barra

Oi Romey, Who Taught you to say Oi Barra

Pat. I think $800 is a fair price but again I'm thinking Oz $. Let me know if you run into probs with the stitch pitch regulator screw. I will look at our 1245's today and try and find out if the part numbers are the same for the screw on the 545 and our 1245. In case you are unfamiliar with this machine. The lever on the upright is both the stitch regulator and reverse. Lift up the lever and you get reverse. Wind in the dial and you adjust the stitch pitch. Where abouts in LA are you. I am looking for a cheap Industrial that I can get hold of and leave in LA as I am there frequently. This will allow me to set it up and repair friends horse gear eg blankets. These little love jobs I do while in LA keeps me well supplied in beer and good Mexican food. Barra P.S. Thanks for clearing up the title. I was wondering.

Ah The Pfaff 545. I have used these for 15 years or so until work decided to upgrade to the pfaff 1245's. To me the 545 is a gem of a machine and just purrs along at a nice steady pace. The 1245's we now use are a great machine but to me it is like going from comfy tried and true worn jeans to new. we used the 545's and now the 1245's for Aviation fabric components, so they go from upholstery weight leathers, then bridle leather to harness webbing to 15 ounce canvas with minimal tension adjustments. We also used them for making sheepskin seat covers although we have the skin side against the flat bed so that the feed dogs fed the work through and sewed a material gusset to the wool side. This alleviated feed issues with the wool fouling up either the feed dogs or presser feet. I would have a 545 in a heartbeat if 1, it is in good working order. 2, the price was right. Maybe someone else can let you know what is a good price in the $US and 3, it sews what you want. Take some samples of the various items you sew along and try it out. I would also contact an "industrial" sewing machine mechanic to see about the availability of spares or if the 545 is compatable with later models. If ongoing spares are an issue but it sews your jobs fine and again the price is REALLY right I would still go for it. We also have a furriers machine that I have yet to play with. Now that I am in a more managerial role I don't get to play with the toys as much but am determined to find time to play with the furriers machine. I will pass on pointers to you as I make mistakes. There is a fair amount of scrap sheepskin after an aircraft refurbishment so i plan on making myself some UGG boots (now that I am allowed to again call them UGG boots). Barra

I think we all cut our teeth on those wooden strap cutters. I am not familiar with a draw guage but am curious to get one just to see how it performs. I have an old Joseph Dixon Plough guage. It must be over 100years old and will definately outlast me. With a plough guage you push rather than pull. The blade never has to be replaced as it is removable and is sharpened/stropped just like my head/round knives. The blade which sort of looks like a meat cleaver with the front edge being the cutting surface. It has an adjustable roller that sits just in front of the blade. This can be lowered to hold the strap down as you plough through. Even though it is a fantastic old tool, I do not trust the ruler measurements. I do one of 2 things. I do like Johanna suggests and place a scrap of leather I know is the correct measurement and adjust to that or I use the ruler and push the blade just enough so I can see a small mark and measure this with a ruler or use the buckle to see if it will fit. Any adjusting scale on the best tool in the world is only as good as the width of the modern buckle you want to attach to the strap. What the plough guage says is 3/4" does not mean it is the same as the 3/4" buckle I want to attach. The strap only needs to be a smidgeon off from the buckle to be a major pain.

www.siegelofca.com Go to products/buckles and hardware/hardware Scroll down to #13 hook. It is a bit different to the one you described so I don't know if it will meet your needs. Barra

Dave. All thoughts are worth posting. It kicks the thought processes into gear, Barra

I have one of those and for a cheapy tool I think they are great. I get great results from the creasing component and it makes a half decent slicker or burnisher. If you smooth up the point a bit it is fine as a single creaser. I find myself reaching for this more than the expensive adjustable creaser. I like the handle being straight and not off on an angle like an adjustable creaser. My only complaint with these is how the creaser component is attached to the handle as the 2 can seperate but a drop of superglue takes care of it. Barra

