barra

Steve. I have noticed on a couple of your post that you mention 3b. Pardon my ignorance but what is this referring to, I'm not familiar with that terminology. Thanks. Barra

I have read all of the posts and just for grins and giggles decided to play a bit. I took some scraps and tried different casing solutions from common household products. I also did a combination of long and quick case with all of my goops. With each combo I swivel knifed, bevelled and basket stamped. 1. Plain water. Worked fine. No difference in quick/long case. Swivel knife cutting was just what I'm used to as I traditionally just spray water or dunk and bag. 2. Hair conditioner. No difference in swivel cutting and no difference betwen long and quick case. There was however a noticeable difference in burnishing. When completely dry I then coated the swatch in a light coat of hair conditioner and let it soak in and dry. I then buffed which produced a super shine. As an added test I then oiled to see if there were any resist properties. The oil sat on the surface so I originally thought it was going to act as a resist. I then went for a coffee and when I came back the oil had soaked in evenly. 3. After reading all the posts about water additives like dish soap, pro carve and the lexol mix, I went in search of a cheap alternative. To me the cost of pro carve is prohibitive so have never tried it. I don't have a mould problem but added eucalyptus oil to water anyway. I usually wander around hardware stores and supermarkets looking at how I can adapt items to a leather application. Out of the toiletries and cleaning section of the supermarket sections. I got some baby shampoo and washing soda to soften my hard water (I'm yet to try the soda). The baby shampoo worked fine and did add to the burnishing effect but again there was no difference in long/quick case. After thinking about the antiseptic properties of eucalyptus/tee tree oil etc I thought what type of product would have those ingredients and here is what I tried. Wool wash The brand was cheap as chips (couple of bucks for a 1.25lt bottle), biodegradable, neutral PH and has eucalypus oil. I then added a small amount to both a bowl of water and my 1 litre pump up sprayer and tried both the dunk and spray methods. At the amount I used this bottle will last a long time. Yet again no difference in long/quick case. I think swivel knife cutting was easier but maybe I convinced myself it was. The biggest difference was that it definately improved burnishing (markedly so). Barra

Tony. Yes it is available in Australia. Try your local saddleries or places that specialise in car care products, eg: http://www.carcareproducts.com.au/brands/lexol P.S. Forgot to mention, look for the brown bottle as that is the conditioner and not the cleaner in the orange bottle. Barra

Here is the formula as previously posted 1/2 cup Lexol 1-1/2 Cups distilled or filtered water 1 tablespoon Johnson's No More Tears Baby Shampoo 1 tablespoon Listerine Barra

Happy Birthday Rod. 1963 really was a great year. Barra

Terry. You have mentioned it is for your trooper saddle. The reason I ask is are you after any degree of authenticity. As for aligning the front and back, you can use location/progression marks on both the front/back and the gusset. These marks can be made with a tickler or something that will cause the mark to be just barely visible for you to see as you sew. Nothing gaudy like a felt marker or pen. Let me see if I can find something to illustrate what I mean with pictures instead of text. Barra

I like to use a pump up garden sprayer. I find I get a more even spray with just the fine mist the pump up sprayer produces. As for casing solution, it depends on what region I am living in at the time. If in the tropics I might use some sort of mould inhibitor. In summer which here in southern Australia is a dry heat, I either spray or plunge in water til the bubbles stop and bag it til needed. I then let it return to natural colour but still cool. Overall the whole technique depends on region and season of the year but I don't get too bent around the axles about it. Being a backyard alchemist, I'm still playing with water and casing solutions. I live in Adelaide South Australia so water can be an issue. (The Aussies know what I mean). Barra

A technique we use to evaluate someones performance when de briefing is referred to as the bathtub method. picture the shape of a bathtub. the rim is up high, it dips down and ends up high again so in debriefing we. 1. Start on a high (positive aspects of the work. 2. Give the negative/constructive feedback. 3. End on a high with an overall not bad type comment. Sometimes at work however I'd like to use the Parachute with no canopy method. Woooooosh-splat. Barra.

http://www.leathersupply.com/indexdvd.html# Here is a link to the weaver leather version of the hydraulic draw down. Click on saddle master. Barra

I'm just putting back a post pre hack. Foolsgame (I think it was). I hane both the saddlemaking and carving DVD's from Jeremiah. I really like his relaxed and informal teaching style. On both of the DVD's there was nothing that I wished had been shot from a different angle. Very clear, concise and for me well worth the money. Think about how much you would have to pay for one on one instruction and you should soon realise they are cheap at half the price. On a side note. 3rd DVD in the saddlemaking series froze about 1 min in. I recently had the pleasure of meeting Jeremiah and when I mentioned it to his wife she ran off and fetched me another copy without batting an eye lid. To me you can't ask for better service than that. BTW. I'm also impressed with the quality of his HSB tools but I'm not impressed with my own grey matter as I forgot to pick up the cantle pliers I realy wanted to get. Barra.

