Thor

Title says it all. It's the first seat ever and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with it even though this isn't my forte. 2 progress pics are in the gallery. The padding is far to thick for this 3.5 mm thick leather. I had to trim down the edges a bit to make it work, but in the end it all worked out. For future seats I'd be making a positive and a negative mold form to make life a bit easier, mold first, tool and dye then. The tooling looked a lot better before molding. Having another seat in the works already, I'm happy this one is done and can go up for display. Thanks for viewing. BTW. critique is always welcome.

A quick Google search returned these links: http://www.scrimshaw.com/scrimshaw-cattle-horn/ http://www.ehow.com/how_5581152_polish-bull-horns.html

Great job chief. You must have like that project. Your braiding says it all

Just treat it as if it would have a single bar. If you're going to use quick snaps you can't go wrong at all.

Had that happen to me too with the black professional oil day not too long ago. It would bleed for ever and ever, but it didn't lose color strength at all. Reason, solution? No idea, sorry, but you're not alone.

Thank you all for sharing your experience on this. Keith, this is leading me to the questions if in this case it wouldn't be better to have oval holes.

Martyn, here are two pages which might help you. Instead of shearling you could use wool felt as well. The Art of Making Leather Cases, Volume Three - Golf Bag Shoulder Strap.pdf

In Germany this is very simple. The general term is "Sattler", derived into "Reitsportsattler" (making about everything needed for riding - not just horses) "Feintäschner" (making bags and such) "Fahrzeugsattler" (everything leather and fabric you can think of related with the automotive industry. Pretty sure vessels and planes are in this category as well) You're welcome to translate them into English.

I was wondering what that tunnel was for. All I know about the Swiss army is that it's no surprise they are a neutral country considering their forces are armed with a Swiss army knife only LOL. That's why I suggested oil rather than wax. Wax will seal the surface where oil doesn't and allowing moisture to be released. When I say moist I mean at the point where it looks dry but isn't yet. Definitely not moist to touch. If you'd be a woman I'd say, just as you do with creaming your hands. It just allows the oil to penetrate deeper and better. Anyhow if you use a commercial product it will have some grease in it already and that step isn't necessary at all. BTW. I'd be surprised if saddle soap will do the trick. I've been cleaning saddles and horse tack for a long time now and saddle soap is good for most of it and if you don't care about discoloration. Almost all saddle soaps are glycerin based and will darken the leather to some degree. I'm only using dark saddles only and haven't cared about that yet. I heard that the white saddle soap doesn't darken. Whether that's true, I don't know. The bottom leather is the same leather as it's being used on gymnastic equipment and of about 1.5 to 2 mm. Softer and stretchier type than what you'll usually find. Sorry I don't know what it's actually called. I'm making wallet interiors from scraps of that leather type. I'm splitting it down to 1.1 mm and it will last forever. Guess that picture rings a bell... I just noticed that on the front of the bottom there seems to be some disturbed surface. You may have to burnish this well. If you're re-oiling the leather go gentle and add it from both sides where possible. Flesh sides before grain sides. Let it come back to its natural color before you oil it again. You may have to do it 2 or three times.

So you got that backpack on eBay. Are you holding it in your hands as of yet? If it was mine I would give it a very thorough wash down. Looks like there's some mold on the leather. White vinegar should take care of that. Once you washed it down, don't wait till it's completely dry. Add some oil while it's still moist. Take it apart as much as you possibly can for cleaning. Personally I might even undo the stitches on the straps to get them off. I don't know about the UK but in Germany we're having some actual leather detergent that will allow to actually wash it without the worries that it might dry out after. If you don't have any do as described above. It will allow the oil to easier penetrate the leather. If you want to use wax, use liquid wax as the paste will not penetrate deep enough. No matter what you use make sure your water is not hotter than 40°C. Veg tanned leather doesn't like it very warm. As for certain products - I don't have any. The only thing in this case would be to see if you get all the spots removed and make a judgment whether you want it darker or keep the actual color of the leather. Neatsfoot has a non-darkening product by the name of Lexol. Most other oils in Europe are based on fish oil and will naturally darken the leather. I was trying to find a picture with the handle on the flap still existing, but the best I was able to find is this one This is a different model of a Swiss military backpack and it looks like it's a strap to attach something like binoculars in this case Good luck on your task!

I did get that Bob. I thought that it might be easier for you going with one thing. Care varies with leather used and then may change again with products being applied and the character of the item as well. For instance, leather should be oiled once in awhile and that's totally fine with most leathers, but if you use oil on the seats of a convertible you may get some unwanted screaming afterwards...

