bruce johnson

Greg, Thanks for that update. Yep, the man was a visionary. Pretty cool to get the story from his son too. I have seen pics of those old guys riding with a rope. I am thinking they do it in some of the charro rodeos out here. I did have an old bareback rigging with a solid aluminum (?) handle that came in a trade about 25 plus years ago, kind of an odd one. Came in after the rag handle era, but not sure when. As I recall it was a "Jimmy Houston" (?), so that kind of dates it. I'll ask some of the older guys how long the metal handles lasted, wasn't very long. Quite a few retired bareback riders locally that spanned a lot of years. I am headed to Denver in a couple weeks. My wife has a convention, and I am tagging along. Pretty free lance vacation for me. I am going to have a week to kill, and will probably spend at least a full day at the Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs. Might go up to Cheyenne too. No serious plans, just time.

Ed, Short answer - ALWAYS!!! It is nearly impossible for me to sew a tight corner without it and not have feed problems (short stitches as it bunches going into the corner, then a l-o-n-g stitch as it makes the bend, pops over, and sighs in relief). The other things is that by keeping everything flat, the gusset tends to pull away from the body in the corners and I think bad words. It was actually a little easier to do this type corner on the Tippmann. I could stitch at a time, place it, stick the needle to hold everything, and run a stitch. Still not real easy. Dumb ol' me gets the advice after about 5 years of doing them to get a raised plate. It will make the radius smaller and sews those corners like nothing. That's a fact. I still had the Adler then too, and the 205-64 wouldn't sew well with a raised a plate I was told. That is the big reason I kept the Boss around was to sew corners on purses, shaving kits, and soft side brief cases. When I got the Pro 2000, I got a stirrup plate and a holster plate with it. The Boss went into the storage room, never came out, and two months later was sold. I normally use the stirrup plate. The stirrup plate is more rounded (smaller radius) and the ridge on the left side of the slot is narrower. This lets me get a deeper bite without tensioning the gusset as much. On stirrups the narrow ridge lets you sew closer to the wood, and the small radius lets you make the bends. Another area this plate shines is sewing zippered gussets in planners. If you sew flat, every once in a while you will sew across a fold in the corner. You say bad words, your shop cat runs, and things are not good. With the raised plate, the zipper gusset has some room to stand up, and a lot less wrinkles and folds, especially in sharper radiuses. Because of the narrow left ridge, I can only use the narrow center foot and right toe foot with the stirrup plate. For these - not a big deal. The holster plate is flat on top and wider ridges on both sides. I can use the wide center foot and double toe foot with it. There are some things like saddle bags, rope bag pockets, and some repairs where this set up is four aces. Still some relief, but a pretty stable platform.

Paul's post in the Wichita Falls report got me thinking. I was in the same boat as him - about 300 stamps, bunch of handtools, and I only was using about 20%. I went through the Tandy Leather Arts program they had several years ago. You had to do a lot of different learning modules like figure carving and all kinds of projects - the more you did, the better your benefits. Some of these I had little interest in later, and the tools sat. I also would buy yard sale sets of tools to get the few I wanted. Then I could send the duplicates to a woman who collected tools for prison programs (later dropped in CA, they make enough sharp weapons on their own). I was running out of options to keep tools organized, and just wasn't using them. I have since adopted the "green room" plan. It is a storage room in a separate out-building. I put things out there, and set a time limit to prove I don't need it. If I don't go get it, it sells. I started off doing that with the Tippmann Boss. It went so well with that and some 3-in-1 machines, that I do it for other things now. I have a handcrank splitter and some thumbprint pear shaders ''cycling out" in a couple weeks, things like that. Stampwise, I probably have about about 80 active now. The only ones I am buying now are geometrics, borders, flower centers, and baskets. Things to just "mix it up" a little. Once in a while I will find a neat old stamp with some history someplace, but they are all users. Because my wife does some work, and has different preferences for some things like edgers, I do have some duplicate hand tools, but everything else is pretty streamlined. Anybody have something they do that works?

