gmace99

Buying tools can be fun and expensive. Start of with a basic set of tools then add to them as you need them. The problem with tools is you can end up spending lots and lots of money on them. I must have thousands of pounds worth of tools. And I do use them all regularly. I will attach two pictures of some of my tools. I also have a box full of tools and 4 sewing machines. I did have 5 sewing machines but I sold my harness sewing machine (No6) to someone in Holland a few months ago. The good thing about having tools is the satisfaction you will have when you make something using them.

Welcome You will like this site lots of good information on it

Glue a thin piece of synthetic silk onto the flesh side. It will be on the inside and if you pick a nice colour it can enhance the product somtimes

I still don't get what part you are talking about Can you put a arrow on the picture.

I think this is the finished picture. He does not turn it only trims it . I think it would be a better finish turned. It is as described above.

looks like it is unfinished in the picture. The next stage is to turn it then stitch. It looks like a bottom piece then a filler then a top piece of leather boned round the filler.

if you are into leatherwork that long list will be a never-ending list

Abbey saddlery in England www.abbeysaddlery.co.uk

I made my own paring knife out of a industrial hacksaw blade. I ground off the teeth then honed it both sides. I can use it on either side when I am paring. I made this about 25 years ago and use it for lots of jobs. I posted a video on here the other day called how to tie a knot. You can see the knife in my hand. I will try attach a picture of both sides on this.

don't know if this is any good and this 45Kmanual.pdf 45k53.pdf

I hope to do many videos over time. Mainly about English style saddle making and others with some tips. This video is shown how I tie a knot . I know it is not rocket sience but hope it is useful to some people.

Alex you will find it a great knife to use. It is the knife I use the most.

No I only re oil the stone on occasions. That stone is easily 12 years old and was a cheap stone off a market stall. What I did in the beginning was put lots of three in one oil on the stone. As you can see the stone has very little wear. I think this is because of the amount of oil I put into it. I do use my stone often and sharpen my knifes. More so my clicker knife. My round knife must be 30 years old I only sharpen that about once a month. I use my round knife almost every day, however I polish it more than I sharpen it. The reason I polish is because it is the grease and dirt that makes it feel blunt but as soon as I buff it it becomes a very sharp knife and no need to work on the stone. When I first bought my round knife the maker honed the front inch I put it on the grinder and honed from the back all the way to the front.

I noticed you are in the UK and into motorbikes. I thought you might like this. This is Chris he is a customer of mine and a artist. Have a look at his motorbike stuff I think you will like it . https://www.facebook.com/chris.seers?fref=ts

I did a youtube video showing how I sharpen my round knife. Hope this is of some use to someone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5BaWeUMcFc This is the third English saddle making video. This one shows blocking the leather seat onto the tree. As I said before the quality of the video is not great. However I hope to do some new videos in the winter. If the link does not work try typing saddle making training Scotland into you tube

I put another of the old video up on you tube tonight. I will post a link tomorrow. This one is blocking the leather seat.

I had a look on the net and came up with this. www.protosi.co.uk www.walterreginald.co.uk Marcus gear I have dealt with in the past and found them helpful www.marcusgear.co.uk Andrew Midgley I don't think they do it but again helpful in the past they might be able to point you in the right direction www.awmidgley.co.uk Novalpina I can only find a number for them +41 32 653 0691

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glaioeu3-O8 Hope this link works if not type into youtube uk saddlery English saddle making and it should be the top link by g mace.

This is the second stage to building the tree in a English style saddle. As I said I did this years ago and the quality is not great. I hope to redo some videos in the winter. Hope this is of some use to people doing new trees in saddles or embarking on making one. www.youtube.com/watch?v=glaioeu308

I made a DVD a few years ago to help my students as I train them. I am now planning to do a new DVD in the winter and post it to Youtube in sections covering the many stages involved in making a English style saddle. I am guessing this will involve around 30 to 40 videos. The video I did a few years ago shows around 30 percent of the saddle getting made and is around 2 hours long. This link is to the webbing up of a English style tree. I know the quality is not great as it was taken from video to DVD then recorded on my phone. However I thought I would still upload it to find out if there will be a interest in this type of video before I embark on the new DVD. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiBmkHQbPx0

Smirak One should only drink whisky for medicinal purposes. It is a great cure for many things after all they do call it the water of life. Uh oh I just had a cough. Best I run for some of the golden medicine.

Adam My favourite part of saddle making is flocking/stuffing. It is a art to get it right. It is worth your time learning how to do it. As you can make some good money in the USA doing it. A full reflock would take less than a hour to do and if I remember correctly you charge 250 to 300 dollars to do the job in the USA less a material cost of around 20 dollars. That sounds like a good hourly wage to me. If you would like to see some more saddle making pictures look on my other businesses Facebook page I have some on there. www.facebook.com/dosthillsaddlery/photos Then if you get the bug and want to do more just jump on a plane and come on a course. Not only can you learn you can eat Haggis and black pudding, drink whisky hear bagpipes and you might even buy a kilt.

I buy my saddle leather from two places in England one of them I know mixes in veg oil and tallow fat. I also use Tallow fat to finish the edges on saddles or bridles And I Never use neatsfoot oil to feed leather instead I mix tallow and veg oil. I like my mixture to be more creamy as I don't want to over feed the leather.

I have taught a couple of left handed people and they seam to cope with the normal stitch markers. I do use the reverse irons, However I was taught to use that when we use a single needle to do a back stitch.