Russ

LOL!

Bree; Which compressor do you use with it? Russ

A while back someone posted a link to buy leather interiors for Organizers, and now I can't find it. Can someone point me to the post or the website? Thanks, Russ

Thanks for everything, Bob.

Bob; THANKS for the info. So, if I've got it right on the binding, you use 4/5oz for the outside (tooled), then glue a 6 mil stiffener in, then a 7/8oz over it, then line it with 2/3oz, and then install the hardware? Where do you get the poly, hardware store? I really appreciate all the hints. Russ

Bob; Do you put stiffeners in your binders, or is the combination 9 - 11 oz leather enough for the binder to hold its shape? Thanks, Russ

I needed a new saddle and decided I wanted a "good" one, not a $600 saddle. I looked in a bunch of catalogs and got sticker shock. I thought to myself, couldn't I build exactly what I wanted a lot cheaper? After all, that worked for the house, the barn, the fence, etc. Boy, was that saddle expensive!

My saddle teacher had the incredibly good luck to buy the first saddle that his dad made, under the tutelage of his grandfather. You can see where his dad was practicing his carving, since every fender, jockey, and skirt had a different flower on it! It's sitting on display in his shop, and it's certainly a conversation piece.

I paid the $2400 or so, and I don't feel the least bit under appreciated. I'm disappointed that people go so quickly from commending a company to "where's mine?" But that's just the way our country is these days, I guess. Hopefully Dave or anyone else from Artisan has thick skin, and we don't run off someone who is an asset to this forum.

I gotta second Tex's opinion on this one. For those of you that think you've been "slapped in the face," would you send a little extra to the company if you bought right before their prices went up? No, you'd think, "I got in at the right time" and never think about the company. It didn't work that way this time. Now you want the company, which has provided a quality machine and great customer service to you, to take a hit and sell you feet or plates on the cheap, or apparently, send you cash to make up the difference in their new price? They've given you what you paid for, and now the price has gone down. Get over it.

Scott; The best way to decide on a seat size is to have that person sit in a finished saddle. People who weigh the same or are the same height but have different builds may require a different sized seat. Also, the swells on the tree can make a difference in how much room the rider needs. 15, 15 1/2" seats are pretty common and is a good place to start. If it's your first saddle and you've already got the tree, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Concentrate on the groundseat. Russ

Scott; Saddle Seat comfort is all about the ground seat installation. There's many different ways to create the seat, but they all are looking for the same outcome, which is a nice dish and the proper slope to the cantle. If you were sore back where your legs straddle the saddle, I would suspect that enough of the ground seat wasn't skived off during the build-up. This area needs to be very smooth and very rounded to accommodate the rider. All of this is assuming that the sadddle is the proper size for the rider and the stirrup length is correct. I would suggest taking a look at Stohlman's volume 2 book or Harry Adams' Saddlemaker's shop manual for some pictures and notes about the groundseat. I know it's really hard to see how much to skive out of the gs from a book. I never really got it until I was in front of a saddle maker in class. Even then, it took until my 5th saddle until he didn't say, "need more out here." ) Nothin' like an uncomfortable seat to teach learn ya about the groundseat tho!

I've done business with several of the posters here, and I've almost always had great results. This forum is pretty unique when it comes to the advertising it permits, and I would encourage everyone to take advantage of it. One of the things you have to do on any forum such as this, is research the poster...check out their website, but most importantly, check out their posts. After a bit, it becomes real clear who is respected on the forum and posts quality pictures, discussions, and opinion. I've taken Art's advice many times, and he's NEVER steered me wrong. And as an Artisan owner, I'm happy to know where Steve is working, and frankly, if I can steer him some business, he's earned it from me. I'm pleased with my Artisan, and I was always happy with Steve's service....now I have another option when I need another piece of equipment. When someone has a personal agenda, they ought to just be upfront about it. It's real obvious to the rest of us here when someone has an axe to grind, or when they hide behind ghost accounts.

Thanks Kevin. That was in the back of my head....I'll give it a shot.

Can anyone suggest how to transfer a pattern to a piece of exotic leather? I want to transfer a fairly simple pattern onto some snakeskin, then sew it onto the checkbook cover, then cut the excess exotic leather close to the stitching. Sort of the opposite of an inlay......an overlay? Anyway, the usual way of using the transfer film doesn't work, what with the heavy grain pattern in the exotic and the lack of impression. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks! Russ

I'm another one of "those guys"...sergeant on a City police force, just hit 20 years. I've got a small embroidery business on the side, and any profit I make in that goes to my leather hobby. I'm implementing my 5 year plan of figuring out what business I want to own when I retire and move to New Mexico. I can assure you it probably isn't going to be owning a saddle shop, like I thought it was going to be. I'm not sure even five more years of practice can overcome my deficiencies.

I've had requests for University (and other copyrighted) stuff in both my side businesses, leatherworking and embroidery. I've been through the licensing process for the embroidery work for high schools, as it's pretty easy to find the right person to get permission, but with the universities around me, it was too expensive....licensing rights are expensive. Personally, once I went from hobby to business, I've been a lot more careful and have refused to put copyrighted stuff on either cloth or leather, no matter how small the item. Chances of getting caught are mighty slim, yes......but so is almost everything that's illegal. Still not worth it. PS: Rose, my Bearcats are gonna whup those Hokies at the Orange Bowl! And I'll be wearing officially licensed UC stuff

Sharp, like always.

Ditto on that. I have both of the books, plus copious notes I took when I was at a school with a saddlemaker. The Stohlman and Adams works are great reference tools. One thing to keep in mind.....there's as many different ways to make a saddle as there are saddles. It can get confusing when things are done in different order, or for a different reason. Between the Stohlman set, the Adams manual, and my own notes, there's a lot of variation. I've made a few successfull saddles, but I've screwed up so much that they weren't profitable....except for the experience.

I've already put in an entry, but I'd add money for that in a NY minute....that's what I'm trying to win. Not sure if KK would want to sell his secrets that cheap though.

Actually, as I recall, Kevin was kind enough to do this tutorial a second time, after the crash. I think the original was lost.....I had bookmarked it rather than saving it, so I was thrilled when he did it over again for us.

I've been saving my money for a KK wallet so I could tear it apart and try to figure out some of his secrets. Now the question is.....am I feeling lucky? I love donating to a good cause, and this is a good cause x 2.

I'm going to make two pairs of working chaps for a guy that uses them for their original purpose....huntin' cows in brush and among trees. Normally I buy my leather at a local Tandy, but I want to buy this leather from Weaver. Can those of you that have ordered from Weaver for work chaps give me an idea of which leather you liked the best? Thanks for your advice.

I discovered on my plate that it's a ridge that's used to press the stitch down. For me, it marks the leather on the first stitch or on a sharp turn (for instance, at a belt tip). I either make these stitches with the foot up, or I put a thin piece of leather under the foot. Lightening the foot pressure didn't help, and since (I think) the point is to press the stitch into the groove, it would kind of defeat the purpose. Russ

Those are some sharp chaps, great work. I'll have to admit, even though I'm a rodeo fan, I had no idea that the pick up man's chaps are padded like that.