Paul, Thanks for the report. Posts like this kind of help the rest of us plan our travels out. I am probably going to go to Wichita Falls at some point, but this makes it a little less of a priority maybe. You will like the sewing machine lights you bought. I have them on both machines, and they are nice. Long enough to be mounted out of the way, secure enough to stay where you aim them, and small enough to not be looking "around" them. My wife bought one for her station at work. Any ideas ideas on when the big splitter is going to be done? Are they still looking at around $2000? I can only find one disagreement with your post. I can never find just one stamp I like with Barry King or Wayne Jueschke. I usually end up with a few. I like this one, my wife likes that one...

Lute, I have Herb's book also. Lots of good info for some of the special needs that some leather tools have. I bought a spare blade for my handcrank splitter. It needed some help. I called Herb. He told me he could do it, but was backed up. He also said if I wanted him to do it, he laughingly added to send the book back too, because I wasn't reading it. He offered to fix it it I messed it up, but to try first. I found that taping wet/dry down on a marble piece I had that was about 6" wide and 2" thick worked well. Gave me enough blade on the abrasive to feel and keep it flat, but enough room on the ends to keep a decent hold on it. I went through the grits, and finished with a polishing on the wheel. I still have the blade and the book. LOL. One thing I have found that is pretty amazing to me. Unless the blade is chipped or the bevel has been radically changed, you really don't need to take off much to get a good edge again. A pretty poor looking blade can usually be done fairly quickly. I was guilty of starting off with too coarse a grit and then spending all my time working the grooves from that coarse grit out. Now I start with a medium or finer grit, and get more done and less blade wear in less time. I had to learn than just because a stone had two or three sides didn't mean I had to use them all.

Greg, Good deal! I have been wanting to try it, but have been a little gunshy. Probably one of those legends that gets started and keeps going. One of my motorcycle riding customers told me that it does wear out a patch and is pretty slick, but that may be more road vibration than we deal with on a saddle. There aren't enough guys around here riding one to see how it has worked out. The ropers and barrel racers are still wearing out the ostrich seats when that fad hit 4-5 years ago. Last year at the finals, everybody was selling them with stingray seats, from pretty plain colors to flames and camo. Any problems sewing the stingray with bigger beads on your machine? Also, what kind of padding are you using underneath it? Thanks,

Pat, Sorry but I can't resist this. Arnold is probably old enough and has been in the business long enough, that machine probably DID sew King Kong and Arnold sewed him. He probably also has the clicker big enough to cut the suit on one pass. Not sure if he told you, but at one time he owned a shoe factory that produced 5000 pairs of women's shoes a DAY for Sears. That was before that trade went overseas. Arnold knows machines and what they ought to do. It is fun to just walk around in there.

GS, I have done a fair amount of the inlays on spur straps, checkbbok covers, small stuff like that. Apparently stringray is fairly abrasive on jeans as an inlaid saddle seat. It is used as an abrasive in some parts of the the world. I use the small skins from Jerry VanAmburg, and he usually has some smoking deals at the shows and lots of colors. I usually stock up on stingray and frogs with him. Frog makes a cool inlay too, although not as durable as ray. The beads are fairly small, and I have had no problems sewing it on my machines. I back it up with plugs from whatever I have cut out for the inlay. I just run the plug edges around on the belt sander or dremel to make them slightly smaller and allow for the thickness of the inlay without distorting the shape. Cut the inlay slightly over sized, glue it to the plug and sandwich it with a lining. I cut the stingray with those scissors that used to be advertised to cut pennies. They sell them in the bargain bins at the hardware stores. I like my knives enough to not use them. The edges of some of the beads if cut through will be sharp, and I have got a few raycuts (like a paper cut) handling them. The dremel with a sanding drum will smooth them up if they are not inlaid I am told.

Regis, When they were more readily available I used the vegtan kangaroo for lining higher end things. A light application of oil/dye and finish and good to go. I use mostly the vegtan goats for that now. Pretty thin and a bit of a "grain pattern". I have no reason to tool the lining of a checkbook, so I haven't tried any more than some finger cuts. I oil it and apply a finish to the whole piece, then just cut what I need. Both of these leathers are pretty strong and thin. I think they look nice and smooth as lining. On the regular kind of things I use pig to line with. I like the pig that has been processed with the smooth or jacked finish. One of my former wholesale customers used to like natural lining pig left plain. She thought the grain and pattern looked more "real" than her other lines she was getting elsewhere. I tooled on some heavier vegtan pig, it behaved like a pig. As far as oiling and dyeing. I find they dye up lighter than my tooling leather, but will still take a nice color to not look bleachy and cheap.

