gtwister09

Has anyone tried a threaded clinch nut? I don't know about this company so I cannot vouch for them...They were just the first one that popped up when I looked them up for informational purposes. Threaded Clinch Nut Rivet Style I have bought tons of t nuts from Fastenal stores but, I have never been able to get them in black from there. You can also buy online Fastenal T Nuts. Likewise I don't remember Bolt Depot, Rockler, McFeelys, Woodworkers Supply, Lee Valley and other wood supply places having black ones. Some of them have zinc ones and some have stainless ones but I haven't seen any black ones at these places. Regards, Ben

Ed, Ditto to what Keith said... P.S. Bearman, If you have a change of heart, I would love to have that recepie to make some bearlac. I assure you there will be no "politically correct" legal liability from me! Regards, Ben

Happy Birthday. Regards, Ben

I haven't kept a lot of pictures of mauls that we made but I was looking through my son's pictures and here are a couple that he did when we were first starting and testing different weights and such. Here's some that Garrett did 4-5 years ago. He has changed several things on the handle since then. One's out of mesquite and the other is out of mesquite, oak and padauk. The mesquite one is the very first handle that he created. We have since created a piece of all thread that we turn all of them (leather and wood on) as well as making a duplicating jig. The completed one was the first one that was made with the jig and threaded rod. The curves weren't exact so we changed to a different cutter to make the transition flow better. Regards, Ben

Randy, FYI. Quick clarification.....They are saw blades but they are very large bandsaw blades. One of the knife makers that made them for Danny is a relative so I got to see the material firsthand. On the other hand he hasn't been making them for him for a little over a year due to health problems so Danny may have changed from bandsaw blades to large circular saw blades but I couldn't imagine that given the cost of materials being significantly lower and more readily available in used bandsaw blades. Regards, Ben

Bob's work is always absolutely top notch. Looking at all the pictures from both contests, his entries are STILL the top ones. As always a Bob-fan Regards, Ben

Clay. Not that you need anymore encouragement but the classes would be great as well as DVDs. Stunning work as ALWAYS! Tina said it best... Always a Clay-fan Regards, Ben

Ditto to what Denise said about Bill's site. I have a few books on the subject and Bill's information is top notch and generally better researched and better covered than what is in the books. As a side note, Bill's designs are being snatched up by the cyclone makers to make their systems SUBSTANTIALLY better. I bought a 0.5 micron system dust collection system and added a small cyclone attachment to it to keep the chips out of the bags. I also bought an air filtration system that takes it down to 1 micron and will make 30 air changes an hour in a 20X30 room. After reading Bill's information I would have done things differently 7 years ago. As for your shop vac....sorry once you read this information you will see their inadequcy for maintaining air quality. They are decent at removing material. However, they are better than nothing. On another note you could also look at one of the airshield/respirators for your face like Trend, Triton or others have. Regards, Ben

Troy, Yes he is like McGyver. I knew him through this venue because I was helping someone with his machining of a benchrest Tinker Toy. I also have a few of his tools as well. Bob, Also have some extensions as well. Regards, Ben

Jay was also heavily involved in bench rest shooting at one time as well. At least in Texas he was pretty well respected in that arena as well. Regards, Ben

Karl, I believe Art has defined incentive. Regards, Ben

I have direct experience with the Harley group. Over 10 years ago I contacted them and asked about using the stamp. They started off with a you can't use that stamp response, I told them that they had sold it under license to a leather company. Why in the world would anyone buy them now knowing that they could not use it? The lady was quite nice and explained that their licensing had changed and that these were no longer legal. Their concern was for the loss of funds and/or the quality of the items sold. I asked if I could license these by sending samples and them approving them. She said no. She told me that I would have to return the stamp because I could not use it. I told her that I would be happy to if they would pay me what I had paid for it. She chuckled and said that would not happen and that I really should send it to them to keep others from making the same mistake. A week later they sent me a registered letter with return receipt requested essentially stating that if I was foolish enough to use it that they would prosecute me to the fullest extent. They stated that the licensing that covered the stamps when they were made had been modified and was no longer a viable license even if it was to the original purchaser. The rest of the letter was blah.blah,blah. Regards, Ben

