rickybobby

We have a Landis 12 in our shop for shoe repairs. The old shoe repairman cussed the thing for 11 years, when we thought it was a gonner we called a repair guy out and he cleaned it and oiled it, it never worked better!! Parts are available through a place called Pilgram Supplies, I can get the number for you if you need. I have never used it because I work in the saddle shop side, but I can hear the thing running when the shoe guy is using it. It does sound like a rattling train!! The awl is the most common part to break, we had the awl guide break into 2 pieces it managed to hold itself together until the new part arrived. Over all they are a pretty good machine, because of the setup I would think it to work best for shoes and boots, but I have never tried it for saddle work. It is pretty cool that they are still in operation.

Cody and Jim Bob's parents were in the shop, Very nice people, I have not met the "boy's" yet. I hear Jim Bob is a scream. All the stories are true about him!

Nick, I asked this question to "Boomstick" holsters here on the forum, I think his name is Jeff. He has answered on a thread. Go to the upper right hand corner and find "Search" and type in "PRESS" This will take you to the correct thread that has a lot of information about this and shows what he is using. He turns out some great holsters so I will follow his advise and am putting togeter a set up like he has. The press' are not very expensive and if you can pick them up from Grizzly or Harbor Freight they are under $130.00 I have all the part numbers, phone #'s, address, ect. for the gum rubber pads and info on press' on another computer I can post it later or P.M. it to you if you would like.

Elton, I would never have enough imagination to put those colors together and make them look good. You did and did it with style!! They are a nice piece of work, your customer should be very happy! I love the lines on the trim and the shapes for your yokes and side panels. The tooling looks good and all of your trim and stitching looks perfect! After seeing those I am going to the work bench and practice, practice, practice! Thanks for posting those, they are NICE!! Rick Jorgenson

Keith, Welcome to the forum! Stohlmans books "The Art of Making Leather Cases" is a set of 3. It has great information that when used on your project, you can use the techniques found in these books. The way some things are made, assembled, sewn, in the books can be applied to any project. They are a great resource to have as a beginner in this craft. I refer to mine quite often. Also once you have seen how some items are assembled, take a look at the work some of the holster makers on this site have posted. You can get some idea of how it should look finished, review the books and look for methods to produce it. John Bianchi's holster video's and DVD's are a huge help. Also post questions and if you are starting to produce a piece that has you baffled, post a photo with the question so we can see where you are on the progress and maybe see the snag. Rick Jorgenson

Very nice Andy, having the room will make it that much more productive and fun!!

Hi... I learned the same way you did, Books, and watched anyone that would let me see a saddle taken apart and put together again. The Stohlman books are a good resource, I was able to sort out the long way they did some things and what I had picked up from elsewhere and get to the next step. I am now working in a saddle shop to "perfect" my saddle building. Some things we need to know to get you going, :wtf: Do you have the Stohlman books? (They can be a help) What tree are you working with? What style rigging are you looking at useing? Can you take and upload pic.s for us to see? Rick Jorgenson

ArtS, You had better call and verify that. It appears it maybe a error. They show a pic. of the gun but it states "MAGAZINE" Hope your right but check it out.

Try paying attention to the angle you start your edger at, keep your arm, hand, and edger at the same angle all the way around the curve as you push. Also keep your edgers SHARP. I have started useing my dremel tool with the little white buffing wheel, start it up with the buffing wheel against the rouge and smear some on!!! I polish the underside (round side) with it. The top just needs a touch up with #2000 grit paper once in a while.

Tom, IT looks really great!! Good choice of colors, all the tooling shows, LOVE the skulls!! Rick J.

This is a tool from the shop I work at. It is a small edge border San Carlos Tool. It was made from a flat blade screwdriver, ground with a dremel tool then polished. It is pretty small so it works well for small projects like key rings. I have the border a little wide for the demo but it gives you a idea of what it looks like! Rick J.

