bruce johnson

There are some topics pretty easily searched. "What kind of sewing machine should I get?" for example. A lot of the rest of it falls into the "I'm so green at this, I don't know what I don't know to even search it". In the good ol' days of leather crafting there was a Tandy store in most major cities. A majority of the leathercrafters that are seniors now probably started off that way. Someone at least could teach them the basics. A lot of the repetitious questions now are from the folks who haven't got that available to them, but they have a keyboard. How many of these threads start off with "I got a kit from TLF and have a few questions"? These folks may not have the classes available to them. This group and others are basically the on-line tech support for the craft supply sellers. Telling them to buy some scraps and have at it blindly would be like giving my wife a welder and pile of scrap iron and telling her to build a windmill. They don't know the terms to search for, or when they do search they get 20 posts from threads that may have some relevance, but put together looks like a committee cow. I have been here from the start and a little background on the "search". Early on the plan was to merge and collate questions into previous threads to make things more searchable. There was talk of a "leather wiki". When there were 300 or 500 members, it was cumbersome to keep up. Crossed over a couple thousand members and it became impossible. That is why there are duplicate threads and search is hard to figure sometimes. One thing I have found is that there are precious few only-one-way-to-do-it techniques in leather work. Everybody uses different tools, cases different, tool stamping order, choice of oil, finish techniques, etc. Probably the best thing I get out of a lot of the basic questions is the responses. I learn a lot from those. With new people coming on, some of these folks have a ton of experience. They haven't gone back through the archives and added their tips and tricks to every appropriate post, but will reply to the same question asked today. Keep them coming.

No, he is just a working guy who checks his emails and normally replies on Sunday. I have known him through internet groups since I started and have dealt with him too. Good guy.

DC, PM or call me. I've got a good using set of 1-1/2" Osborne strap end punches in round and English point, #5 oval punch for the holes.

From another thread going on this topic, sounds like it may be something with these motors. A few other folks reported the same deal - most of the control is in that first 1/8" of travel. I'd call Steve to see if a new batch of motors had something change or there is some adjustment thing. I have different machines and older servos. They have a dial that controls top speed. Even cranked up I have good control over a usable range.

It is helpful to have a nice sized layout table with a long enough cutting board to make a decent length cut. I have a 24x48 cutting board that was pretty inexpensive from Tap Plastics. That way you are not having to move the board all the time too. I have 3, 4, and 6 foot metal rules. Ace Hardware here has them pretty inexpensively. I line up my cut to take out the clip ,marks and give me the best yield. I make the cut with a knife down the edge of the rule. I overlap the rule on the cut line as I get about to the end and go on from there. With the six foot rule I only have to do one shift with the rule and one and a bit more for the cutting board. To answer the original question, I use a wooden strap cutter, draw gauges, and plough gauges to cut strips. I use a razor blade in the wooden strap cutter for thinner or softer leathers. I can't secure the small blades they come with well enough to sharpen them cinsistantly and safely for me, and don't find they last all that long anyway. Razor blades slide in and throw away. I use a draw gauge up to an inch for shorter strips I can secure easy enough. I use a plough gauge for anything over an inch. These are my general guidelines, but sometimes I will overlap with the draw or plough gauge depending on which is handier.

Jon, Harvey hit the class deal, I would allow a day for the show, and preferably the first day. There are also two evening socials of note. On Thurs night before the show, King's host a reception - good food, libations, and comraderie. Geat socializing time. Friday night Sheridan Leather Outfitters hosts one at their place. Another great time. They also have the banquet or reception and pass out the awards for the Leather Debut (entered competition held at the show) as well as naming the Al Stohlman Awardee and Ann Stohlman youth winner. The Don King Museum is a must see. I would allow a few hours at least. Open the same hours as the saddle shop I believe. Unbelievable collection of saddles and gear. Lots of vintage tools on display - some Don made and many he collected. A lot of the Stohlman memorabilia is there - original sketches for the books, the actual workbench, tools, etc. Ok, maybe a few hours is light. I have been through a few times the week of the show and a lot of people there. My last visit was a fall trip and nobody much there. Spent an afternoon and the next morning and finally felt like I had appreciated about half of what was in there. We haven't been for a couple years but next year are planning on it again.

