bruce johnson

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.

I'd agree with the recommendations about the old round knives. My particular favorite old knives are made by Clyde Cutlery. They also made the Shapleigh Diamond Edge knives too. If you can hit a deal on an old Rose, they are really good too along with the ones mentioned already. For a new knife I couldn't be happier with one I bought from Bob Dozier. They are a little spendy, but I haven't begrudged that at all. Bob's number is 1-888-823-0023. He is trying to get some stock built up for the trade shows, otherwise it is a wait.

I saw one on Ebay a few weeks ago with some Stohlmans, that was kind of cool. I will find one of the ones I have left and see if we can upload it as a PDF. It might be a day or two.

Allen, There should be no allowance or adjustment in the belt length for buckles. The leather has to go around your waist and past the buckle fold no matter what the buckle reach is. All the buckle heel-to-tongue length tells you is where to punch the holes. I have a strap like Harry's for measuring marked off in inches. I get two measurements from it. The first is the waist size which is the fold end to where it starts to overlap and the second is the amount of overlap they want. The waist measurement gives me a reference for punching holes. The overlap length gives me the rest of the story. Some customers want the tip to just clear the keeper and others want 6 inches past the fold. On some wholesale belts I made the seller didn't want any holes punched. They sized them by the amount of overlap the customer wanted, and then punched them according to the buckle reach. It works for stamped belts without conchos or inlays. One thing they found was that most people with a choice would only want one hole smaller than they wore. Kind of a vanity thing to not have two holes sticking out looking like they had gained weight right off the bat or put on a thicker shirt or tucked sweater and "GASP!" - 3 holes showing.

I've got one from Ron Edmonds that I have been well satisfied with. I would not get the overhead laser arm deal again probably. I definitely swear by the cantle sewing attachment that raises the back up (and you can "hang" the saddle to one side or the other) rather than tip the stand. Heres the link to his site - Ron's Tools . Iam not sure of anyone else selling them commercially.

Tony, Thanks for the input. I sold the Adler a couple years ago. It was an Adler 205-64, and I am not sure if they could use the shims. I am pretty sure the 205-370 uses them. I pretty much set it up to run 346 or 277 thread and never went smaller with that machine. Once we got the race shimmed out, it never gave me much trouble other than breaking a needle now and again.

If this link works, it should take to you to the intro page for the Elko gear show page. Elko Gear Show

Barra, Envious here, I wish I knew tree makers that sent me maple syrup. I had to have Log Cabin on the buckwheats because we are out of the the real stuff, but then again now I need more buckwheat mix anyway. I wonder if they send that out too.

Doug, I would call the Artisan guys for their input. I am not sure of the hook clearances and bottom feed dogs and whatever in the 4000. Actually thinking about this a little more, if you do get some needle deflection, then because the piece is raised up by the plate, it would magnify the amount of deflection at the hook and be more prone to missing. Also the thread may be binding in the groove and not looping like it should. I would try a new needle and make sure there is not more bevel on one side than the other that is causing it to deflect. Then check the looping with the same weight leather on a flat plate vs. the stirrup plate. On my Adler when I first got it, it would sew great on soft leather and up to about 13 oz combined weights of veg tan. If it got heavier it would start to skip. The hook was just far enough from the needle that if I got any deflection in the heavier leather, it would occassionally miss. We ended up and shimmed the bobbin race out and brought the hook closer to the needle and eliminated the problem. I don't know about other Adlers but if mine skipped, it fed a kink into the thread and made it harder to loop on the next stitch and things went south in a hurry. Skip two and you were done.

I do it like Greg. I like the tool for cutting borders alright. I stuck a cheap knife with a blade in it and have about a $12 setup in it. It works well enough for that. The big key is not to overtighten the screws. It can crack the frame.

