gtwister09

Elton, Very nice looking tools and nice touch on the shafts with the alternating smooth and knurled shafts. Why don't you put you prices on them and put them in the for sale page? Can't wait to see the additions to your tools in the geometrics, borders and basketweaves. Good luck with these. I like the name of the tool company as well... Regards, Ben

Salvi, Here's some ideas of various ones. I have tried all sorts of ideas from individual holes, tool rolls and just about everything in between. I ended up making some that take the idea of a saddlemakers roll and then make it with a handle and make it have multiple positions so that you can see the end of the tools well like you do with rolls. Hopefully these can get you started. One of them has an old detailed CAD drawing of single hole models. Here's the links below .One of the Older Designs Old Design & Progression New Design & Progression Modification Regards, Ben

Tina, Nice to see that you have been busy again. The coloring is very nice as usual. Nice work with the airbrush for sure! Regards, Ben

Jeeperaz, Web archive can be your friend "sometimes". Unfortunately many times the archive pictures are not stored with them. In fact you almost always get a data retrieval error when there's issues with pictures. Likewise many sites have put in requests not to be archived or have webcrawlers or robots scan them. Take a look at archive.org's website and you can see what the gotchas are. Likewise many times pictures are stored on an imaging site like Photobucket and when they are gone all the references are dead as well. It's the same thing with leatherworker...if the photos aren't stored here then when you delete or move around your imaging site files then it makes a broken link here as well as other sites. Regards, Ben

Lippy, He's been gone for awhile. Regards, Ben

Salvi, Here's a thread that has some compiled maul size information. That should give you some idea and should provide a good reference. Compiled Maul Sizes Regards, Ben

Denise, Thanks! That's the same post that I was thinking about. I guess I could have added the link for it but thought that a search for TroyWest and drawdon stand would have quickly yielded it. Sorry Hank. Tom, One suggestion is to change the drawdown strap from being tied to the base to something that is mounted under the saddle. This makes it independent on the raise/lower mechanism of the barber chair stand. There have been several discussions on the design differences between the Weaver model that has the drawdown strap attached at the base versus Ron Tools model that mounts it independent of this which allows you to still raise and lower the saddle or spin it with the drawdown strap attached. Here's a quick look of Ron's model to show how he attaches it and also his tightening mechanism for the drawdown strap. Here's one of those discussions. Saddle Builders Stand Regards, Ben

Tom, You are a gentleman and a scholar! Thanks. I will take a better look at this. Regards, Ben

Stealf, I have certainly added glycerine to the No More Tears Solution for some very hard leather that someone brought over to tool on. On nicer leather I couldn't see much if any of a difference but on those harder leathers (poorly tanned leather or very old leather), I could tell a little (marginal difference) over the No More Tears Solution. In talking with several older saddlemakers there are several that use glycerin in their casing formulas. There are many that use soap or some form of surfactant to add to their casing solution. Others swear by plain water. Test with your leather and see what works for you in casing. Regards, Ben

Hank, Just a word of caution about the Stohlman design...it is fairly good except that the front is fairly high in the front end. In fact I would say it is too high in the front end. Thsi makes the front of the tree sit higher than it would on a real horse. The issue is that a saddle will look good on the stand but appears to run downhill from the back to the front when placed upon a horse....not good. Youa re striving to keep bottom of the skirt line parallel to the ground as it is placed upon a horse. If you would like do a search for the observations about the Stohlman drawdown issues, I know that Troy West and some others...maybe Bruce, Greg and some others (can't remember exactly) have made some similar comments and observations as well. Tom, Some additional photos and especially some with the panavise would be neat. I picked up three of them and have been compiling some pictures and measurements of various barber models. Any information, measurements and additional photos would be neat to add to the collection of ideas. Regards, Ben

Salvi, Not Hilly but you can buy them through Jeremiah's web site. Here it is below. You can also get his address, email and phone number from his web site as well. Here's the link to the DVDs. http://www.ranch2arena.com/videoeng.html Regards, Ben

Bob, Nice finger craving. I really like the addition of the crowner for an added texture/depth. Great work as always. Regards, Ben

Hilly, It sounds as if either your preferences for Internet Options are blocking you or the default program for the browser is unregistered. This happens with just about any email program. It doesn't sound as if your Outlook file is corrupted but it never hurts to check. I ran across a ton of links by typing "outlook express prevents links from opening" into Google Search. This is the second link that I looked at. Hope that it helps. If not check out others as well until you find the exact issues that match your case. You may add your operating system to the search as well. http://email.about.com/od/outlooktips/qt/et_fix_links.htm Regards, Ben

Bob/Keith, Thanks for the responses. Even though many of the sites no longer list 92/99 in their needle and thread combinations, I am glad to hear that people are still using it. In talking with several makers around here many of them have said that they were tending away from the 92/99 thread in favor of the 138 or the 69. They also were headed to all natural thread instead of white except for special items. Bob, I assume that Keith is referring to the LL needle point. There are also some others that come close as well. Take a look at that document that I sent you that shows the point, stitch, needle, slant, fill and set in a matrix format. There you can see what they look like as compared to your R, S and LR needles. You will notice on the stitch appearance that the LL is a straight seam with filled stitch holes as well as denoted in the stitch and fill columns. In that you will also see the comparisons for nylon versus polyester (bonded and so forth). On the compensating and making up for missed makers marks in the past. That is as good a reason as any. Regards, Ben

