barra

Scrounge around at businesses that do shop fitting or kitchen makeovers. You can pick up their boo boo's and make great workshop benches/storage cabinets el cheapo laundry bar soap melted with a little animal fat (free from the butcher) and a table spoon of kerosene (to disuade vermin from the fat) makes excellent and almost free saddle soap. I'm with Drac on the cheap vinyl. This stuff is great for experimentation and testing out theories as prototypes before launching into the expensive leather Lurk around businesses that make sheepskin car seat covers for offcuts (sometimes free). You'll be surprised how big a peice they will throw out. TRY and have natural lighting and insulation to save power bills. I know this can be easier said than done. hunt around bargain bins in hardwares for tools you can apply to leatherwork frequent garage sales save old buckles and hardware in general from old tack etc for repairs on the next Scrooge Mc Horse owner's gear (as long as the buckle is safe and not rusted out. You can be up front and honest and tell them your going to use second hand buckles etc to save THEM money. Save old busted items you find or get on the cheap. Cut them up for patterns. As an example you find a crappy vinyl handbag at a garage sale or in the neibours trash. Fish it out. If it is a style you like, wipe out the thought in your mind that it is genuine imitation leather. You can cut it apart to see how it is constructed and use it as a pattern to make another out of nice leather. Keep all you shavings once you edge your strapping. Put them in a container and when it is full, feed it all into an WARNING OLD, I say again OLD coffee grinder to make leather dust. Disregard WARNING if you looking for the final excuse to tip Spouse over the edge. Shop at the 99 cent store. They put the same ingredients into most artsy fartsy leather preparations as they do the cheapo hand creams etc. Read the ingredients on your expensive leather preparations, then read the ingredients on cleaning products at the 99 cent store. Think outside the square before you throw stuff out. What leatherwork application can I turn this into. As an example I have an old coffee perculator I use the hotplate part to warm oils and waxes. Barra

It also has a protective layer of thread, leather scraps, paper, coffee stains, cardboard offcuts, horsehair, rags, etc.Now that is funny. I too have been know to utilise this added safety measure. Barra

Tiffany. Most of my tools are either old Josepth Dixon and some are Thomas Dixon. You have made a good choice. What size pricking iron? There are a couple of tricks with pricking irons. If pricking long lengths of strapping you make your second and subsequent impressions by placing the 1st and 2nd teeth of the iron in the 2nd to last and last impression from the previous strike. Also when going around curves, the iron is sort of walked like when you use a stamping tool. Tip the pricking iron up so that only a few teeth make impression around the curve. I learned under an old English saddler and harness maker and he had all pricking irons. I then bought my dixon tools off a retiring saddler (94 yrs old and he lived to 106). He had all pricking wheels which took some getting used to. Single creasers are also known by the term tickler which I always thought a tad funny until I heard how the term came about and it made sense. Now as with most things there are probably more than one version of how something came about but this is the one I heard. A single creaser/tickler is used to mark leather. When a teacher marks a students work, they usually place a tick next to the correct responses. Ticking is an old term for marking. hence a tick(ler) is a marker. Barra

Wasn't our own Bruce Johnson in a Youtube segment advertising the Oakdale Cowboy Museum. Barra

I concur that would be heaven. One concession tho. It would need to be within walking distance of a Pub. It can be a one horse town (so to speak) as long as it had a combined general store/post office/pub/petrol pump out front. I'd like to finish up sitting on the front porch in my rocking chair with some form off leather work close at hand. Maybe some braiding project hanging off the porch post. Barra

I don't think the kids of today are any softer than my generation. The major difference is society has changed. I personally would not want to be a kid growing up today. To me it is all too hectic and fast paced, we had time to sit down and smell the roses. Things that were considered basic life skills for my generation are no longer relevant to the kids of today. I will give you a few examples. I spent a fair amount of time as a recruit instructor. I have had to teach kids a. how to strike a match b. how to shave c. how to tie up boots (18 years of slip on velcro track shoes) The list could go on. I used to think what is wrong with these kids. I could concede single parent families with no male to teach them to shave but hey have you not seen it on TV. I then came to the conclusion that it is not essentially them it is society. What to us was basic stuff has no meaning to them. On the other hand they can quote mega gyga byte computer stuff and WE have no real concept. My point being life is no easier and in many ways I think they have it harder, life is just different. I once heard this same topic being debated when an old WW2 veteran jumped in. he said in his day they went to basic etc and it was not until in a combat situation did they really start to learn. They well and truly proved the WW1ers wrong when they said you lot don't have what it takes. I will cut to the chase. Trust me, the current generation are out there in "HARMS WAY" doing it and doing it WELL. How do I know. I'm looking out the window as I type. Barra