Tex, As far as I know, they have not had a certification yet. Originally it was going to be prior to the 2006 Sheridan show. They didn't get the numbers, conflicts with Saddle Week (which was the finest group ever anyway, LOL), and conflicts with testers as I understand it. It was to be a written test, and a practical - covering a saddle horn, swells, and doing a Cheyenne roll. You were to bring your own drawdown, tools, and supplies. You were also to bring a completed saddle, and one partially done. You dang sure weren't going to fly and get everything there handy. I would have filled the Capri and slept in the seat. There were really no "standards" for the practical listed. As there a few ways to do everything, I have the concern of Darcy that if you don't necessarily do things as the proctor does, is that wrong? Also we don't all use the same terms to describe even the simple parts of a tree - some call it a waist and some a twist, some the rear pad and some the fan, etc. I do agree that some sort of certification would make things a little more legit, especially to an insurance underwriter. But I am also reminded of what the graduate of medical/veterinary school with the worst grades is called - "Doctor". Another ASMA event was to take place prior to Sheridan this year, but was likewise cancelled. I am not sure how the deal they have scheduled prior to the Wichita Falls show is going. Maybe I am being cynical, but it just seems like we don't have the incentive here to make the certification deal be anything more than a certificate on the wall. I can't see the guys who have made a couple hundred saddles go do the test with no incentive other than a certificate. Most customers don't know or care at this point. I am not sure the English folks in this country are concerned with it on their end, and apprenticeships and certification seem to be possible/available in Europe. There is no real infrastructure to get that done on the western side. I don't think two weeks at a school that promises to teach you to make a saddle counts as making you a saddlemaker anymore than a weekend horse clinic makes you a trainer. Like Darcy said, the term master saddler needs some fine tuning. There are a few self proclaimed master saddlers that don't even belong in the same room. The ASMA list looks pretty legit in that regard. On another side, the ASMA did have plans for more training opportunities. There was also talk of collective business benefits like insurance, credit card processing services, etc. Not sure if that is progressing or not. I think those sort of benefits could make this a more viable group. Currently I am a member, and get updates to the "Green Book" every so often. The Green Book is similar to the pricing manuals the auto repair shops use. Average time and material estimates for different repairs, and a final price based your own shop rate. It is mostly based on the principles that Bob Brenner has in his book on pricing for the saddlemaker and leatherworker. His book is a valuable resource for me BTW. The only calls I get off the website are from other saddlemakers asking me if it is worth joining. The intentions are good, but time will tell.

Pat, All awls are not created equal. I used to use Osbornes and Osborne blades. Worked OK, but like all Osborne tools, they sell you the makings of a tool. You have to tweak and sharpen and strop yourself to really get them right. I bought an awl and two different blades last year from Bob Douglas. They are much better in my hands than any others. They are sharp and polished when you get them. Remember that feel. You can order them directly from Bob at (307) 737 -2222. I expect Bob is probably headed to Wichita Falls this week. Vandy has them at Sheridan Leather Outfitters, their phone number is (888) 803-3030. The blades I have are a "regular" and "slim". He has a few handle sizes also.

Alan, The seat contour and the overall look is good. I really like the braidwork on the horn. The braidwork sets it off well. I can hardly keep rawhide bindings on some of them out here, braidwork would be a full-time job. Diamond plate on the flat beds and tule fog in the winter eats rawhide bindings. A couple suggestions, just little things. The carving is a different pattern from side to side. Also on the right side it goes right to the edge of the fender. I would keep it back a bit to make a "margin". I have not heard of any of the AS hardware breaking, but I am not that impressed with it just handling it. Borks or other suppliers might be a better choice. I haven't got the chance to handle any of Jeremiah Watt's new hardware, but it looks alright in the pictures. For the cost of the AS conchos, you can buy pretty good plated conchos from Hansens that have some nice engraving. Their plating seems to be a bit more lasting than the average too. The overlays are a little pricier, but not astronomical. I usually spar varnish the monels if I am not lining them. If I line them I varnish the exposed edges. Just sets them off a little. The only other little thing I see is some slack in the rope strap buckle. It looks open enough that the buckle could slide down if the strap was unbuckled. I am not a huge fan of rapid rivets on saddles, but this is one place a small one right at the base of the buckle heelbar could hold it up tight, or tie it in place like some the harness makers tie in buckles. About all I see, nice job!

