oltoot

I have an Osborne 84 that was picked out of the trash in Miles City, Mt in 1920 then I picked it out of the trash in Alpine, Tx in 1963, new blade in 1990. I saw a reprint of an article from ~ 1885 which made the pull splitter akin to the end of the world for harness manufactured with it. When I read the article, I decided to keep mine instead of throwing it away again. But I understood why the oldest man in the shop would not use a pull splitter for harness parts, instead he would put the end in an alligator clamp and take the humps off with a spokeshve. With my trash treasure, I can use a lot of scraps that would otherwise be thrown away and I can make nice laps. We had a Randall (I think) 14" hand crank when I was learning the trade some 50 yrs ago and I have missed it a lot, enough to give serious thought to the Cowboy but then a friend got an Artisan so I'm over the separation anxiety for now. But here in Wyoming, it can be a pain to go out in the winter to use it so I still think about it every now and then. We would run a lot of cased stuff through the 14" and just take off a whisker in order to give it a 'curried' feel; compressed, especially the grain. Memories!

Try stamps to get size and spacing then bevel around them and embellish with some seeds or swivel cuts. Otherwize carve and stamp carefully

I was taught, over 50 years ago, to think about the poor guy who might have to repair something and to consider the total life of the things we made as we would likely be that poor guy if we stayed in business. With that as context, I use blued tacks as they can be pulled without damage to the tree & the tapered holes they leave have a greater tendency to "heal" and to accommodate new holes in their 'neighborhoods'. For more permanent or otherwise demanding applications I use screws. For about 15 yrs now I have been using drywall screws. Oh yeah, and in between its coated nails. I would never use ring shank nails because of the large, rough surfaced holes they leave when extracted. That said, I think ring shanked nails are fine for tree makers to 'anchor' rawhide in dished surfaces as you would never expect to pull them. I know some folks prefer brass for good reasons but I never saw the need. Hope this helps, too. PS sizes Tacks 22, 14, 8, 6; screws #6 & #8 x 1, 1 1/4, 1 5/8; nails 4p, 6p, 8p

I have successfully used masking tape and painters tape

My preference is 3/8 hollow ground thick. I find that a thick blade sharpened at a somewhat shallower angle (actually the angle and size that Tandy blades used to be) is more forgiving with less tendency to undercut. I have an old (60+) Hackbarth that used proprietary blades and had an adapter made so it would take round shank blades 45 yrs ago. It is large enough for my paws. and has a big yoke.

Just a guess but here goes: 1st guess It looks like somebody's very early attempt to modify an Indian Wars period surplus Jenkins Mule Saddle. I would have to examine closer, especially the tree from the bottom side to see if that seat leather and leather shield at the handhole have been added. 2nd guess would be an early commercial model inspired by the Jenkins many of which were just ridden off by mustering out troopers in the 1880's-1900 when the Jenkins was replaced as the cavalry mule packers rig.

I have the 211 566 which is walking foot needle feed and I wouldn't push it that far. I have a Union Lockstitch which is for that range you are talking about and much more. I go from the Singer to the UL at about 1/4

Sorry to confuse the issue but the dark areas are for the most part, the outermost parts of the headdress and are actually protecting the warrior's face and eyes

Buckles on the outside, particularly nice buckles like those. A possible solution would be the so-called buckaroo style with the buckles (and decorative conchos) on a large piece on the outside with the billet on the inside and threading through a keeper on the top of the large piece which comes across the arch of the boot, leaving a space to be decorated onthe outside which would also be framed with the buckles and conchos. as to wt, 4-5 oz tooling leather lined with 2 oz calf or kip. Look on some maker websites: buckaroobusineses.net, bigbendsaddlery.com etc

Lexol NF, lots of it applied to both sides. Taper off on amount as you approach edges so they will retain shape & not get 'raggy'. What you are experiencing is like the old days when tanned but not finished leather was what was available and people bought the leather and finished it or 'curried' it with their own formulas for the particular use that was at hand. This is what is now accomplished by the various fat liquoring etc kinds of finishes. In Mexico, you still run across quite a bit of leather that is just tanned and has not been very well 'finished'

And the fridge is quite important if you live in a warmer climate to extend the amount of time you can keep something at the ready without worrying about mold, and to second the admonition to only add moisture from the back. For shorter (ie biologically mandated or fav TV program) I leave the piece on my bench and lay a piece of plastic or for smaller or regularly shaped things I have several exposed Xray films from my friends vet clinic that I put down on top. Between the fridge and the other tricks, I 'hold' some pieces of a saddle for days.

