JRedding

Seems to be a lot of guessing on this topic and thought maybe I could help, we've finished thousands of items with antique finish and developed a system that's pretty simple and gets good results. This could take a while. Step 1 start with your item completed, by this I mean tooled, sewn, edged, rubbed, edge dyed, and background dyed if that applies. Step 2 oil with the oil of your choice, we use olive oil on small items, oil to the desired color you want, don't rush it oil slowly in small amounts and give it plenty of time between coats to absorb, this way when you reach the color you're after it will stay that color. Step 3 , apply a coat of something to seal the project, we use Neat-Lac but anything like Tan-Kote, or Bag-Kote will also work, we use Neat-Lac because of it's durability and predictability but have tried it all. Do not use Neat-Lac on any project that has acrylic paint used as a colorant it will strip it clean, use one of the others. Just put it on with a trimmed wool scrap, cover it thouroghly with a thin even coat, do not just stand it on there it doesn't absorb much and standing it will produce a thick, lumpy, overfinished looking finish. Step 4 Using a clean peice of wool trimmed short apply your antique, we use the old fashioned paste. It's easy to apply, doesn't go anywhere you don't put it, gives you plenty of time to work with and you have complete control over how much you leave behind allowing you to create a lot of contrast or a little. Apply it rubbing in all directions, you want to fill all the background areas and all the cuts, work it in, pick up your peice, turn it around, hold it up to your nose if you have to but make sure you fill everything completely and the same. With another clean peice of wool start buffing it off, we trim it to about one quarter to three eighths long. The longer you leave the knap of the wool the more antique it seems to pick back up so play with that until you find a sweet spot that works for you. Just buff and clean it until it looks like you want it to, you can leave a lot or a little behind creating more or less contrast. Ideally we let it set like that for 24 hours, given a full day to cure it seems to stay in place better, you will strip less away when you apply the last coat of sealant. Step 5 Apply the second and last coat of sealer, I like to use the same sealer all the time, not mix one with another, there's really no benefit to mixing it since the first coat is just to seal the project from the antique and is unable to have any effect on the final appearance. I've always felt there may be a downside to using two products on one item, I kind of think the first and second coat will blend and bond together better if you use the same product on both coats. Again with a clean, trimmed peice of wool apply the second coat like the first thouroghly with a thin even coat, again do not stand it on your project now it has no chance of absorbing it's sitting on top of the first layer so don't leave any sealer standing on there you don't want to look at forever because it's going to dry there. You will pull a little antique off when applying the second coat, don't scrub this coat in just apply it in a sweeping motion as best you can and avoid going in all directions, that's what you did to get the antique worked into all the cuts and it will also work to pull it back out when doing this step. Most of the antique you pull back up is coming from the smooth areas of the tooling not the depressions, don't panic. If it's a large project and you're having to do it in sections so you have time to work it, it will take several clean peices of wool to apply this last coat, you have to keep a clean one. Once they pick up too much color if you continue to use it you'll begin just smearing that second hand antique around and make a streaky mess. With Neat-Lac and a lot of practice we've been able to get a gloss or satin finish depending on how this last coat is applied. Step 6 You're done just let it cure. In summary it's pretty simple one layer to seal the project and resist the antique from splotching up the raw leather, a layer of antique to get the contrast you want, and one layer to seal the whole project for good. I've tried to give a few pointers as to technique that are important. Ultimately it takes a lot of practice to really get a feel for using the products and the techniques that work for you. These are the basics of what we do and should get you off to a pretty close start. Perfecting a method and technique that works for you is up to you. Good Luck

I've had the best luck with not using water, instead I use Shoe Stretch, it's really a 50/50 mixture of rubbing alcohol and water, you can mix your own or buy the Shoe Stretch pre-mixed. It's a lot cheaper to mix your own. I fill a bowl and soak the fringe a piece at a time six or eight inches, I just lay them out flat on the table, put a finger at the base of the fringe and press down to avoid pulling a weak one off should I find one, twist with the other hand, ( overtwist they'll relax and unravel a little ) just twist and pull on each one to set them and let them dry. That's all I do it's pretty quick, won't say it's painless, it's hard on the hands but what isn't.

