HarryB

Great job. Very well done. When hand stitching, use harness needles, available in several sizes. They have a blunt point for pre-punched holes. Use the smallest one your thread will fit through the eye of. Only one suggestion; Finish the edges on the narrower strap before sewing it onto the wider one. Besides that, everything looks great.

Just like you said: you wrap it up and put a half hitch in it, going under the last wrap with the loose end. Most of the ones I've seen like this are done at saddle factories to keep the strings out of the way when shipping new saddles.

I stand corrected: Wikipedia states that the sewing machine is credited to an Englishman in 1790.

Read it on the internet so it has to be true, right?! I was doing some researce some time ago because of all the claims that "my goods are all hand stitched, just like the originals" from guys making reenactment goods. Don't remember exactly where the info came from but I believe it was one of the encyclopedias.

On my horse tack, I include a short history of leather and a "care and feeding" guide. Mostly oiling and cleaning. It seems that most newbies to horses have some notion that all their tack will work better if they soak it in Neatsfoot oil overnight! And, a lot of makers of Civil War era items seem to feel that everything has to be hand stitched. Sewing machines were invented in the 1700s in France. By the beginning of the Civil War, almost everything for the government was machine stitched. I throw in a few other tidbits just to inform them.

James, I've had to adapt to using all those right handed tools left handed. It just takes a little practice. I use a skife left handed: I usually clamp what I am skiving to my bench and use both hands on the skife. It gives a lot more control. It seems the older I get the more I try to use my right hand. I have finally learned to use a draw gauge right handed and everything else seems to work itself out. I've cut with right handed scissors so long that I can't use a pair of left handed ones now. Just keep practicing.

My war department (wife) keeps talking about how much more my stuff will be worth "once I'm gone"! Think she's trying to tell me something? ?

Dang, I had to read that one two or three times!

Boy oh boy does this topic hit a nerve! Our left-wing local newspaper printed a complete list of all permit holders around Memphis/Shelby County aa couple of weeks ago and that opened the floodgates! Personally, I have a carry permit (its called a badge and law enforcement commission) As a public servant, anyone can find out who I am. As a private citizen, I and a whole lot of others don't think the paper should have gone to the time and trouble to find the list and then publish it for all the neer do wells to see. It only includes your name and zip code now but when it first came out, it included your address, too. If you don't have a carry permit, GET ONE. If you don't own a firearm, BUY SEVERAL while you still can! (And lots of ammo!) I'm not parinoid, just want to be prepared.

Olaf, I don't know of anything that is guaranteed not to stain, but I use a bonded nylon and it works considerably better than linen. Any linen or cotton based thread will discolor over time from saddle soap, dye dirt, wear, etc. Be sure you are through dying and finishing then sew with the nylon. I assume that a polyester or other synthetic will work about the same as nylon.

Ehhhhhhhh, not quite that simple. Its almost impossible to verbalize; you have to see it. Get any lacing book and it will illustrate it very well. If you still have problems, go to a TLC store and ask someone to show you. It really is a little tricky until you see it done.

Yes, and got caught TWICE.

I make various holders for my stamps by cutting a circle out of 3/4" wood (for weight), wrapping a piece of leather around it approx. 4 - 4 1/2" tall and sewing or lacing it up the seam. It kinda looks like a leather koozie when I'm done. I separate my tools into different holders and it makes it easier to move several of them around my desk than just one large tool rack.

I have used an 8-32 flathead or filisterhead screw with a finish washer on the front and the female part of a Chicago screw on the back IF it is American made. If not its going to be metric threads of some sort. I use a short piece of clear plastic tubing for the spacer/tensioner. You can cut it as long or as short as you need.

I was at Luke's yesterday and he was showing me a couple of his recent trades and swaps. He had a pair of chaps that he got from some guy that got them from his brother-in-law or something (Luke will have to tell that story!) I thought, dang, those things look familiar. I just wasn't sure. Well, when I got to the shop and looked in my photo album, there they were, very first photo! I had made them for a friend about 1990, '91. And lost contact with him after that. Luke has a pair of my chaps now and will probably sell them on E-bay for $1.99 (plus shipping)! I offered him a buck fifty and he turned me down!

Is he out of jail, yet?!

Very, very nice.

I agree with Skip; some of the REAL old Craftools and others are good but there came a time when profit outweighed performance, I guess. Most of the tools purchased from "craft" stores became very mediocre. Then people like Ellis bought the rights to the Hackbarth tools, Bob Beard and a few others started making really nice tools. BUT, instead of paying $6.95 for my whole set like I did when I started, I now pay $25 + per tool. And, you get what you pay for.

Thanks to all for the nice comments. ATX, the knife holder started out to be another stamping tool holder like the other ones on the desk except with loops to hold my swivel knives. But, I found that the stamps rubbed against the swivel knife yolks so I just eliminated the stamps. Could be used a a drink holder instead, I guess. I could take a sip and still have my swivel knives handy!

Very nice looking joint there, oldtimer. It's nice to have a dedicated place to do your work. Harry B

Don't worry. You'll have a good collection after a while. Why do you think we do leather work? TO BUY MORE TOOLS!

I GIVE UP ON PHOTOS!!!

Here's a couple photos of my shop. Let's see more!

Just can not get the photos to come out right! Hopefully you can see the difference above between a correctly stamped belt and an incorrect one! Thanks for looking.

Next is a belt. Lay out your base lines the same way. You can lay a ruler on the opposite side of your angled line and scribe a VERY LIGHT line down the belt several times. This gives you a reference to keep your angle correct. Stamp the full length of the belt and repeat til you get to the other side, stamp your border and you're ready to go.Looking down your belt at a flat angle, you should see straight lines running the full length of the belt. This is what happens when you use the wrong angle for something as narrow as a belt.