gtwister09

Very nice work. Very good attention to detail and contouring. What is the overall size of the work? Regards, Ben

JW, I was thinking about the band knifes and such and then Jon posted his reply. Talk with Bruce about these because I believe that he has been on a diagnostic mission about them and may give some good advice and direction. Regards, Ben

JW, I acquired some cast-off kevlar material from work (we used it to build up into composites of graphite, aluminim, kevlar and other materials). I used it for some dee and buckle wear areas for some rock climbing harnesses and other places like carpenters bags. It wears quite well. Another person has used it for his English riding stirrup leathers where they pass over the dee. He has been using it for quite some time and is extremely happy with the fact that as a sandwich material it provides excellent strength and wear. I haven't tried it in linings for riggings since consulting work has kept me away from doing saddles. The first real splitter that I purchased was a 10" Chase. I really like it due to the size, ease of sharpening and setup as well as it generally doesn't set you back as much as others when you buy it. I think that Bruce also has one. I have used several variations of the Osborne . I would also think that something like a Krebs would be beneficial as well since it aids in moving the material through the splitter. Of course these are smaller hand splitters and you can also look at larger ones and powered ones but $$$ come into play there. Of course if you can justify it then I would say go for it. Regards, Ben

I would agree with the edging, burnishing and dying the sides. However the thing that jumped out to me was the stitching. I would use smaller stitches and a smaller thread size also. I can't tell if it is just the picture or not but you should either run a crease or stitch line for the thread to sit down in. One of the pictures looks as if the thread is sitting on top of the loop. The rest of them appear as though they do have a groove. Some people don't like cutting stitching grooves in their work and use a single edge creaser to create the same effect. I generally do both depending upon the thickness and type of material. The thicker ones get a stitching groove and the thinner ones get a crease line. Regards, Ben