Skip, My neighbor used Masters. Masters will bond to some oilier leather that maybe the Barge doesn't. I was used to Barge and knew how it behaved and when I made a run somewhere I'd pick up some of each and save the HL fees. I bought 8 or 10 gallons when it went out. Now he is using Renia, and I am on the last of the Barge and liking the Renia too. I also have some SAR that is working alright. My experience with the Barge is that it will work on wet leather, but you have to put it on dry leather and then wet from the other side. If I put it on wet leather it never binds and eventually will roll off like rubber cement. For my groundseats I go this tip from a boot repair guy. Put the Barge on dry leather - two thin coats best. Let the Barge dry, and then you can drop the soles or groundseat pieces, whatever in water. They can soak and sink, doesn't matter. Then take them out, let them sweat and hit the Barge with heat. It tacks right back up and you can stick them down and mold or press and they will hold. You can have some Barged pieces that dry out and hit them the next day and they will tack up. You can also use a little heat to separate Barged pieces cleaner too. I haven't played around with the other cements enough to know if they will behave like this, but in my hands the Weldwood took longer to tack and wasn't very heat responsive.

I have missed this thread. I am on some other related and unrelated forums that deal with cements. The thing with the new Barge is that it will separate unlike the old formulas. It needs to be stirred before use and during use if it sits very long according to them. Some of the boot and shoe guys got some new forumula and didn't get the new instructions. They slathered on mostly solvent off the top, and it behaved just like Doug's experience. I have tried the Weldwood in the past. It does a pretty good job on flat things, and is cheap and available. The big problem I had with it was that it didn't reactivate with heat like Barge and Renia will. I can put on a couple coats of either, let it dry, and drown the piece. Pull it out and let it case up. Then hit it with a heat gun and it tacks right back up. As long as I put it on the leather dry first, it stays put. If I put any of them on wet leather they will peel off.

The first stirrup plate I had was on a Boss, and never had a skipping problem with it. The Adler I had was a 205-64 and since I had the stirrup plate for the Boss, the Boss was relegated to the bags with corners. I sewed on a 205-370 clone for a while and it had a plate that worked for the corners. When I ordered the Ferdco 2000, I got it with the package, the Boss got sold, and have not had a skipping problem there either. I am thinking it may be that the plate is binding the thread when it goes down through the slot? Make sure the needle is hitting the middle of the slot. Other than than, the thread should loop and catch just the same as with a normal harness plate. Needle deflection shouldn't be any more with the stirrup plate than a regular plate. Thinking more here, another thing may be that the stirrup plate is less stable as a platform, and if you are running a double toe foot or left toe it may be deflecting the leather to the left of the slot, pushing it down, and adding some deflection to the needle? I have to run a right toe foot or boot/case foot with my stirrup plate because the right side is wider. I am liking the boot/case foot better now that I have that. You have to be pretty steady how you hold the bag with the stirrup plate, it will rock front to back which is nice to sneak around the outside of those tight corners. It will also tend to rock side to side becasue ot the narrow left side and can get you a wavy line on the bottom of the stitch if you aren't paying attention. The Artisan guys probably have some more insight too. What machine are you running?

I am not trying to do anything here but compare some stamps. I mentioned back in July I had ordered a custom rope stamp (actually two in different sizes). I have used Tandy and Hidecrafter ones for several years and wore out more than a couple. I was happy enough with them then. I got the customs a few months ago. I stamped this comparison out with the one I used to use and the new one when I got them. Obvious difference where I went from one to the other. The other stamp on the scan illustrates the comparison of an off the rack TLF waffle stamp vs. a stock one from a pretty good maker. Barry King made both of them by the way. My advice is to buy the low end first and play with it. If you can't run it or don't like it, you aren't out much. Personally I don't like a triweave much in my hands for example. I am ambivalent about meander borders and can run one alright. My wife doesn't like them at all, and so we don't do many. We do have some good meanders though. She can take a meander stamp and make some pretty cool geometric patterns. Once you get comfortable with a stamp then trade up to a better impression. On these set stamps, a mediocre stamp will always leave a mediocre impression no matter who hits it and what their name is.

