gtwister09

Here's some pictures and additional information that Ron sent me last year. One of the things that you should definitely read is Troy's response to the Stohlman profile for the saddle bars. Response on Profile It's interesting that on Ron's web site he makes comments about the profile as well. Two of them look like what he has on the web site. The other two have more details. Ron's Comments in Answer to Some Questions in Blue. The biggest difference between our horse and Weavers is the bars the saddle tree sits on, ours are shaped to simulate a horses back, causing the saddle tree to stay in place and not slide around. Our stand uses a friction ratchet to pull down the draw down bar. We use a custom made leaf spring for our draw down bar, allowing some give on the draw down strap, making it easier to work the seat into place. Since our draw down is not attached to the base you can continue to turn and raise or lower the stand while using the draw down. 1) What are the significant differences between yours and the model that Weavers carry. I noticed that this one didn't have the drawdown bar attaching to the base... Ron's Draw Down Horse has been designed to be a helper to the Saddle maker by saving steps and tired muscles. The base turn 360 degrees, a built in brake allows the user to stop and lock at any point, the internal hydraulic pump gives the stand approximately 9 inches of lift, giving your back a change of position. The bars, covered with quality top grain leather, flesh side out, are contoured to resemble a horses back, holding the saddle tree firmly in place and at the proper angle. The draw down bar is made from a flat leaf spring, giving some flex to the bar. The drawing down is accomplished by a friction ratchet, which is operated from either end of the horse. As an addition we have available a cantle sewing attachment that allows you to tilt the tree to your desired angle. 2) How does the Cantle Binding Sewing Attachment work with this? Does it just raise the tree through the center section of the stand. Yes that is what it does 3) I have heard that there is also a laser attachment for rigging and such. If you have additional pictures and usage information about this as well that would be great. See attached pictures... We make a laser attachment that can attach right to our draw down. After finding the center point of the horn and the top of the cantle, the laser projects a cross on the saddletree from above. One line would be set on the horn and cantle centers. The cross line gives you an exact 90 degree to the center line of the tree giving you a place to measure for the placement of the rigging plates, stirrup leather slots and etc. 4) Does the portion that holds the tree tilt or articulate any? No and the reason we don't is we haven't found a way to keep the tilting mechnisim from getting loose with time. Ryan and Bruce both have the stand so they can be a wealth of information. I have seen a couple of others that have some form of hydraulic bases like Andy and Bob (Bob's already answered). Hope these help. I was going to make some plans off of this but I haven't started yet. Regards, Ben

It is a small world. I know who he is but I don't know him personally. Regards, Ben

Here's a page out of the Farm Woodwork that should help you with sizes and information. It is a copyright free and there is even a copy of it on Google books. Regards, Ben

Darc, You are machine poor from the looks of all of the machines in the photos. Regards, Ben

Greg is quite right that you can use a single piece of wood and it has been used for quite some time. He is likewise correct about white oak being the standard used for stirrups because it performs better bending than red oak does. One of the links that I included gave those details. Most of those books give you wood properties as they relate to bending with and without steam. However as you will find with studying engineering properties that there is a lot of benefits with strength, elasticity, stresses and so forth that are derived from a lamination versus a sold piece of material. Regards, Ben

Brent, It is called watermarking and most photo editing programs have that capability. Unfortunately if someone wants to use your work, they can remove that as well. Like you said the same technology can be used. Regards, Ben