Well done on the effort guy's. I really liked how you posted a message on the home page to let us know what was going on. Ta. Barra

Bruce. I visited the Cowboy museum website just the other day as I was fishing for ideas for a book cover and have always liked the museum logo. Count me in. Barra

Oops. badges on flying suits and we reverse what part of the velcro goes where. Have the pile on the suit and the hook on the badge. Opposite to what I said previously. I was thinking you were going to stick these patches to a hard and firm surface. Hey. Bring em to Australia and I'll stitch them up for you. I can even get real carried away and use Nomex thread. Barra

Shorts. Now we have a different scenario. I know exactly what you are trying to do. I am Airforce and my trade looks after all the Aircrew safety and survival equipment including flying suits. I would like a dollar for every time I have sewn velcro and badges to a flying suit. For your application the adhesive velcro may not be an option. The adhesive velcro will not work on the actual suit as it will peel off and we would have what is known as a FOD issue (foreign object damage). In other words uncontrolled bits of anything not meant to be loose on the aircraft. Commonly name badges are made out of bridle weight leather and their name is embossed in gold or silver writing. The name badge will be constantly removed for the suit to be washed (one would hope). For this reason the adhesive velcro will eventually come off due to the constant removal of the badge. I would now try using a good contact cement for the pile on the back of the badge ( a bit stickyer than just the self adhesive, if machine sewing is still not an option and then hand stitch with nothing heavier than a 3 cord. Any bigger and it is going to look a bit out of place. Alternatively take the badges to the local boot repair store for machine stitching. Barra

Shorts. if machine stitching is not an option, I'd be going with self adhesive velcro. If the patch does not already have velcro then the pile (fluffy) part of the velcro goes on the patch and the hook goes on the item the patch is to be stuck to. With adhesive velcro you peel off the backing tape just like doubled sided sticking tape. Adhesive velcro will stick like poo to an Army blanket

http://www.apwa.org.au/ (Australian plaiters and whipmakers association) http://www.australianwhipcracking.org/ Hope these links help. Barra

I also use the turps and beeswax solution. I make sure I use gum turpentine and not mineral turpentine that you would use to clean paint brushes though. Barra

I pretty much do it like Andy but it depends on the article. I used to apply an edge stain made from a powder added to water called bismark red (redish/brown). To this was added some pearl glue. I think this is also known as hide glue. Now I make my edge stains (not dye) from bricklayers oxide powders of various shades and add a good dollop of PVA glue. On large strap goods like harness traces or stirrup leathers I anchor the strap to the bench and using a canvas rub rag, I grasp the strap and grip hard as I walk backward. I repeat this as necessary. I had never used gum trag, in fact I had never heard of it until a few years ago. One day I noticed that various species of gum tree (eucalypt) oozed this thick, dark and hard sap. I thought gum tree, gum trag, I then collected some and disolved it in boiling water and when cooled somewhat I applied it to the edge of some leather and used the rub rag technique. The result was miraculous. I mostly use this solution now instead of just plain water. I also use a few burnishing impliments. 1. A burnishing stick. 2. A burnishing iron which can be heated over a flame kinda like hot creasing. 3. A bone burnisher which is the impliment on the left. It is simply a polished bone stuck into a handle like an awl and is very handy for getting into tight areas.

Thanks guys. I have been experimenting and decided to try and apply the motor trimmers principal of always work from your centres. I made my initial impressions at each corner. I then measured from the inside edge of one corner impression to the inside edge of the opposite corner impression. I then found dead centre and placed the centre of the tool on centre. I then just kept repeating the process of finding the centre between impressions and again placed the centre of the tool there. Once the initial row was complete and spacing worked out, the second row to form the meander was easy. Thanks Michael, you turned the light on. Barra

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to evenly lay out a Carlos border so that all impressions are evenly spaced and the last couple of impressions as you come to a corner don't have to be crept in or slightly extended. I hope that made sense. Barra

Whaaaaat. Barra

http://www.birdsall-leather.com.au/product.asp?id=107 Second item down (first pic) Sizes: Available in Brass 38 x 32mm & 32 x 25mm NP 38 x 32mm & 32 x 25mm Colours: Brass & NP If my addled brain converts correctly that is 1 1/4 X 1 1/2 inches Link listed for illustration purposes

Would a brass halter/headcollar square like the one below suit your purpose? http://www.tophand.com.au/upload/products/...nail_032356.jpg Barra

There are a couple of ways you can do this if you don't have pre made billets. When you get a new side it of course needs a straight edge. Depending on what the saddler has in mind for that side they will either make the initial straight edge as close to the spine as possible "OR" come down from the spine about 10 inches and straight edge there. They can then put this 10 inch or so peice aside for cutting girth billets and stirrup leathers at a later time (saving the area as close to the spine of the beast for the stirrup leathers). I was taught to make my stirrup leathers so that the grain side ran thru the stirrup slot (better wear). Conversely the girth billets were stitched onto the saddle tree cross web with the grain against the web (again better wear). This was done on all but dressage saddles where the billets extend below the saddle flap. Barra

http://sewandserge.com/tshoot.asp Rancher. Usually the bunch of bastards when you commence stitching is caused by not holding your threads for the first few stitches. First thing I do whith skip stitches is change to a new needle and ensure correct orientation of the eye. Barra