bruce johnson

Casey, The thing holding me back on it is no stamps anywhere else. The Herefords pretty much have a stamp on the fenders. The old Porter I have almost has more maker stamps than other stamping. I think it is maker stamped in about 5 places. This one sure could have a maker stamp under the seat. On that note, I have seen some of the Tennessee saddles that have the padded seat going over the tooling. Looks like they pressed out the design with the same dies whether it was going to a slick seat or padded. With just a number on the latigo catcher, hard to say. Could be a serial number, date stamp, or model number depending on the maker. Those leaves are huge for sure. On the front view of the swells, the pattern doesn't follow the front jockey or gullet lines much. I am thinking diestruck there too. And just what was the attraction with that yellow seat anyway?? Seems like they either all had them, ot they were just too gross to ever get used and have survived. Another name for the mix - Bona Allen?

Bob, Great job. I really like how you kept those central flowers above the others by bringing the continuing stem underneath. It really makes them pop. WOW. Bruce

That saddle is a bad memory for me. It reminds me of a Hereford I rode (sort of rode) as a kid. That slick seat, sloped back to the cantle seat, and low cantle made the perfect way for that old pig to take a mild jump and I'd slide right out the back. If you held the horn you'd lean forward enough she'd stop dead and you'd fall forward. I am not seeing any maker stamps where Textan/Hereford marked them though. What is the stamping on the latigo keeper? Any mark under the cantle back?

I haven't had this happen before. I have had three emails rejected today being sent to or replied to MSN.com and hotmail.com emaill addresses. Two of these came from LW.net readers, one asking for contact information for a supplier. If you two read this, I am not ignoring you, just can't get through your email system's filters. PM me through the board or phone me through the number on my website linked in my signature. Here is the message I am getting - ...."(reason: 550 SC-001 Mail rejected by Windows Live Hotmail for policy reasons. Reasons for rejection may be re...l/network admins, please visit http://postmaster.live.com for email delivery information and support) ----- Transcript of session follows ----- ... while talking to mx4.hotmail.com.: >>> MAIL From:<bjohnson@fire2wire.com> SIZE=4980 <<< 550 SC-001 Mail rejected by Windows Live Hotmail for policy reasons. Reasons for rejection may be related to content with spam-like characteristics or IP/domain reputation problems. If you are not an email/network admin please contact your E-mail/Internet Service Provider for help. Email/network admins, please visit http://postmaster.live.com for email delivery information and support 554 5.0.0 Service unavailable" Something new going on with hotmail and msn? What I can read and understand is that my ISP has to apply and jump through some hoops to prove to Hotmail that their customers are worthy of being able to send emails to hotmail and msn accounts. Am I reading it right?

Aluminum was used at different times when brass was going into things like war products, or for economic reasons by some of the production folk. I am suspecting a factory saddle based on some of the things I see, but couldn't venture a guess just based on that picture. I wouldn't automatically class it as a ladies or youth saddle based on size. At the time it was made, a 15" might have been to the larger side. The other guys can weigh in, but most all of the older saddles I have got to put a tape to were 14-1/2" and a few 15". My great grandfather was a tall man and I have his saddle sitting next to me here - seat length is 14-1/2" on an Ellensburg tree. My other living room display saddle is 14-1/2" on what looks to be a Lee Robinson tree.

Shelly, The saddle looks good and the edges are really nice. I leave my packing tape long as I apply it, turn the piece over, and then use one of the 45 mm rotary cutters to trim it flush. On the inside curves I use a little hook blade knife to trim. If you don't press it if it flips up, it will peel back pretty easily. I made the mistake of using some label tape once. That stuff has an adhesive to hold rockets together. It sticks to everything and won't let go. It peeled the leather off the back.

Ray, Here's a link I found to an example. Pretty sure it would be his mom shooting the video and offering advice like mothers do. -

Ray, Another rodeo event is goat tying. Usually the junior rodeos have it for younger boys and girls, and the high school/college rodeos have it for women. Basically you ride to a goat staked out, dismount, flank the goat (lay it on its side by hand) and then tie three legs. It is a timed event. Kind of a little kid practice for moving up to roping calves, and a hotly competitive event for the girls and ladies in the older age groups. The leather related part of all of this is that calf ropers carry their ropes in rope cans, and the goat tyers carry their tie strings in goat string cans. Many of these opt to have a tooled leather piece put on the cans to ID and customize them, and that's where we come in...... The reference to Gary Leffew is this. Gary was a bull rider who lives down on the central coast area of California. He was one of the first big proponents of applying psychocybernetic techniques to rodeo.

