thekid77

hey Bruce! great work may i ask what product you use to dye/stain the straps? Thanks!!!

Thanks Chuck!! a couple more questions....when you skive the buckle end, do you skive just the very end, or do you skive both areas that have the rivet hole? and how much leather do you take off? 1/3 the total thickness? Thank you so much!!

Hey friends, I just completed a pair of basic spur straps and noticed that I may have folded the buckle chape wrong just before riveting the buckle in..... I hadn't noticed that the instructions call for the chape to be folded so flesh side faces up out.....i folded it so that flesh-flesh is touching..... Does it make a difference? I'm making another pair and wondering...

watch this video and it will answer your question...

Thanks you for the recommendations everybody!!! :D

Anna, I use Ritza 25 Tiger Thread on everything I make....it is a braided poly that comes pre-waxed to prevent slipping.....nothing comes close to how strong this stuff is......the nice thing about poly is that the ends of the thread can be burned to prevent slipping.....this is what works for me, and the stuff can easily be found on ebay if you ever want to try it

hey there, after contact cementing it'd b a good idea to get a roller and go over the entire surface to help ensure a good bond between the leathers....also, I would edge after attaching the liner

Hey Jim!! Thank you for sharing your experience.....it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the next few straps!! Yeah, this is what I was thinking.....would you go 1/8" away from the edge or further in than 1/8"? Some of the straps are approx 1" in width....Thank you for sharing! Yeah, I'm hand stitching, but I'm using a stitching chisel to punch through the leather.....I'm thinking about trying to polish the stitching chisel since there are some rough areas that are probably causing the leather to bulge out more than it would if it were nice and smooth Hey Oldhat, thank you for your advice....I don't pull my stitches very tight, but I'm going to start tightening them up a bit...I don't have any bridle leather, but I can't wait to get some!! Just have to save my pennies for a while lol !!!

Hi there, maybe I can clear some questions up.... First, any time things are stitched together, they are usually contact cemented together first with a contact cement such as DAP Weldwood (red or green can)....contact cementing two edges of leather together will add strength to the seam and will keep the leather in place while it is being stitched.... Second, I believe the sticky wax you are referring to is beeswax.....you can buy pre-waxed thread, or just get a cake of beeswax which is readily available from any leather supplier and wax the thread yourself. The wax does help to prevent the thread from slipping while it is being stitched. So, to answer your question, for most applications, it is necessary to cement your leather edges together with a contact cement, and then to stitch your project together with a thread of your choosing, whether it be linen, polyester, or sinew. Hope this clears things up!! Have fun!!

hi everyone, today I was practicing folding leather over itself and stitching through in preparation for making a halter.... I noticed that the leather along the stitched edges bulges out (please see picture) slightly from the rest of the strap that is not stitched..... Is there any remedy for this? I have tried tapping the edges back to flush with a hammer and it helped a little bit, but this method seems really crude... Any advice you could give me is greatly appreciated!!! Thank you in advance

Hi everyone Im making a halter for my best friend's horseand am hand stitching it (machine is not an option).... I bought a book on making halters and when making the rounded throatlatch it calls for a strip of 9/10oz folded and stitched over a 10/12oz filler.... Is 9/10oz the absolute minimum thickness? I find it difficult to fold over even when the leather is wet..... If I went thinner, would there be any safety concerns? Id love to hear your imput and advice, I really need some help! Thank you in advance!!

btw, what do you guys think of using solid brass rivets (the kind that you peen over a brass washer? I found some solid brass rivets and washers in # 9 and #12 size...... are they equally strong?

Thank you, Bob and Tom, for weighing in with your advice!! Have a great day!!!

Hi everyone, I am making my first pair of spur straps The pattern says to fasten down the 3c buckle end with a double cap rivet. Every time i've set on of these, I've been able to work the rivet apart with my hands..... I am making these for a friend and have safety concerns......what happens if the rivet fails when riding? What are the dangers? I'm ignorant when it comes to horse gear, tack etc Thank you!!

Hi folks, I am going to make some spur straps and I was going to to a simple border around them....my question is, for example with the caouflage border stamp, is there a method or way to figure out how to stamp those marks evenly around the perimeter of the border? for example so your last stamp falls in place nicely next to the first and doesn't overlap it slightly? Thanks!!!

Thank you!!!

Hey friends, I was wondering if anyone might know where to look for a good selection of buckles for spur straps? Thanks!!

WOW Chief!! Thank you for taking the time to share this!!! I really appreciate it! :D Keep posting your work, it's beautiful

beautiful work Chief!!! a question....on the main strap, how do you keep the lining leather on the inside from wrinkling? may i ask what your workflow for lining the strap is like? thank you!!

for linen, just end the stitches by backstitching as described above, and then put half a drop of super glue on both places where the thread is cut off....those thread will not move...

for linen, just end the stitches as mentioned (backstitching a couple stitches), then add a half of a drop of super glue and those thread will not go anywhere

such beautiful work!!! please keep posting more of your work btw how many SPI if I may ask?

Hi, I have found that you can coat the edges with 100% resolene......let it dry completely.....then, support the edges of the suede in between a couple pieces of wood or metal so that the tiniest bit of edge is stitcking out and burnish with denim and beeswax suede may not burnish well, but resolene stuck to suede will

Hey friends, i'm going to make a wallet from 2/3oz kangaroo.... I was just going to maybe edge the kangaroo and leave the edges raw....any foreseeable problems? not sure how to go about handling this type of leather with regard to edging/burnishing edges....any experience or success you could share is appreciated!! Thanks!! :D

Hey friends, i'm going to make a wallet from 2/3oz kangaroo.... I was just going to maybe edge the kangaroo and leave the edges raw....any foreseeable problems? not sure how to go about handling this type of leather with regard to edging/burnishing edges....any experience or success you could share is appreciated!! Thanks!! :D