Karl, As far as ergonomics and tendon problems, I would suggest a doctor if it is severe. They generally give regimens like ibuprofen for swelling and a lot of times immobilization of the affected area. They will also prescribe complete rest or giving yourself longer rest periods as has already been mentioned. I will try to give you some things to look at and consider. It could be any number of things and without watching you it is just supposition on my part. It could be any number of contributing factors like glasses, over extension, surface heights, poor or rigid posture, weight (sorry but this can impact us as well), tools (not just your stamping tools but maybe your maul, mallet or whatever else you use). Each of these and many other factors could have an impact. I will try to keep it to some of the most likely contributors. Ergonomics is generally not about eliminating the issue. Generally the only way to do that would be to STOP doing what you are doing. For the most part it is about understanding the biomechanics of the human body and reducing the impact of the work (work is assumed here as expending energy whether for work or fun) that we are doing. It is a holistic approach that considers many contributing factors such as biomechanics, past injuries, work habits, posture tendencies and many many other external factors even something as minor as temperature. It is also about listening to and watching the problem (not just the immediate but also the underlying issues as well) and aiding the person. Many times it can be other things that you do during the day that could aggravate the issue. Sometimes it is a major issue that can't be fixed by changing our work habits. It is a constant refining of techniques because not every technique works for every person. That is the reason for the next point. Neutral Position & Recording Pertinent Information You must try to have the body in the most neutral position as much as possible. Especially with repetitive motions. One of the things you need to also do is to approach it from a scientific standpoint. I know that it hurts is subjective but you can record time periods until it starts, time of rest periods, weight of objects, size of objects, excessive bending or extending and the list could go on on on but I think that makes the point. The reason for this is so that we can test a particular change and see if it has any impact on the issue over time. Change Positions Frequently One of the things that can't be over-stressed is to change positions frequently. Don't sit up straight and rigid the whole time. Lean forward some portion of time and then sit up straight. Change back and forth on a regular basis. In this instance of tooling I would assume that you wouldn't want to lean back because it would place you farther away from the tooling. Work Surface Height - Including Chair/Stool As Jordon mentioned the height of your tooling surface can be a factor. A good starting point for the height or neutral position for your work surface is to take where you normally sit (assume sitting up semi-straight in the chair that you use - or if you lean forward that position). Take your elbow and rotate it across your body and make sure that the upper arm and forearm make a 90 degree angle. Now have someone take the measurement from the floor to the bottom of the elbow. This bottom of the elbow measurement minus 1/2 of an inch or 12-13 mm for our metric friends is your starting point for a work surface. I have found this to be generally the best height in almost 99% of the time especially when you mix in changing positions and a mixture of tools. However, if you want to really refine your work surface height before you commit to something you can use varying thicknesses of plywood to raise the height to see what impact that has on you. Or you can use this method if your work surface and chair are both stationary. MAKE SURE that your plywood is large enough in area not to restrict your natural work flow and that the edges are rounded or deburred so that you don't get splinters in you or have sharp edges that cut into your arms as you rest on the work surface. An adjustable chair can also be utilized to get you into this position if your work surface is stationary. If you have a sit/stand tooling surface like mine (This allows me more position changes obviously between sitting, standing, up straight and slightly leaning forward), then you can also use an adjustable chair or stool like draftsmen use. My tooling bench has a bar or cross member on it that allows me to rest my foot while I am standing and tooling so I don't use the rings on a drafstman's chair. My legs are long enough to reach this bar on the bench when seated. Whereas my son as he was growing up had to utilize one with rings because his legs were to short. Dangling your legs off the edge of a chair is a bad thing. The measuring for the starting point for a standing work surface is accomplished in the same fashion as sitting with the foream at 90 degrees to the upper arm and someone measuring the bottom of the elbow. Lighting & Visual Enhancements Do you have enough lighting? If you don't have great lighting you can strain your eyes which quickly translates into tension in the neck, shoulders and down into your arms and hands. Natural lighting is the best and then follow up with full spectrum if you can. Old time ballast florescent bulbs have been know with their cyclic pulses (remember the hum) to strain peoples' eyes but they are better than low lighting. Here's a little tidbit also... People with blue eyes tend to be more sensitive to the cycles and flickering of flourescent bulbs than other eye colors. One of the greatest reasons for those who use computers to get their monitor (if at all possible) off of the default 60 Hertz mode. It can cause eye strain with the flickering and yes there are quite a few people that can notice the 60 Hertz flicker of a monitor. Do you have glasses? Do you have bi or trifocals? If you do and you are raising your head up to look down through the bottom of your glasses you could be straining your neck and once again translating that down through your shoulders, hands and arms and even into your back. I have had many people get a second pair of glasses for their computer work that puts the bifocal part in a different position. For instance the engineers who were doing CAD/CAM all day long work didn't have to look up and strain their necks all the time. They looked straight ahead. Funny how it changed their productivity in a matter of a week (actually in two days for most of them). You can do the same if you use them. There is a lot more strain placed on your neck when you look up versus when you look down. However like everything else there is a neutral area for this as well. Any time you strain your eyes or neck muscles past a neutral position then you are creating strain. Looking down to the point of tucking your chin is a strain as well as looking up to the point of straining. Another thing that would most likely work for a tooling bench would be something that we tried for precision deburring. If you bend over and get closer and closer to your work then you most likely need magnification. Bending your upper body over past the neutral position is also a strain that needs to be avoided. Some would call this hunching your shoulders forward. You know when you start to feel a strain. The reason that I mention this is that I have seen so many people in this position hunched over their work concentrating on the task at hand. Little kids are notorious for this. In the past when I had some free time, I would teach some kids leatherwork and I noticed that almost without fail when they would use the swivel knife or stamp. I almost always made each of them a small (12 oz..some 16 oz) angular maul. I let them use some that I already had and they would choose their exotic wood and I would make them one on the lathe. I digress. Back to magnification.... There are a number of ways that I have found to assist in this realm. As already mentioned changing glasses. Another is to wear the magnifying binoculars like an Opti Visor or such. Yet another is to have a large magnifying plate placed on the bench above the work surface. A few people get dizzy and/or sick when using the binoculars so we utilized the magnifying plate. However with tooling I think that the plate would be very problematic especially if you use a mallet. It could be struck and these are quite expensive. Tools You didn't mention whether you use a mallet, maul or striking stick. This could be another area of You could be placing undue strain on your shoulders and such if you are using a mallet. I changed off of a mallet in 1989 when I first started doing ergonomics due to the biomechnical understanding. I have found that I can work A LOT longer and with less tension in my neck and shoulders when I use a maul. The ones that I generally use are angled mauls. Some people feel as though the poly heads glance off of the maul as they are struck. I generally don't have this problem but I did notice it with the little kids. When I gave them the sets of Ken Rich tools along with the maul I roughed the top of each of the stamping tools so that they would have a little bite to them. I also don't finish my poly heads on the lathe smooth either. I leave a slight ridge almost like a thread all the way down the angled maul. Grip as mentioned could be a factor but you have stated that you don't think so. FYI. Double check this even after you add the foam. You would be surprised about grip. The reason I state this is that we performed some tests and added small pressure gauges to measure the amount of pressure after build-up. It was eye-opening to say the least even with those who swore they weren't gripping hard. Essentially their grip didn't change with the diameter of the tool except in 1 out of 27 cases. If I remember correctly the change for her was about 12-15% MORE with the larger diameter. As you noticed I didn't answer your initial question because I wanted you to consider a lot of other factors along the way that may or may not contribute to your problem. This is part of the holistic approach that you go through. I would suggest that anything that you do that you measure it as effectively as you can and see if it has an impact on you in a short amount of time. Now to your tool issue..... There are a number of ways that you can build them up. I have made some from leather and turned them on the lathe but THAT IS A LOT of work. Some others that have already been mentioned are the surgical tubing and foam pencil ones. If you need larger than the surgical tubing or foam pencil ones then there are some rather large RTV looking (silicone) triangular ones that can be added to pens. If I am not mistaken these are about 3/4 - 7/8" of an inch. If you need larger than that then I would consider taking some of the packing foam and wrapping it around your tools until you get the desired size. I would not use duct tape due to the adhesive coming through. I have seen that issue over time with one of my friends that I helped out. We removed all the duct tape and used the foam to create one rolled up to the size that he required. We initially laced some very thin buckskin around it. He has since braided around this foam and has a nice looking knot around the foam. I believe that his is a little over 1" in size. You might also check at an insulation store for a round foam for a 1/4" line. If you have access to someone that can make RTV ones, you could create the size you need. Have a mold made and shoot the RTV in but that would be an expensive proposition. The rolled up foam or such would be the most cost effective. I hope that this helps you with your problem and that you also look at other contributing factors as well. Remember keep notes so you can determine if the change has any impact. Likewise a small change here and a small change there can add up over time. Don't underestimate the cumulative impact of reducing problems in other areas as well. Good luck! Please forgive any spelling and grammar errors as I was writing this quickly. Regards, Ben

