Kevin

I just saw Moses Smucker on an ad for " How the States Got Their Shape" on The History Channel. I did not hear what he said. Kevin

Of course, it was found in a junk shop, covered in rust, in the bottom of a box of junk (in Hungary I assume). The dealer gave it to the person that found it, they gave it to Eva, and now she has given it to me. She considers my house to be a museum. Kevin

I've been waiting for this for twelve years. From my dear, dear friend Master Saddler Eva Vettenberg. Notice asymetric shape, head knife on one side, round knife on the other. Kevin

The dye soaks into linen immediately. It is just Rit brand dye that we have at the grocery store here. The only drawback is if you use beeswax on the thread, it makes it look funky. Kevin

I don't know if this might help or not. We've got a Singer post machine at work and you might stitch for a foot and it would be fine, then pull up the bobbin thread for five stitches then sew fine again. I finally figured out we were using the wrong bobbins. Good luck, Kevin

You can make creasers out of smaller leg bones. Shoemaker's tools are referred to as Crispin's bones. Kevin

I don't need large amounts when I need colored thread, so I just get clothing dye at the grocery store and dip the thread right into the bottle. Kevin

The modern finishers go FAST and burn leather 'til you get used to them. You can cut the old line finishers into sections and not use the whole thing, but sanding they go bump, bump, bump as you go over the joint in the drum. Kevin

Sorry just another guess, but it looks like he is grinding the color off the "beads". Kevin

I used to use a tackle box for my carving and stamping tools. Now I have an oak cabinet made by Dale Grabowski, I got from Hide Crafter. When I was travelling, I had 4 of the plastic stands from Tandy's in a cardboard box, that was the lightest weight thing I could think of. At one time I had an 8"x8"x3' chunk of wood, with the top third sliced off and hollowed out for a lid, that's why I became weight concious. Kevin

Unless something has changed in just the last couple years and I haven't seen it, that video is bogus. They quit handsewing pull skirts a long time ago. Like twenty years ago. I will say, they are one of the last companies that build a saddle sort of like it's supposed to be done. Kevin PS, When I say it's bogus, I mean it is for demonstration only. They do still hand seam the seat and use tacks as opposed to staples.

We have the 8" buffer/grinder. It is noisy and scarey fast. Out of 7 people, only 2 of us will use it. Kevin

I'm currently experimenting with a hammer drill and it seems to work ok. The problem I'm having, is the drill that I have is so big and unwieldy. I'm pretty sure if I had a smaller drill, I would be sold. I just put a dimple in the end of a metal rod, put it on the rivet and let it go to town. Good luck, Kevin

Weaver's has the lt. green with red stripes, Beiler's has the English elastic that is brown on one side and black on the other, I don't know who has the grey anymore. The grey is bulky and is the weakest of the three. I use the striped elastic on most of the girths I do and save the English for special occasions. Kevin

NOOO!!!

When you're sewing something that is a little awkward to feed it is very easy to deflect the needle enough that it doesn't pick up the bobbin thread. I have to sew a lot of things one stitch at a time. Kevin

I usually just make my lace out of bridle leather, that way you can cut whatever width you want. Then I bevel the top edges and dye the edge. Then I split it down to the weight I want, I think it's easier to dye the edge while it is full thickness. Then I lube up the lace with some type of saddle soap, I use glycerine or Tattersal's. Lace it up, go back and tighten the lace. On English reins, to finish, you just skive the ends of your lace and put 5 or 6 stitches in to hold the ends of the lace. If I was doing those reins pictured, I would wrap the ends around the rein and splice and stitch them together in a loop so it would look like the beginning of the lacing and then work the slack back. Hope that makes some sense, Kevin PS You don't have to worry about burnishing the lace, that happens naturally as you pull it through the holes.

I've seen a guy use a cake icing spreader that was sharpened and did a good job. I've seen several finish up with a sanding disk on a drill, but that sure makes a mess. I work with Slim Berg, he used to build the bronc saddles for Barstow Pro Rodeo, and all he uses is a Skife. Kevin

I don't know about their bags, but the saddles haven't been hand sewn for at least twenty years. A lot of people consider a machine run by a human to be hand sewing, I guess instead of a computer controlled machine. Off the subject, one time we had a French purse in the shop, and the maker had forgotten his awl in between the lining and the bag. It ended up on an Open/ Closed sign. Kevin

Because that is the twist of the needle in the sewing machine. Kevin

It may be dull or you might be holding it at the wrong angle. Sometimes those western edgers work better when you pull them toward you rather than push them. Good luck, Kevin

When I got my Adler, the thread I got with it was like yarn, so I did use wax. Ten years later I am still cleaning it off. Kevin

Except for your measurements, it sounds like you are talking about fall down staples. Wind mill Saddlery in Ohio has them. Sorry I am at home, so I don't have more info. They come in 5/8 and 3/4 with a cotter pin that goes through the tree. Kevin

Ohio Travel Bag has flat black JIffy Rivets, I don't know about grommets or eyelets. Kevin

I like that fold and whipstitch to hold the lense in, good idea. Kevin