Elton Joorisity

I have to suggest our very own forum member "Dbarleather" cause he's built me 4 stamps and you can't beat the service. The postal service on the other hand has caused Daryl and I some grief!!!

They are out there. Shop Talk and The Leather Crafter's and Saddler's Journal. Shop Talk is monthly and The "Journal" is Bi-monthly.

Not to sound too picky here, but that is not the needle bar. The needle bar is where you put the needle in. What you are talking about is the inside presser foot. I have removed the ridge on mine (Artisan 4000 ) with nothing more than a file and some fine emery cloth and then buffing compound. You can adjust the presser foot tension on the rear of the machine but I only do this when there is a major change in thickness of projects being sewn or with the use of the holster plate. Steve is a great guy to walk you through any problems. Heck he helped me while they were having an earthquake...TALK ABOUT SERVICE!!

Collin, that effect is called filligree. Where a background tool would normally be used, I cut out the background and the color behind ( in this case the metallic orange) shows through. If you look back at my post named Hairy Chaps you will get a better idea.

Ebay. Search in Stores for industrial sewing machine. They are called a topstitch edge guide foot or something like that. They run at about $18 each. You have to be careful on tight curves but otherwise they work GREAT.

Thank you, that's exactly what I needed.

I got the Weaver dies when I first started from a friend. I don't have a clicker either. I got the Douglas set 1 3/4, 1 3/8 and 1 3/4 open ended (for the tops of latigo carriers and hobble hangers) from Sheridan Leather. Theya are around $100-$120 each.

Here's a pic of the foot set up Bruce. They come in 1/8 3/16 and 1/4. I bought them for Candace to use but I have ended up using them more than she ever has. Justis, seems like it's the flourescent lighting in my shop that causes the blur.

I have Weaver's 1 3/4" and 1 1/2" clicker style rosette cutters for sale. These dies have probably not even cut 100 rosettes each. I am asking $60 each and I will pay shipping(within North America) and include the rosettes that I have cut. I ended up with a set of Douglas mallet style instead so these are collecting dust. I also have a few other tools so shoot me a private message if you are interested and I will fill you in.

Anyone know a good supplier of flat nylon cord (flat shoelace type material) on rolls???

Customer picked the body color and I RAN AWAY WITH THE REST. Thanks for the compliment. I have a foot for my chap machine with a built in edge guide for stitching the overlays on.

Candace calls these our "Halloween" model. Body is grey, fringe is metallic apricot(light orange and not yellow like it looks) and black overlays. Thanks again to Luke and Vandy and the crew at Sheridan Leather for some more AWESOME leather.

Sure wish I had that much space!! I have a lot more than my previous shop but it never seems big enough. Looks good Andy.

Not tryin to hijack here Bruce but looking at the stirrups reminded me to ask you about those "special" stirrups you were telling Steve and I about in Sheridan. Got any pics?

The double line border was made with a beader blade or a push beader. I'm almost lead to think that t may have been a Mcmillen triple beader. Bruce Johnson would have more insight on this as he snapped up the McMillen triple beader that Bob Douglas had at the show in Sheridan before I even got a look at it!!

Sounds to me like your blade isn't sharp ENOUGH. My dad has that splitter so I have a fair bit of experience with them. His used to do the same thing or else it would be splitting fine and then just dive through a piece. If you have a good piece of plate glass and various grits of Norton sand paper(I use this stuff to sharpen all my splitter blades) you can get yourself a really good edge. Finish the edge with a very fine paper(I use 20 micron or so) and then a leather strop loaded with polishing compound. Another big help is Herb French's book. It's the best $10 I ever spent to learn about sharpening leather tools. It is available through Sheridan Leather Outfitters.

Bruce, that whatevertheycallit stamp can be challenging for a border stamp. Jeff wanted this saddle to look different from most so that's why we went with the border and flower choices. As for the billet stitching, I have a little jig made up and I use my Osborne stitch compass(old style that accepts Douglas' tips) and get it done REAL QUICK.

Tom, thanks for the compliment. Yes the horn is wrapped for two reasons, one is to protect from wear and the second reason is to act like a brake to slow down the critter and gently bring it to a stop.

Not really trying to show off. This is the second saddle I've ever built. There are a bunch of things I'm not totally happy with but I at least know what to change on the next ones.Saddle makers I would appreciate an honest critique.

I filed and polished the ridge off because of the fact that if you cut a stitch groove the ridge will spread it wide open on tight curves.

Noah, I got some from Bob Douglas while we were in Sheridan. I guess I just forgot to post about it.

I never want to build another pair because it seems that no matter how much glue you slather on the hair, the next layer still wants to float around!! As for charging, he's got around $900 into these. Bullrider's like to spend money to look cool. Thanks to all of you for the compliments.

Just finished these up. I vow to never build another pair of hair on's. I have only built 2 pair in my entire career.Here's a close up of the tops

Josh, check out www.timcocorporation.com and www.hidehousesouth.com I deal with both places and both offer great products and good prices

I make a lot of my own stamps. If you want to try making metal ones, buy 10" common spikes. The metal is pretty good and you can make 2 tools out of one spike. You can also use smaller nails. The basic tools you will need are as follows: small vise, bastard file, good set of needle files, various grits of emery cloth and sand paper, polishing compound, and a hacksaw. A 50 lpi and 75 lpi (lpi being lines per inch) checkering file would be handy. They are used for making both lined and checkered tools. A 60 lpi is also available but harder to find. Most of the rough shaping can be done with a bastard file. An axe file is also a good file to consider having in the tool box. You sill also quickly become a file collector!!! I will try to post impressions of some of the tools I have made. Eventually you can start using stainless steel bolts. There is nothing more rewarding than takin an ugly looking nail and turning it into a useful tool!!