Timbo. I was thinking it but tooo afeered to say it. Barra

In Australia you can also get decent beeswax from the wood finishes section of the local harware (near all the timber stains etc). I assume it would also be available in US hardware stores the same. The big chain ones like Lowes or Home depot would be more inclined to have it as opposed to the little guy but I like to try Ma and Pa stores first. It comes in little clear plastic containers like they use to sell pre prepared salads from the supermarket deli section. Also do a search of your yellow pages for Apiarists. Barra

If it were me I'd move to 4051 North First Street St. Louis, MO 63147 USA Barra

I am curious as to whether anyone still uses the cut tacks at least as a temporary hold while they adjust things or while you stand back and use the calibrated eyeball until you are happy with final fit, as they are easy to shift/remove. When happy do you then use the ring shank nails etc. Barra

Joseph Mengele!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please forgive me if I cover what someone else has said. I'm going cross eyed after a 16 hr shift.. To easily form nicely laid down stitches it is imperative to match the size of the thread with the needle and the awl blade used to the needle. IE: only use an awl that has a blade large enough to make the hole large enough for your needle. No smaller and you will be using needle nosed pliers each stitch and any larger it will look unsightly. When I was learning to hand sew on Gig harness traces and each trace is 5' 6", and has 4 rows at 8 to the inch, my boss filed a little grove on the top of the awl ferrule so that if I kept the little grove uppermost then the awl blade was at the correct angle. Try and not push the awl completely thru as the haft/ferrule can leave an unwarranted indentation in your leather. Also try and not twist the awl blade after you have pushed it thru in an effort to make the needle go thru easier. The reason you should not do this is because it defeats the purpose of using the diamond awl blade and makes the hole round and not diamond shaped. You will not lay your stitches down with that angled look that is indicative of good hand stitching. Someone mentioned burnishing the bees wax with brown paper (lunch bags or grocery bags are fine). This is a good idea. The brown paper can also be used periodically as you sew (it helps clean up manky threads that get dirty just from the oils in your hands) Save the dirty lump of beeswax for your brown/black threads and keep a nice clean block for white thread. I use old fly spray can lids as wax molds. (beware some lids have a little hole in them so line the bottom with cooking foil. I find this makes a nice sized ball of wax for my sized hand. for some extra grip you can get those little rubber finger thimbles that bank tellers use to count bank notes or just cut the thumbs and index fingers off a pair of old rubber dish washing gloves. The little rubber thimble will help your grip. I too have little indentations in all my awl handle that I can use to push the needle most of the way thru. The most common harness egg eye needles I am aware of come from a company called john james and come in various sizes. Barbours is probably the most common brand of linen thread. The rolls of thread come in various cord sizes. You will see 3 cord, 4 cord, 5 cord etc. Now to really confuse things, each of those cord sizes also has a correspoding ticket number. As an example you may have a roll of 3 cord "ticket 18" and then have a roll of 3 cord ticket 25. Both are 3 cord as both have 3 individual plys twisted together to make the final thread but on the 3 cord ticket 25, the 3 yarns used to twist up the final thread are finer than if it was 3 cord ticket 18. In other words, the higher the ticket number the thinner the thread. As a saddler and harness maker it was common to use 3 cord ticket 25 on most bridle work. On items like a headcollar/halter a 4 cord was used. When you hand stitch something the finished item has to be strong but the thread used must not be overly big. As an example the pre waxed threads you get in most leathercraft kits are waaaaay bigger than needed. Overly thick thread looks unprofessional. I would say a 4 cord would be fine for most holster applications. You may already be doing what I will now add but I have added it just in case your not. When you thread your needles, get your knife and drag the blade accross the thread to taper of some of the fibres. make nice long tapers and then wax. Pierce the needle thru the thread an inch or so back from your nice fine (now waxed) taper, slide the thread up to the eye of the needle and pass the tapered thread thru as far as it will go. Pull up on the needle and you will have formed sort of a larks head knot. You can now tow the Queen Mary and the needle won't come off. This avoids having a large bump of thread that is larger than your needle that you are trying to pull thru you awl hole. I know some people who hand stitch and don't use needles at all. Taper/wax and stick a drop of super glue on the end of your thread. When set, stitch away. I hope I made sense and did not waffle too much. As said 16 hr day. Barra

