bruce johnson

I have my great-grandpa's saddle and we know he got it second hand in the early 30's. It has the same border stamp pattern as yours but a lot of shops used it too. His came from Duhamels is Rapid City and they called that pattern an acorn pattern .Most places called it a shell border and was popular at the time - easy to do and kind of decorative with only a few stamps and a narrow embossing wheel to border it. Mine is marked in the cantle dish. I know this is a longshot but is there a number stamped on the latigo hanger? Duhamels marked the model number below the slot on the latigo hanger. I am just thankful that when great-grandpa broke the carrier slot out he baling wired the one side back. The #106 is on my carrier. How are the stirrup leathers adjusted on yours? It looks like some variation of a Conway buckle? Mine was orginially laced but somewhere along the line somebody put some Al-Rays on it. My uncle thinks that was done in the 50s. I took them off when I restored it and laced them.

The thing on this one is the 1-1/8" width. I have or have had them in widths up to one inch. I can't recall one larger than that.

I had the same problem with IE. When I clicked the "compatibility view" for this site all was right with the world again here. On some websites (mine and Terry Knischield for instance) if I have "compatibility view" enabled then the hover feature that brings up descriptions when you hold the cursor over a picture doesn't work. The compatibility remembers the settings for each site, so I don't have to click back and ofrth once I figure it out.

Thanks for the links! Interesting reading. Now I have a use for those pesky metal shaves that find their way to my shop. I have used the wooden spoke shaves both to true up edges and also to do long skives similar or equivalent to paring. I also have a few paring blades I reserve for thinner and softer leathers. I do better with the blades for skiving, I can control them and the leather betters than I can with a two handled wooden shave.

Bruce in Oakdale

I have seen pictures of a few old casing boxes from old saddle shops but none in person. They were built kind of like a foot locker, and at least one was metal lined with what I was told was zinc. I don't know how tight the seals were. My old tool buddy told me about using the casing boxes back in the day. They would rough cut the parts and then soak the leather pretty good. They'd wrap it in either burlap or army blankets and stick in the box for a day. He said he was in a big shop in the 50s and they used a casket for casing.

I am mostly seeing some chipped paint with the original John Deere green underneath showiing through and some light rust on the black that is inconsequential as a user. I am with Ken, the price looks pretty fair as-is for the way these have been selling. To do much more you are going to be taking it down and repainting. I am not sure you are going to gain much when you figure in that time. To be honest, I like to see grease and oil when I buy these. That tells me somebody hasn't been sparing it.

Harvey, Next time you are up you could pick a historic wooden slicker from the toy box.

Good job my friend. Stitching looks good and like the tooling also.

Lap skive (tapered skive) and sew them is the most secure.

I'd have a few bobbins - different colors or sizes. I like to have a spare when I am sewing so if run out I can pop another in and go right on. I didn't have their flat bed, but made my own. The downside of the Boss is that you already have one arm running the handle. That leaves one hand to support and guide the piece. Having a flat bed can help support that and makes life easier - big or small work. Mine was an adjustable height so that the table could support the weight while sewing gussets into cases and bags. I mostly used the double toe foot, once in a while a right toe. I used the standard plate mostly but the stirrup plate sure made sewing gussets into bag corners easier. I din't have a material guide and they didbn't have any light set up when I got mine.

Cheryl, I have a hard copy catalog and a PDF of it also. Their basic catalog hasn't changed. They were a little spotty to get things from a few years ago, but sounds like they are back on track with some things. The catalog hasn't changed for decades probably. Someone sent me a recent page from them with updated prices and kind of a "if it isn't on here, we aren't making it anymore" disclaimer for the catalog. Ivan's daughter is supposed to be running things now.

Ray, I missed this earlier, but another vote for Hansens - Hansens Silver . They wholesale only out of their shop. If you see something you like, I can pick it up and ship to you.

Pretty sure it was a McMillen roller pattern and just looked it up and verified it.

Embossing roller - no doubt about it.

Brian - what year? I was there from 78-84. Two years of animal science and 4 years of vet school. Spent a lot of time the first wo years playing euchre in the lobby of Lilly Hall. Probably should have been in classes, but as the old saying goes"'there's more to an education than getting an education".

Welcome, and being you are from Indiana, I am hoping the "boiler" part of your screen name refers to Purdue. Spent 6 years there. To answer your question within a maker, the sizes may be pretty much standard from one type of basket stamp to another for instance. Then again handmades may vary a bit. Between makers nothing is a standard.