Thanks Bob. I have only seen one of his saddles and that was many years ago. Unfortunately I was not paying attention to the backside of the fenders to determine the type of leather. Thanks again. Regards, Ben

That looks like one of the harness maker's stitching horses that Ken Allen used to make. They were made extremely durable. Notice that the seat and legs are also made of pine. They were generally made for a specific person because he would ask your height. Looking at this horse I would suggest that the jaws be refined. Regards, Ben

Thanks Greg! I have a couple left myself. I will have to remember that fir when I ran out. I also use them a bunch for liners. Regards, Ben

JW, I hear what you say about regional differences. Growing up all I had ever seen was square or round skirt rigs with mostly full doubles and maybe a 7/8. In skirt rigs were considered to be only used for pleasure riders and not for working. Stamping styles were pretty limited to Porter's and baskeweaves. There were a few older Fraziers that some older cowhands had that had a meandering stamp or some geometrics. After high school I still remember the first Wades that I had ever seen from a bunch of Canadian cowboy's who worked for a Canadian who had bought about 60 sections near us. They came down to work his cattle. All I could think is that the skirts looked like butterflies and how could they hold up with in-skirt riggings. Oh what an education I was in for! Regards, Ben

Greg, Well that's good to know that there are more saddlemakers that use the pigskin for the same reason.... Have you started to locate a new source for the pigskin? Regards, Ben

Bob, What is his name? I have been told that on fenders and headstalls by two different saddlemakers. Regards, Ben

Darc, The 1/4" is way too close but when you are slave labor you do what you are told. One year I repaired the rope strap on one saddle 5 times. Not good. Since then I have changed my thoughts on the process completely. I believe that the far end of the strap is the wrong end to plan for failure. I made them out of 1/2"-5/8" stap (never tried the 3/4). Like I said I changed my thoughts on the end as well. It doesn't take many times before a new strap is cut. Some of the older hands had the length down so close that one break would require a new rope strap. I place the cut for the far end 3/4" away and do just like Keith does with the holes punched at each end for the horn loop. I likewise do the skiving just like Greg (1/2" or less) on the screw end. This makes A LOT more sense because if it breaks you only skive that screw end again and reattach it. This saves on cutting new rope straps. Even the older hands could live with at least 2-3 or more breaks before replacing the rope strap. This changed system worked out pretty well and didn't give a high rate of what I would call false positives. A hooked spur always ripped it out. Dragging it through trees rarely had a break (Higher speeds - lope or gallup and hooked on an old gnarly oak tree would yield a failure). The 1/2 strap with a cut 1/4" away from the edge on the far end is in my opinion is prone to excessive failures. Regards, Ben

Nice work, great details. I like the little extras like the beading on the roughout, the boxed loop and the rope strap. Carving is nice also. I'm sure that you have got your money's worth from the scholarship. Regards, Ben

Darc, That's the type that we used all the time. In fact my Dad had us cut it so close that it would break fairly easily (only about an 1/4"). This was one of his and the other cowhands that we rode with pet peeves along with chaps and bridles having weak points. A bag punch slot was punched into the right hand side of the fork and then the other end of the strap was inserted into the slot and a screw and washer held it in place. Some of them even used the metal strap with dee and a bleed knot to keep from having to mess with screw and dee. I repaired this many times due to the rather weak state that we put the rope strap in but we never had a wreck like that. Regards, Ben

Are you talking about the Work Sharp tool sharpeners WS2000 and WS3000? These lapping systems are pretty good for sharpening because they rotate slowly. If so the sharpening kits (abrasives) for these are about $15-16 for each level. Wheels are about $20 and they have a wide blade attachment for about $70. The WS3000 is the more robust of the two. Regards, Ben

Ed, Looking forward to hearing back from you on your latest foray into the LED world. Regards, Ben

Dually, Great poem.... I am always in awe with people that can write like that. Regards, Ben

Greg, Thanks! That's great to know. Then it's not a performance/design issue as stated by others. Thanks again! Regards, Ben