LR, Which knee is it? Bob is onto something there. Bob, Now there's a blast from the past!! I hadn't thought about stringing and wrapping my foot for quite a while. In the era before decent tying dummies it used to be pretty fair practice sitting in the living room. Head down, elbow up, hands close - all those good habits.

I am not sure who made the saddles. I would sure suspect it was a factory who put his name on it. In the mid 70s Larry Mahan was a pretty savvy marketer with his name on a lot of things - hats, boots, clothes, etc. Kind of the "new fashion look" of the wild shirts, woven coarse jute straw hats, and fuzzy felt hats. The broken Ralide tree fits with that time frame too. Seems like the ones just sitting have about a 20-25 year lifespan before they just breakdown and crack. Ralide might be able to hook you up with a replacement tree.

Ray, I wouldn't be without two - benchtop and Dremel. I like the benchtop belt sander with a 4x36 belt. I have it mounted backwards so the free part of the belt extends over the front of my bench. I can get down into the inside curves that way. It is pretty forgiving on trueing up edges and mild shaping. Because it is a lower speed and the belt is moving more, it doesn't heat up and scorch like a Dremel will. The top is good for trueing up flat edges like a the edges of my frames. I use the Dremel some too for tighter areas. You just have to be careful to use a light touch and keep it moving to prevent scorching.

Mine is a ShopVac 1X1. Looks like the WalMart one may have replaced it.

Make that two votes from this house (I am voting a proxy for Rundi too) for the 1 gal Shop Vac. All the other Shop Vac attachments I have like extension wands and ends will go on them. One of my local sewing machine/vaccum repairman says - "Enough suction that if they had one in the OB, childbirth would be a pleasure, and a lot faster".

Tough deal about the injury. Hopefully the surgery went well and the rehab and PT go well. On the bright side, he'll have a really cool stool to rest that leg on while he heals. I like it.

Glad it helped. If you get down this way, give us a call first and we'll be sure to be around.

Looks like a cool one. I don't split anything that is finished size other than straps. Pullling them may distort the shape. Put one end in, lower the top roller and as you pull it should settle down into place. Turn the piece around, lower the roller and pull that end so it is two passes from the middle somewhere going each direction. You can leave a little excess to grab with pliers. With my hand issues in the past sometimes I used a pliers in each hand on wide pieces.

First off, post a picture so we can see it. I have a few varieties, but here's how mine are set. I set the bottom roller so there is a scant 1/16" between it and the leading edge of the blade. I set the top roller so it is dead center over the top of the bottom roller. The bottom roller adjusts with the 3-4 machine scews in the back of the frame. The top roller adjustment is done with the two stop screws on the front of the posts. If yours has the spring latch, adjust it so the latch catches when it is in position. There are two screws about half way back on either side of the frame. These will raise and lower the position of the bottom roller. It all depends on how much you want to take off. I don't have mine set real deep, but play with them to see what works for you.. (Aside - I bought one from a guy who sold it because he could never get it to split. Ends up those screws had been taken out, and the bottom roller was higher than the blade.) I get better results and longer blade life by taking thinner splits and maybe 2-3 passes than to take skirting to 4 oz in one pass. Some of the older styles don't have a bottom roller, they have a sheet of thin spring steel that sandwiches the leather between it and the top roller. Check to see that the top roller is level with the blade edge. If yours has the two knobs on top with a connecting rod, simple fix. You unscrew the set screw on one handle, slide it off, and twist the other to raise or lower that side until it is level. Slide the other knob back on and tighten it back down. That is about it. I like the fact that with both rollers, the leather has no place to go but into the blade. It won't ride up the bevel and chop off. The blade is protected with the two rollers. Important safety disclaimer. Becareful replacing the blade. A few months ago I was setting the blade back into one and watching the screw holes to line it up. I brushed my fingertip over the edge and the first idea I had that anything was wrong was the blood pooling on the blade. The dime sized piece of finger tip was sitting there on the bottom roller. I have a flat spot on that finger. I use the DMT diamond stones with the folding handles to sharpen mine. I lay the blade on the edge of the bench and and work from the back. I talked to a guy who took off part of a finger by holding a stone from the front and pushing up into the blade. I strop mine on a wheel.

