bruce johnson

My experience with it is that you need a good trained chimpanzee to help you. It takes two hands to really hold and steady the work. Unfortunately the Boss requires your third arm to run it. You need to keep the piece really shoved up in there, since the stitching motion tends to push it down and away, and you then sew off the corner. You talk nicely to the help and explain the procedure, then you get a little tenser, and about the third wreck you say something you shouldn't. I can run a two man post hole auger with my wife just fine, but the box attachment was not good. Since my wife wouldn't let me get the chimp, in the interest of marital harmony I got rid of the box attachment for the Boss and went back to handsewing those corners.

Skip, A few other things from training myself, a kid, and two wives. Don't treat it like a hammer, just let it fall. No swinging of the arm to start with at least. Keep the handle crosswise to your forearm axis and kind of twist your wrist and let it rock. As you get the aim down, then you can add a little more force if necessary for a bigger stamp. After a while you will have a couple weights of mauls if you use a lot of different stamps. Keep your elbow in closer to your body. Some people can rest their elbow on a surface, I have to keep it by my side. This became especially important after I messed up my right rotator cuff. Set your stool or chair to the most comfortable height for the bench, nothing will mess my aim up more and make me miss than the shorter stool and then not hitting the stamp flush. I also fatigue a lot faster. For really severe cases and as the staff knows during times of computer server issues here, I have a tin foil union suit - that seems to help too.

Yeah, I like them. I have since made a narrow "single toe" model to get down into the cantle corners. I still laugh thinking about him sewing a cantle and burying the jerk needle barb through it and into his finger on the bottom. That had to be some good watching, and he seemed to have sense of humor about it. You know those stories that always start out, "You'll never believe what happened to ol'........". I ought to get him to join here, he even had the foresight to have pictures taken.

Ken, I like the NC too. Easy to handle, heavy enough to do the job. I guess these guys like the new aluminum base anvils, but I expect this one will outlive me. You can get the rivet sets directly from Bob Douglas (307-737-2222) or from his daughter Vandy at Sheridan Leather Outfitters (307-834-8279). You can buy the three piece set, or the head domer individually.

Right now they have the 1245 on special for $1695. The 84 is a lightweight chap and wallet machine for $1200. No question the 1245 is the better machine for your application. I have done what you want to do with my 1245 without a cough. I have had exceptional service from Ferdco, and sure wouldn't hesitate to recommend the 1245. I've had mine a couple years.

Carver, Realize that I have no loyalty to many things. There are Ford, Chevy, and a Dodge pickup in our driveway at night. I had one of the Professional Tandy splitters - first or second one I got. It needed some machining to be right, and rebeveling the blade to a lower angle, and I sold it. I bought the American crank splitter and a Landis crank skiver from an old friend. They both were fine. If I was just dealing with veg-tan or harness leather, I'd have been happy with the American. I also split some latigo, chap, mulehide, and other softer leathers. I got my first Chase pattern pull through, and it would do them all, without chopping a strap like some of the Osborne designs. I started off with an 8" CS Osborne Chase. Traded for a 10" CSO Chase later on. Kind of nice - leave one set at 8 oz, and the other set to whatever else I needed. On a trip I got an 10" HF Osborne Chase because it was such a different and simple design and very cool. I had used a Krebs before and really wanted one. Last fall I bought one, and ended up and got another in a deal two weeks later along with a 12" Hanson Chase pattern. The guy I bought the 12" from then found a flush mount 12" early Chase style, and I got that one also for no other reason than to have a spare 12" blade. Some of my splitters are for sure over 100 years old, and they all could be. The bevel on these old blades is shallower, the steel is good, and they all work fine for me, although I just have the Randall Krebs, 10" CSO Chase and 12" Hanson Chase mounted. I leveled a 11-1/2" wide swell cover through the 12" Hanson last week. Some splitters I have sold as I traded up. It really depends on what you need one to split. If I was doing vegtan straps, wanted to process scraps easier, and 6 inches wide was adeqaute, the handcrank is the ticket. Softer leather splits better pulled. The Osborne 86 pull throughs can have the strap ride up the bevel or flip up and chop. The exposed blade on the 86 is just asking to make you bleed at some point. The hold-down bar on the 84 and clones help to prevent that some, but can still happen. The upper roller on the Krebs eliminates it. The dial setting on the Krebs makes it very repeatable. The upper and lower rollers on the Chase pattern or Krebs means the leather has no place to go but into the blade. I like that, and they haven't seemed to make one with that design for about 80 years. For a pull through, if I had it all to do over - I'd get a Krebs first and then a Chase pattern to back it up.

