wildhorsehans

A friend of mine gave me this machine and table. I was able to find a manual and such and have cleaned it up and tried it out. Holy cow this sucker is FAST!!!!!!!!! I am making a wood block to place under the pedal so I can keep the machine from running away! LOL. It takes very little movement on the pedal to get this puppy in full til boggie mode, so I need to slow it down to my skill level, which is slightly faster than hand stitching. I plan to use it for light work mostly. Nothing more than say gunbelts and holsters. Right now I am making up a pair of Vaquero pants like Charlie Prince had in the remake of 3:10 to Yuma. I can go up to a size 21 leather needle so if working with deerskin for these pants, what would you all suggest for needle and thread size as well as stich count per inch? Thanks all!! Hans

Being a transplanted redneck myself I say welcome to NH. You will find that most up here are rednecks with a different accent. All have bass boats, 4X4s and horses. I came up from the redneck riviera AKA Panama City back in 1990. Live in Derry now. I am at the store at least once a month as I work in Bilerica right down the road. I'm sure I'll see ya soon. Hans

Thanks much! If 25 can cut 8 oz my 50watt should be able to cut saddle skirting!! Now to dig it out of the cave!

Thanks very much Blake. All info is very welcome, and helpful. There is an Old West museum on ebay right now for sale. Might be the same place. Hans

I just got an email back from him, and you are right, he is a nice guy. He said he has been working on a series of saddle patterns, but it will be awhile. Did not have antything at the moment, but gave me some ideas to try while I look for correct patterns. Told me to look for real old beat up cheap saddles and take them apart to see how the old timers did it. From that I may be able to figure out rigging and patterns. I have a place to start, but doubt I will find many real old cheap drovers here in NH.

Thanks Ian, if I find anything I will pass it along as well. I like the Hope saddle too. I shoot Cowboy Mounted Shooting with my Mustang Vinny and would really like an old West saddle for that. Plus I think Vinny would look cool in "posse" mode. LOL

Thanks much K-man. It can do the engraving as well as cutting. It would cut lite ply up to 1/4" thick, so I imagine leather would cut better than plywood. Am in the middle of gutting the shop and converting it from model planes over to reloading and leather work. It is going to take awhile as I can hardly walk around in there now. If nothing else the cutter is one less thing I have to take out of the shop

Does anyone know where I could get a set of old West saddle patterns for a drover saddle? I really like the style and rigging and would like to build one, but have no idea where to get patterns. Any help would be fantastic. Hans

Ian, Yea they get up there. When I get into something I tend to overdo it just a bit. O.K. I overdo it alot! I got lucky with the cutter as I found it used from a guy that was in a bind. It was a $20,000.00 laser and I got it for $4,000.00. I had to put a new tube on it that was $1,600.00. I cut many a plane kit with it over the years. I guess I'll try it out on leather. I just heard that the burned edges get hard on leather. Will let you all know how it does. It will be awhile as I have it stored in the far reaches of the shop. In fact I can't even see it back there right now it is so deep in the cave. 2 family members died and I ended up with everything from both houses somehow. All stored in the shop.

Folks, My old hobby was R/C scale aircraft. I scratch built them and I bought a 50 watt Co2 CNC laser cutter on a 42"X28" table to cut out the balsa and lite-ply parts to build the planes. I still have the laser and wondered if a 50 watt will cut leather. I was going to sell it, but if I can cut leather patterns out with it, I will keep it in the shop. Thanks, Hans

Always good to meet a new pard. The ole rolling block is also a great rifle! Plan on getting started on the belt this weekend. I roughed out a pattern and it looks about right. I made it a bit thinner as I have 45-70s and not the 45-120s like Quigley had so I thought shorter rounds would look a bit weird with the real wide belt. You have been a SASS member for awhile huh. I'm #76932 and Wife is #76933. She goes by Avenging Annie. Best group of people I have met in a long time. Real cowboy code folks. Well happy trails pard. Hans

I have a bunch of western belts. I did not make them, but the ones I like best have what I guess is called a feedthrough style. The belt is 2 pieces sewn together. The loops are a long piece of leather that threads through slots in the outer cover of the belt. It is not attached but rather at the end the tang sticks through the inner part so you can adjust each loop and then pull the tang end to get rid of any slack. I hope that makes sense. Hans

Thanks much for the welcome! I am really looking forward to getting going in leathercraft. The first thing I plan on making is the cartridge belt from Quigley Down Under as my SASS costume is pretty much that. I even had my hat made by the same gent that made the one for the movie. Hat is the one in my avatar and the horse is my BLM Mustang Vinny. The Wife bought me a Quigley Sharps rifle for my birthday last year. Man what a rifle! Heavy, long and can knock the wings off a fly at 500 yards! Anyway I got the leather, buckle and am working on a pattern right now. I took a bunch of still shots from the movie and think I can size things about right. We'll see.

Howdy all, Name is Hans, but go by Wild Horse Hans for a SASS alias. Been shooting SASS for about a year now and am planning on moving up to mounted shooting. I have a BLM Mustang and the Wife has a 1/2 Mustang 1/2 Pinto. I am very active as a volunteer for the BLM Wild Horse and Burro program. As I love the old West and Cowboy Shooting, leather work sort of seemed like the next step. I was into R/C Scale planes, but am now selling them off to buy horse and leather stuff and to get the shop emptied out so I can get a leather shop put in. My big dream is to make saddles and maybe make them to fit Mustangs. They have a weird shape let me tell you! I have a saddle that fit every horse it has ever been on, but not Vinny. way to wide in the front and to low in the gullet. Sets right down on top of his withers. I was able to find a sadle to fit him and I do like it, but really would love to find patterns for authentic old West designs. Anyways, great to be here and I hope I don't ask too many rookie questions! hans