Russ

Ya know, I didn't realize just how many times a day I scan this board.....until it was down. Thanks Johanna, for getting it back up and running so quickly, and for all the hard work you're doing to restore the old stuff.

Since Artisan's service is so good, I COULD just call and ask, but Johanna wanted some posts here..... Do I need to oil the bobbin? The instructions are pretty clear about oiling the head, at the holes marked with red paint, but I don't see any instructions for oiling the bobbin mechanics. Russ

Dale; Thanks for the ideas. 1 and 2, I can say are not the problem. Since the CD case was part of the kit from Tandy, I don't know where the leather was cut from, so 3 is possible. I didn't see any differences in the leather with the naked eye, but that's not to say it isn't possible. I've done one of these cases before with the paste, and like the results, so this was a surprise when it happened. I really appreciate everyone's ideas and suggestions. Think next time I'll use some resist first, and hope that area still takes a bit of color. I wonder what would happened if I oiled it first, to bring out some color, and then used the paste?

Thanks guys. I did try mitigating the stain by mixing in some other colored paste, but no luck. Next time I'll try some resist on the flat areas first. I'm not a fan of the paste, because I've always felt the results were too "iffy." But we'll give it another shot, after another carving.

Blocker such as what?

Dad brought over this CD case, on which he carved a simple design. When we put Fiebing's Antique Finish (paste) on it, it sploched on the horse's face, as you can see. Anyone know what causes this? There wasn't any glue or other foreign substance on it, for sure, and I'm pretty sure it was of consistent moisture throughout. Needless to say, we are disappointed in the result and he is back to carving a new horse. Ideas anyone, so we won't repeat the mistake? Thanks! Russ

Beautiful, Bruce. Do you reinforce your belts, extra leather, or sew in a stiffner of some sort? Russ

I use a form that I mostly copied out of the Stohlman Saddlemaking books. It's a nice way to get a complete description (in fact, it's too detailed for my skill level, but most Stohlman stuff is!). I assign the saddle a serial number (which is just sequential) and put it on the form. The s/n's are stamped into the skirts, where the saddle would have to be disassembled to find the number. The s/n is also stamped under the rear jockeys, for the customer or someone else to find it easier. I make a copy of the form, keep one, give the other to the customer. My saddle making does not pre-date digital cameras, so I always have a lot of digital pics of the saddles. Most times I offer to give the customer a copy of the pic files, but usually they decide to take their own. My full time job is law enforcement. I've taken half dozen theft reports of saddles and tack over the last 20 years, so I know the value of good descriptions and serial numbers, and I try to have all that on hand in case it's ever needed. I haven't been making saddles long enough that I've ever been asked for a repeat, or needed the info for a police function.

Cooooooool. Thanks Dave.

Ya mean I've been glaring at the wrong truck? Oops

Hey, thanks Dave! I wasn't complaining, I'm just, you know, a kid waiting on Christmas!

I've been waiting for mine for a couple of weeks. Every time the UPS guy goes by without stopping, I want to cry

I went to a saddle school in New Mexico. One of those "build your own" things. I was pretty up front with the guy on two counts: 1., that I'd been building saddles and wanted to get better primarily to sell them, and 2., that the wife and I were looking for land in that general area. Thus, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I was some day aiming to be his competitor. Over the course of the week, my teacher told me how his father and grandfather had almost never told him how to do something, until they'd watched him struggle with it for hours on end, just to show him the correct (and often easy) way of accomplishing his task. I said that'd probably tick me off so bad I'd quit and raise hogs. He laughed and said "That's why I went in the military." Fortunately (especially for me), he came back, and continued his education at his family's shop. Now of course, I was paying this gentleman and not apprenticing, per se. But he was straight up about everything in the business, how he did whatever I wanted to know, prices, ups and downs, etc. He taught me more in the couple weeks I was there than I'd learned decades of self taught learning or observing from others. Even after he knew I'd bought land just down the road from him, and could some day be a competitor (not likely, 'less the Lord blesses me with a lot more talent). There's a lot to be said for being quiet and learning with your eyes and your experience. There's also a lot to be said for a darn good teacher, in any subject. I think some folks can't (or think they can't) teach by explaining, and prefer you to just watch. Some others teach just fine.

Art; I agree with you completely about being a tester for new machinery. I've avoided new products like that for years (new truck engines, etc). I guess I'm just nervous about owning a machine, since I've never owned one....maintenance, fixing it, thread tension....it's all going to be brand new to me. Does Artisan sell direct, or do I need a dealer? I've seen several ads and they are all the same price, $1950. I'd love to find a deal close to me (Dayton/Cincinnati, OH area) so I can go there if I have problems or questions. Tandy just opened a Cincinnati store this summer. It's got everything except for a big selection of heavier leather. If I need saddle skirting, I'll probably have to have them order it in or go back to the one in Columbus, which always had a pretty good selection. I asked the Cinti store to have 4 good sides for me next Fri (black Friday sale), so we'll see how they do. It's a 20 minute drive versus 80 minutes. Russ

Hi Art; I keep going down to the Tandy shop to see if the stitch master is available to try....but I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with an Artisan 3000. I've heard nothing but good stuff about it. I believe competition is a good thing, and it seems like there's a need for it in the leather/leather tool business, so I hope any talk of a Tandy/Weaver merger is premature. Russ

I was at Tandy on Friday, hoping they had a machine in so I could try it out. During this, the manager there told me that Tandy was buying Weaver. Has anyone else heard this? Russ

Here's one ffrom PLSAC. It's a PDF web page so it will take a minute to load. Starts on page 4. http://www.pslac.org/public/02_feb05.pdf

I drove down to my local Tandy to ask about it. It's a jointly manufactured between Tandy and Weaver. It's supposed to be in stores "before Christmas." The manager said it was very much like the Boss but easier to make adjustments, keep in sync, whatever. I've heard some rumblings (on the internet, so take it for what it's worth) that Tippman is unhappy with how close the design is to their Boss.