Frank

In order to remove the neat lac you will have to buy a liquid stripper unfortunately. The next time, spray a good amount of the neat lac on a piece of sheepskin or heavy cloth and rub it on the belt instead of spraying directly on the item. This should solve future problems. Frank

Just wanted to bump this up there....again. These are still available for sale $250.00 plus shipping or trade if you have something that interests me. Frank

I found the gun with the rig, here they are. Frank

Eaglestroker, I really do appreciate the compliments. It was a pretty well thought out rig by the customer and myself. I will post photos of the gun with the rig tomorrow. The owner just sent them to me the other day. Chuck: why do you have to be like that and show everyone up??? LOL. That is a great rig Chuck, as always. We definitely need to talk some more when you have the time. Frank

If you ever watch the John Wayne movie El Dorado, James Caan carries a double similar to that in what I believe is a modified Cavalry carbine boot. If you Google "Carbine Boot", you should find a couple good examples. Frank

Dwight, The holster turned out very well. I'm glad the pattern made it to you all right and that you were able to utilize it. You'll have to let me know how those new adjustments work out for you. Frank

I'm not an expert by any means, so lets get that out of the way first. I do have an affinity for Hope, Mexican, and McClellan saddles though. By checking my books and doing a little research, it seems that your saddle could be an 1857 "trial" that was later brought up to the 1859 specs. The reason I say this is because of the nail or screw holes where all of the stress areas and brass plates would go. This lends me to believe that they had the brass plates on there at one time. This would have been used until they totally phased out the trees not covered in rawhide. I'm sure that being during a war era, the brass plates might have been reclaimed to be used on a newer saddle, in order to save money. The tree not being rawhide covered is a huge giveaway. But, I can not be certain as I am not a historian. I would certainly contact the Company of Military Historians to get a better idea of what you may have. I would not touch the saddle(meaning clean or condition it) until you make contact with them. Frank

I really like the design except for the sheepskin. I think latigo would have been a better choice as a backing. The sheepskin will get pretty matted and nasty with all of that sweat. Just my opinion though, otherwise they look great. Frank

Here are front and backside photos of the edgers.

The edgers are still available. I reduced to $260.00 shipped inside the U.S.

I would save up another $25-$50 and purchase a good sharp knife from Bruce Johnson The tools he has are sharp and tested true. That's just my opinion Frank

Thanks for making my day with the book titles. I almost shot spit out of my nose and I can tell you from experience that it burns!! Evidently we share a lot of the same humor. Frank

Thanks dirtclod. There's a lot of blood, sweat and f-bombs in that beauty

Tom, There are clicker dies and mallet/punch dies for cutting out repetitive parts that you may need. You are going to need a very heavy maul if you are using the mallet/punch dies. Frank

Just wanted to wish everyone including my fellow Veterans a happy and safe Memorial Day. On a side note, I figured the Veterans would get a kick out of this. I bought and fully restored a 1952 M38 Willys Korean War Jeep. Here are a couple of photos. The background is a local Veterans cemetery where my Great Grandfather is buried. Take care all. Frank

Thanks for the vote of confidence Bruce. I figured if anyone could help clarify something, it would be you. Frank

Anyone out there have any better explanations out there than mine?? It would be the first for me...LOL The edgers are still for sale, same price with shipping included inside the US only

Hopefully I can explain this without too much of a problem. The western style edgers just simply cut the sharp edge off the leather. The round edge edgers also cut the sharp edge off but when using the correct # edger, will cut the edge at a round (approx) 90 degrees per cut.. This will leave a round (approx.) 180 degree edge which in my opinion looks nicer and is a lot easier to burnish. If I didn't explain it too well, maybe someone else can chime in and do a better job of it. Frank

Hey All, I have a full set #1 through #5 of J. Watt (Horseshoe) round edge edgers for sale. They are brand new, never been used. I've had them for a while but they are just collecting dust on my tool rack. $270.00 shipped for the set. I do not want to piece them out. If interested, PM me. Frank

I must have started the BBQ rig frenzy here!! This is the rig that I just made for one of my regular customers. Frank

Very Nice Ben. I've always wanted one and you made that want a little worse!!! Whenever I get the extra cash, I will have to get one. Frank

Thanks for all of the compliments. I don't get much of a chance to post photos often as I tend to get caught up in my work. Hopefully I will have something even better the next time around. Frank

Great case! A friend of mine wants me to build one for him. Now I have a little something to go on. Frank

Thanks very much, I do appreciate it. I drew up the pattern a day before I cut the holster out. I thought it turned out pretty well. I should have said it was a barbecue rig. I'm not sure if they actually wear rigs to barbecues or not but I have seen a lot of calls for the rigs. Almost as if they are for special occasions. Now if I only had an order for a Wedding Rig!! Frank

Here is a rig I just finished for one of my regular customers. He wanted a nice black BBQ rig to show of his fully engraved nickel plated Smith. This is what I came up with for a design. I'm working on 3 other holsters for him now. When those are finished I will post pics. Frank