SOSHorses

Pretty Awesome!!!

OMG. I think that is beautiful!!! I am curious about how the pages are held in though. Care to share?

Here is my new creation. I hardly ever make anything for myself, but I decided I wanted to cover my cellphone case. What do you think?

Okay I would like to have 3970, 3050, 2985

It is actual suede.

is there something you can put on suede to seal over the nap and make it smoother. I have a suede seat on a saddle and I would like to slick it over with something but I do not know what to use. I tried to dye the leather to make it darker and the color is transferring back to my jeans (still) so I was hoping that if I sealed the nap over it would stop this. I really didn't want a suede seat to begin with so I am not attached to the idea of the grip.

I have a saddle with a suede seat that i would like to change the color of. Dye tends to rub off is there something that you can seal the leather with afterward that will stop the transfer of color to your jeans? I do not care if I have to make the seat smooth to do it. I am not attached to the suede feel, but I can't take the saddle apart to change it either. Got any ideas?

Yes I did the tooling after the saddle was constructed, I only did the coloring on the patches on the side, the rest was the medium oil finish that was on the saddle with antique over it. Kevin, apparently I do not understand. What about the saddle would cause then to be shy? Here are a couple of pictures when I had it in the shop working on it.

because the saddle I had was digging into my mares back in front of her hips and preventing her from striding out from behind. When I discovered the problem I was riding in a different kind of treeless saddle I had for a rescue horse that was extremely narrow. This saddle was so universal that I could put it on anyone so I had thrown it up on Bonnie. She immediately began to work like she has already been warmed up. After further investigation it was discovered that my old standard saddle was hampering her movement. So I was going to have to buy another saddle and instead trying a jillion different saddles I went with one that I knew would work for whoever I wanted to use it on.

wow ok this must not be as nice as I thought since there have been so many look and on one comment. *sigh* Thanks wild rose I do appreciate your comment

Okay, I very seldom brag. I am very insecure about my work even though I do a good business. I just get nervous sometimes, I guess because I can see the flaws. But I purchased a new saddle a couple of months ago from the Bob Marshall Sports Saddle Company. They are made about an hour from me and it was a custom order because of the seat size (I am a big girl). So I had ask if they would mind letting me do some work on the leather before they put it together. Of course they said no because then it would be opening the door for everyone else to ask for stuff like that and would slow production to a crawl. I understand that so I just had it made in a smooth finish with NO tooling at all. I knew I would do something but didn't have any idea how it would turn out since it would be all put together. It has turned out MUCH better than I imagined and I am very proud of it. It has taken me a few days to get photos of it and I did want to show it to them before I posted photos of it. We went today to pick up my daughters saddle and I carried mine back with us. So here are the photos. So tell me what you think.

I thought SOB holsters were turned to so the barrel ran parallel with the waist band of wearers pants?

so what is the baking soda to water ratio for the after bath?

I have made a batch of "roon" and have been using it with good results. However I do not get the black color until it is oiled. Before the oil I get the a very deep shade of royal blue (slight purple cast), so I have not been using the baking soda rinse because I am never sure if it will still turn black when it is oiled. Anyone have any input on this? I will try to get some photos of some stuff later for comparison. Has anyone tried the other mordants like tin, alum?

Well, I read something about it not staining if spilled so I concluded it wouldn't stain me. LOL Never thought about that comparison, but the steel wool that I put in was not rusty when added, and it didn't get dark until I strained it to get the particulates out. Until then it stayed clear, so I wasn't really sure. It doesn't really matter what color it is because it works wonderfully. I LOVE how black the leather is and I don't have to worry about it making everything it touches after it is dry black. The last black project I had I managed to make a HUGE mess and ruined everything it touched after it was oiled. thanks everyone

generally I do use gloves, but since it was not supposed to stain I didn't and didn't understand why my fingers ended up gray/black. Of course it did wash off easily I just wasn't sure why it happened. I also noticed that what had been white vinegar now looks like it is apple cider. Is this normal?

Why does vinagroon turn my fingers black too? I have just started using my first batch of vinagroon and because it is not a "dye" I didn't use gloves thinking my fingers wouldn't be affected. BUT they were, what is the reason for this or am I the only one with black fingers?

Well, that makes sense. I got some large scraps from a friend that does saddle repair only. I am sure I just got pieces that were not intended to be wet. thanks

Wel maybe what I have is different. It doesn't take the water in like veggi tanned. Is there a difference in the types of hermann oak?

I have decided I would try carving on some Hermann Oak but I have a question. How do you case it? the pieces I have do not seem to want to take water. Anyone got any tips, or advice for me?

I use a big piece of glass on my glue and dye bench so that it is easy to clean. I just scrape it off every so often and have a new surface to start with.

The older White, Kenmore, and Singer machines will do light leather work. You can get the needles at any sewing store for those machine, five or six in a package for 4 or 5 bucks. I used to buy them several packages at a time. Since they are smaller needles they also break easier.

Keep in mind that your stitch length is determined by your feed dogs. Sometimes a non-leather machine will sew the leather material but the stitch length will be too short because it is to thick for the feed dogs to advance the material far enough. I can sew two pieces of 5oz leather with no problem but anything thicker than that and the stitch length suffers. With a regular machine you are also limited to No.69 upholstery thread. All you can do is try, but in my experience you will be better off with a leather sewing machine.

I have a set of herman oak reins that have lost their slick. I think I know, but I would rather ask than assume. What is the slick finish they put on the riens to make the flesh side smooth?

Can someone tell me how to add tannins to leather for the roo process. It was mentioned on another thread that you could do this to aid in the darkening of the leather, but no one mentioned how to do it.