Don, Very cool work. I like the pattern, and especially the really smooth job of covering the swells without a welt (or am I just not seeing it?). The finger carving in the seat breaks up a pretty big open area too. No reason to safety up when they give out awards like this. Congratulations.

Skip, I took Jesse's class at Wickenburg. It was pretty good to see how one guy sorts out the different styles. I think he broke it into Sheridan, Northwest, Texas, Porter, and California (Visalia). I understand the basic differences, but there is a fair amount of cross-over, and has been evolution in styles over the years. One guy in the class kind of put the different regional styles into perspective for me. He compared them to accents and local speech. You might grow up in Canada, but move to Texas or Oklahoma, and pretty soon "Y'all are fixing to get some work done, hey". There really aren't any hard and fast categories for any kind of style, but you can borrow from all of them and make it work. I think there are infinite styles. Within Sheridan, some guys say that when Don King and Billy Gardner were working together on the RCA saddles, not many could tell who tooled which parts. But turn them each loose and it was different. Chester Hape, Jim Jackson, Clint Fay all have different styles within Sheridan. There are different guys who stamped at Porters that the guys who know could pick out who did the work. Same with Stanley Dias (?) and some of the stampers at Visalia. Even thought it may fit into a "style", it is still individual.

Ed, Voice of experience on the receiving end here. Number one - INSURE IT!!!! Ok, done with that. Good idea to have it packed in a UPS store. If UPS packs and UPS breaks it, the finger pointing is all in one room, so to speak. I recently got one that was dropped in the delivery truck. That is noted in the tracking, so no question of where and how it happened. They must have done it right, because they reboxed it themselves before letting me pick it up at the center. Some of the broken off pieces (tensioner and thread guide) were not included in the repack operation. My experience so far in the claim process. It was packed and shipped through a UPS store. They used foam peanuts and cardboard as the cushioning (foam peanuts become foam communion wafers in nanoseconds). The hard foam is a better deal. Take pictures of the machine from all 4 sides to preclude them from coming back and calling anything previous damage. Skinny things that stick up/out like thread guides on top, maybe tensioners, might be removed. Make sure that no part of the casting or machine is directly in contact with the outside of the box. I would seriously consider boxing it and cushioning it, and then reboxing it in a slightly larger box. It doesn't take much of a hit the chip the casting in the base if the head is sitting directly on the bottom of the box (ask how I know). Take a picture of it before the box is sealed to show how it was packed and cushioned. Take a picture of the box manufacturers seal to show that the box specs and bursting strength are adequate for the weight of the machine. Look at your receipt and make sure IT IS INSURED. That is what I know so far. I can update on settlement satisfaction later.

Ken, Post a picture of the H&F string beveler please. They used to sell a handy little tool with a round hole in it to pull strings through and bevel. A few of the guys around here had one. A couple years ago I called H&F and they weren't selling them anymore. I saw Bill Gomer had one in his video, and called him. He referred me to a guy who said Bob Beard bought the patterns and rights to make them. I called Bob and he did indeed buy the rights. At that time (2-3 years ago) he was not seeing enough of a market to make them, and had no plans to do any. Thanks.

I have been asked to do a "one of" planner with some tooling and the logo/text will be done by someone else locally with a laser. Questions coming to mind: Can the leather be tooled, and oiled, but not finished before lasering? Will the laser darken the lettering and will I need to be careful what finish I use over it to prevent the blackening from coming off? What else should I be asking? Thanks for the timely thread. Now the bigger question, How much would one of these units cost? Easy to learn? Easy to get and service?

