bentley

Welcome to LW from Mesa AZ, nice looking work! Mark Bentley

Great tips everyone, I may need to use them someday also.

Very nice work, clean edges, always love to see what you have done, thanks for sharing.

Nice work Tim.

Thank you, that was fun.

Very nice work, clean and well finished, thanks for sharing!

Very nice design, does it keep it's shape well?

The Arizona Guild disbanded several years ago, they used to meet at the Tandy store which has moved so the address listed is not correct anymore either. Mark Bentley

There used to be an Arizona Guild that met at Tandy in Tempe. It was disbanded several years ago but I still have names and contact info for some of the old members. In fact someone probably still has the membership book and info. Many of the old members still show up at Tandy Tempe on Wednesday afternoon/evening to sit around and work on projects. The manager, Jim Augustson, keeps the store open until 7:00pm on Wednesdays as long as someone is wanting to stay and work. Jim is also very helpful with any project you bring in to work on. Mark Bentley

Saw a McClellan saddle at the Museum of the Horse Soldier http://www.horsesoldiermuseum.com/ that is over 100 years old and was recently found in it's original crate, never oiled and it looked like it had been made yesterday.

I use saddle soap on the lace before I braid.

Nice and clean, sometimes we forget how nice simple looks. You could not find something as nice and in those colors at a department store.

Very nice work, may I ask where you got the hardware from?

If I am using a pattern that I have purchased or found in a magazine/book they usually specify their recommended thickness. If you are creating your own patterns for a holster or belt and liked what you have used in kits from the past just use same thickness raw material or adjust if you want something stiffer or softer. Sometimes it just happens to be what I have on hand and maybe skive or split it down to what I think feels right. That is how I do it but maybe someone out there has a chart they use for differant types of projects. If it is an original piece it is your choice what works best and that adds to the originality, another leather craftsman may look at it and say "I would have done that differantly" but I bet someone who has never done leather work would not even think about the differance between an ounce or two in thickness.

Welcome and enjoy, from another Zonie.

Nancy, you are far too modest, your beginners work looks very good. Have fun with it and show it off.

Or brass rivet and bur for the McClellan saddle.

I believe strength also depends on how something is stitched, while doing all the straps on my McClellan saddle the stitching is always done parrallel to the edge of the strap on both sides so you don't punch a bunch of holes across (perpendicular) the strap which may create a weak area. Most straps also had a single rivet, guess they weren't taking any chances in the late 1800's.

Very good looking, your leather work was the icing on the cake, several nice comments from the wood workers site about your leather work, congrats.