keplerts

I purchased a Laporte tree from Shawn Howes back in 2016 to build a saddle for a customer who trains mustangs. She went with the cable rigging. I found the trees to be very tough. Almost indestructible. You could also sand the bars or wherever if you needed to adjust the shape. Screw hold very well in it. My customer has been using it daily and LOVES the saddle and tree. I would not hesitate to buy another. Shawn did say the Laporte trees were tougher than the Chicago Stock Yard trees, which are made by Shawns brother, Heath. Best thing to do is call Shawn and talk to him. He and his father have built and sold hundreds of saddles with these trees. Hope this helps, Tom

I stopped buy anything new by C.S. Osborne. The old stuff is good is you can find it. For the money, Weaver's Master Tool line is high quality and reasonably priced. I love their punches, edgers, etc. Give them a look.

I bought the set with the RED band on it a few months ago. I believe it is 9 SPI. I really like the set. The steel was polished and smooth. The prongs were very small, sharp, and left a very small slit in the leather and the stitching looked great. I ordered a set with the YELLOW band on it (4mm) and received it last week. Right away I noticed the steel wasn't as nice, smooth and polished like the first set I got. The prongs were quite a bit larger in diameter and left larger holes in the leather. I was hoping for the small, thin prongs like what was on the first set I received. I appears that the manufacturer has changed or the person making them is not of the same skill level. So, the first set/generation of the chisels I rate at a 5 and the second set/generation I rate at a 2-3. But for the money I can make do with what was sent.

Yes, I patched it with "Magic Mender". It is the stuff they use to patch upholstery that has a tear in a car seat. Then I put adhesive on and sanded the suede with a dremel to make leather dust. It worked well but I told the customer the suede would probably rub off. Haven't heard anything bad about it from them. So, I'm assuming it is all good!

I bought some of the new stitching chisels the Weaver Leather sells. I bought the 9 stitch per inch set. I have worked really well and for the money do a great job. The slits are very thin and fine. Have had no problem going through about 8 oz of kangaroo with them. Some folks have commented about them bending after a few uses, but they are not meant to be whacked with a heavy maul. I slowly tap with my tooling hammer and get a great result.

I have heard rumors that Weaver Leather is redesigning the Luberto Wyndham Cub hand crank machine for sale early next spring. should be in their catalog! I have a Luberto #9 and it sews through everything I put under it.

Congrats! That is something to be proud of! I don't have the series but maybe now I should get it. Tom

Weaver Leather Master Tools are nice punches. They have round and oval.

Very nice work! Love the piping. To sell this at $150 that equates to only $11.50 an hour. I don't think I would entertain any offers to make one at that price. I try to tell my self that "I am not my customer" just because I wouldn't pay $150 for a dopp kit, doesn't mean someone else won't. But for that kind of quality the price should be higher and there are people who will pay it. I think I read on here somewhere that someone said "if i'm losing money or only breaking even, I should have probably just gone fishing". Anyway, great job on the kit, you did a great job.

A Luberto #9 or Classic would sew this with no problem. They are hard to find because no one wants to part with them. They are also know as an ASA #9.

I would guess no reply would indicate their concern for customer service. Their tree quality is probably no so good either. if a company can't/wont' answer product inquiry questions, I would look else where.

I was impressed with the Laporte Poly Tuff tree I used to build my first saddle. Pretty much indestructible.

I think Weaver Leather has a sharpening service. Give them a call.

Most Things went pretty cheap. He won't let the two Juki 2000's go at $1600 a piece though. The crupper stuffer went for about $150 I think. I bought the weaver saddle work stand for $130, a nice stitching horse for $55 and the 8" heritage splitter $115. The Sutton hand crank brought $350. Most of the saddle trees brought $40-$50 a piece. I wasn't impressed with the quality. The fiberglass wasn't applied to the tree very nicely. Hand tools went cheap as well.

I know this is short notice but I'm going to a Harness shop liquidation sale tomorrow and they are advertising 12 trees of various style made by Steele. Does anyone have an idea of what the average cost is of their trees are? I'm looking for bargins and don't want to over pay. There are lots of tools, a Weaver saddle stand, power splitters, and sewing machine going to be there. Thanks for any info on the tree prices. Tom