hidepounder

Thanks everybody!

Here's a belt I just finished for a friend. It's 1-1./2" wide and is about 12 oz total. It's sewn with 92 thread at 12 spi. The lining is finger cut and the buckle set is a nice old N. Porter. Bobby

Barge, Masters or Weldwood!

An Ipad cover is a really neat idea, John, and this one looks terrific! Bobby

Not that it really matters.........but just for the sake of clarity, antiquing as described in Sheridan Style Carving by Bob Likewise, has been the accepted method of applying antique in saddle shops all over the country for years and years....and has absolutely nothing to do with the Sheridan style. They simply explained the most accepted and successful method of applying paste antique. And for whatever it's worth, it has become common practice to describe ALL floral tooling as Sheridan style which is simply incorrect....not that anyone cares......

Clark I struggle with this constantly. It's not nearly as much of a problem when you're dealing with thicker leather, but as you suggest it is a problem with thin leather. Every time you add water you will lose detail in the tooling. I try not to add moisture to thin leather more than once and that is almost always to do my decorative cuts. My solution to the problem has been to cover my project with plastic wrap and expose only as much as I can tool in a single sitting without adding water. When I finish with that section, I expose a little more and tool that section. One of the things that I do which makes using plastic wrap pretty easy is that I mount everything I tool (except for belts, etc.) on plexiglass. The main reason for doing this is to prevent stretching, however a really significant side benefit is that I can tape my plastic wrap to the acrylic which is exposed all the way around the leather which is glued to it. I just finished a belt yesterday which I had started the day before. I cased the leather, applied tape to the back to prevent stretch and then covered the belt with strips of plastic wrap. I then tooled the belt in 8" to 10" sections, exposing one section at a time as needed to continue tooling. I got 1/2 through the belt before quiting for the evening and when I started back the next morning, everything under the plastic wrap was still cased perfectly and I was able to continue exposing 8" sections until the entire belt was tooled. Hope this helps... Bobby

This has been very informative for me, too, so thanks everybody. When I replace my clutch motor on my 205 with a Servo I was told to leave the speed reducer on. On that machine I think it was important because I think I lost a little power with the Servo. It hasn't really affected my sewing and the advantage of being able to turn the speed down to a crawl far exceeds my need for power. I've been considering replacing my two speed servo on my 797 with a new one and that's why I wondered about the speed reducer....... Bobby

Now I have a question. Is it true that a speed reducer will help replace the torque lost with the slower speed of the servo? Isn't it best to have both? Bobby

Welcome Beary, we've been expecting you! Your maul looks great! Bobby

Who IS Bezier and what does he do for a living???

This is how I set mine up and it's worked pretty well for a number of years. The holes that hold my tools are 3/4" and there was a lot of room for expansion, however, I'm going to have to add more space soon. You can't tell from the photo, but the area below the stamping tools is open and so my leather can extend over the back of the bench if it needs to and I don't have to move any tools out of the way. I have a tendency to use my tools in sets, i.e., when I bevel I have several sizes out, or when I background I have several sizes out, and I place them on a leather "coaster" and then return them all as I finish with them. I really wouldn't change much of anything on the next one except that I might make the "block" narrower and taller....but not much either way. The only inconvenience for me is when I go and teach somewhere and need to haul tools with me. I'm considering just using leather tool rolls and stacking them on a shelf designed to hold them. It would be easier to take them with me and then replace them when I got home, but I haven't completely thought that through yet....there are some downsides to that idea. I took some photos and tried to "stitch" them together to create a panorama but Canon made downloading the software impossible so I gave up.....here is just a regular photo.... Bobby

It was beautiful there last year Johanna. You needed a jacket when you were outside, but not a very heavy one.....but it was pretty darned nice!

ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL LEATHER TOOLERS! The generous folks at the Western Folklife Center are repeating their "Gathering of Masters" carving class again this year! The event is being held in conjunction with the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, The Great Basin Gear Show and Sale and a number of related trade shows, in Elko, NV. Last year's event was a sellout, so if you missed that class, this is your chance! The format is designed for intermediate toolers. Last years students included intermediate and advanced carvers and professional saddle makers as well. Students chose patterns from the examples provided by the instructors and were assisted over the two days in the completion of their piece. Last year's lineup of award winning instructors are returning again this year. They are Don Butler, Steve Mecum Gaylerd Thissle, Doug Krause, Andy Stevens and Bob Park. This group of instructors represent a wide variety of carving styles which affords the student with a unique opportunity to expand their skills. DATE: January 31, & February 1, 2012 LOCATION: Elko Convention Center, Elko, NV COST: $325 per person which includes catered lunches. Class will be limited to the first 35 students. Tickets will be available to WFC members on September 6th, 2011 at www.westernfolklife.org. Tickets will be available to the general public on October 6th, 2011. CONTACT: For information contact Andy Stevens at 308-991-2364 or andy@andystevens.net NOTE: Students will be required to provide their own tools, stamp rock, pencils, paper and tracing film, Tooling leather will be provided.

I agree with everything Mike and King's X posted. I also prefer to use olive oil rather than neatsfoot oil. I feel it penetrates faster and more evenly than neatsfoot. I agree with King's X about color, too. I don't think EVOO colors the leather as dark either. Mikes tip about not putting on too much oil at once is a great tip! I have heard it said that olive oil will attrack rodents in a tack room. That is not my experience, but I'm not quite willing to dismiss the notion either. Maybe someone else has some experience with that. Bobby

I can't comment on the 441's, but I've had a 205-370 for ten years and I've never had to touch the timing. And while it's typical to sew from 138 to 415, I also sew with 69 thread without much adjustment, regularly, in spite of everyone telling me it's impossible. I think it's a great machine......... Bobby

That's a cool site! They have a lot of neat ideas. Their sling style directors chair is a knock-off of the chair John Ivy has been making for the last 20 years. He tools his though.

Thanks for all the great comments, everybody, I sure appreciate them! Bobby

No...I have a lot of flowers with different numbers of leaves, LOL.....

Here is a rope bag I just finished. Cowhide gussets and inlay on the back panel. The interior is fully lined with 1000 Denier PVC coated nylon. All comments and critiques welcome, of course.... Bobby

Holsters are far from my specialty, but it sounds to me like they are asking for a lot of guarantees that might not be reasonable......

Keith....I've tried all kinds of casing solutions which contain a variety of products like Lexol, Listerine, glycerine, liquid dish soap, and a variety of others products in various recipies. Some worked okay, some didn't work at all and some were just too much trouble or expensive for the outcome. So I've found myself reverting back to what I was taught years ago which is to add a few drops of Joy to the water on my bench. I will add a few squirts to my water in the sink when I'm casing my leather. The other thing that I have been adding is a few drops of liquid glycerine to my bench water (both the bowl and my spray bottle). The first time I added glycerine to my water, the piece I was tooling seemed to really cut like butter, so glycerine became a permanent thing for me. I suspect that the side I was using was just one of those really nice tooling sides, but I don't care....the liquid glycerine is cheap and easy to add so I'm sticking with it. When I used the Lexol, I felt like I was getting more color in my tooling, the formula called for a lot of Lexol which is expensive and it was kind of a pain to pour it all into a pan, dip my leather, then pour it all back into plastic bottles. And of course after a while it got dirty and so.....it just seemed like more trouble that it was worth. As a result of using those solutions, however, I have learned to keep some Listerine in a spray bottle to use on leather which I have cased and then for what ever reason didn't get to for a couple of days. I can mist the leather lightly and then return it to my bag or casing box and I know it won't mold for a few days until I can get to it. I use Ivory bar soap too Blake. I keep a cake of it in one of those plastic travel containers and when ever I get one of those acidic hides, I will use a trimmed piece of wool skin to make some lather and work it into the leather.

The saddle shop in Globe is Bacon Saddlery...Ed and Earl. They've been there for many many years!

I would love to dazzle you further with my vast and thorough knowledge of this subject, however I must confess that I really don't have a clue! My standard answer on the rather frequent occasion that I find myself in this situation is..."that was how I was taught!"