Welcome Renee. I think everyone who has ever had many horses probably had a "Scotty" and a "Hank". Scotty looks really happy, happier than I would be there with that background. Thanks for reaffirming my decision to move out of that part of the country.

If you are using a screw the right length, they should pull down slightly into the leather. Combine that with a flat screw head and they do alright. Some silver (especially bars) has rivet backs or copper wire strips soldered in and are meant to be cover with a lining. Adding covers to just screw heads makes more of a bump that is a bigger problem.

Even though this thread is getting close to 2 years old, it is still a real valid discussion of different viewpoints. I think that Dusty did a good job of explaining different factors that afffect how a rider and saddle interact with a horse. The bottom line goes back to selecting a saddle that will not interfere with that to start with on the bottom side. I am not interested in a custom fit saddle for one horse at one point in time, I am looking at saddles that don't get in the way. They don't all work for different horses. We are dealing with some inexperienced riders and someone needs to give them guidance. Otherwise they are getting advice from the feedstore, an Ebay description, operaters at Valley Vet, and the guy with the trailer load of unmarked saddles at the auction. The examples of buying backpacks is valid, but you are going to strap it on and make sure it doesn't pinch or bind before you head out. Who is more qualified to do that with a saddle, a saddle maker or a 20 year old guy stacking feed? I overheard this conversation at a feedstore a few years ago. Someone obviously pretty green was looking at saddles. They had a decent good selection and some were marked full quarter horse and others semi quarter horse bars. The feedstore saddle expert told her that the QH bars fit quarter horses and the semi QH bars fit paints and appaloosas because they are mostly half quarter horses, you know. Yep good sound advice there. With quality and sizes all over the scale on some of these saddles, the novice needs some direction. Just because Buck's or Ray's or whoevers Wade fits horses well doesn't mean than the $500 Wade on Ebay does. Another factor is that the tree can have the specs that will work, and a saddlemaker's riggings, blocking, and seat postion can change all of that. Another argument for a lot of this seems to be that riders trade horses and never trade saddles so why worry about how one fits. The other misconception is that riders with a few horses will only own one saddle at a time. I really don't see that either. A lot of pretty good horsemen get by with two saddles. One that might fit their immature backed colts pretty well and another for the mature horses. It isn't rocket science and they recognize the need for both. Bob, sounds like we grew up in the same area. I have had Price McClauchlins and Ryons back in the day. The Prices are kind of a blast from the past, I don't think I have seen one out here in 25 years that I recall. I think that connection when he was in Illinois probably helped get that area going for him. I see a few Ryons now and again. The only caveat I would give is that even though they were well made saddles, they can be 30 years old easy enough. The used saddles really need to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Screws can come loose, riggings weak, worn sheepskin, and leathers over the bars. That can double up the price of some of them pretty fast.

Justin, I like your analogy. I had a dog like that once too. That said, there are a ton of different ways to do things. You are doing it right, ask questions about how and why and this is the place to do it. Everybody has a reason for what they do, and it works for them. Most generally you find that even though it may start out different, when it is said and done the results end up working for that guy. Pick and choose, try it and see what works for you. It is only leather and we eat beef everyday. I do it to ensure a continuing supply of leather.

I drill out the old rivets with a drill press and a bit small enough to go down inside without drilling out the stem on the clip the rivet goes through. I reattach them with Chicago screws or conchos for the great majority. On some Chicago screws I cover them with a thin layer of leather. I have done some photoalbums where they didn't want anything exposed. On those I used a star rivet through a backer that was sewn to the cover. I have 8/32 machine screws from 3/8 to 3/4" to get the right length for the weights of leather.

Doug. The stirrup plate will have two raised ridges on either side of the slot. The top of these ridges will be rounded over front to back. The rounding over is a smaller radius than the cylinder arm itself. By raising it up and going over a smaller radius those corners will stay hooked better and roll over easier. Also you just have the width of the ridge to the left of the slot pushing the gusset leather over instead of the distance from the end of the cylinder arm to the slot.