bruce johnson

If you are going to do a lot of them, I like the JP tack tool. I have had one for a couple years and use it quite a bit. It makes getting a old one out easier for me, and the price is pretty good. There are some out there that cost more, but this one hasn't marked up leather has got them all out so far for me. Here's a link - JP Tack Tool

A fine napped paint roller is about all I use for big pieces or straps. Little stuff I use a clipped woolskin scrap and squeeze it out some.

Any questionable exotic you buy from a dealer is going to be tagged. These are CITES tags - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. This is currently the best system in place.

Like Art, it has been explained to me as no sorting - they pull your order the way they are stacked on the pile. When I made the step from buying locally to ordering, I received one TR side that had a forklift track the length of it about 6" below the spine and footprints. I changed my mind and believe that to one seller "tannery run" means to run over it in the tannery.

I have been following the drop a day advice and probably heard it from Art back in my early IILG days. I started off with the advice to use a little Prolong oil additive in hydraulic oil. A few years ago they had that whole flap about the super friction fighting, surface binding oil additives not doing what they promised so I'm not sure what it did now. About that time I got some Lily anyway. The Lily is about gone, so guys - more Lily with shipping charges? hydraulic oil I can buy at 10 places along the drive home? Buy some Dritz from the sewing machine guy who practically mugs me out of appreciation for not being a crabby woman who ran over her vacuum cleaner cord again and wants it replaced while she waits? Now another question that gets to the solvents. I have been using Ballistol to clean my machines for about the same length of time. In regular use, I clean my machines about once a week, taking off plates, remove the hook and shuttle, and looking for gunk. If I am doing repairs, I clean after those for sure. My concern now is that I just willy-nilly spray into the shuttle area and Q-tip/paper towel it out. I add a few drops of oil to the race and dab a little on the bobbin case. Any thoughts or advice there?

I get crocus at Ace Hardware. They have it in the "by the sheet" displays at the stores here.

I use it for stiffeners in thin or small things like business card cases with inlays. I glue my inlay material to an oversized piece of film and then sew around the cut out through the materials and Xray film. It works particularly well as a backer if you plug your inlays and have a very thin lining.

Sheridan Leather Outfitters usually have them also.

In good using condition they usually sell for $400-750. The lower end is going to have some cosmetic stuff, the higher end are going to look good. If it is buried under leather dust, that can be corrosive and will probably be the biggest problem. These will be the reasons to pass altogether or discount what you can pay. Things to check are the blade condition. Pits and chips close to the edge and that sort of thing. Also, how much blade is left. Check the feed roller. If it is rusted up, it may clean up or may need to be remilled. If it is cupped that is a bigger problem. Same with the top roller. The gears are usually bullet proof, but check to make sure it turns smoothly and the teeth are all there.

It has kind of been a natural progression in both directions for some of our suppliers. They go or have gone from manufacturing to a supply division or vice versa from supplies to manufacturing. Tandy owned a belt company in the 90s when I was making belts. I buy rope cans from suppliers who also sell custom leather covered rope cans. I buy from who gives me the best service and price, not necessarily them being competition or not. I buy some of my leather from a guy who is a great leather craftsman and has a business with both. None of these really bother me, we all have customers for our price and expertise market. For this next part, I am not picking on nay one supplier or praising one for that matter (unless either recognises themselves). I can see both sides of things. They might be competition, but the reputable ones are buying materials and have a feel for lot to lot changes in what they are getting - good or bad. Hopefully they have the character to pass that experience on when they select for my order. I really appreciate it when a supplier tells me "the 7/8s are rough, but I've got some good 8/9s". I like it when they say "I've got some great 8/9 sides, you sure you only want one?". I love it even more when they say "It is all crap, but I've got a new shipment coming next week". I have sure had some businesses that weren't users of what they sell, and the some were good. One recently wasn't. That takes experience, and integrity. You either have to have knowledge of the product through use, or enough experience to know what they got in the last shipment and how it might work up.

I have listed a few more tools for sale on my website. I have a 5 inch Dixon plough gauge, Marlin stitching groover, and two Marlin knives added today. Here's the link if you are interested - Bruce Johnson Leather Tools For Sale . Thanks

Almost all of the stitch groovers are adjustable and you definitely want that. As far as creasers, it really depends. The newer adjustable ones have a rounded profile and splay out more than the older ones. They tend to wander more and leave a wider impression that is not as precise or crisp as the old ones. The downside is that the older CS Osbornes and some of the English made ones are hard to find in good shape. The upside is that with a good adjustable crease, you only need one. They can doulbe as an edge crease or use them to lay down tracks for a beadline. Used on an edge, they won't round over and compress that edge like an edge creaser will though. If you go with the sized creasers, you are probably going to need a few sizes. The edge creasers have one leg longer to ride the edge and the profile will round over the edge and compress it also. The bead creasers have both legs the same length and will mark off and burnish a beadline.

