Ken Nelson

Jeremiah Watt, Horseshoe brand tools, either his website or Weaver leather. If I were closer, I would make you a deal on one.

I would recommend you get a diamond awl the correct size and length. Sharpen and strop it and get it SHARP. Use a stitch groover and then a stitch marker to mark your holes. Use the awl to carefully make your holes and then you can either use two needles and make the harness makers stitch or a jerk needle and make a lockstitch just like a sewing machine. It is the correct tools to use. I build saddles and have for a long time. Do yourself a favor and use the correct tools-the right way. Only way to get professional results.

I use wet/dry paper on glass and a tandy sharpening jig to get them kinda sharp and then use green rouge on cereal box cardboard on the glass and last, I use a white rouge on cardboard. When it is to my satisfaction, I keep the white on cardboard on the glass and strop it free hand often while using it. Just a stroke or two on each side. I don't have to do it all very often. Just a light strop on the cardboard laying on the glass. Works for me.

Weaver Leather has them and they don't cost much.

Try Clint Mortenson in New Mexico. I think he is in Santa FE.

My mentor told me the same thing and I have followed his teaching for a long time.

Nice Job.

I use a variable speed grinder I got at Home depot, and it works great.

I use the 16+oz HO Harness that Panhandle Leather sells. It has a lot of body, is long and clean. I put the butt end on the bridle end as it has less stretch, in my opinion,. they are heavy and when they get broke in, have a really good feel and last forever if you don't try to halter break broncs with them. Some people put the neck end on the bit and I wouldn't have a problem with that but the guy that I build for wants them the other way. In Eastern NM, I am hearing a lot of the cowboys are going to the two layered and stitched Latigo reins and claim they have a wonderful feel to them. Never used them myself but I would make them if someone wanted me to. Reins need to "break in" and if they feel just right when they are new, there is a chance they will seem like a rag when they do get broke in. All a matter of personal preference.

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You are lucky, You are close to Toledo Sewing Machine Co. Bob will steer you right and you will have good tech support.

I have done a lot of repair and it is a money maker if you get what your work is worth. However, Like I stated earlier, I do not repair anything that is of such poor quality when new it is not safe for ranch work. If you do professional repairs, it will get you orders in time. I build several saddles a year for one man and have for a number of years. I repaired saddles and tack for him for 2 or 3 years before he ordered his first saddle from me and now there are almost 30 of my saddles on the ranch he manages. All started doing his repair work and the repair work got him in to the shop when I had new ones done and he liked what he saw. hth Ken

I did not mean to make this a personal attack and I hope you did not take it as that. My experience has been that if someone cannot afford to get a repair done professionally, they need to do it themselves. The insurance agent I referred to in my earlier post, and he was a rancher, bronc rider, bareback rider and colt starter in his earlier days, told me his rule of thumb in advising a saddle shop owner is: Don't send any saddle out that will not take extreme use because you never know how it will be used, no matter what the customer tells you. Don't repair junk that is really not safe to use on a ranch. And most important, "REMEMBER, THE LAST GUY THAT HAD HIS HANDS ON A SADDLE THAT FAILS IS THE FIRST GUY SUED!!!!", If it fails and someone gets hurt or killed. I knew that but hadn't thought about it until he told me that. I offer that as a favor to any young starting up saddle makers out there. But that is just my 2 cents worth.

I would imagine the tree maker that built the tree in the first place would repair it properly and professionally but it would cost to have it done. From a liability stand point, according to my insurance agent, "you are stomping very hard on very thin ice"! It may holdup but I would call it a cobble Job and I would not ride it from the stand point of a cowboy that did that for nearly 40 years and a guy that has built saddles for over 20 years but it looks like you got away with it for now anyways. Professional repairs are part of being a professional saddle maker.

Try Harry Adams's Saddle makers shop manual.

I would go with the Pro 2000 if I were close. If the machine is working good you will not have problems and you can pull down a manual from the artisan site or utube videos on how to use and adjust them. And get more help than you would believe here from very knowledge people.

Do you have the presser feet for it. Are their any other parts missing?

Good question North Star. I think it may be easier to find if you cut the parts by hand because for one thing, most of us cut the leather damp and when you wet it, often defects will show up that don't on dry leather. Some of those boys (and girls) that have a lot of experience can do a good job of cutting out saddle parts with a clicker. I have been working with, or butchering-depending on who you ask, for a very long time. I don't have all the answers by any means but since the late 60's when I started ordering hand-carved belts, Handmade has been Quality #1. Like I stated earlier, I consider my work to be Custom-but in my opinion, if you are calling your work handmade and truely doing handmade leather items, it should represent quality materials and workmanship. Same is true with Custom work. And all of us that are serious, strive to improve every time we turn on the lights in our shop.

With the right person doing the cutting with a clicker press, it is possible to do a good job of cutting pieces out of a side of leather. However, when a saddlemaker of high quality saddles, cuts parts for a saddle out, if there is a hidden flaw in the leather, he will usually find it with his round knife. I personally know several large saddle shops that cut nearly all their leather with a clicker press and they do a good job. However, the reason a lot of production saddles and tack are considered second or third rate by good cowboys and cowgirls on big ranches is because it becomes a contest to see how many parts can be cut from a side of leather instead of cutting the best part, out of the correct part of the hide.. Well built is the term that is important here and just a small short cut or two is the difference between a high quality saddle and a second or third rate saddle for a end user that will use it hard and test it's strength in the course of normal use for them. For the weekend pleasure rider or trail rider, what a cowboy would classify as a third rate saddle will work just fine for them. As long as it does not sore their horse and doesn't fall of him, they are good to go. BUT, I have people order saddles from me that I figured were weekend trail riders that roped a lot of big, wild cattle in rough country and rode big stout broncy horses to do it on. So I build all of them to stand a pretty tough test as I do not want to be responsible for someone getting seriously hurt or killed by one of my saddles failing. But that is just me.

LOL Good One!

Where did you get your speed reducer?

I have owned a couple of Ferdinand 900B Bulls in the past. Good machines. This one does not seem to have the ferdinand lift on the back side. I hope it is like the bull. I bought it as the price was right and the guy guarantees it to sew so here I go. If it is good a bargain, if not I have a headache starting. The last "Bull" I had, had a consew badge but it was actually built by Seiko. Parts took a long time to get but a wonderful machine when I got it up and running.

Sorry, no. There were pics on the web site but have been taken down.

I am looking at a Ferdco 404 sewing machine. It looks a lot like the old ferdinand 900B from the pictures. Does anyone have any info on them. Any idea what they were built up from? Thank you Ken

I would have to agree with you on your last comment. My saddles I talk about get about or over 100 hours of time. I do use a hand skiver to shape the ground seat, and I skive a lot of leather off of the leather I put into it. I use a number of hand operated tools to prepare the pieces to be fitted, fit them by hand, block and tack the skirts by hand. All stamping or tooling is done by hand. Any buckstitching is done by hand with hand cut and beveled lace made in my shop. The comment about hand-made being a merchandising tool and in a lot of cases, a flat out LIE is also true. No matter what your feelings are about "hand made" the most important thing, I think, is be honest with your customer. All of my customers, most know me, and the others Know of me. I think this is true of most leather craftsman who have a client base. Reputation is everything in Custom work and maybe "Custom" is the keyword here instead of "Handmade".