bruce johnson

Steve, I'd like to find one too. I buy it from Tips or Caps usually. Neither are very open about where they get it. A former employee thought they got it directly from Australia.

Excellent idea, and my 2 cents worth. Offer them for $10 and donate $5 for each one, and explain the other $5 goes for materials so you can afford to keep making them and raising money. If somebody can't swing the $10, give them one and bless them for raising awareness. I don't do bracelets, but have done other things. I am attaching a picture of one that is very popular at silent auctions and benefits. It is a plastic case similar to the goat string cans I order. Inside is a mirror and a couple of shelves and I'll get some pics of that. Some carry them as a hardside purse and others as a cosmetic case. You can get them in other colors, but I always keep pink on hand. I order them from Latta Mfg at (800) 232-3967. I order from them because they exhibit at the leather shows and so I try to support them rather than order from someone else. The color has washed out in the picture, but it is bright pink with the pink crystals. This particular design has always brought $150 or more. I have asked Smith Brothers about doing pink rope cans too. Not so far, but I see a demand there. Tough Enough to Wear Pink,

Other than a couple knives, I'd fill in the set of edgers, I'd get the #2 and #3 in the same style you have. I have never used a stitching punch, but since you have a catalog coming from Bob Douglas, you might consider one of his awls. I haven't used one from Jeff Cook, but you only need to read the awl thread on the forum here to hear about Bob's. To mold with, Barry King makes a nice one. It has a bullet point on one end and a rounded point on the other. Norm Lynds makes a nice wooden burnisher. They are not a necessity, but handy when you have a pile of work to do. I don't see round punches on your list - I like the mini and maxi-punch sets from TLF. Interchangeable tubes. Just chuck them into a drill press and apply a light touch with a stone to sharpen them. You can heat them with a torch and squeeze them with a pliers to make a set of oval punches too. I also don't see overstitch wheels on you list. Again depending on what you are doing - a few might be the best. Probably start with a 6 and 7 for sure, drop down to a 5 later for heavier work or up to an 8 or more for finer as you progress. My wife Rundi took the "Intro to Leather" class in 2006 also. She had fun, and learned a lot.

Josh, Sometimes a guy can find old letters in different fonts from printers. What I use for small letters are ones from Harbor Freight or other industrial suppliers. They are pretty cheap and hold up for leather. Like a lot of HF items, they are over-stated and under-rated for what they are sold for - metal in this case. I think they have them in a few sizes. TLF used to sell a set of small letters too. They still might.

One of my favorite shows is All Around Performance Horse on RFD. They seem like real guys and feature stuff I enjoy watching. Tonight's episode included a visit to the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock Texas. Looks like the museum enjoys plenty of space and has some great displays. One of them is the saddle shop display of Tooter Cannon. He has had some mention here in the past. Here's a link to the main website - National Ranching Heritage Center a link to the Tooter Cannon display - Tooter Cannon saddle shop and another to the history of saddles - A Century of Saddles. This place sure looks like a "don't miss if you get close". I'd appreciate it if anyone visits to take some pictures and post them here.

Ed, I'm with Kevin, when it totally dies get a new one. I used to go through them with some frequency. I had one that lasted about 11 months into the year long warranty. They sent me a replacement. About 10 months later it crapped out. I sent it back and they determined I was a commercial or industrial user and the warranty didn't apply. After I bought the last one with the "disposable mentality", it has lasted about 4 years.

This is for the Elko Leather Show to be held in Elko, NV July 17th-18th. It will be held at the Elko Convention Center. There will be several of the vendors we see at the other shows, plus a few new ones. Leather, silver, tools, machines, and related products will be available. There will be three classes offered. Charlie Liesen will be doing a 2 day braiding class. Al Gould will doing a 2 day carving class and it will be doing a project. These classes are $200 each. Joe Benner will be teaching a saddlemaking class that will run 2-1/2 days. The saddle class is $375. For more information or to sign up, email Paula at capriolacowgirl@hotmail.com or telephone her at (775) 738-5816. I was asked to put this in the calendar section also. For those who haven't been to Elko, here's my thumbnail sketch of some of the details. We've stayed at the Best Western, and it was fine. The Red Lion is across the road, and several of the usual interstate motels are there too. Downtown are the Commercial and Stockman's - both historic old style casino-hotels and good breakfast (Basque chorizo and eggs - ). Good Basque food and lots of it - The Star or Bil-toki. The Western Folklife Center is there, very good museum type displays from some greats of our time and the past. A worthwhile visit, and a good group.