I have used the pinking and scalloping 45 mm blades for roller cutters to make that look. I use a metal yard stick as a guide. I have done from chap leather to 13 oz with them. There are some old hand crank scalloping wheel tools that clamp on a bench too. Usually sell for $75-100 in the antique stores.

I used to work with a guy that one as part of his belt. Snapped on or something.

That seems to be the going rate. Some simpler stamps might be a little less, but some more intricate can go for more. Part is collectible and part is that they just good stamps. There are sure other makers that are sought after but the Don Kings tend to be the top of the heap. Personally the other one I would compare is Bill Woodruff. I wouldn't sell a spare Woodruff basket for less than a Don King. I really like his basket stamps and the rest are nice too. I like Walt Fay stamps too, but they don't have the collectible factor. Good old stamping tools and old books are pretty much a one-way street for me. When I find one I don't have, they aren't leaving soon.

Ya know, this made my day! I sure liked that picture of Dawson sitting in the saddle in your shop a while back. This is even better! Brownie looks like the right kind and needed a job too. Brownie will be the cow eatingest ranch horse on the place in his mind. Wouldn't you like to be kid again.

I have added quite a few more tools on my website in the last 24 hours and changed it up some for easier searching. There are round knives, plough and draw gauges, cool old pricking wheel carriages and wheels, stitch groovers, straight and angled channelers, a ton more edge bevelers, some French edgers - neat old round bottom French edger in there. Quite a few fresh adjustable creasers, some punches, and two rein rounders. Here's the link to the index page for the tools - Bruce Johnson Tools . Thanks!

Joe, I do light skiving for folds on straps on belt sander also. The key is a good sharp belt and it won't scorch. I like an 80 grit for that. I go to a 120 to true up my edges and remove glue boogers on lined stuff.

Joe, You can grind those toes off to however you like. Just go slow and keep them pretty cool. A guy that taught me a lot about old tools ground the toes all the way off his. As you sharpen French edgers the toes will stick out more from material being taken back on the cutting edge. Every so often just shape them back.

Sylvia, Wayne is at Sheridan and as I type my personal shopper should have already picked up a 12 oz maul that he recently started making. The list price on the 12 oz is $80 and they go up from there. I kind of think my 3# might have been $125 or so. I have had some hand injuries over the years - dislocated thumb and little finger a few times each and Wayne's handles are good for me as is. Barry's are good to grip and hit, but the butt of the handle just hits me a little different when rocking it. The Bearman I have would climb up and out of my hand. Nice maul just was tedious and rythm breaker to tip it up and let it slip back down after 6 or 7 rocks. I had the handle turned down some and it made it a lot more user friendly for me.

No real benefit to rawhide - it wears and flakes, but in the day was a good material. I still whack one every so often. It is a piece for an upcoming museum display of old leather tools. I have in the wings and if it is handy, I grab it. Another maul maker to throw in the mix is Wayne Jueschke. I prefer the head material on his the most. It is a bit grabby without being soft. Balance and handle shape are just right for me. He's the most expensive but after a hundred thousand hits on maul, hits per cost ratio is negligible between any of them.

When you said you were using the punch on a concho I guess I immediately thought you were using an oval punch, not a 1-1/2" slot punch. Yeah, it still will need to be sharpened but it will be an exercize in frustration to use a wooden mallet even on a sharp 1-1/2 punch. I use a 2# maul for my bigger slot punches. Usually one or two hits and it's cake. Now going back to the original post where you mentioned something was wider or different than the other. How far off is it? It should be symmetrical. If one end is wider, that isn't right except for a trace punch and I can be pretty assured that TLF isn't selling trace punches.