That's funny Yin. So actually cars aren't Made in USA but assembled there. Anyhow, it may just be me, but it sounds odd to me if a leather item carries a tag saying assembled in USA or where ever. How about Handcrafted in USA or does the material have to be from the US in this case as well? On a side note, the US Marine Corps forces their licensees that the tag Made in USA is to be placed on the item even though it wasn't made in the US as soon as the US Marine logo is used.

Bob, please contact leatherisfun he has some potion he's made and as far as I heard from others it's pretty good.

Lois, I didn't advise against it, but didn't favor it either. Actually I wrote that I wouldn't do it this way and explained my reasons why. If this is hurting your feelings I'm terribly sorry. Also I asked if you have any experience with this particular method. So instead of throwing in that you've been sewing leather for 50 years, you could have just explained what your experience with this particular method is. If it's good, then great... Further I showed at least two methods in which it's done with a household machine including a similar way as you described it. So it's really left to her what she wants to do.

Impulse suggested this method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98vfk8x68uU (sorry the text is German, but you'll get it with the pictures) Anyhow, I wouldn't do it this way. The problem I see is that the core will move around inside and in time will spin and the handles might not look as nice anymore. I know that they aren't glued on some or most of the cheaper ones. However, I would glue the core to the leather, especially with such soft leather to give it more support. If you can't sew it with your machine (works very well with a patcher) then you can always stitch it by hand. Another German video tutorial on that issue https://youtu.be/Mxm5CdnELyE?t=7m28s she's not gluing it either, but using a household machine for the whole process, so it might be of interest for you.

That would mean you're not gluing the core to the leather. Did you try that before? Btw. Diana, did you mention what kind of leather you're making the handles from?

Toot and Bob you saved the day. Thanks a million. One thing I haven't thought of yet is the strap's closures. I was thinking about heavy duty Velcro. Personally I like my farrier chaps tight on my legs so I don't have any wrinkles and such, therefore I thought of an elastic/expandable fabric with added Velcro. What do you guys think about that?

Thank you Equiplay. I'm using this saddle for 3 years now on my German Warmblood. True those old saddles are not made for the average QH or Paint etc. Guess back then most ranchers were still using some Arabian crosses or Thoroughbreds etc. My old boy is 23 now and will be retired sooner or later and since I'm planing to build 2 saddles during fall this year this saddle will be retired earlier than the horse and decorate either the house or the shop or I'll just put it up for display at some place.

They look like they will last a while. Well done!

The second strap is way to nice to give away chief.

Well the idea isn't all that new and eBay has been doing this for years. You might find one by searching for CRM systems. Something like this http://codecanyon.net/item/ultimate-client-manager-crm-pro-edition/2621629 but modified to your needs. This could be completed with a courier tracking system/script. You also might want to check if you shop script can be upgraded with an order update script like shopify and prestashop have that already. Adobe offers a widget for this. This script seems to be interesting as well http://codecanyon.net/item/simple-work-order-management-system/6182235. So it is out there and you are having the freedom of choice.

That's exactly how it's been done Mike. Just leave enough overlap to accommodate your presser foot. That's the whole secret. Just learned this recently myself.

Don't think he's actually trying to sell, but rather have store owners and retailers include his products into their distribution line in a believe they would want to increase their assortment.

If I were you I would make that a positive thing. Add an extra page to your website with a customer login. Having a table (or numbered list) on it with first names and first letter of last name plus city. At the end of each line you'll add the prospected shipping date and once shipped it should show that date as well. I'm pretty sure that this can be automated and that such a script is already existing. This way they see that you're working on many orders and see that you're shitting them if you're saying it's a 10 weeks wait time. While they are on your page/site re-visiting they will see additional advertisement of your products and they just might make another order.

I'm not living in the UK so I'm not even part of your target group, but I like the idea that you want to encourage the UK local market. The idea isn't new to me and it sounds a lot like this one http://www.custommade.com/. Only US businesses may enroll, but just like you they're taking a 10% commission fee http://www.custommade.com/maker-signup/. I like your website's appearance. Obviously it isn't finished yet and you're still working on the site. It must be brand new as the only incoming link is from this site. Now if you're taking 10% that's a fare bit of an item that might sell for 300 GBP. One should be expecting that you will be spending a huge amount into direct advertisement and that you will be dealing with customer relations etc. At this point and time your website as well as your post doesn't provide any accountable information upon which one could build a business relationship. Your idea, like your website are in a building and finding process. You might want to finish at least on of them first. All the best for this, Thor