A jig is used to set the twist and stretch stirrup leathers and fenders. Some people refer to them as a stirrup leather stretcher. A few guys make them commercially and some guys make up their own. Basically assemble the fenders and leathers, wet them up, put the top of the leather over one bar, the bottom bar goes through where the stirrup bolt would be. You then add tension, usually with a screw mechanism that spreads the two bars. A drawdown is a saddlebuilding stand with some way to pull a seat down tight with a strap over the top. You can again wet the assembled leathers, put them on a saddle tree, turn the stirrups out and run a piece of post through them, and apply tenson to that post. It will set the twist and stretch them. A homemade way to do it is to wet the leathers still on the saddle, turn the stirrups out, and run the post through the stirrups with a bucket hanging between them. Add weight to the bucket - water, an anvil, whatever. Let everything dry under tension.

When I make up a pocket or anything with a gusset, I make registration marks first. I match the front and back and make little hash marks on both especially at the corners. I then will test fit the gusset to one or the other and hold it in place with binder clips. Transfer the hash marks to the edge of the gusset. Remove the gusset, fold the gusset at each hash mark and transfer to the opposite side. Apply the glue and when tacked up, align everything using the hash marks. It sounds more complicated than it is. I have twisted my fair share of pockets and zippered planners and it is because the front and back aren't lined up and the gusset is longer on the face vs. the back. Prepunching holes before fitting makes it harder to my mind. I'd line it all up, glue it and then punch or just go to sewing with an awl.

The boot and shoe guys mix it up various formulas and ratios of waxes and rosin. I have heard it referred to as coad. It helps to lock and seal stitches. It almost approaches doctrine with formulas and types of wax and rosin to use, and then how it is worked. www.thehcc.org has info in the archives. Rosin is available with many rodeo equipment suppliers in black and white rosin, depending on remaining pitch or terpenes or some other chemical I never really undertstood. Roughstock riders use it to tack up gear and gloves. It is almost doctrine with them too about whether black or whote rosin is better. **Big hint** Don't let your girlfriend try to clean out your gearbag. Rosin socks play hell on a load of wash and the machine too.

Can't say for sure on the Elna. However I tried a new Singer 550 at the shop that worked on my 31-20. It sewed some petrified skirting and also 3 layers of chap. They call it a "commercial grade" but there is way more plastic than any commercial machine. It is a machine designed for home use.

I put my Blevins on like the twisted leathers in the picture. Pins in, 180 degree twist or fold, and they point out. I install them opposite for straight leathers - pins out. Otherwise when you go to buckle them on straight leathers the pins point in, and the excess stirrup leather is under the fender leg.

One thing to point out. On most saddles the pins on the Blevins point out, and the tail of the leather is in front of the stirrup. To do the twist you need to punch out those rivets and turn the buckle around, then rivet them back.

I haven't owned a Rose, but everyone I know who has one wouldn't give them up. If the blade has been neglected and rusted or pitted that is one thing, but if it is good, they are the first grab. I haven't seen any hard dates on when they were made, but the suspicion I heard is the the later 1800s. Here's a link to old makers I find useful - Old tool makers.

The only modern one I have is from Bob Dozier. Best knife I have hands down.

Dan, The ones I took apart had smashed fishing sinkers spaced out between the two layers.

Pete, It all depends on the edge you prefer. Some guys like a square edge with the corners rounded off. Others like the edge in a full arc like a half round.

When I was using the slotted style edgers, I sharpened them on the bottom only with either a flat surface or wet-dry wrapped around something the right size. I stropped the inside of the slot with the edge of a piece of stiff cardboard (cereal box to tablet back) with stropping compound rubbed on the edge.

She'd kill me. I sleep pretty soundly, I'd never see it coming.

Although it is not always gospel, the Old Cowboy Saddles and Spurs book lists Boyt Saddlery as being in business in Des Moines and they stopped making saddles in 1949. In their listing it says that at some time they used aluminum trees. For that price it is almost worth it as a curiosity, but I think Rundi would figure I already have three other "curiosities" I haven't got around to restoring yet.

Brent, Yeah, what she said! That is one cool saddle.

Johanna, We have flown into Billings a couple times. Billings is a 2 hour drive. I have driven up there from Denver and it is about a 6 hour drive. Last year we flew into Rapid City because it was about $300 cheaper for the two of us to fly there vs. Billlings, and we planned to spend a few days in the hills anyway. Rapid City is about a 4 hour drive to Sheridan.

I use the Sharpies for dyeing lettering, but use Pilot refillable jumbo carton markers for edges. I tried to take a Sharpie apart and it made more of a mess than it was worth, plus the ends are usually about worn on out on my Sharpies by the time they are dried out. With the Pilots you unscrew the tip end, pour in more ink or dye and go right on. I bought 4 about 5 years ago thinking the nibs would wear out. I still have 4.

Chris, I like the stand from Ron Edmonds a lot. I have the cantle binding attachment that raises up the back. With the height adjustment and raising the back and letting it hang to one side or the other, I can pretty much do everything I need to. If you are going to build one, I'd base it on Ron's design. Gordon Andrus showed an articulating stand he had a month or two ago with a trailer hitch ball. It looked pretty good. Headed out the door, but maybe someone can find that link. There are a few other threads that deal withdifferent stand designs and experiences. too.