Equiplay Saddlery

I just made myself a draw down stand and decided to make one for my mentor as a gift for all he has taught me. I think they turned out pretty nice and he was like a kid at Christmas when I took his to him yesterday. I can't wait to start my next saddle on it. The frames are 1 1/2" tubing and 1 1/2" angle.

That's beautifully done!

Bill has a good idea but I think I would look into a decent used horse trailer. Maybe small living quarters for the plumbing etc. Many of them have a walk through door to the back. Just remove the dividers and you have a wide open workshop that is a LOT sturdier than a normal travel trailer.

Those are great Chief. There are going to be some happy hunters this Christmas.

Ok I got my machine unboxed and put together this morning. Only had to make one phone call to Bob Jr, with a threading question and he fixed me right up. Went ahead and ordered more thread, bobbins and needles while I was at it since it is real obvious I will be using this machine for years to come. The learning curve isn't to bad at all. I definitely like it better than the 20 year old Adler 205 that I had used a few times. The servo motor is awesome. Thanks for all the help Cowboy Bob and Cowboy Bob Jr.

Bob I knew that you had nothing to do with Pettyco Express NOT doing their job that's why I hadn't called you yet and said in my post as much. I wanted to give the shipping company every opportunity to correct the problem BEFORE getting you involved and I certainly wouldn't have refused the shipment without giving you a chance to resolve it. I would however have been MUCH more selective as to delivery times since today was my THIRD time rearranging my schedule for them. I did receive my machine today and it was VERY well packaged (something I had been concerned about due to the length of time it had been passed around). I ALMOST didn't get my machine today though. I, once again, was promised a delivery time of 8-9 AM and I specifically told the company that I would not be home after 9.IThe shipping company is an hour and a half away in good traffic. At 8:45 I called the company and they said it should be there any minute....yeah right. At 9:45 literally minutes before I was leaving for work the truck pulled up in the driveway. Ten minutes later and I would have been gone. The driver was helpful and unloaded quickly for me. He even commented "I don't know why they didn't send this with me yesterday I was in this area all day." Go figure. Like I said everything looked fine from the outside but I certainly didn't have time to unpack any of it. I did call this morning and spoke to Bob Jr. because I wanted you to know that it had arrived. All of my contact with you and your son have been excellent and I can't wait to get my machine up and running. I'm looking forward to doing business with you in the future. Art, I also appreciate your input and the time you take to help those of us who are just learning with our problems. I certainly don't expect everyone to check the board daily since I don't have that kind of time either but I did want to let others know that dealing with freight companies is not as easy as it should be. That being said you also can't let them get away with not doing what they have been paid for. I'm sure I will love my new machine and I will probably have a few questions to post in the near future since I'm still a newbie.

+1

Well KY23 it looks like freight companies are just a pain in the %$%^ no matter where they are. Tomorrow will be the third day I've re-arranged my schedule so that my CB4500 can be delivered. When it no showed again this morning I called the local freight company in Jacksonville (Fl) and told them to have it at my house by 9 AM tomorrow. If it's not it will probably be heading back to Ohio and I'll be calling another dealer. I know it's not Cowboy Bob's fault but roadrunner transport showed it sitting on a loading dock in Miami for a week when it actually had already travelled to Orlando and then Jacksonville (going right past my house TWICE) and now all I get are excuses from Pettyco Express. My time has just as much value as theirs does.

Shiek I know there are others from Florida on here but most of us are pretty scattered out. This is a LOOONG state after all. I know there are several people in the southern half of the state but I haven't found anyone up here on the North end. I'm in Alachua.

Nice work Chief. You always make things clean but still classy looking. I like that.

+1 for what billybopp said. Also check out Paul Zalesak's video "Awl of Spades" on his Leather Wranglers website. That is what a sharp awl should look like. Mine aren't there yet but I'm working on it. www.leatherwranglers.com and look at the demo videos.

Nice work JLS. Very Nice.

Very nice work!

Glad to hear it went together OK. I should be getting mine in a week or two. Hopefully it will go smoothly also.

What Uwe said.....

I just ordered a CB4500 a week and a half ago from Toledo Industrial and I actually called Bob and talked to him yesterday. I had a few questions about overall dimensions so that I can get my shop organized before it gets here. Bob told me yesterday that he ships the unit out on a pallet and that it will be delivered to my door (barn door) and off loaded for me. Luckily I can get at a truck with at least a 40' trailer up to my barn since that's what I have hay delivered on. I was told the trucks they ship on have lift gates which will make my life a lot easier as I had a few rods and screws put in my back a couple of years ago. Bob also only charged $250 for the delivery. Sounds like they definitely need to change their delivery company. Keep us posted on it. If you're like me you're as anxious as a kid at Christmas waiting for it to get here.

Very nice!!!!!

Hi TessaBlue, Welcome from a fellow newbie Floridian.

My first thought on this is that some poor leather worker just had his tools stolen in a burglary and the typical crack/meth head was trying to get their fix selling scrap metal. Hope that wasn't the case because I would hate to have my tools stolen and end up at the scrap yard. Maybe it was a legit sale in which case you have a heck of a nice set of tools. Legally I would be careful of the too good to be true deals. At least here in Florida if you knew or should have known that the property was stolen (i.e. WAY to cheap) you can be charged with dealing in stolen property.

Just remember the smaller you go the more important it is to have a REALLY good and detailed stamp. You won't regret spending the extra for a BK stamp. It will make your life a lot easier. Here is a picture of a 1 1/2" belt with the #2 BK rope stamp and a #2 BK crescent border stamp. The #2 is the third from the right on Thor's picture above.

That's funny because my friend who has been teaching me to build saddles first instruction to me was "Band Aids and Neosporin are in the drawer over there." All I can say is he is a wise man.......

That looks FANTASTIC! Beautiful work all the way around.

Can't help you with the 3200 but I did just "bite the bullet" and ordered a CB 4500 a few days ago. Lots of research and debate between the Cobra and the Cowboy before I made my decision. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with either of those machines. Sure am anxious to get mine and get started.

Paul at LW will make the knife with or without the draw cut feature. Don't know about the Knip knife but I have a LW knife on order and Paul was great to deal with.

I recently bought a few Barry King stamps. Two of them are basket weave and they have made all the difference in the world when it comes to the quality of my work. They are worth every penny. Also a couple of other suggestions: Take a sharpie and mark the middle of each side of the stamp and one end. Then make sure you keep your stamp facing the same direction while you use it - i.e. the mark on the end to the left or right. Use the mark on the side to line up the center with the previous stamp mark center. The BK stamps are really symmetrical but I still mark them just to know I kept things the same all the way through the pattern. Also if it's a large pattern don't be afraid to go back with a straight edge and make additional lines (very lightly) as you work through the pattern to help keep things straight.