Pete, Good topic on one of those things a guy trades around/up until he finds the one that works for him. TLF has a little bench one for around $200. I got one thrown in with a tool set several years ago. The blade was not very good. I got one of the "Professional" model ones from TLF on an end-of-the-month inventory reduction deal a few years ago. It was pretty good, but only split down to about 4 oz due to a design issue. Several others on another forum had the same experience, but that may have been fixed in the meantime. The blade on mine held an edge pretty well. They do well for splitting, easy to adjust depth, and the "stop" makes repeated depths easier. Only issue I had was having a strap "ride up" the blade and chop off sometimes. Not something that happened often, just at bad times. You can do lap skives with these easily. My old tool refurbishing buddy sold me an American 6" handcrank splitter. Great for firmer leathers like skirting, strap, or firm latigo. Softer leather tend to ball up between the feed wheels and the blade. If you keep some tension the piece by pulling, it does alright on soft stuff. My far and away favorites are Chase pattern splitters. These are simple old relics, and I haven't heard of any made in the last 50 years (and probably a lot longer ago than that). I have an 8" and a 10" CS Osbornes. They have top and bottom feed rollers, and when adjusted properly, the blade can be set just inside these wheels. The leather has no place to go but into the blade, and can't ride up or down. If they get out of level, they are easily adjusted by loosening one side and moving the gearknob a tooth or two either way. They are pretty handy for thinning a strap end to go around a buckle. I can't do a lap skive out to a feathered edge easily with the Chase. Doesn't matter to me, they split better for me, and I've got two skivers anyway. The Chase splitters show up on ebay pretty often, and normally don't go for huge prices. Bob Douglas usually has some too. A couple of us were discussing these. They are so different looking than the old Randalls and Osborne 84 and 86, that it must just scare people off.

Beez, Been otherwise occupied for the day. Yes the Siegel strap sides are the same tannage as the skirting I like. Talk to the rep, they can pick the lighter 7/8s if you need to go light. When I need to get lighter for wallets and stuff like that, then I get it from HideHouse. Siegels are 1-2 days shipping away, HideHouse is overnight, as is TLF in Fresno. I am pretty spoiled. For personal reasons, Siegels are my first go-to leather supplier. I haven't dealt with Goliger or Stevenson-Paxton, although they are all close by too. I try to run with minimal inventory on hand for most things. Like my other business, "I want to use the last one as the brown truck pulls up", "Let the supplier be your warehouse" and those other business class mantras. Vandy at Sheridan Leather Outiftters was two or three days on my last order, and she has some hardware stuff nobody else does. That's cool. She may be the closest seller of Thoroughbred leather if they are still carrying it.

Trying not to sound like a smart alec here, but it is a "red one'' and came from China. There is no brand name on it. I got it from Rayco which is a local industrial equipment supplier (Modesto, CA). There is a Rayco that comes up on internet searches, but this isn't part of them to my knowledge. Rayco has a lot of shop equipment that is a step above Harbor Freight, but the price difference is visible in the quality. I have to come clean on this deal too, under threat from another member who knows this. My wife uses this a LOT more to click out stuff than I do. She started out making coasters a couple years ago. Simple stamped, but mostly hair on hide scraps glued to scrap skirting and then clicked and edge sewn. She was hand cutting them to start with, and got the attendant oddballs from handcutting anything. I ordered her some dies, and they arrived just before Feb 14th. Guys, clicker dies for your wife are not the most appreciated Valentine's Day gift. Any gift you give her later seems like an afterthought. Seemed like it would be funny at the time.....

Weeell, OK. I'll jump into this snakepit of a topic with both feet. I like Siegel's skirting - the golden oak. It is softer than HO. You will either like it or you won't. Nobody says, "Oh, it's sort of OK". They have some new colors, but I haven't tried them. I am a fan of the LM shearlings. I used to use Lazy M. Last fall I visited Siegels and took a swatch of Lazy M with me. Showed it to Steve. A short while later they started selling LM, it is consistantly as good or better than Lazy M by blind tests with some pretty picky folks. Denser wool, thick leather, and not as orangish as the Lazy M. More along the lines of the more yellow or tannish shearlings. I like Siegels USA greasy, waxy latigo. The greasier and waxier the better for me. Siegel's commercial oak is my lining of choice for heavier linings in the 2/3 - 4/5 range. This leather has been jacked seems like, and oils up OK. It doesn't tool up very well, too firm, but it will look good for plain linings and pockets. I also use the vegtan goats from Siegels for linings of the higher end or finer stuff. It also oils nicely for color. I like their mulehide for shoeing chaps and split it down for horn wraps. Diamond Tan is my favorite for gussets in ropebags and saddle bags. It is a waxy firmer bodied chrone tan. Some guys like it for chinks, but I think it is a bit stiff. Siegels sells a tooling leather that is the same tannage as the skirting, but only down to about 9/10 or something like that. Until I get a splitter like Greg, I have to source the lighter weights elsewhere. Sooo, staying in California, I buy the lighter tooling leathers from Hide House in Napa. It tools up about like the Siegels, and oils to about the same color. I like it. My experience with Herman Oak is purely with me. I know guys that make it look really good in the lighter weights. My basket stamping looks flat, like I stamped it too wet or dry. The blocks look like those wheeled off police belts. I have had some issues with rawhide in the skirting as others have. I beat on some Thoroughbred at Elko for a couple days that was more than pretty good. I won a side of W&C last spring. Oiled up it didn't match anything I had. I made replacement stirrup leathers and a set of saddle bags out of it. It tooled OK, but oiled up kind of in-between. Would probably be fine if that was all you used. I know there are only a couple taneries left of consequence in the US, but some of the new imports are not your Daddy's imports for sure.

