Black Dogg

I'll second Cyberthrasher on the neatsfoot oil compound. I've never used the stuff myself (only "Pure Neatsfoot Oil") but have heard from several people that it causes linen thread to deteriorate. Definitely go with the real stuff, even though it's more expensive! I normally do two applications about 30 min. apart, as I've found that only one leaves some darker areas once in a while.

Kelly, look on e-bay or in an antique shop in your area; there's always good deals to be had. If you want to try your hand at making one, get "The Art of Handsewing Leather" by Al Stohlman. This book has one of the best (in my humble opinion) designs for a stitching horse with excellent plans to build it yourself. I built mine fifteen years ago, it took me about two days (the glue had to dry overnight) and the thing has been working like a charm ever since. Total cost (if memory serves) was about $40, including some maple 1x4's for the jaws. Good Luck! Black Dogg

I would definitely handsew any horse gear, especially custom stuff. Yes, it will take longer; both in terms of the actual sewing and learning how to sew (even machine sewing is not that easy!). The end result (at least in my humble opinion) will be much more pleasing to the eye if you handsew. Also, with the saddler's stitch (the one with two needles) if one thread breaks in use (due to rubbing or other wear over time) the opposite one will still hold the pieces together and won't unravel like a lockstitch would. Hope this helps! Good Luck with your projects! Black Dogg

Rachael, I'm located in the Hudson/ Catskill area. Been doing leatherwork for about 15 years, mostly smaller items (i.e. wallets, dog collars, knife sheaths, ...) and some reenactment stuff as well. I could probably give you a few pointers. I'm fairly new here, so I don't know how this PM stuff works, but you can try that if you want to contact me for my email and/or phone number. Black Dogg

Valleee, I built my stitching horse from the plan in Al Stohlman's book and added back legs to it so it's independent of a chair. As for buying tools, check out Zack White, Campbell-Randall and Springfield Leather (they advertise here). The tools from Tandy / Leather Factory are not as good as they used to be, but still work for hobby use. As with all kinds of tools "you get, what you pay for". E-bay and flea markets are good for used tools; there's good bargains to be had but sometimes you have to fix things up or remove some rust. Don't be impatient (this comes from the most impatient person out there :-) ), you'll get farther if you take it easy and it won't be as frustrating ;-) . I used to be able to fit all my tools, including the dyes, into a shoe box. Nowadays, I need a truck to move it all. Black Dogg

Bob, They are only necessary if you want to glue large areas of leather together, like a lining into a bag. That being said, any time you glue two pieces of leather together you'll get better hold by roughing both glue areas. With a rougher like this you have to be careful if you only want to scratch a small area, say a welt line on a knife sheath. For these detail jobs I have a couple of old cobbler's peg awls (short blade and regular sized handle) which work just as well. For you it would probably be a good investment, as some holsters have linings. For roughing the grain side of vegtan, I would try some 80 grit sandpaper; that should also do the trick. Good Luck! Black Dogg

Vallee, for the dog collar I would go with a 3-4 oz. leather for smaller breeds (i.e. up to about 40lbs.) and with 5-6 oz. for the bigger guys. If you have an exceptionally strong "puller" (a Husky would come to mind), you can of course go with heavier stuff; although the sewing will get more difficult. I don't have too much experience with tack (am still in the process of learning about it), so I would guess about 5-6 oz. for that as well. Needle size: I use a 000 size harness needle for all but the finest of my sewing. I've had some people tell me that was way too big, but that size is what I started out with and I like the longer needle for better grip. Size 4 would be too small for my liking, but everyone's different. Linen thread is the best choice. I use 5 ply linen thread from Campbell-Randall (www.campbell-randall.com, look under "Leather Supply", then "Thread", then "Linen") and run it through a pure beeswax cake a few times before threading. Look for a beekeeper in your area, the wax will be way cheaper than the little one ounce cakes from Tandy and others. I don't know the Springfield groover; mine is the saddler's stitching groover from Tandy, which is great. If you are just starting (as your sideline says) be prepared for some frustration with your sewing. Practice on scraps and some not-so-important projects for a while to get your "awl technique" (sounds impressive, but really isn't :-) )and stitching to look even. The Stohlman book is excellent, it's the only thing I used when I started out 15 years ago. The juggling of awl and needle in one hand is really awkward at first, but once you get the hang of it you'll be impressed how fast you can actually sew by hand. Good luck and keep us posted!! Black Dogg

Dagcon, this is most likely not a leatherworking tool, but rather a clamp for sharpening and setting handsaws. That would explain the "standing up" configuration and the wrap-around tool tray. If you sharpen handsaws for a living (which nobody does anymore as most handsaws today come with hardened teeth, which cannot be sharpened or set) you would have quite a large assortment of files and "sets" (this is the tool that bends the teeth so the saw won't bind in the cut). I can tell you from experience it is a very tedious process, especially on fine-toothed saws and a setup like this would make it a lot more efficient. If the jaws are wood, you could use it for leatherwork; however, if they are cast iron or steel like most sawclamps I wouldn't recommend it since it could discolor the leather through chemical reaction with tannic acid or tanning salts. Maybe a jawcover made from leather would work... . Hope this helps. Black Dogg

Django, your first try looks a lot better than mine did. I got started about 15 years ago, all from books and have been picking up tips and tricks along the way. It took me about a year ( working off and on) to get my stitching to look anything like I wanted it to. As they say "Practice makes perfect". Do you have a stitching horse or pony? I only had a makeshift clamp when I started and my stitching improved considerably after I built myself a good horse. Al Stohlman's book on hand sewing has an excellent plan. Also, I'll second Alamo's advice on the awl; as you push it in, two opposing flats should be parallel with the upper and lower edges of your groove. Hold it at the same angle each time and the stitches will arrange themselves nicely. This is kinda hard to explain in writing, but the above mentioned book has a ton of drawings which I found really helpfull at the time. Lastly, I found it a lot easier to sew with hemp thread ( Campbell-Randall sells it, among others) when I started out, as it is not as slick as synthetic stuff. Now I do both, but it took me a while to get used to the synth. Best of luck, let us know about your progress!