I am Bruce, and I am a splitteraholic. I had an American. My experiences with it. For a crank splitter it is pretty good. It feeds from the back, which is a plus I'll get to. They are a 6" width so a little limited. It does firm leather fine. Softer leather like some latigo will wad up between the feedwheel and blade if the blade starts to get dull or the leather hits a soft spot. Smething specific to the American - the platform that the blade sits on can have a hairline crack. It is from a casting deal with a slight bow in the face, so when you tighten the bolts that hold it on the frame it puts tension on the platform. No big deal, the bolts hold both sides of the blade, and the blade splints the platform. Apparently fairly common from talking to some guys who have them. It sure didn't hurt the resale on mine when I decided to sell it. The downside of the American and crank splitters in general is they are TEDIOUS. I can pull two stirrup leathers through a pull through in the time it takes to crank one, and be a lot less bored and tired. They are handy for splitting smaller pieces that would would require pulling from both sides of a pull splitter though. The upside of feeding from the back is that I could take a latigo, get it started, let go of the handle and pull it through and let the handle free wheel. I have cranked some Landis ones, and they are good too. Greg Gomersall might still have one for sale.

Another mechanical thing to consider is that drilling will scorch or at least heat the holes up enough to harden the edges of the holes. Those hard corners will fray thread as you pull them through. You can avoid this to some degree by drilling slow, and allowing the bit to cool between holes, but still happens. Also the drill holes have to be large enough to allow the passage of the needle, and like has been already pointed out, won't close back up to any degree. There won't be as much binding on the threads to help keep them in place or to keep grunge from collecting in the larger holes and degrading thread faster. The awl holes will allow passage of a needle and then the next stitch if properly placed at an angle will help to close the slit up due to pressure from the flat side of the blade opening up and then the thread in the next hole. All this said it still comes down to technique. Some guys can drill small holes, use smaller needles and make thinner waxed ends and look alright. It looks better than the guy who shoves a larger awl to the hilt and makes a hole you could throw the needle through with a doubled up loop of binder twine.

I don't have any pics of the Douglas set, but they are a three tool set. The first tool is for setting the washer (bur). Basically a cylinder with a hole drilled in the end. The design of Bob's has a longer hole than the Osborne. You can use a longer rivet and not bottom out and bend the shank before the bur is set. It never fails, you need a 1/2" rivet and all you have left is a parts drawer of 1 inchers. After I clip the rivet to length when the bur is set, I lightly peen that over the bur with my ball peen hammer. The second tool in Bob's set has a concave area to round over the peen and and smooth it up. No little hammer dimples all over the peen. The third tool is to dome the rivet head. When you dome the head, you also will flattern the top of the peen on the bottom, and recess it slightly. I have attached some pics of the bur side and head side of some set copper rivets. The domed head doesn't show up real well, but you can kind of get the idea. Bob has the sets for numbers 8, 9, 10, 12, and 14 rivets I think. These are tools a guy can make, but for the time involved and equipment needed I buy them. I usually set these rivets on my shoeing anvil. Some things are on a curve or I need to get inside of. On those I use an oval auto body dolly. The handle fits into the Hardy or knockout hole on a lot of anvils. It iworks kind of like a "stake anvil" that way.

When you get to using the copper rivets, there is a guy who makes nice setter/peener/head domer sets in the common sizes. It is Bob Douglas. I hear he makes a nice awls hafts and awl blades too.

A while back I was complaining about some Fiebings Aussie Conditioner I had and the fact that it sometimes left a sticky residue on the surface. Even with a heat gun and melting in the paste and waxes the surface can stay sticky. Some kind soul mentioned that he uses a wipe of Lexol and it takes it right down or away. I have since used up the Fiebings and used a different paste yesterday on some replacment leathers. A quick wipe of the Lexol and they were slick. I am not sure that I got that tip from this forum but if not, I am passing it along here in case. TOTCR.

McJeep, Thanks for the heads up on what kind of tape it is. I will add that to the "never buy even on sale" list. Clear View and Premium is sort of telling me it may be a label or dual purpose tape which does have a stonger adhesive. I use the carton sealing tape and whatever is on sale. I like the "anything that fits in this bag" deal they have every so often at Office Max. You might be able to rub the adhesive off with a belt cleaning eraser thing. If not and it remains sticky, a little baby powder shook over it will take most of the tackiness away from it. Probably a bit of use and it will collect enough dust to not be tacky also.

Doug, Very cool design and great construction. I like it a lot.

