Northmount

Just be aware that the wetter the leather is, the easier it is to stretch.

Congratulations. You will enjoy it much more than the Tipmann Boss you were thinking of before. My 2700 is doing a great job. Get someone to help you lift the head when you assemble it so you don't lose your balance. Set the table height you want before you put the head on it. As I indicated in your previous thread, I had to set the table down to just clear my knees to avoid problems with my old shoulders and neck. If you alredy know a comfortable working height for a desk or counter top when sitting, you will want to get the cylinder arm near the same height. Lots of good advice above about being careful with making adjustments, especially being able to return to original settings. You can file a mark at 12 o'clock on the tension knob so you know the starting point to measure 1/4, 1/2 turns etc. Coloured fingernail polish, white-out, paint, etc. can be used to mark it instead of a file, but the file mark doesn't wear off. CTG

Some of the leather probably stretched while wet and pulling it around to turn inside out. Then it can't shrink back to flat anymore. Also dry slowly or stretched over a form to reduce distortion from drying. You may be able to smooth some of it by burnishing by hand or with a glass plate burnisher while drying, possibly several times as it dries slowly. I'm fairly sure most of the problem was it was stretched while wet. Minimize how wet you get the leather. The wetter it is, the more shrinkage you will see as it dries. CTG

Why not try a few things on some scrap and see what it turns out like? Spirit based dyes often penetrate the finish, not deep into the leather, but at least into the finish. I've purposely dyed over a finish to stop the leather wicking the dye beyond where it is supposed to be. Then applied another coat or two of the finish. Worth a little experimentation to see what the best recovery method is. CTG

There are tons of info on thread sizes, types and application here. Do a search or two. Take a look at the pdf from this thread Info Also this chart Toledo posted previously by Wiz. CTG The T had nothing to do with fire or outdoor use. You were reading a description of the particular suppliers thread that just happened to have a T size listed.

"Take two aspirins and call me in the morning"

What is the largest size plate you use for embossing? I have a customer that has a specific logo they will be using on all their products. So I've been waffling between a 2 and 3 ton arbor press. Thanks CTG

Lots of types and thicknesses of foam are available. Probably a good idea to use a closed cell type foam that won't become a sponge to any moisture. Outside of foam, there is quilting batting materials. Again try for a type that won't soak up moisture. Other things ... Like fiberfill, layers of wool ... Depends a lot on your construction methods. Like has been mentioned, make the pocket waterproof so any leaks are contained. You might want to use some vinyl stuff there. CTG

Stay away from harsh acidic or caustic chemicals that will hasten the corrosion process if left on very long. I would say no to oven cleaner. If the more green friendly cleaners don't work for you, then use petroleum based solvent or mineral spirits. No gasoline, but can use diesel or kerosene in a pinch. Remember vapors for most of these solvents are not good to breathe and are inflammable (explosive in right proportions with air). So well ventilated space with no ignition source, like the pilot on a heater or furnace. CTG

Any of those methods. Just monitor closely and don't get too high a temperature. There is at least 1 thread here where someone did a good job of destroying their work. Try a search for heat box or drying box or something like that. He was using either a heat gun or blow dryer if I remember correctly! CTG

For a trial run, I would sew a "tube" that you know will be too tight to slide onto the handle (but not too tight)' then wet the leather by dunking it briefly, then slide it onto the handle, using the handle to stretch the "tube"', align the seam and let it dry. If it doesn't dry tight enough (24 hours), then I would try dampening the leather while on the handle, then force drying it to get it to shrink some more. If the handle has a rough surface, the leather should stay on better than a smooth handle. The one concern I would have is that if the tool gets wet when used by the user, the leather may come loose and be easily pulled off. It would be worthwhile testing on an old pair of pliers to see if you are getting the results you want. If you wet form and don't have a tight enough fit, I would consider running some epoxy or other glue of your choice that will stick to steel inside the leather grip and push it back onto the tool. Then even if it gets wet during use, it won't likely slide off. Have fun experimenting and let us know how it turns out. CTG

Even on finished stuff, I have moistened the back side and have done some additional stamping where something was missed. Takes longer to "case" and longer to dry after. It's a last resort type of thing. For cuts (or cracks in dried out) leather, I have opened the cut/crack and used superglue. On something that has been oiled, it takes a few applications of superglue before it begins to hold. You may have to carefully remove a ridge of glue after. CTG

Nice. Very neat clean lines. I wet formed one for a BB recently. Was too tight so pressed the switches on the side of the phone. Then the phone locked up! Stretched it a couple times and was still too tight, so had to make one with more clearance around the sides. CTG

You should take a look and see what UK acrylic floor treatments are available in your local store. I'm sure you will find similar stuff. CTG

Did you get your new machine yet? I got one mid December. Sure makes a lot of projects easier and opens up new projects I might not do otherwise. Hope to hear from you more often and to see some of your work. CTG

Ferg ... are you the author? I would like to quote this and give the author credit. Regards, CTG

Drill out the part of the post that is peened over. If you use a drill just a little larger than the post and go carefully, you can avoid damaging the leather. CTG

On another thread here a few weeks ago, someone lost the screws and if I remember right, Tandy has extra screws. Try a search for buckle and screw. CTG

Take a look at this post. Lots of options. Swing away and lift up types. Guides CTG

A leather / boot / shoe / jacket shop I have dealt with uses "Tana Leather Magic Renew Dye" for fixing up leather jackets. Comes in various colors in a spray can.

And of course you know that cardboard gets mushy when wet. So an accidental soaking would take a long time to dry out. Maybe if dipped in varnish or something similar would keep it from soaking up water as long as the varnish didn't get scraped or cracked. I'd look at a piece of PVC or ABS or similar pipe at your local big box store. The stuff used for central vacuums is quite light as compared to stuff for sewer and water systems. CTG

If the saddle was put away in the bag while still moist from horse and rider sweat and not allowed to dry out first, I think there's a very good chance of mildew.

Just a passing thought. Since you keep the saddle in a bag, has it been moist and warm so you have mildew growing on it? If so, it may be able to be cleaned. There are threads here about cleaning up saddles and removing mildew and mold. For vinageroon, leather is usually dipped in the sauce. Maybe worth a search here to see if anyone applies it like a typical dye with sheepskin wool, etc. CTG

Don't sand it unless you are looking for a suede like surface. Once you remove or scratch the grain side, you can't cover it up. You can't get a nice smooth finish again either. (Having said that, there are some people advertising surface repairs to upholstery leather. They spray or paint on a new grain surface. I wouldn't try it on a saddle.) You could experiment with a deglazer to remove the wax etc. that is on the surface. Chances are the black stain will come off with it. Normal darkening from sun won't come off with deglazer. After it has been deglazed, you could use bleach (oxalic acid crystals) to lighten the leather. Then you need to see at that point if you need to add some dye to get the same overall tone. If you need to dye to even out the appearance, then take a look at air brushing. Then put a good finish on after all of that. You need to experiment some, so pick a place that is not too obvious to try out these comments. If you are only showing the saddle while riding, that shouldn't be too hard to find a spot to play with. If you show the saddle by itself, I doubt you can find a place that is stained that would be hidden from normal view. Or take it to a professional saddle shop to see what can be cleaned and refinished. CTG

Kathy ... This is a great tutorial. I combed through it and copied all stuff in context into a PDF file so I could use it for my reference, and thought others might like to have it too. So here it is. Edited, combined both files into one. Carving Horses.pdf Enjoy CTG