bruce johnson

Steve, Thanks for that perspective, and I would bet that if Meana, Coggshell, and Ernst would have met in Sheridan, they'd have argued about groundseats back then too. When they got tired of that, they picked up on how trees ought to fit, and then switched over to what leather was the best. After they were done and the Mint (or whatever was there then) closed, one went north, one went south and one stayed in town. They weren't unanimous very much 90 years ago, but still we've all heard of them. This thread has some age on it, and if you go back and read through it, you will find some different points of view today. The bottom line is that good and bad seats can be made with a strainer or without. Troy West said it, anybody want to argue with his track record? Steve Brewer agreed, and he has been described as "one of the best saddlemakers not enough people have heard of". Dale Harwood uses a strainer and Chuck Stormes uses all leather. I am not going to step up and tell any of them they are wrong. Look at some of the other good makers on this thread and forum and who they learned from. They aren't all doing it like they started out, or even like who they learned from later. It wasn't settled back then and won't be now, but it is good watching.

Kevin, My brutally honest experience. I am going to be in the minority and not a 100% satisfied customer. I bought a pretty good sack full of CF inserts at Sheridan 4 years ago or so. I think I had a couple styles of wallet liners, at least two of the same style purse setups, and some small card cases. In their defense, they are very thin and sleek. I am with Bob on the zippers. There is a pretty small sewing lip allowance on some of the inserts. Machines can tend to run off the edge. I think I remembered one to have a fair amount of fabric that bled glue. Customer experience for guys wallets has not been real stellar. I made one for myself to see and the guts lasted about 6 months. My Tandy guts had lasted about 6 years in the one I was packing before and were still good. The Tandy gut one that replaced the CF has been good for a few years. I bought up all the unpunched Tandy Premier wallet liner guts I could find. I have three sets left. Wallets are not a big order deal for me, but we all get a few orders and I always have one on hand for an emergency gift order.

Brent, I hate to just say "Another great job" with nothing else to qualify it, so here goes. Another great job on everything you have done similar to before, and I like that little deal you did with the slotted conchos on the back billets of this one.

Steve, Great posting, and I have to agree with JW. You have convinced me to go back to cutting my handhole and stirrup slots after fitting in the seat. Thanks.

Crystal. Here's hoping I understand the question right. I was kind of given this rule of thumb - Try to get as close as you can to the fold, but the cut or bevel line should be either supported by a stiff backing (like on a binder) or far enough away it will not be any part of the fold on a checkbook or wallet. There is more tolerance for lines that are beveled and not cut, but any folding tension on these is across that line, a weak spot, and can separate with use. I usually gouge my folds on the flesh side and allow for my tooling borders to be within the full thickness of the leather. Back when, I was taught that patterns never crossed a fold that would be worked. They would tear out, pop open, etc. Some of the pattern packs have pretty well tossed this out, so I guess take my advice with a grain of salt. As far as the visual, I get my top or side in the right place for the fold, and then establish my borders off the stitch line. Visually I like my stitch line to be centered between the edge of the piece and the border. I have seen big borders to account for the extra space needed at the fold and then carried that same margin all the way around. They looked a bit odd to me stitched but lacing filled that gap in and looked alright.

Kevin, The mix I use now is from Ben Cox, who got it about 25 plus years ago from a great tooler. The mix is 1-1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup lexol conditioner, a tbsp or two of baby shampoo, and a tabsp of Listerine (the thymol in it is a mold inhibitor). It works better for me to case with than anything else. I got an email a while back from a guy who was using the Lexol/shampoo mix and then top dressing with saddle soap. He was in Tucson or someplace like that, and he thought he could go a lot longer with both than either by itself. As far as being a tool god, Bob Douglas is a tool god. I am just part of the congregation. I have been very fortunate with the people we have met in our travels and on these internet groups. I am not afraid to visit guys and pick up tips. If I see something I haven't tried, I'll ask them about it. Even the regional differences can be interesting - for instance the British influenced guys using plough gauges vs. the north Americans using draw gauges. Also the older tools were made for guys making a living with them, not or the hobby guy with a price point in mind.

Thanks for the show report and looking forward to the pictures. Sounds like you met some of the great people in this business. You guys have got me stoked to go. One question, You didn't buy anything from Barry or Wayne?? This is the first time in a few years I haven't had something on my Barry King list and the only reason for that is I just saw him last weekend. I can't call Wayne to BS without having him send me something. I am not immune to their wiley charms. My wife will want to know your secret.

Jeremiah only is making one size and it will work if you need a really narrow bead. Barry King makes the push beaders in four sizes and I like them pretty well. I would agree with the suggestion of Bob Douglas also. I ordered a set of new Osbornes a few years ago and they were the crude makings of a tool, and all but unusable the way they came.

CW, I used to. I wet my leather up, let it sit a while, sponged on a light coat of white saddle soap and slicked the leather before I bagged it. This was one of those things shared with me by an older maker, and for me it does hold the moisture a little better than plain water. When I started using the water/lexol/baby shampoo/listerine mix I got away from the saddle soaping. That mix also has some history to it.