I have used the packing tape for several years. A few things I have found. I haven't seen any significant difference between 3M, Office Depot, and Office Max carton tape. I buy them in the 12 pack. I put it on dry leather and then run the slicker over it lightly to get a decent bond. I did use some label tape by mistake one time on several pieces in a batch - that is industrial strength and I had to sand it off. Any type of tape with a duck on it is likewise too sticky to come off when it should for me. I haven't left the tabs, but good idea. I leave my tape on through oiling at least. The little bit of oil that invariably creeps over the edge will loosen the adhesive on the tape at the edge. If I don't have a loose section to begin with, I use the point of a stylus to lift a corner and start removing it. I leave the piece flat and pull the tape back pretty much parallel with the surface. If I lift it up, I end up stretching the piece sometimes if it is thin. If i get fuzzies after I pull the tape, it generally is from low belly or loose fibered leather. I use few light strokes with the black skiver, or sandpaper to peel it off. If it is that loose it probably needs to come off anyway. I still get the fuzzies off even if it is going to be backed or lined. My experience. If it is stuck hard and you can get a start at it, maybe hit it with a little heat on the adhesive side as you pull it. I use a paint stripping gun sometimes to loosen stuff that has been cemented down, it might work on the tape.

I use the wire steel welding brushes too. I had an old favorite I had used for years, Rundi used it to clean up the barbecue grill and it was ruined for leather use. I had to put out a couple bucks and get another.

Sounds like you are on your way. You do need to take it down pretty far. I'd clean it first, deglaze and then dye. It depends on your type of dye as far as what to do there. For black you really need to buff afterward to remove the excess pigment on the surface. Then recondition with your product of choice - NF oil, olive oil, saddle oil, pastes, etc. I wouldn't use leathersheen or any acrylic on a saddle for a finish. I'd probably go with something forgiving like TanKote. While you've got it apart that is a dandy time to check for weak riggings, stirrup leathers, and the kind of stuff that will put you on your head. I would also get some stirrup hobble straps on there before you end up turning a stirrup and taking 30 foot steps with one leg to keep up or worse.

I dye them and then slick with a wax I melt and mix up - about 3/4 paraffin and 1/4 bee's wax or so. Then either rub it hard or run it on my wooden slicker to melt the wax and hold down the fibers.

He plead guilty to misdemeaners and recevied fines and 3 years probation.

Pete, The chaps are neat. Keep 'em coming. Question on the riggings too. Did you mark John 3:16 on all of them? It is kind of cool to know it was on my buddy's rigging. I can't tell you what that was worth to pull his rigging out of his sack after he died and read that, knowing he had sighted down it too. Quite a few people coming through the museum have commented on that being there. It probably means more to me now than it did even then.

Steve, One of my favorites that you have posted. I like how that ring lays in there for a skirt rig. Nice old California looking floral pattern too.

To end up with a flat bevel I use a small french edger. For a rounded edge I use a round bottom edger with the open toe design. I don't make a lot of totally square inside corners. I punch the corners with a small drive punch first, and then cut out from there. It makes it easy to get in there with a small dowel to slick that corner. The round bottom or bent tip edgers will go right around a corner punched with a pretty small drive punch.

Woolfe, I wouldn't let them chew them. Tanned leather doesn't break down in the stomach to any great degree. It in fact can ball up and get even harder. If it remains in the stomach expect weight loss, vomiting, inappetance, etc. If it moves on down into the intestines and causes a blockage, expect acute pain, vomiting, and is an emergency situtation. Either way you get to pay a pretty hefty vet bill. I am pretty handy with an endoscope and have yet to fish out anything that big without surgery. I am not a big fan of rawhide chews either. Although rawhide can breakdown over time, a big piece can take a while and cause the same thing as above. In my other job I am - Bruce Johnson, DVM. Maybe Dr Nikkel will weigh in also.

I am with Brent's suggestion and would also recommend adding some Dawn to the water. I had a friend who bought an overoiled saddle a few years ago. The box it was shipped in looked like the bottom of pizza box. UPS had opened the box to see if a jug of something had broken and to make sure there was no HL products that someone was trying to sneak through. It squeezed out oil. They washed it with Dawn and warmish water and never really let it totally dry out for a few washings. It came out better than expected.

Knut, Herb Bork - Pendelton OR - (541) 276-5207 Walsall Hardware - Scottsdale, AZ (480) 948-1465

I had talked to a few guys who had the Weaver a few years ago and decided I didn't need any kind of hydraulic stand. Once we finally breed up horses with 180 degree withers and zero rock, then a flat plank will hold a tree. As it is, with angled bars and rock, well they don't. The swivel and pivot mechanism has let go on a few guys and slipped at really inopportune moments. With the drawdown attached to the base, you have raise it up to allow for the tension. You can't change height without changing tensions, and then you have those eyes and straps on the base to trip over. They used to make straps that went over the bars in front of the swells and behind the cantle to secure the tree while working on it tilted. I am not sure if they still do. That would probably be OK until you got your riggings on. My wife talked me into the stand from Ron at a show. Cash and carry show special, we have the truck we can just haul it home, honey you need something better, this could replace both of your stands, this is really nice, it's a present, etc. His design had addressed the concerns I had seen with the other one. I figured for the time I'd spend putzing around making one, personally I was better off to get this one. I have sure seen some homemade ones that look good. Keith Seidel has one that has a little truer horse's back shape.