Go2Tex

Don't know how I missed this thread when first posted, but it finally caught my eye and I must say, Elton, you do mighty fine work! Are you sure this is only #4...???!!! Whatever it is that you canucks drink up there, or maybe it's the long winters but ya'll sure must be doing something right, cause you seem to be way ahead of the curve when it comes to saddle makin'.

Very sweet looking tree! No seams to worry about. Excellent work. I may have to take another look at them. Do they have a booth at the Wichita Falls show?

hmmm...... now that you mention it, seems I do recall hearing that argument. Sounds like a process thing to me. "It's just the way we do it".... It sure would save me a lot of time and hassle, though. I just don't like building on glass.

Ah yesss... the round knife cutting issue. First let me emphasize the already mentioned factor of sharpness. Whatever technique you use, a dull blade will be a problem. Been there done that. Until you can shave the back of your hand with it, it ain't sharp enough. Really firm, thick skirting is about the hardest thing to cut with anything or any method. I just finished cutting some Hermann Oak parts and I tell ya, I was back to the sharpening bench a couple times and it still was a pain. I forgot my little trick I use on Wickett and Craig drum dyed which is to use candle wax. Also works on stitching awls. The knife was sharp but the leather seemed really dry and the cut line just wouldn't open up. The leather was really grabbing my knife blade. On those tight curves I also use the strap end punch or hole punch but you can manage a good tight cut with the head knife if you drop the handle down almost to the leather and use the smallest part of the blade. Make several passes using your free hand thumb to apply the forward pressure. I do this most of the time on heavy skirting because it gives me the greatest control of the knife. The problem with this method is that if you don't keep your knife perfectly vertical and perpendicular to the cut each pass, you will have a bit of a jagged edge on the bottom.

I'm wondering if you couldn't order your tree from them without the strainer. ........

Sounds all well and good, but don't you pay corporate tax rates on an LLC?

AH no man! Ya'll don't know what's good. It's gotta be Church's Chicken with a side of Jalapeno popers. Ya get the gravey and a bisquit. I personally prefer the chicken tenders. MMMMMM!! But when I feel the urge for a fast food burger fix, it's gonna be DQ or A&W. ...... I wouldn't be caught dead in a MacDonalds, PTOOOIE!

And eh.... where ever you go, that's where you are.

I've had the exact problem with holsters and I'm fairly certain that it is caused by the molding process. Pressing down on moist leather compresses the fibers, (duh) and consequently the dye is not absorbed as well. That's about it and short of spraying it on the surface and hoping it doesn't just wipe or rub off, you're gonna have a hard time preventing it. That is probably why saddle seats are such a problem with uneven dying. It gets a lot of rubbing during the fitting process. Same with burnished edges. Plus, I've noticed that if you rub the leather after dying, it will tend to seal the leather also and prevent or slow the penetration of more dye. Just keep all this in mind and next time, buy drum dyed leather!

Hey folks, how is this any different than somebody buying a car one day and the next day the same model goes on sale? Or, how about a house mtg that goes in reverse? A lot of folks are being hurt bad in this economy because of timing. It's all about timing. Frankly, I'm waiting for their splitter to go on sale......

Nah, don't worry. They'll have an estate sale and somebody like Bob Douglas will get hold of them and make a fortune off them selling them to guys like me.....

Excellent! Please tell us how your achieved the effect. What dye, finish, colors, etc. Always interesting and helpful. Thanks....

Yep, sounds good to me. Then, just figure out a way to attach 'em to your truck.

Yep, you are on the right track. Wood between the horns.

That is a fantastic idea on the full length billets. Very nice. Good luck on your new shop, too.

Ya know what I say about that? Get a horse!

Yep, looks real nice. How do you like cutting those scallops?

Whoever said that was probably just repeating someone else's ridiculous assertion to make newer saddlemakers feel dependant on them. If you can't build a good saddle by your 2nd or 3rd attempt, you just aren't learning and/or have a lousy teacher or no teacher and you're learning from a book. Obviously, they may not be great saddles, there may be things you could do better, but 100? After 100, you should be able to build a spectacular saddle... in your sleep!

We're supposed to get some showers this week. Thurs, Fri, and Sat.

Well, the seat comfort is determined by the shape of the groundseat and shape of the tree bars. What you are describing sounds like maybe the seat drops off too sharply at the transition.

My Landis 30 crank splitter can shave off the grain of a piece of leather. What's that in ounces.... paper thin maybe? Might still be a bit thick for this project, but might work.

I had that screw completely out, several times... no little spring. Nuthin'. It has one now though.

Like most folks, when first starting out, I looked at the cost of the good stuff and tried my hand at making some. Well, let's just say Barry King's got nuthin' to worry about from me. It's kinda fun and keeps you out of the bars, but at some point it comes down to a matter of how much your own time is worth and what you enjoy doing with it. After reading this topic, though, and seeing that I was actually on the right path, I just might give it another try. So.....another wasted day down the drain. heh heh

Where is the tiny spring located? I had that bobbin off the machine and didn't see any spring except the big one inside the holder that pushes the bobbin out. My bobbin has a spring steel plate secured with a screw at the base of the bobbin. The thread passes through a notch in the side of it. Is this on the DVD they put out? They sent a nice copy to me but I admit I haven't had the time to go through it yet. Maybe it's time!

That sounds like your bobbin isn't wound consistently or is catching for a bit then releasing for some reason.