I use straight beeswax for thread. Bees wax is sticky and will hold the thread. I mix bees wax and parafin for edges. I melt it on the stovetop in a pyrex and pour it into cupcake papers to harden. I just got a tip about putting the pieces into cupcake paper or baking mold and melting it in the oven with lower heat too.

Mike, I am using Renia cement right now, but haved Barge in the past.

I am looking forward to hearing how Troy does it too. I try to go with no welts whenever I can. I can do most all of the modified Associations and Associations without welts now too. I had a couple that beat me last year and I had to go with welts, but that was leather tannage issue. I pick my cover from the low belly in the middle with the back of the cover to the bottom of the side. I soak it and leave it sweat for maybe a half hour and air for 15-30 minutes. I was shown to run it over the horn and start to lay it over the swells. I just sort of use my hands to form over the swell points but not to pull on the edges to stretch it over. That pulling stretches the edges and makes for more to gather up later. I kind of push it around into I have the top third or so of the swells pretty formed by hand. It is more of push and compress deal. I figure where to make my handhole cuts. Then I pull it off and go to the kitchen sink. I give it a good shot of running warm water until the cover feels warm, but not hot. I lay it back on and start to form more of it. I kind of divide the slack into one third/two thirds and tack the middle of the of the fork below the swell-bar joint. One third is from the nail around to the front, two thirds from the nail back to the handhole. I work the front first and compress as much as I can with my hands and some straight and concave slickers. I start at the top and work down. I divide the bubble in half and tack that. Then I work each bubble like before and tack. Usually that is enough for the front. I do the other front and then start on the backs same way. The back side should be a little spongier leather and compress easier. I divide the slack evenly, tack and work that down. On those bubbles I might divide them into thirds and end up with 6 bubbles total on the back to work. As the leather dries it gets a little more moldable, so I don't panic if it doesn't lay right in when wet. An hour and or more later that bubble I have been chasing for 3 or 4 minutes will lay right down. If it dries too much, I will sponge on warm water again. When It almost dry and normal color I pull my nails and take the cover up. I slather on the glue to the leather and swells and set it back again. It reforms pretty easy this time. I work it back down with the slickers, shoe hammer on a piece of scrap skirting, and lower with the heel of the shoe hammer to bond it.

I use the packing tape like Casey also for the backs of my things. For my contact/permanent cement I use Renia. It is made in Germany, so it might be more available over there than Barge. It has a little more fume than Barge, but seems stronger to me and tacks up faster.

Here's kind of how it was explained to me, using some examples that might go to the exteme to illustrate the point. If you have two mating/matching/"nesting" surfaces, it does in fact raise it up more in front due to the difference of the vertical angle going through a steeper angle in front vs. a flatter angle behind. The rub is in the top surface. if the gullet is too wide, and you add more padding you are getting closer but not to the point of raising the front at all. The flatter surface in the back is raising. The analogy given to me was using a set of bowls as an example. Turn over two nesting bowls. If you stretch a sockhat over them, they will raise up more than the thickness of the sock because they are being lifted by the vertical component of the thickness of the sockhat at the angle where the bowls would touch. Next, take a nesting set of bowls and for argument's sake, take one smaller and one two sizes up (or three sizes up to really illustrate the point). The smaller bowl is the horse, the larger bowl is a saddle with the width too wide. This would be the extreme example of the saddle resting on the withers and no bar contact. Stretch a sockhat over the smaller bowl and set the big bowl over it. It is still too wide/big for contact and the bowl is not raised. The only place it gets closer is at the top of the bowl. and to translate this to narrow horse - on top of the spine and not further out where the bar pads would be. (Another assumption at this point is that with most thick pads of 1" there is some sort of wither relief over the spine so there is no raising up there if the bar pads don't contact). As you add more padding (another sockhat) it begins to fill in starting at the top and eventually you get some contact further and further down the sides, which is now start to correspond to where the bars are making contact with the horse in real life. But in the meantime, most horses are flatter where the back bar pads are contacting, and that area has been raised everytime the padding has been added. Does this make sense?

