TrooperChuck

Freak: That post was hilarious! Thanks.

My favorite tool for un-doing saddle strings is an old phillips head screw driver, on which I used a grinder to reshape the end into a blunt awl shape. Work the end into the knot, wiggle it around until you get some slack in the knot, then pull the string through.

I think HorsehairBraider raises a valid point. For lots of people, gun ownership isn't a "liberal vs. conservative" issue. When I lived in Alaska I knew many people who would be considered "liberal", but they also owned guns. Many of these folks also enjoyed hunting, which is something most urban left-leaning people are usually against. I think people in rural or remote locations, regardless of their pollicital leanings, tend to look at guns as a tool rather than something evil. I admit I'm making a generalization here, but it's something I've observed many times. The fact is, while it's easy to type-cast folks into "liberal" and "conservative" categories (and I've been guilty of that charge sometimes), I really believe most people are somewhere in the middle. It's the extremists on both sides who give all the others a bad name. I'm a good example of someone in the middle... I believe we have a responsibility to take care of our planet and use its resources wisely, but I don't buy into the idea of "cap and trade" of carbon credits. I believe all animals deserve to be treated with respect and be able to live as natural a lifestyle as possible, but I've done lots of hunting. I believe life is precious, but I don't advocate blowing up abortion clinics. I believe we should have a strong military for purposes of national defense, but I don't want them used as the world's policemen. I like listening to talk radio (both sides), but I dislike it when the host starts yelling, pounding on the table, and calling people names. (I think no matter how good your argument is, you lose when you start acting like a rude child.) So, I guess I'm one of those people in the middle. Certainly on the "conservative" side of the middle, but still closer to the middle than the far right end. There have been some folks who have criticized the "Off Topic" discussions of this forum. I, for one, am glad there's an Off Topic section. Yeah, I know there are other forums where one can discuss guns, or politics, or trucks, or jobs, but this forum is special in that we are all here because of one common interest, leathercrafting. I've learned TONS of good stuff from this site, and weird as it may sound, I think of many of these folks as friends, even though I've never met them in person. And, just like my real-life friends, I enjoy hearing about their thoughts and opinions even when I disagree with them. Okay, sorry for the long rambling post.

Hang in there, Des. Ray is right... selling your tools would be a mistake. At the very least, while you are practicing and improving your leathercrafting skills you won't be concentrating on your misfortunes. Many of us in this forum have experienced terrible blows in life. We all survived, and so will you. It will probably be tough for a while. If you need to sell something to help make ends meet, have a garage sale. Look around the house and I'm sure you see lots of things you could easily part with. But, keep your leather tools! In time, and with practice, those tools can make some money. Maybe they won't make the same kind of money your lost job gave you, but with our economy steadily dropping, every little dollar you bring in by selling handcrafted leather items will be a dollar you didn't have before.

I'm reminded of something I once heard, although I can't remember who said it... "If all of us were armed, people would be a lot more polite to each other." Unfortunately, there are lots of people who see guns through the veil of ignorance and prejudice. Some of them know nothing about guns except what they've been told by others. One case in point: about 1994 I was part of the security team on a 10-day canoe and kayak trip in Alaska with Chelsea Clinton. She was about 15 or 16 at the timeand one might think the President's daughter would be a spoiled little brat, but Chelsea proved to be a very sweet, bright, kind, and polite kid. One evening, while sitting in camp, someone mentioned that myself and the two Secret Service agents had guns. Chelsea immediately stated, "Guns are evil!" I tried to explain to her that a gun is a THING. It can't be good. It can't be evil. It can only be used by someone who is good or evil. She wouldn't have anything to do with that. She repeated, "Guns are evil", and I realized I was wasting my breath. She'd been conditioned from birth to believe guns were evil, and no one was going to change her mind. Unfortunately, almost everyone else in the group, most of whom were from Washington DC, agreed with her. At one point on that trip, Chelsea and her friends experienced the thrill of having a totally wild Alaska Brown Bear walk past us, not more than 40 feet away. At another point in the trip we all watched a mother bear and two young cubs browsing in a meadow. I doubt Chelsea or any of her friends understood the fact that if either of those bears had decided to be aggressive the only thing that could have stopped it was those "evil guns" some of us were carrying.

I don't have a state-issued ccw permit. The "Law Enforcement Officer's Safety Act" (18 US Code 926B and 926C) was signed into law by George Bush in 2004. It allows any current or retired law enforcement officer to carry concealed weapons in ANY state without a state-issued permit. There's some requirements... -You must be, or have been, a law enforcement officer that was allowed to carry a firearm. -If you are retired, you must have been on active duty with a law enforcement agency for at least 15 years. -You must qualify with your firearm yearly, even after being retired. -You must carry your LEO credentials, and if retired, a letter stating you've qualified within the past 12 months.

Here's my rig. As you can see, I'm a "simple and functional" kind of guy..