I have done a little research on bending wood and I have been helping someone make stirrups over the past month. We have been looking for a stirrup machine. Does anyone know where you may pick up one of these? We were not soaking wood. We were using steam. Ours were cut 1/8" thick as well and glued together. One of the reasons for the small thickness is that it cuts down on the time to plasticize the wood (a good rule of thumb would be 1 hour per inch). As you already know one of the issues is the amount of time required as well as the wood waste of cutting into small strips even with a thin kerf on a band saw. When bending you want the grain to run parallel to the length. You do not want grain to have run-out along its length. It goes without saying that green wood would be the easiest to work, then air-dried and then kiln-dried. White oak is actually a little better than red oak for steaming but both work fairly well. Titebond and Gorilla both make some good poly glues that are waterproof. When you look at forums you will see that using Titebond III is not the best choice. Many people feel that it doesn't perform as well as others. Like Gorilla glue it leaves a dark line which isn't a problem with darker woods. Here are some wood bending books that I shared before we started. The Complete Manual of Wood Bending: Milled, Laminated, and Steambent Work by Lon Schleining Woodworker's Guide to Bending Wood: Techniques, Projects and Expert Advice for Fine Woodworking by Jonathan Benson Bending Solid Wood to Form by Edward Peck Bending Wood by Fine Woodworking Authors You might also want to check out books on Bending Plywood and Substrates since you are cutting the material thin like we are. Cutting it into thin strips is similar to plywood layers so you may find some information there as well but the books above have lots of information that should get you started. As Denise mentioned there are a lot of forums and information on the web. sawmillcreek is one of them that has some bending information. Here's are some of the forums and links that I have. I have included the first few in my list. Hopefully this will help you get started. Google is your friend if you want to look up more after checking out the books. There is a Steambending FAQ which appears in rec.woodworking each month that has some good information. It's the first link. FAQs in Steam Bending Steam Bending Sailing Forum Wood Properties - Steaming Included Aussie Woodworking Forum - Steam Bending Enjoy and good luck. Regards, Ben

Skip, There are many posts on casing, techniques, formulas, swivel knife techniques, stropping methods and so on that can help you. Regards, Ben

Alan, Not sure how you lay out your pattern but maybe you might try lightly shading the background areas to show you the positive/negative spaces. That was something that was shown to me many years ago to help with initial designs on paper. I was and I am still amazed that someone can use only tap-offs and then create a pattern with all the connections, fills and cross-overs from scratch. Keep up the work, study other peoples work and it will get easier. Regards, Ben

Skip, There are several maul related posts that have been discussed. They discuss usage, position, weights, configurations as related to balance and so forth. As far as breaking "marble"...well marble is not the best surface to tool upon and especially if it is a thin piece as well. Granite works a whole lot better. There are posts on using headstones and surface plates with many different ideas where to get some granite from like monument places, counter top shops, quarries and so on. Enco, Grizzly and several other places have been mentioned as places to get surface plates (B grade with a ledge works great). No foil hats here Regards, Ben

Skip, The squaring off of the top of the tools has already been mentioned. One of the things that I have done for several people to is cut a flat on side of the maul. You could also place it flat on a grinder. Usually it winds up being a little over a 1.5 - 2 square inches. After they got used to the maul all of them so far have stopped using it but it helped them get started. Regards, Ben

ALl I can say is ditto to what Clay has said. I have all of Paul's lessons, books, etc. Like Clay said he gives you a lot of the "Whys". He has a lot of lessons, books and even some projects that you can purchase directly from his site. The first thing that I received from him was the Foundaiton course over 20 years ago. I anxiously awaited the lessons that were supposed to follow but those never surfaced. We discussed it and yes he unfortunately didn't have enough interest generated from the course to continue that particular set. However he has made other lessons available. Regards, Ben

What are you going to use the work surface for specifically? The specific use of the work surface will help dictate or narrow down your options. If you are using it for a cutting surface I would not use the masonite.....it dulls knives quickly. Regards, Ben

John, Very nice as always. Nice use of traditional flames on the cue case. Regards, Ben