Mate. What a top idea. Well done and thanks. Barra

What you can do is find a carving template you like. As an example go to ClayB's figure carving step by step post. Print off the picture and run it thru an office document laminator. When the picture has been laminated you can run it thru a sewing machine with fairly large needle but with no thread. This will leave lots of tiny little pushed out bits of plastic from the needle punching thru. Lay the laminated pic onto leather and rub firmly with your fist. This will leave tiny little marks on the leather from the pushed out bits of plastic. You can then tidy up and play join the dots with a stylus or tickler, making any aesthetic eye pleasing changes as you see fit. I also make lots of patterns this way. Find pic you like blow up to correct size with photocopier laminate no thread stitch lay on leather I then usually dust the template with a bit of shearling and talc. Bits of talc fall thru the holes. I then tidy up and re trace with the tickler or stylus and brush off the talc and give it a final clean off with a damp cloth to get rid of the last of the talc residue. On really large patterns eg a saddle fender I make up the pattern in segments and have reference marks to join up how ever many laminated sheets I had to use to get the final size. Laminator sheets run thru the laminator with nothing in them give you clear, firm plastic sheets you can make all sorts of patterns from. Barra

RSM's. God bless their cotton sox

Great idea. I know exactly what your referring to. I will be back home in Australia in a few months so will have a squiz at Elders or something similar. Geez I miss Vegemite, Tim Tams and I feel like a Tuohy's or Two. I'm sure the Durries are made of Camel dung here so I gave em the flick. The RSL did send care packages for Xmas and there were ANZAC Bikkies inside so we were pretty stoked Diggers on the wrong side of the world. Barra

A mate of mine who live in the middle of woop woop (Australian for miles from anywhere) could not get a decent slab so he just got a suitable mold and mixed up concrete. He then had this mounted into his bench so it is flush with the rest of the bench. I think he sealed the slab with some sort of brick layer sealant. It is heavy, solid and works fine. I'm toying with the idea of getting a slab pre inscribed and use it til it is needed for it's other intended purpose. Here lies Barra, into leather, whips and spurs til the end. (just for one last laugh. It should have a few guessing the meaning of that inscription). Barra

I have a length of bridle leather about 2 foot long X 1/4" wide tied to my bench. It is just an off cut left over from trimming some other strap down. I can then use one of the right angled edges of the leather to get into the inside of the edge tool to strop. Barra

Concrete at the moment. I do tho have marine carpet by my main bench. It saves standing on cold concrete, saves dropped tools, is extremely hard wearing and sweeps easily. I am eyeing off these hard rubber clip together mats we have over here now it is rainy season. I guess they are the modern version of duckboards. I do like hardwood floors tho Barra

We've all been there. If i'm trying out a new theory or pattern I make a prototype from non stretch vinyl or linoleum. That way I iron out 99 per cent of the bugs Remember, think thrice, measure twice, cut once. as it says at the bottom of all my posts the man who never made a mistake never made anything. Barra

As Art said the saddlery trade in "English" terms was actually more than one trade. Brown saddler. Bridlework and general strap goods Harness maker specialised in harness Saddler specialised in saddles Collar maker specialised in carriage collars. The books mentioned are good places to start. The JHL Shields book can be downloaded from the net somewhere (I'll try and find the link) One book that does the circuit is by Paul Hasluck and this may be the 1904 one mentioned. Also I had a book (long since lost) called the harness makers guide and listed measurements and had a section with old dye, polish recipes. One thing to bear in mind with those old books or reprinted versions is that measurements for a 1904 horse will not suit the modern horse. Use the How to text by all means but take measurements off the horse or from tack you know fits. Barra.

I think Future liquid polish is marketed in Australia as ONE GO. We would soak a cotton ball in it then wring it out and also apply it to Service dress shoes. Woe betied if you got caught using it tho every man and his dog did. Trap for young players, it went milky if you got caught out in the rain (BUSTED). We would use clear nail polish on our brass (I transgress) The Gum turpentine is different to mineral turpentine and I think although I could be wrong that gum is also called Gum Arabic. You don't have to go to the local leatherworker supply store to find the necessaries. Try the local hardware. The timber finishes section has lots of goodies as does the local supermarket. Barra

By Blue saddle tacks do you mean blued cut tacks. If so, just about any hardware store should carry them in various lengths. I'd give the local Home depot or similar chain a look. Upholsterer/motor trimmer suppliers would have them too. Barra

Alan. My bad. I did not specify that making a Bosal is mainly for grins and giggles, to hone techniques and to alleviate the boredom while on deployment. It was not really meant to be a functional bosal. Barra

I have no idea how this happened but it appears that a roo skin and some pre cut roo lace fell into my bag when I packed for my present locality. My question is putting aside the usual materials for a Bosal core. can anyone think of some alternatives. I am limited to what I can get access to tho I have access to electrical cord Optic fibre cable Maybe some wire rope (but i think if the flag pole fell down someone would get upset) I'm not reaaaaal sure about the Det Cord either Barra