Ed, Not a sewing machine mechanic, but I think you will be OK. I am going to show some ignorance here. Until your post, I didn't even know there were "clicks". I have had a 2000 for a while, and it has a pretty soft click. I haven't seen a problem with wandering stitch length. I have relined quite a few saddle skirts with it, and it hasn't made new holes, or skipped once set to the previous stitch length. I just bought a used Juki Pro 2000, and haven't got it set up yet. It has more of a distinct click. There is an adjustment for the stitch length lever tension too. On my 2000, it was pretty loose when I first got it, and would actually bounce a little. That will change stitch length. The adjustment is accessed throught the plate on the backside of the machine. Mine adjusts with a flat blade screwdriver. It is the only screwdriver thing back there, everything else is allen wrenches. Tighten down (if it isn't) and that should keep the lever in place.

Al, Doing the math here: For clicking, 1" plate on bottom. 1/2" cutting board, 1/4" leather. 1-1/4" die height. 1" plate on top. Four inches plus a couple to spare, should work. For a flip phone press mold. 1" plate on bottom, 1-1/2" female mold height, 1/4" leather thickness, 1-1/2" male press form height. Four and a half inches, still room to spare. But, it you add another top plate on top to crisp up the sewing lip, It will close. One thing with both of these is that you will not be going through either plate or the cutting board, but it is nice to have some space to work in from the top and not be sliding everything in tight. Once you get a piece clicked (and they really do "click" when you go through), you just have to let off the jack enough to slide the piece out and allow for the height of the die and leather to go back under. I find that 3-4 pumps on the handle is all I need to go through even skirting. It is not like jacking a car all the way up and down each time like some non-believers will tell you. A guy could probably use thinner plates too, but I got 1" to be sure. I like the idea you have for attaching the top plate to the ram. That would work with little trouble. We're gonna get this thing figured out yet. We are beating the socks off the commercial one with more power as it is.

My bottom plate is about 8x18. I put a piece of plastic cutting board over that. I have three or four pieces for the top plate. Smallest is 5x5 up to almost 8x16. They all came out of the local steelyard's cutoff pile (Iknew a guy who knew a guy...). I do not fasten the top plate to the ram. I just set it over the die, making sure it overs all the die, and is kind of centered under the ram. I use the press probably as much for the press forms as I do clicking. I may click a bunch at once, and then not for a while. The press forms are kind of more frequent. On those the first press is just the ram on the male part of the mold to seat the leather. The second press is with a board and plate to crisp up the fold edges and flatten the sewing lip. If I was just clicking, the plate welded to the ram might be nice. It better be welded on 100% square, or the force won't be even over the die. One side might go into the board and the other might not even be through the leather. With the plate not attached, this is not a factor. It is a bit of a hassle to pull the plate out each time, but I think of the $1000 plus savings vs. a real clicker. That little bit of time and effort is worth the money saved for me. My biggest dies are spur straps, so it is not a huge deal for me to handle the plates and dies each time. If you are building one, a factor I would consider. Make sure you allow for plenty of travel with the ram. On mine I click with the bottom plate all the way up. Some of the press forms I have to drop the whole bottom setup one hole to allow for the thickness of the forms and the leather not being bottomed out yet. Some of the old cell phones and flip phones are pretty thick.

Blake, That figures, I missed that episode. All Around Performance Horse is one of my favorites of the horse programming on RFD. Those guys run a pretty good show and mix it up. I will watch for the replay coming up. Congrats, Don.