steveh

Lucas, Keep in mind how you cover your fork will effect the final appearence.For example, if you tack your fork cover in the front underneath the gullet it will give you a much rounder appearence, where as if you use a folded tension welt the fold and the extra layer leather will add a lip and stick out futher in the front. steve

Very sharp, Excellent craftsmanship !

Very nice saddle, lot of history there. Lot can be learned by tacking them apart on how they where constructed.I would save the tree it is a great example of the trees made in that era. some note worthy contruction that would give clues to its era; swell fork, straight up high cantel with very little dish.eight button seat. round skirts(california influence), stirrup leather ouside fender. I would guess this saddle to be some where between 1910-to 1925. A great book on saddles is They saddled the west by Rice. The old time trees may not fit todays horses, horses conformation has changed alot from that era. steve

sheridan leather outfitters has it.

If you have a wood working supply in your area, ask for wood bleach, it should be oxcylic acid,

Bob, What type of glue do you use to glue your leather to the acrylic? Thank You, Steve

The 7-33 has a larger bobbin, than the 7-34, otherwise they are very similar.

31-15 light duty, tailors machine, light leather small bobbin thread size 46-99 7-34 heavy duty, canvas and leather large throat large hand wheel large bobbin thread size 99-346

Just a note , I have two Infinity stamps, the handles are square and are not knurled, They work great and do what they intended to do. A firm grip on the stamp handle, and hard smack with a heavy mallet and your good.

It sounds like you are saying,that you are getting loops on top of your work.since you alread have tightened the bobbin tension, try gradually letting off your machine tension, till you get a change.At corners your last stitch before change direction let needle travel all the way down in your work, then travel up about a 1/4 inch with out leaving your work, raise your presser foot, rotate your work,drop your presser foot, and begin to sew. You may need to increase the pressure on your roller foot, since you dont have an outside toe this important..I only use the roller foot on light applications ,chap leather, with 69, or 92 thread size.

did you change your feed dog and plate when you installed the roller foot? It is a different design then dog used with a presser foot. Make sure that you have enough pressure on the roller foot. You can adjust the roller foot distance from the needle, run it as close to the needle as you can.

If you are refering to the type of splitter that has a brass guage on the back side, there are two tension leaf type springs that apply pressure down on the top roller. The springs are thin arched spring steel. I would imagine finding will be difficult to find. You might be able to have a good machine shop make some.

NRS national ropers supply sells the the black plastic cans. If that is what you are looking for?

Good places for makers stamp on saddles, is on the seat about an 1 1/2 back from the hand hole, or if you used a frog to connect the rear jockeys, is a good place. I dont like latigo carriers as they can wear out, or can be easily removed.,

Take a closer look at the Smith sharpening fixture, the round stock that holds the shaft of the blade, has two different diameters drilled into the opposte ends, on mine the smaller end fits henley blade , and does an excellent of sharpening the henley blade.

Bob, I have a few Barry King Blades Purchased about 2 years ago, they have a round shaft and will work in the Smith sharpening system as I have used that on them. I think some of the BK early blades may have a flat shaft. steve

Bruce, question about the chrome elk. Is it cow hide? What is the weight in oz? What color is it, Is sold as side or a whole hide? Thank you, Steve

Reguarding your saddle, The great grandson of Geo lawrence has a web sight, google will get you there., he makes custom fish creels. He worked for the saddle company, it closed in its doors in 1985. I would email him,with your information, who knows he may have the invoice books for the saddle? That is a George lawrence makers mark.The fact that the saddle is a swell fork, eight button, square skirt , I would say it is somewhere in the 1920's. They made alot of gunleather in the 1950"s and had changed there makers stamp, to a style different from yours.

Marlon, crocus is iron oxide cloth sheets , used for a fine finish on metal.You can use it wet or dry.

marlon, If that was my knife I would not bead blast it. That 70 grit will give the blade a texture, something you dont want. I would recommend soaking the blade in some kerosene , just the blade not the handle, overnight, and then give it a polish with some croacus cloth, this should help clean it up. in addition to to a keen edge, a high polish back from the edge of the blade helps the knife glide thru the leather. Steve

Bob, I believe that you trench your work for the top stitch, so that helps the appearence of the top considerably.what I will do on the bottom just before I sew, is lightly moisten the back side, I believe that the soften leather on the bottom helps your thread pull into the leather, when the stitch is pulled tight. I do not have problems with the feed dog on the bottom side leaving marks..also before I sew I spray aresol silcon lube on the top spool , and on the bobbin as well.I do know that needle size will effect the bottom stitch, try going up a needle size and check the results. reguarding skiving down the thickness for belts, I think this is a common problem, but I think your machine should be able to sew 5-6 oz without the stitches pullin thru.

Ryan, thanks for the information, it is an artisan motor, and it is several years old and out warrenty. thank you Steve

I have an issue with a servo sewing machine motor. The motor should not run until the pedal is engaged. When I turn on the control button the motor runs and the pulley turns, even though the pedal has not engaged. I took off the motor cover to look at sytem and how it works. It is a spring load linkage when the the foot pedal engaged that travels down through limit or proximaty switch. Can anyone shed any light on what the problem my be . Thank You, Steve

Look Good, how does it cut? What type of steel is it made from?Where is the maker from, and how do you contact? Thanks Steve