Patrice

Hi all. I bougth, about 1 month ago, tools from a retiring harness maker near me. All of these tool date from aproximatly 1880 but i don't know the value of each of them. They are not for sale, but i want to know they're value as i'm going to shop for my insurance. I have: 1- the manuel press made of cast iron 4- blinder mold, one is missng a part all made from cast iron 4- blinder clicker dies. 1- leather cutter Thank' for your help.

My favorite way of finish was to mix 50/50 water and Block Out. But Tandy don't sell it anymore. So, any clue bout a replacement? I live in Canada and we don't have acces to the same products than you. Thank you!

For restoring old, but still good parts, i have decided to clean and then dye over some parts with matching dye. Im using old Tandy's pro oil, buckskin color. Once dry, i have applied 3 coats of warm neatsfoot oil, then let dry overnight and wipe off the excess. The color is beautifull and i am satisfied with it. Should i use a 50/50 resolene mix to seal it? Or apply somethng else? Thank's.

Many thank's. I wil try on my next project.

Hi there. A friend of mine ask for a noseband. It's already tooled and dye. I use Tandy's eco-flo gel med. brown. I already give it two coats of a 50/50 Block Out and water mix, then spray 2 coats of Fiebing's Leather Sheen. Since this item will be used outside, and some other pepople want me to do noseband for them, i want to be sure the item will be up to the task. Thank you and here a picture of the finished piece.

Many thanks Tosch.

Also, all of you told me to buy good used saddles. As i'm eager to learn, what is a good saddle and what is a bad saddle? I understand that my 2 saddles are junk and i assure you, i take no offense at all. Do you have example or saddle brands to start off? Thank's.

Once again, thank you all for your advices. I have been informed that a harness maker in my area will retires next year. I asked him about taking course from him, and he told me he would think about it. Until then, i'm on my own. I have dissambled the brown saddle yesterday and cleaned all parts. From what i have seen, il will have to do : 1- the leather of the gullet. 2- replace the buckles by Blevins buckles. 3- solidify the cantle as it's maintained in place by clinch nail's. 4- Re do the under-side with sheep wool padding. Oh, an both D-ring on both side ofthe sddle are held in place by 2 screws and blts and clinch nails. ] But, i will try to restore this saddle for fun and hobby. The saddle tree is made of fiber glass. Is in good condition and not broken. I will be posting update once in a while as im back to work. Have a nice day!

First of all, i would like to thank you. I live in Québec, Canada. I already try to contact some rare people who repair saddles, but no one ever wanted to teach me, even if i offer to pay them. Even if the material wil be more costly than rebuilding those 2 saddles, i think it wil worht the effort. I will take this for a hobby, as i always did. The problem here in Québec, is that most folks here tend to judge people who like the amrican way of life, including horseback riding. Being able to travel in Alberta, you can bet you hard earn money that i will already be there attending sadlle making classes. As for now, i will be pilling up my money so i can go west to learn from a true sadlle maker in Canada. I'm just a iitle bit upset against my own kind here in Québec ;-) Once again, thank's for everything.

After 9 years of doing leathercraft, i've decided to try my hand to restore saddle. I juste bought 2 saddles. One is of poor craftanship. You can tell by the screw showing under the frame and by the use of electric tape to get in place the fender arround the stirrups. The other is less in bad shape that the first one. Anyway, i paid 80$ for 2. I will be buying the Stohlman saddle encyclopedia as well as the two patterns provided by the leathercraft library. But, i would like to know if there's some dvd available for sale? I would like to restore them as a hobby. You can have a look at them by the pictures join with this post. I'm gladly taking all advices as it is my first try at saddle repair. Many thank's.

Beautiful, as usual :-)

Very good!

Hi everyone. I always wanted to try my hand at making a skirt sheath. It took me sometime to figure out how to do the pattern, but i finally did it. The bowie knife is made by myself. I've been doing blades for about 11 months now. I think both the knife and the sheath goes well together. Hope you like it folks. :-)

Thank's everyone for your thoughts. It was very interesting reading all of you!

Hi everyone. It's been a while since i did not post anything. As the old arabic saying goes: If what you have to say is not more beautiful than silence, then shut up. ;-) I will be attending a horse rally event (150-250 peoples) this weekend as is it a holyday monday here in Quebec. I will be showing my leather products and do a demonstration on leatherworking. As i was tagging the price on my hand made item, my girlfriend and my mom (both avid shoppers) tell me not to tag 60$ but instead, 59,95$. It's seem that it's due to extensive marketing research and that 59,95$ is not on the same braket price as 60$. Is it just me, or i just underestimated the power of a nickle? Are people really more tempted choosing a 5 cents cheaper item? Is it the same in USA? Just between you and me, i was upset. Upset because so many people are not willing to craft their own belt, wallet and other gears, BUT, they will not buy good quality items. I would like to read what you have to say about it and if the same thing keep running in your mind. And please excuse me for the ranting. Have a great weekend.