Mikewood

Hey guys, Though I would share. Here is my harbor freight 1/2 ton arbor press with home made jig for line text stamping. As you can see it's very simple and while not very fast to use it's quite precise.

I have been working leather on and off for 25 years or so. Basically when I need something I break out the leather and punches and go to work. I use a dremel tool press to drill out my stitch holes and my sewing is all hand stitched. I see on the board a lot of very nice machine stitched work and I wonder if a machine is a good investment for me but also if there are folks that have worked leather for many years and never got a sewing machine. Thanks.

I really like old technical book but never thought to look up leather working books. These look to be in very good condition and I bet make for some interesting reading. Folks from 1900 really had an interesting way of writing, thinking and just looking at the world an old book is like a time machine. Thanks for posting! I will have to check them out.

This sounds like an interesting project. I am not sure how you would do it if its already tooled. I guess you can case the leather again and put it on, synch it up and let it dry on the person. I would try to make it out of smaller panels and carve those and stitch them together. Good luck!

I am planning to try my hand at a first saddle. I have a source for broken down saddles and I thought I could take one that still has a sturdy tree and use it to make a saddle. My thought is I could use the existing leather as a pattern and sew it up. It seems easier than trying to make one from scratch. What do you guys think about this idea? Thanks!