Some people swear by the old casing methods, some don't. I don't case anything anymore, it was a nescesary method a long time ago when skirting leather came from the tannery harder than the hinges on hells door, but tanning methods are much different nowadays and the leathers are a lot softer than they were fifty years ago. Casing isn't an absolute nescesaty with todays materials, most of the best toolers I know have given it up but a lot of great toolers still swear by it. My suggestion is try everything and do what works best for you. Different people get different results with all kinds of things, you just have to experiment for yourself, you don't have to case everything if it's not working try something else, don't fight it.

Kangaroo lace from Australia, purchased from Jim Downey is my recomendation. A little more money than some of the others but worth every penny. It's a huge savings in frustration and a big improvement in the finished quality of your work. A good lace job is time consuming and difficult enough without trying to work with poor material. What you might save on the price of lace you'll lose in time spent.

Black and Mahogany are the two most versatile colors we've came to rely on. Learn to use the paste, you can control how much or how little you leave behind, you have more time to work it I think than the liquid stuff.

I've seen one saddle with braided binders instead of just wrapped, it looks pretty classy if well done, there are several braiding books out there you may find your answer in one of them, or better yet there are several good braiders that frequent this site if one of them would take a look at what you're searching for they could probably start you in the right direction quicker. If no one jumps in you may search out a couple of them and PM them for some input would be my only suggestion.

We build a belt for a four year old no more than 10 oz. total weight, he'll never wear a belt out before he grows out of it, wearing it out isn't really a concern. Holes are standardly 3/4 " apart and oblong. Five holes is the norm. center hole is the actual size with two holes smaller and two holes larger. If you specifically made it on the large end so he'd wear it longer punch one hole on the smaller side and leave three to grow into. Just how we've done it, hope that helps.

We build a belt for a four year old no more than 10 oz. total weight, he'll never wear a belt out before he grows out of it, wearing it out isn't really a concern. Holes are standardly 3/4 " apart and oblong. Five holes is the norm. center hole is the actual size with two holes smaller and two holes larger. If you specifically made it on the large end so he'd wear it longer punch one hole on the smaller side and leave three to grow into. Just how we've done it, hope that helps.

I don't think it's mold, mold would be on the entire project, it's not selective. Since the back side is worse than the front and from the looks of it it's been on a dirty table, possibly before you bought it, it looks like iron stains, or just plain old dirt, maybe grit from a sharpening stone, metal filings, or just plain dirty. Mold or dirt oxolic will likely clean it up. Don't know if that helps.

I'm with Bruce, doesn't sound like mold, it sounds more like spots from being exposed to iron, is it the clamps you referred to ? sometimes I've had leather pick up filings on a benchtop, if you've filed, sharpened, drilled or something like that in your shop it seems enevitable around here I'll find them with a peice of leather. Leather picks them up when it's dry just by laying it down in the wrong place , then when the water hits them they'll begin to rust overnite. Much like you described these spots appearing overnight after you soak the leather, the iron particles are already there the water just activates the rust. After you soak your leather and put it in the clamps a good dose of oxolic water last thing before you leave it to dry has helped me clean up my act, not a gaurantee but it helps.

Just flip the half-pattern you already have and trace the other side, the little bit of pencil that will transfer will be so minimal by the time you've tooled it out you'll likely not be able to see a trace of it, if it shows or just plain bothers you just clean it with a little oxolic acid or lemon juice when you're done and there won't be a trace.

The reference line on the backside, watching before you penetrate it, making small adjustments and years of practice are all on the money from my experience but no one has mentioned if you want a sweet job you need to find the right awl / needle combination also. Using the smallest awl you can reasonably pass the needles and thread through will improve the finished appearance of your work, it will be more difficult than using a haft size so large you can just drop a needle through but it's the way to go. Ideally when finished you don't want to see any unused hole left behind, the thread should appear to fill the hole you made and make it pretty much dissappear. Just my two bits.

I couldn't use it sitting down but that's just me, I'd think you'd be more likely to slip up and need a seamstress to sew you up. Maybe if it's light leather you'd be allright, but I doubt one could cut saddle skirting with any accuracy sitting down. A seated position would definately limit your strength to what your arms were capable of instead of your whole body. I built a cutting table that's some taller than usual bench heighth to make it more comfortable that also seemed to make it easier. I gotta' ask why you'd want to ?