Sorry! I was just looking at another thread and saw that after I read yours.

JW, Troy West posted this in another thread.... I didn't check against the Big Book. Hope that it helps. David Andrews sells Andrews stainless hardware. Andrews Bit and Spur P.O. Box 5447 Laguna Park, Tx. 76644 254 622-8169 Regards, Ben

Bruce, I always cut them last. Looked at several of the "leather ground seat" instructions that I have around and all of them likewise did it last. Regards, Ben

JW, I have seen the "bleed" problem that Greg described in a couple of different colors. The majority of them had red bleeds but I have also seen a yellow bleed as well. I would strongly discourage the latigo lining for that reason alone. Just my 2 cents worth. Regards, Ben

Thanks. kagekeeper.....If your browser doesn't have the Acrobat plug in then save it to disk and open it with Adobe reader. Regards, Ben

WOW! It is certainly a unique design. Denise...are you guys testing one out? If so give us the low-down on it. Regards, Ben

Art, Neat derivative of a half round knife!!!! Regards, Ben

I have been offline for quite some time and just started reading the past 4-5 weeks worth of posts. I was given the No More Tears Formula more than 30 years ago. Listerine was in the original formula. I have tried plain water, distilled water, dish washing detergents in water (Dawn Ivory, Palmolive and others), Procarve and other surfactants because I constantly like to test new and different formulas and techniques but I keep going back to this formula. It seems to burnish better when tooling (especially basketweave and some geometrics). I have blind tested these using other formulas with many different people and up to this point I have had 100% of them pick the burnishing from the No More Tears Formula. I also use the formula as a quick carve formula in a sprayer as well. The other anti-fungal items mentioned should work just as well. I believe that I have a convert in Bruce. On another note I know that Pete Gorrell has a similar formula with baby shampoo as well. Regards, Ben

