Squilchuck

Nice! Did you make this for someone to use, or is it a show piece? I had a work colleague, who was a novice horse rider, rave about the McLellan saddle he rode on a pack trip. I wondered if he correctly identified the saddle because I've never seen them in use for any regular horse sport. I've never used one, but wonder how comfortable they are. --John

I used to use hammers, but find round rubber-faced mallets easiest to use. You can get different weights for different tasks. --John

I have five lightly-used Tandy wood mallets I'll give to a youth group doing leather work. I'll even pay shipping. Please, only bona fide youth groups. Send me a personal message. --John

I use vellum paper in my inkjet to print tracing patterns. You can buy it in any office supply store like Staples. It does not last forever like a plastic film, but just print another. --John

Hide House has just about any kind of leather you need and great service and prices. --John

Pigskin is thin, tough, and flexible. Nice pattern look. Tandy often has it on sale. I think their "glazed" lining is not the best - they seem to have changed products since I last bought. Not sure if it is cheaper. I also use it to line phone cases. I have not dyed it, but it takes neatsfoot oil and Resolene. --John

I've used thin veg tan and pigskin for backs. Both are 2/3 oz. Could use thicker veg tan, depending on how thick a belt you want. --John

Tandy sells nice templates with a half dozen strap sizes in one - round and tapered. I use them too with a knife. --John

I put the two lower points of the punch on the cutting board, then pivot forward to place the tip in the center. That helps but is not perfect all the time. Might do a couple times to make sure of even distance between strap and bottom end of punch before hitting the punch. Or might reverse order - point first then bottom. --John

I can't machine stitch for more than a 4-5 inches before the repetitive movement nearly hypnotizes me! I have to stop and refocus for a few seconds before proceeding, or else my stitch line wanders. Does this happen to you? Any way to avoid it without stopping to refocus? I wonder if a different light would help? --John

I use ground-down round punches to make rosettes. I used a wavy blade for a rotary knife to make a scalloped edge for chap fringe. They make zig zag blades too. Go to the quilting section of a fabric store. Quick and easy with good results. I'll post a photo when I get to my main computer. --John

Used to buy Tandy leather when starting out because price was low. However, I found it tooled and dyed poorly and inconsistently. Now I use only Herman Oak. I buy mostly from Hide House. You can get a wholesale account. I just bought a side of HO 11/13 skirting from Panhandle leather for $195 + $10 shipping. Best price I have found. Not seen it yet. --John

Use Fiebings saddle soap bar, not paste. Water, soap, canvas, rub stick is what I do. Then, when dry I usually burnish beeswax rub w canvas --John

I get no response from Dennis Lane about who currently makes trees from his pattern system. I know Bowden makes them, and I got some names from Big Sioux in another forum. Anyone else?--John

I had a similar problem. I talked with a Leather Machine tech at the Pendleton show and he showed me how to adjust a little piece inside the servo motor case. Fixed it easily. Give them a call or send a message to Cobra Steve. -- John

Try Weaver Leather Supply. Not sure they have plastic (or metal?) as in photo, but have others. --John

Big Sioux, do you know who makes trees from Dennis Lane measurements? I have three trees by Bowden made from DL measurements. For the last one I contacted DL about other tree makers in the US - I didn't see such a list on their website. Never got a reply, so went with Bowden again. Decent trees that fit well and priced much lower than what a high-end (like Nikkel) would cost. --John

I'm lacing stirrup covers. Leather is still damp after molding around stirrup. The lacing awl leaves a slight metal stain. Any way to avoid the stain? A coating on the awl? Also, any tips on avoiding marks/impression from awl made while in setting and pulling lace?---John

Thanks , Ken. I looked up Panhandle and they have great prices. I'll look into them next I buy leather. I found a Weaver stirrup leather in my leather pile, so was able to do the repair wo/ new purchases. Panhandle looked to be a great deal for leathers. --John

How's the quality of Teneria skirting these days? Some old discussion threads gave it OK ratings. I normally use HO for saddles, but someone wants me to replace stirrup leathers, so I figured Teneria might work well and is quite a bit cheaper than HO or WC at Hide House. Any other skirting brand suggestions? I've bought cut stirrup leathers from Weaver in the past, but I lost my wholesale pricing by not meeting the purchase threshold last year. Retail price for a pair is about $80 so I figured I might just buy a side and cut my own. --John

Mutt has it right. I spent the money for a Heritage splitter and I find it one of my most used tools. It helps get the most value from your leather. For example, I can match the leather and use scraps to make straps for a saddle or accessories by splitting skirting vs cutting straps from separate side --John

I looked on Tandy site and didn't see #12 rivets, but their tubular rivet is like a 104. Go to the Weaver site and check them out. Splash anvil spreads end in star shape. I use caps. --John

Great! I suspect it will be available Friday --John

Ok, no one was interested. Price change to $30 plus shipping. --John

Stick with high quality Herman Oak or Wicket and Craig leather (my experience) and you won't be disappointed. My experience with Tandy leather is that quality is inconsistent to say the least. I know the price is right, but you'll get frustrated enough with poor results (tooling, dying, finish) and wasted time that you will gladly pay for premium leather. There are lots of threads on this site discussing Tandy leather. - John