WOW, you guys are really bored aren't you. LOL

Normal weight for a lined and stitched dress belt is an 8 ounce body with a two ounce liner, or 8 and 4 like Luke said if you want a heavy work belt or a belt to accomadate a concealed carry holster without undue wear.

one guy I know used a pine 1x12 unfinished to lay over bench tops when they got nasty he'd grab a hand plane, take a few swipes and have a clean new surface, and just replace it when it got thin

Would you normally hand a guy a stick if you knew in advance he's going to hit you in the head with it ?

If it's cold enough they froze the first night out they could be thawed, salted, rolled and sent to a tannery. If the varmints or somebodys dog didn't get to them, or they're all full of butcher cuts and bullet holes that will all turn into giant gaping holes when they hit the tanning solutions. On second thought just take Lukes advice and buy some.

I love it, what a great story, that's one in the win column for sure. With so many people operating out there today you see and hear it all sooner or later. I seemed to have a knack for finding some little thing that hadn't been used for fifty years and implementing it fairly often. One was an old trick on the cantle binder of a saddle, it wasn't new it just hadn't been done as far as I could find for a very long time, several years after I started using it all the time I stood in Wichita Falls Texas and listened to a guy tell a few gatherers how he'd come up with that and he was such a trendsetter everyone else was just following along because he was so great we all just wanted to be like him. The guy was a much better storyteller than saddlemaker.

John , I do understand the frustration of putting in a lot of valuable time to perfect a single idea with the hopes of it remaining original at least for a while, long enough maybe someone notices it came from you, or it can help you make a dollar or two because your product has some originality. After nearly twenty years I've come to the conclusion that most of the little things we add, change, or modify hit the street pretty fast these days. It's a lot different than the environment custom makers enjoyed decades ago, with the internet, people traveling a lot more, and a platoon of hungry competetors out there a single idea has the life span of one scrap of meat amongst sled dogs. A lot of people see something like that and it's not entireley new to lace a connector on instead of sew or rivet it I've done it hundreds of times just not on a cue case because I've never made one. But I've done it on horse gear and especially archery equipment, there's a quiver posted on here that I used the same method on. Having used the method a lot before I might have used it again on on a cue case just because it makes sense and I know how. Without knowing you had put a lot of time into it and considered it a unique idea for a case. Maybe the guy you mentioned gained the idea specifically from you and intentially grabbed onto your coat tails but the reality of it is there's not much you can do about it no matter how he got it, be it intentional or accidental. About ten years ago I worked with a guy who was a large customer of mine and a real good idea man, he had a lot of unique ideas in the horse market, he'd dream something up and I'd make it real and together we'd sell the hell out of it. It worked a long time but the longer we did it the faster his ideas became commonplace. We slowly gained a following of followers who would be kicking out our "new" stuff before the ink hardly dried on our new catolog. I fumed about it for years and the only thing I got for it was tired. It's a fuzzy line in some cases and some it isn't. I've also seen people "claim" an idea that was no more original than air and defend it to the death as their own. I agree with your thinking and felt the same for a long time I just don't beleive that's the world we live in anymore, but I admire your beleifs, we'd all be better off if more people felt the same.

We have four saddletrees for sale, all are Timberline trees, one FL Roper 17.5" seat, wood post horn, one Modified Association, 15" seat,#4 dally horn, one Buster Welch 16.75" seat, cutter horn, and one Modified Association, ranch cutter style 15.5" seat. All good trees, price is 125.00 plus freight. Would make good trees for beginners to learn with at that price. PM me for more info or photos.

Thanks to all, your well wishes are appreciated.

7/32" and center your stitch in that

we're not as cold as the folks in Montana and the Dakotas but it's pretty dang cold in this part of Utah, the Uintah Basin where we live is usually the coldest place in the state. We've been around 0 at night and 10-20 in the daytime with about eighteen inches of snow, that's pretty mild winter for this place, it's pretty much like living on a giant ice cube tray. You're just on the wrong side of the earth if you want cool weather Roo.

Don't think it's a Watt saddle, too Sheridan.