Timbo

........as far as horse butts go, I make everything I can out of them. I have had hard rolled but stick with the soft rolled. They are a very tight grain and will by far outlast cowhide. They are never ever "fuzzy" on the backs and edges like a lot of cow. You can slick the edges to glass smooth and they will stay that way, where as alot of cow will lose its slick edges, horse edges get better and better with age. If I could buy a half hide tanned like the horse butts I would for sure do it and I would stick with it exclusively.....for some things.........down side is that it does not wet mold as well as cowhide....sometimes not at all. But it does tool beautifully. Swivel knives are a little tough to use on some of it though. .....sorry for leading the topic further astray. Timbo

that is very sweet.......take a pic of it with you running something thru it though. I'l like to see it in action. (ain't it weird what qualifies as "action" from a leatherworker????) I'd like to see what the roller is doing. I will be stealing your idea and making one for myself...........just so ya know. Hope the spring was an extra and you didn't rob the throttle return spring off your vehicle!!!!! Thanks for posting this. Tim

........you don't want these tools then....they apparently don't know how to do it either!! tim

For Sale: complete set of leather floral carving tools.............'cause I obviously don't know how to use them!!! HOLY COW!!!!!!!! This is fantastic!!!! It is of the highest carving caliber I have ever seen!!!! Great job!!!!!!! It is beautiful!!!! Thanks for the pattern too..............I am going to practice this and strive for mine to be half as nice as yours. EXCELLENT JOB!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for posting it!!! Tim

Sorry for bringing this back up.............but I just figured out I could put a guest book on it. So I've got a guestbook up and would like everyone............EVERYONE!!! to go to my site......even if you have already been there........and sign my guestbook!!!! Thanks!!!!!!! Tim

Thanks for the pics but how do they work????? Tim

I haven't built a saddle myself...yet. But if you will ask specific questions you will get very good answers. There are some real pros on this board. What specifically are you stuck on right now??? Just tryin to help. Tim ps...I know what you mean about the Harwood and Watt videos!!!$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

The finish on it is Star extra virgin olive oil with a touch of Fiebings pro oil dye saddle tan in it. No antique the impressions are just there dark burnished selves. I think I will had a menu at the bottom of the page...........sounds like a great idea......THANKS!!!!! tim

Great detail Tom!!! You really made the design stand out from the band itself. Thought it was 2 pieces of leather initially. Very well done!!!! Tim

Thanks for the advice Chris....I'll change the coloring of the lettering to make it easier to read or get rid of the background. Don't know if you realized it or not but all the little pics are links to bigger pics........just click the pic and it will open up a bigger version. As for the tobacco sign........well, I don't think the folks that own the cabin would care much for me taking it down. I'll scout out a place for the next pics that won't have so much clutter in the background. Thanks to all for the pointers and I'm up to 330 hits!!!! Woohoo!!!! Tim

Here's what I would do 'cause I do this with a lot of my leather. I use Feibings oil dye and EVOO. Use just enough dye to tint the EVOO...saddle tan or mahogany are my favorites. About a 10 to 1 ratio. Wipe it on as evenly as you can then put it out in the sun to warm up and even out. I do the backside too. After a day or so of letting it even out (the sun will also darken it some too) lightly spray it with a water mist and then vigorously rub it with a clean piece of denim or canvas to burnish the highpoints. Takes alot of rubbing and reapplying the water mist. But it yields a nice mellow finish and has a more natural worn look to it than antiqueing. The bonus is that once you have gotten done burnishing it you are done.......no other finish required. But this is waaaaay too nice of a seat to experiment with finishes on. You might want to tool up a practice piece and experiment on it first.....sucks cause you'll have to wait that much longer to see the finished product........but is better than doing something you'd wished you hadn't. The purse on my website and website post was finished this way. Needed burnished more, but my arm got tired. Also Tandy's new eco gel antique works pretty well but will have to have a serious finish put on top of it since it is waterbased. that's my .02 tim

Nope but close.........biggest smooth pear shader craftool makes. Just keep randomly rotating it and use different sides and angles with the tool.........just don't set up a pattern. Here's a pic of the purse in question: hhhhmmmmmmmmmm.....wonder what a ball peen hammer would look like???????

