jman

Hilly Needle & Awl * made in America * designed to stitch leather * an awl at the top punch a hole and advance the work a hooked needle comes trough the bottom and grab the top thread * makes a very tight stitch and stitches are always the same length * no reverse * tracks very straight * last forever Artisan 3000 * made in China * designed to sew woven materials * have reverse * stitch lengths will deviate when turning corners * compound feed * does not track straight * needle is large with an eye for the thread

Yes, he did treat me well. He shipped the machne to me - 2 000 miles and it arrived 2.5 days later. The machine is everything he said it was.

I bought a campbell from Jack at oldcowpoke a couple a months ago and it is worth every penny.

I noticed one could buy an Artisan 3000 for $ 2 350 up till last month. This month they dropped the price with $ 500 from the company you can trust. I will stay away from these chi-com machines an find an American made machine. You can find an old needle and awl machine for a good price and it will outsew any new Chinese made machine These pictures show different machines with same thread size and set stitch length. On the artisan you will notice a deviation in stitches and it will not track straight that easy

I purchased Herman oak chesnut skirting from Weavers. well after building a carved saddle with it, at all the places where there is any kind of friction , under stirrups leaters and on the fenders the epidermis just rubbed off in Two rides. Why ? Anyone experienced this before?

I also do not like the games these guys play. All of a sudden there is a machine with more troat clearance and will sew thicker material, for a lot less money than the ones they sold just a month ago. I am putting my chi- comm artisan up for sale, guess I will have to take a big loss, since the dealers do not give a hoot about the secondary market- done with irregular and a poor quality stitch. I just ordered an american made needle and awl machine that sews well and are untuchable by sales man politics

I get mine at Siegel of California

Not to confuse you, but a wade's fork slope foreward and at 90 deg. it will be wider than and 91 deg. upright fork of a cutter. Also just by altering the profile of the bars, one can change the so called gullet with- when in fact it did not change the trees fit at all. I would suggest finding a tree maker who really can help you with a tree based on a total different way of measuring for a tree than just by gullet width and fork angle allone. Ps. There is almost no difference between 90 and 91 deg. on a saddle tree J-Man

I have made my own stirrups. I usually will take quarter sawn red oak and cut it into 1/8 " by 3" on my bandsaw. Soak those pieces overnight in water with fabric softner added. I have made up a jig and will bend those pieces around it and clamp them down to dry. Once dry i glue them togeter with gorilla glue and clamp it back on to the jig.

I do leatherwork and have made a few knives. Personally I will stay away from stainless an go with carbon steel like O-1 or 5160. A flat grind gives me more knife control when using it

I also laminate all my tree bars. I do think wood choice is very important- some has better structual integrity than others, therefore staying true to the original construction. eg Hemlock vs. Douglas fir. Also the moister content of the wood at time of construction. Rawhide thet still cures on a tree that is left un attended will slowly change the tree. With moister and rubber bands you can bend a tree back to sit square on a table- for all that is worth, but I think that tree will be prone to move again in the future after the saddle has been build

I use a 6 cord from http://www.mainethread.com/index.html

I build one with a 20 ton jack. Look in Weavers catalog- simalar to the one they show. It is slow but work fine. an easy option is to buy a shop press from grizzly tools model #H6228 and convert it ( put 1/2 " plate top and bottom- beetween the ram and table. When done you should have a graet clicker for under $ 350