I have several ones from other sources but I recently received a gift of Jeremiah's latest Michaelangelo dividers. WOW! These are a pair of dividers....... Regards, Ben

Darcy, The epoxy is not as good as a solution as the glue (Titebond glue or even Gorilla glue) and a wooden plug. The glue and plug will move naturally with the wood rather than the epoxy. On some other things like hanes and double trees we have tried epoxy in holes and to repair chunks missing. These tended not to expand well with the wood as we used them. My suggestion is to do just like Greg said. Regards, Ben

Elton, Nice! They look really nice. Regards, Ben

No new catalog yet.... Just talked with them last week. They have once again promised a new catalog and web site soon but if you want something then you will have to use the OLD 10th Anniversary catalog. I would also suggest calling them because you will quickly find out that many things are discontinued. Of course the Pro Series and other stamping tools are most likely not affected. Likewise they have a lot of Barry's stamping tools. Regards, Ben

Really nice boots! Great patriotic theme and message. Keep up the nice work. Sorry to hear that the client is no longer able to wear them. Regards, Ben

BOTTOM LINE - It still looks great. Regards, Ben

Top picture First and foremost...this is a great looking saddle. I REALLY like the tooling.....A Sheridan style with an engraving flare thrown in. Great execution on it (depth, flow, etc..). The pictures are nicely done as well with the fading border. A couple of things jumped out at me. The tooling abruptly stops at the rear dee. You could have extended that past the rear dees. The other item is that the shearling appears not to be beveled the same towards the rear of the skirt (May be the picture but it looks as if there is a transition there). Cantle from the rear The shearling also appears to be uneven here as well.. A couple of places almost appear as though the shearling was nicked....once again it may just be the picture. Horn/Fork Closeup I have nothing...Looks great. Top View & Cantle View towards rear Cropping of the pictures could have been a little neater. These both throw you off in looking at the pictures. The cantle shot throws you off quite a bit in the smoothness of the cantle. (top is actually pretty good except for the white showing around the edges. The cantle stitching appears to be a little off on some of the stitches (some variability there). I really like the fact that you took so many pictures that detail your work, Documenting great work like this helps market your work. This is great work and your pictures can only help you sell more work. Keep up the great work. Regards, Ben

I grew up in New Mexico and we used both terms. They were generally considered two different items. Snaffles and cheeked hackamores used bit hobbles and shanked bits use the curb strap. The thought was that the hobbles held the rings or cheeks together and the curb strap provided leverage. Regards, Ben

Rob, Great recycling effort..... Regards, Ben

JW, Unfortunately I had a similar problem and I finally got it worked out with them. Well worth the wait. Regards, Ben

Ryan, Just a suggestion but try a scientific approach and design a similar experiment to determine if that is truly the case. Measure a tree first and then put the tree with the drawdown strap on it and mimic the test for a day. If you think that the moisture may impact it then place a wet piece of leather in the seat before applying the drawdown strap. Then let it sit for a bit and re-measure to see if it was the culprit. My money would tend towards what Keith said about the wrong bars. Regards, Ben

Suggestion - Quick and Dirty Method One of the suggestions that I can make for newly purchased bisonettes is to first measure them. A quick method is to take drill bits and use these to measure the hole by placing the shank portion (not the fluted/twist end)across the bisonette hole. Record the diameter of the drill bit. Now you need to know the thickness of the sandpaper (wet/dry, emory cloth). Record this thickness. Subtract the thickness of the sandpaper from the diameter of the drill bit. This will be the size of drill bit to use with the sandpaper so that you DON'T enlarge the bisonette hole size. In purchasing older bisonettes this is one of the issues with them is that they have been ENLARGED - sometimes greatly. Now you can use the smaller drill bit and sandpaper combination to clean up knicks and such with your bisonette edgers. As always use your rogue and final dress them up. Regards, Ben