Thanks for all the great comments on the site!!!! It is very much appreciated. I thought the Bleeding Cowboy font was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I had some business cards printed with it too. BigALC-thanks for the advice on the "under construction" line----I already took it out. Thanks again to everyone for all the nice comments.............and a BIG thanks for all the hits on my web counter!!!!!! It has tripled since I posted this up.....from 70 to 210+!!!!!!!! THANKS ALL!!!! Tim

I just started a new website and have yet to get it all setup, but i was wanting to get some feedback from my peers. Please visit my site and let me know what you think, either on here or send and email thru the site. I have lots more pages to add with lots more pics but here is what I have so far. www.drunkhorsecustomleather.com Let me know!!! Tim

That is too cool guys.........I like the antique and the "newer" versions. I keep looking for something to use for the metal toothed adjuster on the one I am making........without me having to drill and grind on a piece of steel to make it. Thanks for posting Jordan. Tim

.........and by the way, Will Ghormley gave me a good dressing down for having "petroleum" saddle bags on my horse. I had to tell him sorry I just haven't had time to make any yet. My apologies to the leather community for this degradation. It will be rectified as soon as possible. Tim

Thank you very much for all the kind words.........they are very much appreciated and it means alot to me coming from folks who know leather and know what they are looking at. Scouter- I did make the canteen and I guess I should take some pics of it and show it to. I made it a few years ago and I did it as a sampler of border tooling. So I can just pick it up and look at alot of the borders I can do and decide which one to go with. The pic is taken in Colorado on top of Music Pass-11,500 feet. I got my CO drivers license and all our cars tagged with CO plates............so it's official that I am a permanent CO resident........except when it comes to fishing licenses and I have to be here 6 mos to qualify for resident fishing license. Bummer. Thanks again for all the kind words. Tim

Holy Cow!! or horse. That is fantastic!!! Very very nice work on that. It will last for generations!!! Hope you got a good price on it cause the amount of work that went into it is obvious. To the rest of us leather workers anyway. Good job!!!!! Timbo

Just got back from my first pack trip!!!! (glad to be home!!!) The gun rig was very easy to carry and very comfortable. ......and I didn't need it at all. But it made the clients feel safe and secure.........didn't tell them that I never even loaded it. .........and I am working on a knife sheath for the off side. Also thought I would post a pic of me at "work" since it relates to this thread and you can also see my canteen I made as well. Thanks to all for all the comments, they are very much appreciated. Tim

Me too.........but they say the bears don't respond to banging on pots and pans anymore and you have to put a couple rounds past 'em to get them to leave. Hope I never have to put a horse down either. Thanks for all the positive feedback too guys.........it's greatly appreciated. Tim

Thought I'd post up some pics of my gun rig now that I think I am finally finished with it. I carry it on my new job.......which is a trail guide for horseback pack trips.......when we go up into the mountains. It is a money belt, flapped holster and ammo/misc pouch. Wanted a flapped holster to protect the gun from the elements and to keep me from losin it. The belt and holster patterns are from Will Ghormley..........thanks Will!! Although I did add the flap to his Slim Jim Holster. Let me know what y'all think. Tim

This doesn't help, but, I have a handle to one of these knives that I got in a tool buy from an individual. Never knew what that handle with the hole was for until I saw this post. Let me know if you find a source for the blades. Tim

Thanks guys for all the feedback......and Bruce, that is a good tip that I hope to never have to use!!! It really is a dream come true and I love every minute of it. Now I just gotta get toughened up some, only thing that didn't hurt after that first day was my hair. We rode all day and never left the ranch. It's 3500 acres. But gonna go on some trips soon up into the Sangre de Cristos and cross over some 12,000 ft passes!! Thanks again for the comments and stories. Tim

My last post to the board was that I was moving from Neosho, Missouri to Pueble West, Colorado. Well.....it was eventful but we are here and finally settled in our new house. (been here about 2 weeks now) Don't understand why we didn't do this sooner. My last post eluded to a lead on a dream job........well I got that job and started yesterday. My orientation so to speak. What is my new job??? Well, I am a trail guide for horseback mounted pack trips into the mountains. It is a dream come true for me. It might not be everybody's cup of tea but it sure is mine. Sorry to be so boastful but I am very proud and excited about this new adventure. Thanks for reading, Tim

..........LMAO 'cause I had a similar experience with a potato gun........'cept it left me with half a moustache!!! (wife finally made me cut the other side off too...after a day) Timbo