Greetings from Oakdale

I've had some practice with this. I first use a pretty good dousing/rubdown of hydrogen peroxide on the whole section of something like that. Then concentrate on the spots and might take a couple of wettings and wipings. There is usually still a smear, but less noticeable. Once it is mostly dry but still slightly damp then I use oxalic acid to clean it. This is one place that I don't think lemon juice is a valid substitute for oxalic acid. Iron freckles - yes, blood - no. There are pigments in blood besides the iron and I think the oxalic does better on those in my experience. I don't like to "scrub" the spots. That tends to glaze the leather and be more obvious, just use light wipings. Once you oil the piece it will be a lot less noticeable.

Rob, I'd sure run this by at least an accountant and maybe an attorney with a handle on labor laws to be above board. I looked into doing this 10 years ago when I was doing a lot of wholesale and awards stuff. Back then the local small business advisory board had some workshops and referrals for volunteer professional consultations for guys like me. Employment taxes and penalties haven't got any better since then and labor laws sure haven't got any simpler. Paying an employee as a hired employee, piece worker on site with regular hours, call them contract labor but using your equipment, or apprentice all have their own set of bookkeeping, legal, workman's comp and other insurance implications. I ended up and paid my kid to edge and slick, and conned my then girlfriend into sewing with the Boss.

It all depends on how you grip the knife. Some people are more comfortable palming the handle and pushing it along. It maybe gives you a little more strength behind it. If that works for you then shortening for acustom fit is alright. For me palming the handle gives me way less control. I pinch the blade with my finger and thumb and have more control, especially for curves. The handle shape and size doesn't matter as much to me. Here's a link to some videos we did for a museum display that shows how I grip and use a round knife for cutting - Tools Of The Trade . The knife clip is down the page a bit.

Jake, It depends. One factor is the size of the thread. I want it to be recessed..If I am using that hand sewing waxed kite string it might take a few passes from whatever groover I use. It also depends on which groover I am using. Nothing against the Tandy type grooovers because I use them all the time. They have a limit to how deep they will go, even with multiple passes. The shoulders next to the blade hole are the limiting factor there. I have taken my stock blades and carefully ground some the shoulder off to get them to go deeper. The old Osborne compass style groovers will cut pretty deep it you want and multpile passes will go deeper each pass. The patent leather tool/gum tool/freehand groovers will go as deep as the sides of the U-shaped tip are sharpened. After that they dig in and don't go any more.

He is using a stitching clam that is held between the legs. It is a mostly European influenced deal. For me the angled jaws on a stitching horse are easier to see and feel the stitch marks from the pricking wheel or overstitcher. It is a more natural push for me too. A stitching grooove may not be absolutley necessary, but I do them on both sides when I hand sew. As far as this guy, I'd wager he's done enough that he has the experience to get a straight line on the back without looking. If you line the front up and keep the same angle of stab each time, that back side takes care of itself. I had an old Irish harness maker visit me quite a few years ago,. He took a rasp to my stitching horse jaws to make them more user friendly and sharpened up a couple awls I had at the time. He scratched a line on some old scrap and then sat down to school me. He sewed about 4 inches of 10 to the inch for a warm up, then another 4 inches of 12 per inch, and finished it off with 4 inches of16 - all spaced by eye and a lifetime of sitting on a sttiching horse. The back side was as clean as the front.

I have been involved in our local Oakdale Cowboy Museum for several years as a board member and president. After going off the board, I have been working on the concept of displays showcasing the leather side of the things. We have some great saddles on display and often times the questions are"what are they made of?, How come they are different?, How come the flowers? Who makes them? How are they made? etc. I have the concept worked out for semi-temporary displays showcasing leather working and saddle making. The first installment features saddle and leather working tools, as well as carving examples by local saddlemakers. There are also three representative examples of the saddle swe have on dispaly. The Sheridan style saddle was made by Chester Hape in 1977. It is a lesson in carving in itself. I learn something everytime I look at it. The russet colored saddle was a 1940-something world champion single steer roping saddle made by Keyston. The dark saddle is a Garcia and was the 1936 world champion cowboy saddle. The display opens tonight and will be up at least through the end of this year. The tools on display run the gamut from Wm Dodd, Sauerbier and others from the mid 1800s up to tools made new last year. The Oakdale Cowboy Museum website features descriptions of the tools as well as Youtube videos of tools being used. Just a note, yes I am the narrater and handmodel. The tools being described are the display tools, although most of the tools being used in the videos are off my working bench. Here is a link to that page from the museum website - Oakdale Cowboy Museum - Leather Tools in use . I am also attaching pictures that offer an overview of the display. If you are in the area, please feel free to stop and see it live.

Another good looking rig there Steve.