Weaver sells a similar manual clicker... about $995.00 (US). I'd love to have one, but can't justify the cost right now. So, I'm thinking of doing what Bruce described: Using a small hydraulic jack and some metal plates. First, though, I need to build a herking-strong frame for the whole thing.

When I'm in my shop I almost always have some music on, but I don't have a particular favorite kind. I typically bounce back and forth between these three... New Country 1970's Pop Celtic Yeah, I know... it's kind of wierd seeing those three listed together. What can I say? I like it.

Bev: Those are some good looking tools! Thanks for showing them to us.

Bob: Now that you mention it, I've realized I have a similar pair of tools. Unfortunately, my main problem with them is that half the time the left one doesn't know what the right one is doing!

I've made about half a dozen holsters using Will Ghormley's patterns. I really like them. For cowboy action shooting I use 1858 Remington percussion revolvers with 5 1/2" barrel. I'm looking forward to seeing your finished project.

Bree, it looks like you executed a "search and acquire" combat mission at the Grizzly store! I love going to those kind of places. Good looking truck, too.

Excellent idea! I think I have some scrap wood around here somewhere that's just begging to be turned into a swivel knife rack. Thanks for sharing your idea.

Skiving with the round knife is definately an acquired skill. The three best pieces of advice I can offer are... 1. The knife must be SHARP, SHARP, SHARP! If you don't have a razor (and I mean RAZOR!) sharp edge you're wasting your time. 2. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! My first attempts looked like miniature relief maps of the Rocky Mountains. In time, you'll get better and the skive will get smoother. 3. CAUTION, CAUTION, CAUTION! All fingers must stay behind that razor sharp blade. Last year I accidently brushed my round knife against my index finger. I never even felt the cut, but I did notice the dime-sized piece of skin that fell onto my bench and the blood that gushed out! Find yourself a copy of Al Stohlman's book, "Leathercraft Tools, How to Use Them, How to Sharpen Them." You can order it from Tandy/Leather Factory. It will tell you all about using a round knife, and tons of other leather tools.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who raised an eyebrow at the name of that website! My first thought was... well, never mind. I think I need some more coffee now.

I've run into one of those cheese cloth-covered trees. It was on a REALLY cheap saddle that a lady brought in for repairs. I think she said it cost about $150, brand new. By the time I got done repairing it, she had to pay another $75. I told her she would have been better off saving her money for a few months and buying a medium quality saddle. I think you got the right idea about tearing down worn out saddles and rebuilding them. I did that to a couple saddles when I was first starting out, and it was a good learning experience. Later, I sold those saddles as "used" and I made sure to tell the buyers what I had done to them. That helped recover the cost of the leather.

Brent: There's a reason I didn't take a picture BEHIND the seat! Ray: Thanks for starting this topic. It's been fun to see other people's rides. Johanna: PLEASE tell us all those kids aren't yours! They look like they're gonna go some place fun!

I just use the setter tool for the whole job, but I've heard of others who like to use a ball-peen hammer to mushroom the end over the washer.

This is my other truck... A 1979 Dodge Power Wagon. Sorry it's so dirty, but it's break-up time here in the Pacific Northwest, and everything is turning to mud! The dashboard was starting to get damaged from too much sunlight, so my wife asked me to make some leather covers for it. I've never done anything like that before, and you can see my leather carving skills are rudimentary at best, but my wife likes it, so I'm happy. [a ttachment=21772:Our_Vehicles_007.jpg]

This is my 1965 Ford F350 flatbed truck. (Actually, it belongs to my dad, but it lives at my house.) We use it for hauling hay and firewood. It's got a straight 6-cylinder engine, manual choke, and 4-speed manual transmission. The thing I like most about it, is that it's got an engine that just won't quit. It hasn't been started since November, but today I got in, pulled out the choke, turned the key, and she fired right up! The thing I like least about it is that it is only two-wheel drive, so I don't use it much in the winter. As you can see from the photos, it's a plain bare-bones truck, but I love it.

Now, that will turn some heads at the local pistol range!!! Nice work.

That looks pretty danged good to me! Thanks for showing it to us.

BBays: For me, the simplest way to add some color to a leather project is by mixing Fiebings Oil Dye with pure neatsfoot oil. The oil dye comes in several different colors, and you can vary these shades by adjusting the amount of dye you add to the oil. I typically add about half a cup of oil dye to a quart of neatsfoot oil, then wipe it on the leather. It can come out looking blothcy at first, but it evens out after a couple days.

I agree with rdb... with the thinner rivet posts the holes in the leather need to be a tight fit. Otherwise, there's too much "wiggle room" and those slender rivets can bend rather than mushroom out. It took me a while to figure this out, and I tended to use a lot of bad words when I had to install long, thin rivets. Fortunately, with the kind of work I do, I almost always use the heavier #9 rivets, and I've never had one of them bend on me.