Go2Tex

Excellent points, Bruce. The problem with any leather device would be the inherent nature of the material to weaken over time and alter the original designed in break-away characteristics. Better and easier to just grab a hold of the tails of the rope. I like a round braid of four strands tied as shown above. It has a good grip and looks a lot better than a rope.

Right. It was a joke. I understand and mean no offense to you. It's just an excuse to get on my soap box and rant about something I have no control over.

The problem might be in the title. "Financial Crisis". Nothing funny right now about that subject. The pain is just too real. Our socialist nanny government over here has run the country into the ground financing a cradle to grave entitlement system and now we are $12 trillion in debt with no way to pay it off. It will nearly double in 10 years and they are craming even more of it down our throats with socialized health care which has been a disaster everywhere it has been tried.

Being hung up could be a worse consequence than being thrown or merely falling asleep and falling off, which was the apparent origin of the device, hence the name. I think a handy handle is nice to have but just as a rope strap should not be so stout as to not break if hung up, it seems to me a good idea to design in a weak link in a night latch as well. If you think about the forces of a rider being dragged and stomped due to being hung up in a night latch, as compared to that required of the night latch's intented use, perhaps some compromise could be achieved in it's design. Even jet engines are designed to break away from the wing rather than destroy the wing if a catastrophic failure occurs.

I have been using Hansens silver for some time now and I've never noticed those attachments in the catalog.

Very sweet! Where did you get your silver? I really like those bit attachments.

I keep the brown paper they are usually shipped in for covering to protect from light damage. I try to leave them as they arrive, boxed, until I'm ready to cut. Once cut, or if opened to inspect them, the remainder is rolled, as it comes, with grain out. If the leather will not be used for a while, and you roll it grain side in, you run the risk of the grain wrinkling. I've often wondered about temperature control and it must have some effect on the leather over time. Fresh leather does seem to work better. Dry, brittle leather is no fun. duh.... I tell ya what, though. If my shop got down below freezing, it wouldn't just be the leather I was concerned about! Geeze, get a heater, dude!

A bull rope comes to mind. Never made one, but if you google it, I's sure you'll find some info on it.

Sign of the times, folks. Probably see a lot of stores, suppliers going T.U. before long.

Well, thank you Darc, for saying so. Yeah, the stitching is coming along, much thanks to guys like you with your tips on thread and such. Your work has been a real inspiration to me and I strive for that kind of perfection with every poke of the awl. It just don't always work out that way! This cantle was a royal pain due to the very steep angle. And the carving is something that I always strive to improve with each attempt. Our weather down here in South Texas can be a factor that I'm still struggling with. It seems to swing wildly from very humid to very dry and that keeps you always at the mercy of something unpredictable from one day to the next. I'm either sitting there waiting for it to dry or trying to keep it wet enough to tool. Lot's o' fun. Anyhow, very nice to hear from ya. How's biz up thar in the frozen North?

Thank you, sir. Appreciate the feedback.

Well Bob, looks like we managed to get a clinic out of you yet. Wonderful work, as usual, and thanks for all the time you spent answering our questions. Did you notice how many views this thread has gotten?

We live out from town a ways in a subdivision of small acreage plots, 3-20 acres mostly with some large ranches all around, so the homes are spread out too far for kids to walk around like they would in a suburb. The association of homeowners organizes a hay ride for the kiddies and the residents, who choose to participate, sit out at the road and pass out candy to the kids on the wagon as it goes by. Now, as you might expect, this turns into the inevitable tail-gate party that us Texans are so well equiped for, which probably lends largely to the continued success of this unique handling of an otherwise thoroughly distasteful event.

I am really liking this too. In my estimation it is the original representation of the acantha leaf and stem upon which so much of our different carving styles are based and can be traced back to the earliest stone carvings, frescos, paintings and woodwork. In that respect, it is eternal. It never goes out of style.