If it is an Osborne, it will be stamped on the handle. TLF may still sell a few Osborne tools, but they phased most of them out a few years ago. It sure could be one that was made for them. In eiother case if it really cones down you might need to do some serious reshaping. That will take a some profiling with a coarse stone and then finer to remove the grit marks until it looks pretty good. Follow that up with stropping if you feel the need. The edge needs to be sharp and a very slight bevel inside to prevent the edge from rolling.

Who made it? Is this a new punch? If so most of them need sharpening help, some more than others. Some of the newer Osborne oval punches have a heck of an angle on them and can bind on thicker leathers. I took a couple and really flattened the bevel and made them better. That takes a fair amount of time to make them work. Once they are sharp they ought to cut most any kind of leather without a lot of effort.

Jon, Really nice clean work. I really like the way the background sweeps over the basket stamping on the tooled one - cool effect.

Are you using any oil like neatsfoot or olive oil? Lexol? Those will help to soften things up. Casing leather for tooling and then dyeing it will sure dry and harden it.

If you want to do one stop shopping, buy the knife and maul from Barry too. For all around use, probably start with a 16 oz maul. For a swivel knife most people probably start off with a 1/2" barrel knife and a 3/8 blade is pretty versatile. Some other choices for readily available knives are Leather Wranglers, Chuck Smith ("Ol Smoothie"), Henley off the top of my head. Other choices for mauls are Wayne Jueschke (my personal favorites) and Bear Man.

Most have been hit already but I think there are a few other factors to throw in also. Mosty stirrup slots are cut a little over 3". If you use 2-1/2" leathers and push your risers or groundwork forward, you can keep that narrower leather in the front part of the slot. There is a limit though - too close to the back of the fork and it gets to be the limiting factor. The solution some have made is leave the slot where it is, order a longer seat and a higher rise in the ground seat or push on the horn to help keep you back there. Not picking on any event, just saying it has been done. Rigging plays a part., Some methods for making a dee ring rigging will limit forward movement. A dropped round ring or flat plate can be more forgiving depending on how they are patterned. Skirt riggings have the potential for the most forward swing. Fork pattern. Some forks that come pretty far down the bar can limit the forward swing some. One with leg cuts may ease that a bit. Fender pattern, especially the front of the top. Some fenders that wide at the top are going to either hit the back corner of the fork or bind against the pinching from the screw below the fork. If the pattern is one that has a fair amount of fender in front of where the stirrup leather attaches at the top, that will be a big deal. This is more of a factor they higher they are pulled up. I had a trophy saddle that had "California" spelled out across the width in big letters and three or four lines of lettering. They made the fenders wide and long enough to accomodate the lettering and that son of a gun rode straight down at best. I sold it and the buyer wanted shorter fenders. I made them with my normal pattern and rode it. It rode way better.

There are a few things I have bought that have really paid me back. One was a marriage license. The other was Bob Brenner's book - "How To Establish Price For The Saddlemaker or Leatherworker". You don't have to get hung up on the actual numbers he uses in the examples, just learn the principles. These aren't probably anything new for making anything, but his application of them to the leather business makes it more "real". After I read Bob's book I made up several worksheets to determine costs of materials and pricing that. Then allow for waste and incidentals used but not priced out like rivets, thread, finish, etc. I did time studies for my common procedurres - average time spent for a measurable unit like time cutting a piece, prepping, tooling like basket stamping an area vs. time, tooling a common floral or oak corner, length vs. time for handsewing or machine sewing, finishing based on sq/ft worked best, etc. I added the time and that is my time estimate. I still check myself every so often now and compare actual vs. the estimated time. I can add the materials and time estimate and be pretty close for something I haven't done before. Bob's book is usually listed for sale in the classifieds of the LCSJ.

Denise, I used to buy cow magnets for a quarter apiece from a skinner at the tallow works. Aaron, Good idea about the Planos. I snagged a small one from my boat and will use it to sort out the sewing machine needles.

I stick mine on an old cow magnet and then to a metal front on a shelf. For those with inquiring minds, yes that particular magnet was used.