Bob, Thanks! It really doesn't matter how old the patterns are but how we creatively apply them in new and refreshing ways. You have successfully accomplished that! I have studied Keith's pictures, web site and such and see exactly what you are saying about the blended stitching as well. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Keith, Thank you for the response. I tend to favor straight, deep-set and completely filled thread holes. This to me is the ultimate quality thread. My next choice would be a slanted one that is deep set and has a filled thread hole or ones that are partially visible. I likewise utilize the stitch counts that you use as well as sticking to smaller needles (usually have to use them to have filled stitch holes). Your thread selections are certainly in line with what I consider more refined looking stitching on various pieces of gear. Likewise a compiled listing from numerous sources confirms your selection as well. Of course going from the 69 to 138 thread you have doubled the strength of stitching. A question for both of you... Do you guys consider using 92 thread or do you use the others due to availability? Regards, Ben

Bob, For some reason I have missed this thread. I did see it on another forum. As you already know I am a huge fan of these types of "broken" borders that use any design elements like these seeded ones, beaded, ribbons, meandering (San Carlos), various combinations and so forth. I really like the beaded/seeded borders and especially the seeded borders that are graduated. I likewise appreciate and study your style. I agree with Keith and others about the quality of the work as always. A beautiful job as Keith stated is certainly in order. Keith pointed out three things and I would certainly agree with a couple of them. The hardware attachment for the straps were the very first thing that jumped out at me... my impression is that these just don't complement the rest of the silver work. Just something to consider to complete the "whole" impression. On the maker's mark on the back, I always struggle with placements but on this one my preference would be in line with Keith. As Keith stated these are preferences. I on the other hand respectfully disagree with Keith and do like the 69 thread on this piece. I might have tried 92 (this may be what Keith is alluding to or maybe a 138) but I would have had to look at it. As we have discussed many times I feel that people go too far the other direction and use "heavier" thread than needed as well as longer stitches. My preference for these type of items is smaller stitches per inch and smaller thread versus using a 207/277 thread and 5 stitches per inch. However with that said I have had people request a "saddle stitch" just like that for a wallet because they want it to look stout. I just feel (my preference) that the higher stitch count and lower thread sizes make products like purses, handbags, wallets, etc look more refined. This piece is certainly a beautiful stunning piece. Keith... I likewise like the refined look of your products as well. If you wouldn't mind sharing with us, I would like to know what thread and stitches per inch you would have utilized in this situation. I would also assume that you and your shop have some sort of standard that you utilize for not only these but other gear as well. Regards, Ben

Amen, Denise....... Great insight. Several call centers who have initiated turn-arounds concerning customer service/reputation rebuilds have something similar pasted on every cube that has customer service representatives working for the company. Regards, Ben

Keith, As ALWAYS!!!! Absolutely great work. Two tone chestnut sure looks nice. Wonderful attention to detail as always even in the smallest details. Hats off! Regards, Ben

Ken, Ditto to what Bruce said. It covers the subject pretty well from basics on up to your "golden nuggets". It is well worth the $$$. Regards, Ben

Workbenches have been discussed a lot in other posts. Here are some posts to look at.... Hope they help with some ideas. Link 1 Link #2 Link #3 Link #4 Regards, Ben

Ferg, Sent you a PM. Hope that helps. Regards, Ben

Art, Thanks! I saw the TiN coating on a 794SD needle made by Organ. I tend towards the Schmetz first and then the Groz Beckert needles as well. I don't know if I can say this is purely scientific but over time I would have to say that the Schmetz seems to be a harder needle (tend to break them more) versus the Organs which tend to bend. Of course I can only say that was over about 30 Organ needles versus a whole lot more Schmetz. It may have just been the batch of needles but that was just my observation of the two needle companies. Your mileage may vary. I happened to see them on the CTSUSA site. CTSUSA SD1 PD Needle I have included a PDF from Organ's Technical Specification downloads that shows the TiN thickness on the needle profile, abrasion tests and some other information. PD_e.pdf Like you I have seen the TiN coating on cutters, drill bitss and so many other cutter related items. On the TiN drills they tend to be throwaways because the bits themselves seem to be so much softer than HSS bits. Out of the 3 sets of drill bits that I have used, two of them couldn't be salvaged by the Drill Doctor after they became dull ( disappointing to say the least). Regards, Ben

Has anyone tried the titanium nitride (TiN) Perfect Durability needles from Organ? Are they a cost effective alternative? Do they hold up as long as claimed? Any insight and information would be greatly appreciated. Art, Barra, Steve, Wiz.... you guys can all weigh in here as well as well as anyone else who may have tried them. I figured Steve may have some information since he deals with them. I do have all the technical corporate information but was looking for actual user thoughts. Thanks again for any insight. Regards, Ben

Bobcat, Ditto to what Clay said! Neat creative and great execution as always. Regards, Ben

Gawdzilla, You could also use drafting circle templates or radius master templates. These provide a bunch of sizes in a single sheet. Alvin, Timely and Rapid-design are some of the brands that I have. You can get some fairly large circles with the radius templates. I like these a lot because there are tons of sizes immediately available in a very small space. Likewise they also have ones for ellipse and other geometric shapes as well. If using trammels, compasses (small or large) or beam compasses you can avoid the center line mark by using a small piece of leather to set the point down on. Regards, Ben