All I've ever done is line with it, if it the pig I am thinking of. The stuff I got in the past was a little stretchy, but not quite that thick. A scrap of it is gauging right at 1-1/2 oz.

Russel, I am attaching a picture of the leg of my cutting table. In a former life it was a homeless desk sitting by the road with a "Free" sign on it. The leg extensions look amazingly like sections of PVC pipe slipped over them to raise the height. (Rundi saw that tip on Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray). It is 40" to the top and then I have a 5/8 particle board and then 3/8 HDPE cutting board over that.

Marlon, Just to add another name to the mix for edgers - Bob Douglas makes some good ones of those too. My wife got me going with his Bisonettes.

DJ, For the thread to be breaking out the side, it sounds like you are getting an undercut on the strap from the blade. The only two things I can see causing that are the blade bending or the leather coming through at an angle. On either of mine, the blade is stiff, so I don't think that is probably the case. If the roller is fairly high I have got an undercut if the leather rode up the blade on that side of the strap and the strap stayed low next to the fence. I keep my roller pretty low to avoid that.

Gabrielle, I think Dennis might be in the US right now traveling. I heard from one of his traveling buddies and they might be stopping by here in a couple weeks. They were spending some time in Texas and going to OKC for the TCAA deal and I'd suspect Wichita Falls too.

Adding another here. (Sorry Johanna, but this was the peach shirt phase of the day.) This is a picture of Martin "Boomer" Bergin and me. It was a real special time to BS with him throughout the day.

I would keep shopping. Buy one that works for both of you to start with. Retreeing a saddle is pretty major surgery. You can have the cost of another saddle pretty quick. Especially going from one style to another, not many parts are going to fit. About the only saddles I have retreed are trophy saddles or sentimental favorites.

I do a lot of the style with the attached picture. These hold up well. The body is 6/7, lined with 3/4 usually. The gusset is 4/5 chap leather. The finished dimensions come out to be 6x6x11. The cutting pattern off the top of my head is 11x19. I think the handle is 1x15. I put feet on them to keep them up off the wet counters.

Ryan, I can't help you out much on the sewing machines. The Landis crank splitters in good condition can sell from $400-600 easy enough but some guys get more with a really cherry one. Seems like parts are not that hard to come up with. Pilgrim Shoe has some.

Elton, Good job as usual. Congrats on the new shop too. What are you using for the ring setup? Last two I fixed, the guys wanted slots and bolts instead of the dee and ring. BTW, after your posting of bronc halters a couple years ago, I can't look at my horse and NOT think "swamp donkey". He appreciates that.

Thanks Darcy, I expect I might as well just go shut the lights off in the shop right now. I think I have some quality time coming up with my my laptop screen.

Cowboy, It is fun and a real geography lesson. I just checked mine and need to see where Benin is. This month is a little slow though. Last month was Tuvalu and Moldova. (I had to look them up). I get a pretty good representation of the eastern Europeans most months.

Cowboy, I have not regretted one penny I spent having someone else do most of mine. Johanna and Kate work tirelessly on this forum, but one of their real jobs is web sites. My first site went up last October, and paid for itself the first week. We did an upgrade in June, which basically was a rebuild of the site with a format that I could easily maintain. A lot of the tedious grunt work uploading I could do. That upgrade paid for itself with the first order. I am not particularly computer literate, but knew what I could do and what was more time efficient to pay someone to do.

We make quite a few sets and have our own in use for at least 6 years. Mine have a chap leather body and tooled leather side borders. We have used Leathersheen or Supersheen on them. One good coat sponged on and then 3-5 light applications as things dry. They wipe off well and have held up. We haven't had a problem with the finish cracking either like you might expect.

Wyldflower, I'd second what Darcy posted. Another oldie to look for is Clyde or Shapleigh. I have had one Shapleigh and a few Clydes and they were all good if the blades hadn't pitted. They don't have quite the rep of Rose or some of the oldies and usually don't have the collectible value, so they sell at working tool prices. I've bought a new one from Bob Dozier a year or two ago, and it is a good knife for sure. Pricey, but good. I'll be the first to admit I am not a metal expert, but really like my Dozier (D2 steel). At the Elko show I looked at the knives Lonnie had on his display. I asked about them, and he pulled a box out with a bunch in it. Different handles and blade sizes. When he said Ellis made them from D2, Rundi got excited and I bought a 4" general cutter and 6" to cut long straight runs and skive with. The Gomph stamp on them sure doesn't hurt the value. At $90, they are really worth the dough for me. I figure I am set for life with my knives now.

Interesting little curiosity deal for me here. Some of you know I got a plough gauge a few months ago - Barnsley frame with a Dixon blade. After using it, I really have not picked up a draw gauge since. Being a guy who believes in backup, I just got another plough gauge. This one is a Dixon. When I got it, it is a "T Dixon and Sons". The blade that came on my Barnsley is marked "J Dixon Warranted". The handle on the T Dixon is a little higher angle than the J Dixon. Any idea which Dixon came first? Time period for J Dixon? Which Dixon is still making tools? Thanks.