2 1/2 w/ Superior for most. 3" with regular Blevins for twist & wrapped. Oh yes & 3" for laced which are rightly rare these days

I'm a little late here but way back to the flap. I think that is actually a good thing as it sets up the piece for more even and lasting edging than would otherwise be, and the goal of edge sanding for me has never been to get the finished edge of a piece but to clean up even up and set up the edge fibers to take whatever edge treatment I'll be using as a pre treatment for good burnishing. Oh yeah, I use a belt sander, horizontally set on the bench with 80 grit.

Since you have never worn chaps and are going on a pack trip which i assume will involve some on and off I would recommend that you try chinks, instead. Cut long with long fringe and with heavy oil tan, they will offer plenty of protection plus be easier to 'break in'

Grrrrrreat! Just a little advice, if you are going to filagree pick a pattern with fewer or smaller or both background areas

I just got a pint of Sheps Neatslene Light from Weaver and tried it on geometric and liked it so now plan to give it a full fledged trial

Unless you just have to do it yourself, look into replacement heads from Osborne. They are made of water buffalo and all ready to go. I tried building one from scratch and was disappointed in results and cost. I don't know about larger ones as i wasn't looking but I picked up some smaller brand new ones real cheap on ebay.

Barry King will make any size you want

Well, with the provenance (big word for historical background, but then you probably knew that already) you might attract a history buff, rather than a straight saddle collector, and you might get your $500. Your location would have something to do with your ability to attract saddle collectors. If you can, browse some websites and particularly auction results not estimates to see what people are looking for. Personaly as a restoration and profit making project, I would not give more than $100 but that's me. One alternative that you could consider is to wrap it in a few layers of sheet or something similar and dampen the outside layer a few times, letting it rehydrate slowly a little and keep it since it didn't cost you anything and it obviously kinda toots your horn

If I thought that 'the market would bear it', I would do it, make saddles lined with something else x$ cheaper and advise people to spend that extra on a good pad. That is the advice that i usually dispense on requested relines. But tradition demands sheepskin and tradition usually wins. FYI sheepskin was declared to be a critical commodity during the waning part of WWII and many saddles were lined with felt.

#1 Stirrup leathers should get stretched enough when you twist and stretch or set fender/leather assembly which is the practice of most top makers. Best results if done after final assembly but before any oil or other finish is applied. Answer to ?2 as you see is 'it depends'. Most will be done in between initial fitting and final assembly with exceptions.

Sadly, it's not worth much as is because of the terrible condition. However, it looks like a good candidate for very careful restoration as it seems that all the original pieces are there and there have been no previous attempts at repair. Please dont let anybody try to "fix it up" unless they can demonstrate qualifications.

How do you like the strings from goat ?

I tried once, unsuccessfully I guess so I'll try once more: To strop splitter blades I use this approach: I make a strop for the blade by taking plywood, lathe, something as rigid as will go through the machine when everything is opened wide. A piece of tight grained harness leather then is glued solidly flesh side up to the board which needs to be long enough to hold each end firmly and accomplish the length of stropping stroke desired. Apply the buffing compound of choice (I have one each for green, white and red). To use, the blade surface becomes the guide or jig. Hold the strop flat (so as not to round and dull the edge) and firmly against the surface and stroke in one direction only. Lift the strop off the surface of the blade at the end of the stroke and return it to the point of beginning. Set it against the blade surface and stroke again, and again until you're satisfied. If you rub the compound all over the flat surface of the blade and evenly off of the strop, you are doing it right. Strop both surfaces. Don't forget to clean the compound off of the surfaces that touch the leather.

you will probably have to utilize a physical rather than chemical approach to accomplish your objective. Pulling over an edge, pounding as if tenderizing. Most chemicals will do things with the color. The Inuits would have their old women chew leather to soften it. I'm not suggesting anything like that just pointing out what others have used in order to take from it what we may.