Sheilajeanne

Oh yes!! We've all had those moments! Chris, like your fortune cookie proverb - too true!

Jcuk, if I was involved with racing horse as you are, or a high end show stable where the saddles cost £2000, yes, I'd expect a better repair. But we're talking a stable with 20 school horses, where the tack is ancient, and the students are mostly beginner or intermediate level, and spend most of the lesson walking and trotting, or doing really low beginner jumps. In the 15 years I was involved with this stable (riding and teaching) the only serious accident I saw with a saddle was when a horse lay down and rolled while the kid was cooling the horse out! I never saw an accident involving a girth giving way. Six billets on an English saddle - what are the chances of 3 of them giving way at the same time? Not very likely! Bridles broke frequently, as runaway horses would often step on them. With that many horses and students, any damaged tack had to be repaired quickly as a missing saddle meant one had to be borrowed from another horse, and may or may not be a good fit.

Toxo, I REALLY wish we had a 'like' button on this forum that I could hit! Yes, very true, and you made me laugh!

The only dumb question is the one you don't ask, or ask after you've already bought something that's not suitable! I fully understand you wanting to think ahead, Biker! It's just that most people aren't thinking about lining something this early in the game!

I'm having trouble with this. Right now, there's a number of pictures of a belt bag posted by GrittyRustic. Obviously, there's a photo of the belt bag he made at the far right of the pictures, where only a small section of the picture is visible. But, there's an arrow on the picture, which obviously you are supposed to click on if you want to see the older pictures in that section. Problem is, the ARROW DOESN'T WORK! Also, I recall that previously, you could scroll through these pictures, and go as far back as you liked. I can't do that anymore. I can only view one photo at a time, and I have to close it before going to the next one. Can someone fix this, please? Or am I just not doing it right?

Back in my riding days, a quick and dirty way to fix the billets was to cut off the broken/worn ends, and sew new ones to the top end of the straps. There are 3 billet straps, so if one breaks, you are likely not gong to hit the dirt. And the tack at the stable got cleaned daily, so any dangerous wear or raveled stitches would be caught and fixed before anything worse happened. I'd be far more worried about a western cinch breaking, with the single strap on most of those saddles!

Lobo, wish I had a drill press! Have tried using a regular drill for burnishing - didn't work very well! If I were handier with woodworking, I'd likely be able to make a stand for the drill, and that would make things easier.

I use popsicle sticks for spreading glue! I also use a dried up ball point pen for transferring patterns from tracing paper to leather. Handstitched, that's what you call a Biro, right?

Al Stohlman started out with home-made tools, and look what he achieved! But from the sketches he made during the war when he was stationed overseas, you can see the man already had considerable artistic skill. I have a few friends who are artists, and even THEY say how so much of it is due to practice and persistence. They have seen many artists more talented than themselves give it up and fall by the wayside, while they continued to draw and paint and enter their work in shows.

Yes, they were very comfortable! But I found the crepe soles eventually deteriorated and actually stuck to the floor!

You need to make yourself a double holster cowboy rig!

Yeah, I had a pair of desert boots back in the day! I also have some crepe rubber I'm planning to use for moccasin soles.

What's an adhesive eraser?

Yeah, basting thread is a good idea. I even use it when hand-sewing a complicated item!

Open an outlet in Canada, so I don't get hammered with duty and shipping costs?? Sorry, just dreaming...

My problem is usually the opposite - the antique makes the piece too dark! I find Resolene very thick, even when mixed with water 50/50 and have never had good luck with it. The finish turns out streaky. I prefer the Tandy resist, but am still looking for something that protects my projects better so they don't stain too dark. Like Battlemunky said, it's an area of leatherwork that frustrates a lot of us!

I just noticed when I clicked on the photo of the green and grey bag, the picture that comes up is of the credit card wallet. Might want to fix that!

Thank you!!

Toxo, too funny!

As a cat owner, I really want to read this!!

Holy ****!!

The biggest mistake currently being made with the dog beds you see in the store is they aren't washable. Yes, the cover is, but the cushion inside isn't. Eventually it gets dirty and starts to stink, and the bed gets thrown out. I solved the problem by buying quilt batting, and folding it up, and using it to stuff the bed. I remove it and put it in the washer with the outer cover when washing the bed. Eventually, it falls apart, and has to be replaced, but it's quite cheap to buy! I don't know about other people's dogs, but mine vomit, one of them bleeds on the bed when in heat, and my old girl occasionally poops in her sleep. (She turns 14 in January.) So, yeah, something washable is a GREAT idea!

Have never used it on anything but floors...will have a look! Thanks for the info.

What do you mean 'is it ruined'? You said it looked very nice when you finished it. Did something happen between then and now? Can you post a picture, please? Psst, Fred, the correct name is 'Mop and Glo'. Haven't used it in years, and don't know if they still sell it in Canada!