Nutty Saddler

My bad - my memory isn't what it used to be . The year was 1983 and a Canadian airlines 767 took off after having being re-fueled with 22,000 LBS of fuel instead of 22,000 KGS !

As the Aircraft industry is supposed to be the most advanced , you would think they would use the metric system as it is the most logical ........... Aircraft engine thrust is measured in pounds , internal gas pressure systems are measured in Pounds per Square inch - or Bar, altimeters primary measurement is in feet , when re-filling a pilots breathing cylinder you re-fill it with cu.ft , the list is almost endless When the space shuttle takes off ? don't they measure the takeoff weight in tonnes or pounds To really confuse things there are two different gallons , a US gallon is 3.78 litres , an Imperial gallon is 4.54 litres - I can remember in the 80's a passanger flight ran out of fuel because someone on the ground got confused , I don't know the exact specifics but for example the ground crew were told to put 10,000 gallons( imperial or 45,400 litres) of fuel on the plane but instead they only put 10,000 US gallons on the plane ( 37,800 litres ) so the plane was 7,600 litres short and ran out of fuel - only the quick thinking pilot who happened to be an ex-military pilot and remembered where there was a disused airfield saved everyone onboard. A ships speed is measured in Knotts , A horse race is measured in Furlongs ( in the UK ) , a horses height is measured in hands , a horse at auction is still sold in Guineas ...... confused yet I personaly use imperial measurements for all my work - most everything is measured in 1/8 inch or multiples of that - though sometimes I do cut strips at 11/16 ( don't ask )

Being an English saddler we are told that neatsfoot oil is the spawn of satan - Bridle leather , we are told , should only ever be greased and if neatsfoot oil is used it should only be done so very sparingly and only about once a year . The best product for saddlery leather is curriers grease . Curriers grease is about 1/4 neatsfoot oil & 3/4 rendered beef fat , there are a few extras such as a bit of cod liver oil and some beeswax - the whole lot is heated ( not boiled ) and mixed together , when it has cooled you end up with a greasy/fatty substance and this , we are told , is the best stuff for keeping leather in good shape .

I had to make one of these this week as a present for someone in the UK. The leather is 3-4mm bridle , 3/4" wide and the stones are real 8mm tigers eye.

Try e-bay , either that or your local hardware store might have one - I got mine from the UK , so I think somewhere local might be better for you.

I use a small hobby sprayer with a small compressor & tank as I am only spraying small pieces of leather .

I use the Fiebings dyes - Oil , spirit and acrylic , I thin them down with the dye thinner and then after having prepared my leather I spray it on . I have found that the worst thing you can do is to try to rush things - sometimes I use two or three coats to get the best finish rubbing down the work between each application , I also have to rub my finished work down to remove any excess dye , I have found that pure sheep wool is best for this . Then I apply a coat of curriers grease to finish things off , I also normally leave the coloured leather for a day or two before I do any further work on it.

Hi I have looked at the picture of the helmet and it looks to be made from 3-4mm bridle leather , if tandy cannot help you conact - abbeysaddlery.co.uk - If you telephone them +44 1565 650343 and ask to talk to Richard Brown , if you explain what you want he may be able to send you a small sample so you can get an idea of what it's like before you order any.

http://www.abbeysaddlery.co.uk/ These are avialiable in 10mm ( 3/8") They also have several others - if you go to their online catalogue and look in strap buckles in the buckles and fittings section you may find what you are after

Alberta Bound , Thankyou for the compliments , I do take a lot of pride in my work - and as a horse owner I also understand what a horse means to some people ( I had my first horse for 19 years ) - sadly much of the saddlery today is mass produced , and many places that produce saddlery have no idea what a horse looks like , to them it is just a product that can be made for profit . I would imagine that someone who hand tools western saddlery feels the same. I have no problem in telling you where I get my hardware - I have been using a company called - ABBEY Saddlery and crafts - they are based in Knutsford , Cheshire , England . Web address -- http://www.abbeysaddlery.co.uk/ -- . Unfortunatly some of their buckles are of chinese origin ( but still OK ) as many if not all of the manufacturers in the UK have gone out of buisness due to cheap imports . A lot of their brasswork is made by them or is made by a local firm that still operates as the brass fittings being imported were rubbish. If there is anything else you would like to know please don't hesitate to ask me. Nutty

I don't know if this rolling pin was used for this purpose but an english saddler will have a rolling pin in his/her tool kit , we use it to even out the flocking when we stuff the panels on an english style saddle - they are not normally covered in felt these days but I would presume this is to help to not damage/mark the leather of the panels when it is used.

I didn't - everything that I do is hand stitched - I don't even own a machine . I double hand saddle stitch - mostly at 10 / 12 stitches to the inch , for fancy patterns or lettering this is also saddle stitched but at 16 stitches to the inch , sometimes if it would look nice I will stitch a pattern in 17 stitches per inch - but this I do backstitch with the overlay on top .