness can be done at 17 spi. The only problem I have found was getting fine harness needles until I bought hundreds of John James number 5 needles off ebay as these are not normally made today which made fine stitching much easier although I gather Osbournes do a fine needle. I think the belief that you need thick thread to hand stitch is part of the problem as this often makes the stitching look untidy and out of proportion with the spi, the main strength is from the hand stitching rather than machine stitching so for wallets etc they can be stitched with thread as fine as silk threads at a higher spi without losing strength and improving the look of the item.

Hi Zach, I would sew the 2 sides together with a single row of stitching down the centre of the cord before wrapping it to make it look better- it will strengthen the whole structure.

Hi Tom, thanks for the heads up about the sale I bought a harness book via my cousin who lives in the US, tried from here but failed as they don't sell overseas and with the saving made it worthwhile, now just have to wait till she visits in June to save shipping costs as well.

Hi Davidl I have known about these e books for some time but never seemed to get the money together to buy as tools came first, I found a lot of information in an out of print book called Design and Construction of handbags by W C Double it can be expensive to buy if it can be found but I used our local library to find a copy.

Try looking on abbey England site under saddlery fittings there is a stirrup tee piece don't know if this is close enough to what you are looking for.

Hi Humperdingle, looking at the photo it looks like the bottom piece is shaped to curve over the end of the gun stock with associated padding inside to absorb the recoil and the side pieces are box stitched onto the base with the bottom of the sides above the base so there is no ridge to hit the shooters shoulder just the bottom piece of leather. In other words the sides sit on top of the base with the stitching on the sides angled to the base,a second layer of leather can be cut to sit inside the sides to help with the stitching but care is needed to get the sides to sit neatly on top of the base. Hope this helps

As I have no experience with western saddle construction and only having ridden on them a few times sorry can't help you on that side of things but I would think it could be possible but would need some experimenting to get it to work. It may work best if the tree was strained with webbing then built as western type seat

English saddles are constructed very differently to western saddles. Webbing is used to form the base of the seat of the saddle then various other layer of foam etc before the leather seat- too complicated to describe in a post so I would try to get one of the few books written on the subject to give you some idea of what is involved or possibly you tube. On the wooden tree tacks and staples can be used, on the plastic tree staples can be used.

Hi Rick- what weight of leather are you cutting, on bridle weight leather 3-4mm depth I usually mark up the stands using a pair of compasses then cut down those lines as you would for putting a straight edge on a butt. For lighter leather I use magic tape (whitish sellotape that can be written on and easily removed) and draw on top of that before cutting then remove the tape as the tape holds the leather straight and the lines are easily seen. I also use the magic tape for cutting out other patterns on light leathers and for stitch marking on patent leather when the marks vanish. I have used the gadgets for cutting strands but like you it wanders a bit on the less rigid leathers as you need a steady straight pull but since I tend to use heavier leather more I usually use a half head knife.

Hi Walter, Thank you for your recipe for pearl glue, especially the tip about using glycerine to slow down mould growth. I only make up small amounts at a time using an old saucepan and a gas camping stove as I could not find a decent glue pot. I also tend to add black stain to the glue to save time when finishing edges as this is the most often used finish but usually I have a second pot with no stain in for the lighter colours. My husband hates the smell but I find it no worse than his socks after being inside wellington boots all day !! I would also like to say how much I have learnt from your posts about all your beautiful tools especially the post about box loops the only problem being it has given me a lot more ideas for my harness work and now I need to find time to work on it along with the many other ideas I find on this site.

It's easier to cheat- I use a curved stitch marking iron, I have 3 -8,10 and 12 to the inch and just use the one I fancy for the belt I am doing.

Hi Steve, I enjoy seeing your machine pictures as I need to learn a whole lot more about them as my BUSM no.6 is very much under used at present, if you happen to hear of a treadle here in the uk can you let me know as I want one but then I also want all the attachments I can find but then I would need to win the lottery as well. It seems to be some love the machines and others hate them, I like them as no brakes needed and they have more character than modern machines . I have wondered if you can put a slow motor on them but that is a different line of thought. We saw one being run on a stationary steam engine at a recent steam fair which was a little different but the chap knew nothing about the machine except it was old but it definitely was a BUSM machine as it was very similar to mine but I am not sure which model, couldn't get pictures as it was raining hard at the time. Sorry about the ramble but I have so many question they tend to arrive all at once.

I like your bagII like your bag, I disagree with needing to stitch the strap I think putting a crease line down the edges of the strap would give it enough finish to make it look complete but can be achieved in a few minutes. You could also stitch it without lining it to get that look.

Hi Sharkeyfinn, Pittards at Yeovil have some of the Tandy tools in their leather shop, they don't have the heavier leather but their lightweight leathers are like being in a sweetie shop with lots of colours and samples and different weights. You could also try Midgeley's at Cheddar for other heavier leather but of cause there is also Baker's at Colyton in Devon which I think is the best leather.

I'd try abbeyengland.com as they have their own foundry in Walsall and cast their own brass buckles, I had a recent trip around the foundry which was amazing.

Hi Matt S I make my belts from butt as I prefer a slightly heavier belt with a lot less stretch than you would get from most shoulders, I also find a length problem with shoulders that can be avoided with either butts or backs. The only reason for using shoulder would be cost but I prefer to use the quality of leather I would use for myself. Most of the belts are unlined english bridle leather from Bakers or Sedgewicks. I do not know of the waste that you mention as any remaining strap is used for dog collars, repairs, backing pieces, fillers, loop leather, key fobs and anything else I can think of.