Wasn't that a song?..... Make a good title for a book, too.

Oh yeah, of course the banks accept them because they have you, the account owner, on the hook to make it good. They really have no skin in the game. There is a reason why Jesse James was such a folk hero of his time with the "folks". heh heh. He robbed banks. But, as long as we're bashing banks, if you have no other reason to dislike their practices, just consider the interest rate scam they all run. Compare the rate they are willing to pay to use your money, (i.e. interest on your various accounts), and the interest they want to charge you to use their money in the form of a loan. The difference is staggering. Obviously, they have overhead and such and blah blah blah. But, really, 600% mark-up?

Yeah, don't worry about the sun burn. Just oil it up and set it out in the sun, maybe cover up the dark part and it'll even out some. Besides, it looks good as is. Gives it that "old" look.

Yes, very inspirational! It comes full circle from carved wood to carved leather. Very similar in effect if not in technique.

Well, the reason I say that is from what I've heard, not experienced first hand. But, apparently they can be fraudulent as well. I don't know exactly what the difference is, other than they are harder to counterfeit and perhaps your bank might honor them when they wouldn't honor a personal check that turns out to be a fraud. I just really don't know that for certain. There might be an agreement between banks on cashier's checks but on that I just can't say for sure. I would like to know that myself and hopefully someone on the forum knows and will chime in.

No, I see his point. He's been doing what he does for 30 years and so far it's working. Like Peter said, he doesn't necessarily think there is nothing left to learn, but he might not believe he needs to change what ain't broke.

This all sounds good but let's not forget, we're talking about banks. They sure as heck are not going to take the hit for a bad check. If there is no way to trace it back to the issuing bank, guess what. You get stuck. Now, you could fight it and maybe you'd win down the road after much more hassle and expense but who knows? Personal checks are a big no-no unless you know and trust the customer, and cashiers checks aren't much better, but you could ask your bank to contact the issuing bank and verify funds. Now, I suppose, the number on the phoney check could also be answered by a phoney bank person and they'd say the check is good, surprise. But you could also ask your bank right then what happens when and if it turns out to be bad. Don't know if they all do it, but if not, I might start looking for a bank that would. But, put yourself in your bank's shoes. You don't trust the check and you are now trying to pass the risk onto your bank. If you were the bank, would you accept the risk? Next best thing is a wire transfer. Much more hassle and I suspect not totally safe either but on big ticket items, particularly internationally, eh....so far so good. Nothing is 100% safe. You could deal in nothing but cold, hard cash and then one day you take a counterfeit bill. You get stuck, my friend.

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, should have done a search on those. Came right up. Stainless steel escutcheon pins. They even come in a 3/8" length which I prefer since I'm splitting the leather down a bit. I sure can't find them locally, that's for sure. People just look at you with that blank stare and refer you to the arts and crafts store. Oh yeah, or the fabrics store. That's a good one.

I've been using linoleum nails in a 5/8" length that I have to cut down to size so they don't penetrate the wood and dent the metal clad. I can't seem to find a short enough nail with a round head on it except brass and that doesn't go with stainless steel stirrups. What the rest of ya'll use for this job?

I have used the transparency film but I find that the ink does rub off. Plus, it doesn't work well on curved surfaces, like fork covers on the tree. I use drafting mylar. I get the type with one side smooth. It is excellent for designing your pattern in pencil and then transferring to damp leather. I can tell immediately if the leather is ready for tracing if I see the moisture on the backside as I press the pencil or stylus on the mylar. It clear enough to see your guidelines, etc for lining it up too. Cost might be an issue as it is spendy but by far the best thing I've found for the job. You can get it here: http://www.draftingsteals.com/info.html

Gruß Katja, Sie sollten ein Widerstand zu leisten oder vor der Verwendung des antiken blockieren, wenn Sie möchten mehr Kontrast. Ich mag die Tandy Satin Sheen oder Fiebings Resolene.