Late Christmas Eve I passed on the disheartening news of the sudden passing of Larry Huston. A few weeks ago, Jim Lewis and I were privileged to attend a 'celebration of Larry's Life', sort of a memorial to our mutual friend. I was very impressed, not only with the size of the crowd, but that so many young folks gave up a beautiful Sunday Afternoon to show their respect for Larry. Many young folks, late teens and twenty's were there to honor their 'Dad'. Young Cowboys and Cowgirls, some kids with funny haircuts and strange-looking piercings, from all ends of the spectrum. All kids that Larry and Kathleen had mentored and befriended over the years. Many have learned Leathercraft from Larry. Larry often spoke with me about his "adopted family", but I never realized just how extensive his 'adopted family' was. He was, and remains, a respected member of his community, and of this guild - for he, unselfishly, shared his passion for Leathercraft with many, many folks. I was, indeed, deeply honored when Larry's wife, Kathleen, and oldest son, Michael asked me to make a tooled Leather Urn for Larry's Internment. I will send a follow-up with some pics and descriptions of the leather, dye, and lacing that I used for this very unusual, and emotional project. It was truly an honor to make this for my friend. This is compilation .jpg of the Leather Urn. It was meant to pay tribute to Larry. The top is reflective of Larry's Christian beliefs, with 2 Doves for Larry and Kathleen, and four smaller crosses for each of their children. I framed it with a simple whirl border. The front shows Larry's name with two scrolls, the top showing his date of birth, the lower showing the day he passed. Framed with some typical Stohlman-styled acanthus. Larry was a huge fan of Al Stohlman, I would bet he could probably quote every book written by the Stohlmans'. Larry was a Leather Artist, and I had seen a couple of silhouette carvings he had done in the past, they were two of his favorites. I have never done silhouette stamping before, so I hope the sides will be a fitting tribute to Larry. I framed the Praying Cowboy with some basketweave, and the End of the Trail with an Arrow Basket stamping. The back was just a floral design I drew up for Larry, using his makers stamp in the center. After Larry's ashes are interred, the Urn will be sealed, and I stamped out some leather to cover the bottom, using another of Larry's maker stamps, along with my own. I used 5/6oz English Cowhide, had a nice, clean side over the bench. Since this leather is very light colored, I first sprayed a 'natural' fiebings dye. Mixture is 5 parts of Denatured Alcohol, and 1 part of Fiebings Lt Brn Pro-Oil Dye. Then I oiled with 'Golden Oak Oil', an 8 to 1 mixture of Bee Natural Saddle Oil with Fiebings Golden Oak Stain. After allowing the colored oil to set overnight, I 'highlighted' a bit with a dry rub of straight Golden Oak Stain. The Antique was also a mix of Fiebings Antique: 2 parts neutral, 2 parts Medium Brown, 4 parts of Light Brown, with some Tan Kote to taste. We dyed some Kangaroo dark brown and cut some 5/32" lace, about 30 yards, to finish it off. This is a 'Swiss Braid' - I have no idea why it is called this, but I learned it about 20 years ago from another Leatherworker I met at a Craft Show. He called it a 'Swiss Braid'. It appears very similar to the 'double stairstep' shown in the Bruce Grant Book. I thought I had made nearly everything you could make over the last 40 years, but this was a first for me. -vaya con Dios, Larry May God Bless. -Phil LeDuc

Ron, Hmmm..... A creative theme saddle....maybe a little American Chopper twist (theme saddles instead of bikes). You should have included the photo of the seat from your web site to show off the spade seat insert and the pair of aces better. Regards, Ben

Kate, I didn't look at my wife while we watched them on TV and yes she used the Kleenex. Regards, Ben

Brent, Very very nice.... As always I love the additional photos and details that are shown. For instance without the back to front shot, we would have never seen all the extra detail of the floral work on the back of the cantle and the binding. Additional detail like that would have helped sell the saddle. Great shots. Regards, Ben

Steve, I really like the contrasting rough out and carved combination. It looks extremely nice. As mentioned already the lines are nicely done as well. Great looking saddle. Regards, Ben

Pete, Those are some nice overall shots of chaps. Always like to see the creativity and intricate details behind rodeo chaps. Thanks for sharing. Regards, Ben P.S. I really didn't pay attention to the things in the background until Elton directed our attention to them. I was looking at the white cross chaps too closely.

Dale's I believe are out of wood but I may be wrong. Regards, Ben

Contact Dale Grabowski at Grandpa's Pastime. At one time last year he was setting up his gear to make them. Grandpa's Pastime Regards, Ben

I am extremely proud of this program as one who has been involved in it for a few years, I am proud of the kids, the coaches, the school and the focus and direction of the school. I have shared some of the news articles with some of you offline but here's a site that now has more news articles as well as some videos of the incident. Read a couple of the news articles before watching the video clips. The Vype High School Sports Magazine article is a good first article to read. Click on the link below. Check out the Videos and News Articles - Great Act of Kindness scroll down to Millions are Hearing! You will find links to various clips and articles featuring the Gainesville game and Coach Hogan. Regards, Ben

Up top click on My Controls... Then on the left hand side under Option is your email address. Regards, Ben

Elton, Great border, filigree and carving. Very nice, balanced design of those different aspects. Regards, Ben