I am listing more tools tonight on my website. Someone asked last time about a Rose knife. I have a nice Shapleigh that is new on there too. Lots of creasers and ticklers this time, a few edgers, and 14-1/2" collar awl. here's the link - Bruce Johnson Leather Tools for sale Thanks,

Just using a 1" pad will not necessarily raise the front up and level the saddle. Because of the flatter bar angles behind and steeper angles in front, the tree will raise up relatively more behind and be even more downhill. If I was younger and geometry/trigonomtry was closer to the top of the brain cells, I could figure how much. It isn't raised up much more behind, but is some. Some people favor shims and if they work for someone great. I am not sure I could really figure out where to put them and how much, and then not get an edge lump with some systems I have seen. You hear some anecdotal stuff about them concentrating forces more than dissapating force. The pad I have had the best luck with has been a wedge pad with a 3/4 tapering insert between the layers - fuller at the front and tapers to the back. Rick Ricotti developed them and Toklat is selling them under that name. They worked pretty well under my wider saddles for younger and narrower horses. They will raise the front some, less side to side roll, and not raise the back.

Luke, I have done them a couple ways. On some I have cut a slot for the loops and then riveted a strap to run through the loopback on the bottom and then it has a button hole/slit in it. The rivet is placed so the concho covers it. The other way is to make a "mushroom" from firm leather. The "stem" is the width of the loop. The cap is wider and holds it in place. The button hole is at the bottom end of the stem.

Nothing to say but

I usually use a 30 or 32, but my horses eat for a living rather than work for a living. I prefer a latigo on both sides too. A wise old man told me you want to have the width of about two hands and two thumbs separating the ring and rig. I still lay my hands on one. I just had to measure my hands and it is a 9-1/4" gap.

My shop is a 12x24 single car garage with a common wall with the house. That helps with heating and cooling a lot. I also have a small window AC through the wall, and run quartz space heaters in the winter. Listen to what everyone has said so far about power. I have 4 outlets at each box and that has eliminated power strips. Also I have 5 overhead shop lights on switched ceiling outlets. At least one of the lights has a pull cord for on/off. I don't think I've pulled it more than twice, it just stays on. I have put horse stall mats on the floor in all of the work space except in front of the back door for no apparent reason other than I haven't got around to getting one for there yet. Those mats help with comfort and more importantly repel knives and edge tools from ever falling to the floor. In the past when it was bare concrete every so often a knife would fall on the floor. They always fell blade down and remained vertical to bounce at least three times on the edge to really ding themselves up before falling over. The stall mats have some sort of invisible ray the prevents knives from falling, none have since they went in. I also agree about the bench height being a standing height and then getting a good chair too. I have some chairs that go really high and make life comfortable. I raised my cutting table to match the height of my stamping bench. I thought it was pretty good before. I was wrong, it is way better now. If you have to use chemicals within the shop - good ventilation is a must. I have a covered patio out the back sliding door of the shop so I can glue out there in poorer weather. In decent weather I can open the garage door and slider for cross ventilation. My leather stores on a rack and is sorted by type and size. The colored leathers are sorted abd stored in concrete form tubes on that rack. Amazingly the rack is 4 feet long and so are the tubes. I am a little slow on the uptake and realized about three months ago that the leather is also shipped in square boxes that happen to be 4 feet long. They are free at that point and would work well too. This is about the 3rd floorplan I had and this works the best for me. Everything is against the walls except for the cutting table and stamping bench. They sit in the middle and I can get around all 4 sides of the cutting table. That is good for me. The only creature comforts I need is a CD player and cordless phone within reach. The kitchen is right through the door. The garage door is nice to bring buly things in and out. The downside is to get into the shop you either go through the house or big garage door. The dogs protect the back sliding door. I don't have a lot of foot traffic, but would like to one day put in an entry door directly from the outside.

Kristina, This topic is a couple years old, and I still like my Ferdco 2000. I bought the saddlers package and later on got the case/boot foot. It does everything I want it to. I bought it before the sewing machine price wars started, but I still would buy it again. It has been trouble free. FWIW, I have a Ferdco 1245 also. I have had it a few years and am waiting for it to skip the first stitch.

Boomer, I am wondering if they didn't come out with the EZ dees about the same time as they got the original deal for the Committee saddles. I have a Hamley to restore with the paperwork from the late 20s and it has them also. We are not going to make the show in St Louis, too much other travel this year with family stuff. Next year we are hoping to make it to Albuquerque.