I found this on Tippmans website, Drill a small hole in the plastic thread bobbin base. Run the thread from the top, down the inside of the bobbin, out the hole in the base, up to the thread guide arm to the machine. Try it you don't need to worry about looking like a cross dresser buying pantyhose, wires, garlic, or hairnets!! Rick J.

Gary, Nice work! I really like the Flower/leaf pattern mixed with the geometric design. The taps really set it off too !! Rick J.

Nice job! Make sure you post a pic of the finished product! Rick J.

Tom, I vote against black too. It will cover up all of your cool tooling! I just finished a belt at work today, acorns and oak leaves and looked at the order tag to find the customer wants it DARK brown, almost black. I was bummed out! all the details of tooling are not as visable, they are there but yiou have to look a long time to see. Oh well customers pay the bills! Love the skulls, Try colors just for fun, you can always dye it BLACK lol! Rick J.

Nice job on the 1911 holster! What do you use to get all the detail in your holsters? I have done a few and have not been able to get that kind of detail. I have not tried the W.C. leather, does that detail better then others? I have been on your website and all of your work looks top notch! Thanks for your posts. I always like your work! Rick Jorgenson

Will, It would be great to get those going! Have you checked into some of the tree makers here on the forum? There are a few here and maybe they could produce them for you. Rick J.

I just finished a batch of knife sheathes for our store. 90% of the time when we sell a pocket knife we also sell one of our sheathes, a extra $27.95 sale for each one. I spent about 5 hours making them. After a while it gets to be a drag doing the "mass production" thing but customers like them! Rick J.

Thanks for the information, My G17 must be a older model, it does not have the light rails like the newer ones. I will try using it for the moulding / forming and will note the barrel and grip lengths.

I have used Barry King 16oz and 24oz for tooling and they are very comfortable. I do sometimes have a glancing blow and send a tool across the shop it is because I am concentrating on lining up BW. I will try Gregs suggestion on squaring off the top, Thanks Greg We also have a 2lb rawhide maul at the cutting bench for cutting strap ends, punching holes, ect. 2 weeks ago I was cutting a strap end and the maul glanced off and hit my hand, I have a very sore joint in my left thumb that is very slow healing. Some of the tools in our shop are over 40 years old and have some wear. I have sharpened them but I need to "square off" the tops as suggested. Watch out for the heavy mauls! They can "bite you" I have not tried the Barry king heavier mauls yet, but I am very happy and comfortable with the lighter ones!

It is the time of year that the "dude ranches" in our town are closed but bringing in their saddles for repair so I have been seeing saddles with a lot of wear and some pretty old and beat up. The stirup leathers on most of these saddles are full and they are stretched and tearing the fender. So even with full leathers they take some weight. The ranches do not want to put a lot of money in these but to make them safe, if they are real bad we replace the full leathers and patch the fender as best we can. Taking these saddles apart has been a lesson in stress points on a saddle and it has made me more aware of building techniques. The saddles I have built (4) were with the help of the "Stohlman books" and now I have been working in a saddle shop for 3 months and get to see some other techniques. I have seen some very good posts in this forum that have helped me as well. The posts in this topic are very informative (what can happen) and how they handle the customer vs. safety. The info I get from this forum from the pro's is a great help and I thank you all!

Bruce, Nice job! I have promised a holster for a friend, he has a model 27 (compact .40 cal) I thought that my model 17 (9mm) might work for moulding/shaping. What do you think? The detail you have is nice, looks like a perfect fit. Always enjoy seeing your work. Rick J.

John, Nice cases! Is all of your work from word of mouth or internet? I have been on your website and seen all the great work. Thanks for sharing those! I like the flames the best! Rick J.

Elton, Nice job on the saddle! Nice tool work and good job with finishing touches! I would like to see a photo of your "jig" for the rear billets stitching. Keep up the great work! Rick J.

Clay, Nice job! It looks great! only question I have is "why are the welts on the swell in front?" Is it a choice? Or because of the swell shape a neccessity? IT is pretty cool when all of these "parts" you have been working on all of a sudden come togetherand there sits a saddle! Again, Great job, I just had to ask the swell question for my own information/learning Rick J.