Take 2. I posted a reply last night and obviously launched it into cyberspace. First off thanks for all the replies. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the making of a western saddle is new to me, my experience being on English and Australian stock saddles. I am having to take what I know there and adapt to western saddles. I was taught to make stirrup leathers so that the grain is against the stirrup and hence over the tree (for us this is over a suspension hook). Please bear in mind that an English leather is only a 1" strap and the traditional Australian stock leather 1 1/4" and neither are attached to the flap/fender. The thinking behind the grain against the tree and stirrup is because it is the more robust. Then I read Bruce's post and his reasoning behind not wanting the grain side over the tree due to grit etc. Don't worry about shifting to stretching Bruce as all info is good info. Stretching would not have occured to me as we swap our leathers from near to off sides from time to time to even out the stretch. We use webbing to form the ground seat and this needs to be stretched. To do this we nail it to a board and spike it to take out the stretch, nail down the other end and drive a wedge under the taught webbing, then leave it for a day or so. I wonder if this technique would work on leathers. Barra Did it dawn on me to add to the twist question in my last post, no. I have heard the twist called many names, Nevada twist is the one I have heard the most. I have heard it called Oregon, Wyoming, California so I guess pick your State and add twist. I kinda like just plain old twist and wrap. Barra

I have a question about how everyone attaches their stirrup leathers to the fender. Do you attach the leather to the fender so that the grain side or flesh side of the leather passes over the tree and thru the stirrup. Barra

Here are a couple of examples of patterns I use. What I use depends on what the item is for. Example 1. I find pictures and if it is not quite the right size I blow it up in a photocopier. I then put the pattern inside a laminte sheet and run it thru the laminator. I usually make the pattern about 1/8" smaller than I want the finised item. This way when I cut it out the edge of the laminate is still sealed. 2. I use heavy vinyl or even better linoleum offcuts from a flooring store for large stuff like the grey example on the left. 3. The other example of a laminated pattern is a little different. I have again laminated the pattern but this time I have run it thru the sewing machine without thread. When I want to use it I lightly dust a piece of sheepskin with talc and the rub over the pattern. Little bits of the talc go thru the stitching holes onto the leather. I then run over the talc line with a single creaser/tickler,making any minor adjustments I want. When happy I wipe off the excess talc. This example is the pic on the right. Barra.

Ok now that I "think" I have the flash on the camera worked out. Here goes take 2. I have plagiarised ideas from everyone who has described their workshops. I think I have it user friendly although I don't have the space I would like. The door to the house plus the garage roller doors have eaten into useable space. I have hung patterns and the peg board off of one of the doors (I don't use it). There is another roller door out to the patio that is the real pain. I only have 2 power points, so have power boards going off in 2 directions. They are by the singer 132k6 that is covered up by crap, next to the temporary shelves made of plastic crates. One thing that I have used a fair bit of is self adhesive velcro. I don't use it on a tool directly but will stick it to a pouch before adhering it to something. The round knife holder on the front of the drawdown stand for example is stuck on with adhesive velcro. Ideally I would like a large cutting out bench in the middle so I can walk all around it and my main bench like a large square with one side missing. This will place me in a recessed area, allowing me to have stuff within easy reach on 3 sides of me. There wasn't room for these 2 pics in the last post.

Ok so I haven't worked out how to vote and add comments at the same time. I was trained in English saddlery and Harness making tho we made a few saddles, mostly English and Australian stock saddles. My favourite job of all time was the leather artificial leg for a pet chicken. I am just starting to get back into the trade as a sanity break, mainly making tack but plan on dabbling into western saddles. To coin the ol master (The man who never made a mistake, never made anything).

This is just an experiment with the camera. Sorry I'm a computer numpty. Barra

Aren't they the scum of the earth. The way I stop them can not be printed in this forum of good folks but it works. Use your vocabulary imaginations. Barra

G'day Harlan. You will get some great tips here with advice given freely. Sit back and have some fun. Barra

Good topic Candyleather. learning to shave with a cut throat is on my list of 100 things to do before I die. I have one and used it with varying degrees of blood splatter. I made my strop out of scrap bridle leather 2" wide by about 18" long. As the cut throat shaving has been put on the backburner I put an eyelet in the strop and screwed it to the bench for general knife stropping. I just cut out a little at one end to fit my hand. I also have scrap leather glued to a board on the bench. BTW the cut throat is in the travelling tool kit and makes an excellent skiver. Barra