Steve, I'd like to find one too. I buy it from Tips or Caps usually. Neither are very open about where they get it. A former employee thought they got it directly from Australia.

Excellent idea, and my 2 cents worth. Offer them for $10 and donate $5 for each one, and explain the other $5 goes for materials so you can afford to keep making them and raising money. If somebody can't swing the $10, give them one and bless them for raising awareness. I don't do bracelets, but have done other things. I am attaching a picture of one that is very popular at silent auctions and benefits. It is a plastic case similar to the goat string cans I order. Inside is a mirror and a couple of shelves and I'll get some pics of that. Some carry them as a hardside purse and others as a cosmetic case. You can get them in other colors, but I always keep pink on hand. I order them from Latta Mfg at (800) 232-3967. I order from them because they exhibit at the leather shows and so I try to support them rather than order from someone else. The color has washed out in the picture, but it is bright pink with the pink crystals. This particular design has always brought $150 or more. I have asked Smith Brothers about doing pink rope cans too. Not so far, but I see a demand there. Tough Enough to Wear Pink,

Other than a couple knives, I'd fill in the set of edgers, I'd get the #2 and #3 in the same style you have. I have never used a stitching punch, but since you have a catalog coming from Bob Douglas, you might consider one of his awls. I haven't used one from Jeff Cook, but you only need to read the awl thread on the forum here to hear about Bob's. To mold with, Barry King makes a nice one. It has a bullet point on one end and a rounded point on the other. Norm Lynds makes a nice wooden burnisher. They are not a necessity, but handy when you have a pile of work to do. I don't see round punches on your list - I like the mini and maxi-punch sets from TLF. Interchangeable tubes. Just chuck them into a drill press and apply a light touch with a stone to sharpen them. You can heat them with a torch and squeeze them with a pliers to make a set of oval punches too. I also don't see overstitch wheels on you list. Again depending on what you are doing - a few might be the best. Probably start with a 6 and 7 for sure, drop down to a 5 later for heavier work or up to an 8 or more for finer as you progress. My wife Rundi took the "Intro to Leather" class in 2006 also. She had fun, and learned a lot.

Josh, Sometimes a guy can find old letters in different fonts from printers. What I use for small letters are ones from Harbor Freight or other industrial suppliers. They are pretty cheap and hold up for leather. Like a lot of HF items, they are over-stated and under-rated for what they are sold for - metal in this case. I think they have them in a few sizes. TLF used to sell a set of small letters too. They still might.

One of my favorite shows is All Around Performance Horse on RFD. They seem like real guys and feature stuff I enjoy watching. Tonight's episode included a visit to the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock Texas. Looks like the museum enjoys plenty of space and has some great displays. One of them is the saddle shop display of Tooter Cannon. He has had some mention here in the past. Here's a link to the main website - National Ranching Heritage Center a link to the Tooter Cannon display - Tooter Cannon saddle shop and another to the history of saddles - A Century of Saddles. This place sure looks like a "don't miss if you get close". I'd appreciate it if anyone visits to take some pictures and post them here.

Ed, I'm with Kevin, when it totally dies get a new one. I used to go through them with some frequency. I had one that lasted about 11 months into the year long warranty. They sent me a replacement. About 10 months later it crapped out. I sent it back and they determined I was a commercial or industrial user and the warranty didn't apply. After I bought the last one with the "disposable mentality", it has lasted about 4 years.

This is for the Elko Leather Show to be held in Elko, NV July 17th-18th. It will be held at the Elko Convention Center. There will be several of the vendors we see at the other shows, plus a few new ones. Leather, silver, tools, machines, and related products will be available. There will be three classes offered. Charlie Liesen will be doing a 2 day braiding class. Al Gould will doing a 2 day carving class and it will be doing a project. These classes are $200 each. Joe Benner will be teaching a saddlemaking class that will run 2-1/2 days. The saddle class is $375. For more information or to sign up, email Paula at capriolacowgirl@hotmail.com or telephone her at (775) 738-5816. I was asked to put this in the calendar section also. For those who haven't been to Elko, here's my thumbnail sketch of some of the details. We've stayed at the Best Western, and it was fine. The Red Lion is across the road, and several of the usual interstate motels are there too. Downtown are the Commercial and Stockman's - both historic old style casino-hotels and good breakfast (Basque chorizo and eggs - ). Good Basque food and lots of it - The Star or Bil-toki. The Western Folklife Center is there, very good museum type displays from some greats of our time and the past. A worthwhile visit, and a good group.