Can someone please explain the difference between tunnel with removable plugs and cut out afterwards style ground seats. Please pardon the ignorance but the western saddle is a new to me. The whole concept of a ground seat made of all leather and/or using a metal strainer is a bit foreign to me and I'm not getting it. Barra

http://www.berninausa.com/media/knowledgeb...ls0002_6f59.pdf Sorry for the delay. Probably the best way to tackle this will be to butt the 2 torn edges together. I would probably do one big tack stitch about 1/8" either side of the tear just to hold it all together while you sew on a patch. There is no real way of making it look pretty. Using the link above have a look at the pic called single binding (or something similar) If you are using thin leather you can bind it like the pic. If the leather is a bit thicker and firmer and will not fold over neatly with 4 layers then just have one layer of leather and fold it over the front facing so that ther is only one thickness either side. Once the 2 torn edges are butted up and tack stitched. carefully unpick about 1' of the flap. Slip the binding piece between the flap and the rolled facing and extend your patch 1" on the other side of the tear. Fold the patch over the rolled facing and stitch it back down. You will need to sew a couple of stitches on the flap past your unpicking to lock of the stitches and a couple of stitches BACK (toward) the flap to lock off the stitches on the other end of the patch. For the actual size of the patch, make it about 1" either side of the tear or maybe a little more. As for the width. If you are only going to fold it with one thickness either side then you can make it about 3" wide (to be safe). On the top of the saddle side it only needs to slip under the unpicked flap by say 1/2". The reason I say make it 3" wide is to allow for the fudge factor ( a scientifically recognised saddlers term). Do not try and make the width the exact size you want it to be finihed. You can trim off the excess later with either an edge tool that is big enough to allow for the thickness of the leather or just carefully use a sharp knife. If using a knife I would place something underneath the leather to be trimmed and the saddle to avoid slipping and having an unwanted slashed saddle. I hope this all make sense. Barra

http://studio-productions-inc.com/white_pa...o_lighting.html The lighting topic has gotten me thinking because mine is attrocious so I got to thinking about better use of the lighting I have. This got me to thinking about reflecting the light to where it is most wanted. I have started searching on the net under efficient lighting and then under photographic sites. I'm going to play with this idea further. Barra

Most of my scrap is strapping so very little is scrap. I have bins with various width straps. If I want 3/4", I know exactly where to start rummaging. Largish scraps get turned into things like head/round knife holders, beer can coolers, carved with someones name or logo, horse brasses for decorations (it's a British over the fireplace thing). I have in the past gone crazy with wad punches and turned a piece of scrap into leather washers. to me nothing is scrap. I will use a small piece as glue spreaders, test peices on the stitcher or K6, experimental pieces if I am playing with stamping patterns, experimental dye test pieces, building up a tree to make a little channel for welts to sit in thus avoiding a lump, stropping boards. I even keep all my skiving scraps and the slivers of leather after edging a strap. These I feed into an old coffee grinder and eventually mix with PVA for odd leather dust applications. Soft leather scraps get turned into coin pouches, steering wheel covers, book marks. Barra

Thanks guys. I have picked up on some great tips and have taken bits and pieces from each and every one of you. The pictures are a great source of inspiration. So much so that I have had a bit of a rearrange using your ideas. Now to take some pictures. Barra

http://www.siegelofca.com/view_cat_product.asp?id=43 http://www.leathersupply.com/mastertools.html# If your handy with a round knife You can cut the point with that. Barra

solution. Paint the whole bench top. The big blotch in the middle just bugged me too much. Barra

How do I know. I just knocked a whole bottle over on the bench. I made a black spirit dye out of mortar colouring powder and alcohol and was reaching for a tool. I made the fatal mistake of leaving the lid off. Works great on leather and equally good on timber. On a side note. I have been curious of late about what exactly is gum tragacanth. Using the internet I did some research. The gum part got me thinking and because I live in australia with a plethora of gum trees I notied that certain varieties exude this gum like substance, so I collected some and mixed it with gum turpentine. This stuff works a treat as an edge burnishing stain. Barra

Bruce. Of those I only have the 3 Stohlman books and have not heard of the others so info on those would be appreciated. I like Al's books and as far as self help/learn to make something from a book goes I find them fairly comprehensive. I like his clear drawings and expanations. I have enough knowledge (some may say enough to be armed and dangerous) to work out what he is on about. The western saddle is a relatively new beasty for me being more English/Australian stock trained. There are many features of the western I don't like but the same can be said of our stock saddle in it's traditional form which is to me sadly dying. Both countries have completely different needs and hence a need for a completely different saddle. At the present time I am really enjoying learning about western saddle making. I can look at Al's book and go oh yeah I see what he means or no Al I don't agree with that method, but hey differing opinions are what makes the world go around. This is one reason I am enjoying this site so much (the sharing of opinions freely). I also have Robin Yates book which is basic at best.