Mulesaw

Welcome :-) I don't know if you have looked around on the forum yet, but there is a subforum on here dedicated to holsters of different sorts. and lots of other specialty sub foras. Brgds Jonas

In my experience neatsfoot oil doesn't soften that much. And I wouldn't worry about it in the amount used in connection with soap. (I can't see the video because of poor internet onboard), but lets say that there is used a total of 1/4 cup of NF oil in the soap batch, maybe that is 20% of the total volume. To clean your backpack or a bag you might use a tablespoon's worth of soap. and 20% of a tablespoon is probably half a teaspoon, and that is not a lot of oil :-) There have been some discussions in earlier threads about whether or not to use mineral oil. Working with a lot of oil in my day job (marine engineer), I just want to mention that a lot of oils have additives in them, and while pure mineral oil might be OK (think petroleum jelly), a lot of those additives aren't good for your skin. So you might want to stay away from e.g. gear oil, two stroke oil, motor oil and hydraulic oil. But then again, in those volumes there probably won't be any problems. Brgds Jonas

I think that grating up soap and adding a few other ingredients might be an easy way into making your own saddle soap without having to invest in a lot of different chemicals that you might be difficult to get hold of. I have made some regular soap as a small hobby a couple of years back, that is fairly easy and gives an old fashioned soap without different chemicals. But if it is better than modern soaps - I don't know? The advantage of making it from scratch is that you can make sure that your soap is "over oily / greasy" meaning that you can make sure that there is more fat/oil than the sodium hydroxide can react with. So you won't get an aggressive soap. The recipe book I use has got a recipe for a milk soap as well, so you could make something like that and use for a base if you wanted to. I'm not near my recipe book at the moment, so I can't remember the ratios between different types of fat and sodium hydroxide. But I have to admit that I have never really seen the use for a specific saddle soap. If I have to clean a saddle, I use grated soap and tepid water. The idea for me is to clean the saddle with the soap, not oil it or wax it at the same time. When the saddle is clean - I let it dry and then I ad a good conditioner or some neatsfoot oil or some leather grease (tallow). Good luck with whatever you try :-) Brgds Jonas

That's a really good idea. Do you just put the screws in the corners? Brgds Jonas

@SUP What a beautiful piece of work :-) I can understand that you feel inclined to restore it. But it sure looks like a lost cause.. I think that the leather itself has started to rot, and I am afraid that there isn't much to do about that (I hope that someone more knowledgeable than me can give some better advice). An option would be to use the old saddle as pattern and make a copy of it. The problem here is that it looks so well made that it is going to be kind of a big project. I can only speculate in how expensive a toy horse this must have been back when it was new. The issue with spending lets say 25 hours on a project, it had better be something that either I could use or some grandchildren could use or it could be sold for something that would justify spending the time to do it. But on the other hand it could also be a fun project that one could be proud of afterwards. And a hobby should be about doing something that we find fun, challenging and rewarding :-) Regarding the age of the saddle, I would guess sometimes in the 50'ies based on the branded longhorn stamp. Back when every kid wanted to grow up and be a cowboy like in the movies. Just curious, but is the horse a rocking horse or something from a carrousel? Cause if it was from a carrousel then maybe it would could give some hints to the age of it, and it could explain why it was so well made in the first place. Brgds Jonas

Good idea, mold is a pest if it spreads. It seems as you already have taken the upper hand by spraying with vinegar. Looking forward to the picture :-)

@SUP Sounds like an interesting project. Do you have any pictures? Without having seen it, my first guess is that the threads might be rotten. That would make the entire thing come apart at the seams. Brgds Jonas

I would give it at least some varnish. It will add some protection if someone spills a cup of coffee or just some water. I don't think it will matter much to the leather work that you do on the table, but it will look nice and be much easier to wipe over with a damp rag to remove any dust etc. You could also give it a coat of stain first, to darken the colour a bit. And then varnish it afterwards. But the staining won't have any practical use except for making it look nice, and that is also important. Especially since you have been "shooed" into the basement :-) Might as well make it enjoyable to go down there and work. And if your workplace looks good, I think it is easier to maintain since it just looks nice. The edges of plywood can often fray and look ragged, so if it was my bench I think I would glue on a strip of wood to all edges of it. It can also be secured with some finishing nails. If you have access to a router with a rounding bit, I would round the upper edges of the table after mounting the strips. That will lessen the chance of scratching the surface of any large piece of leather that you scoot around on the surface. Good luck, brgds Jonas

That looks like a very logical way of doing it. That would also give the chance to make the inner liner out of some thin leather/skin, I would love to make some experiments with that right now, but I am sea, so it'll be 3 weeks before I get home to my shop :-) The most difficult thing will probably be to make the folds fairly consistent. But either double sided tape or contact cement should help in that respect (and a bit of practice).

@bvdv Striking elegant bag! I can see why you like it. I have made a sketch that sort of explain how I think those ribs are made. Mind you that I haven't tried it, so it is just a guess. Also I'd probably experiment a bit before cutting up and entire hide. To me it looks as the bag is made with a double layer of skin. So the ribbed part is made by first making a bunch of ribs with the sides folded over. Those ribs are then sewn onto the flat backing piece of skin which is visible between the folds of your lower picture. (It might take a bit of practice to make it look so sharp) When the sides are made I reckon that I'd do the ends next finally I would install a liner, if you look closely you can see how the top stitching passes over the rib stitching, that could also hold the liner in place. Good luck and please let us see if you make a bag :-) 20240303_162413.pdf

Great work, It looks really good.

@MarshalWill Thanks for a great and clear set of instructions. I have never thought about the possibility of making a basketweave stamp from scratch.

@Bobby hdflame My best suggestion is to ask around, perhaps on FB, if anyone near you do any woodturning. It is a fairly easy thing to turn, either on a metal lathe or on a wood lathe. I reckon that I could make one in about half an hour or so. Right now I am at sea, so while I could make one, I won't be able to get it shipped until in about a month, and I think it is still cheaper for you to get one made locally. Good luck with the project. Brgds Jonas

Hi Rainydayleather It might be a good idea to specify in what part of the world you are located :-) It is an international forum, and even within the US there are some substantial distances. Good luck with the hunt. Brgds Jonas

Super :-) I think I have the pdf somewhere as well, but at the moment we are on the ship, so even thinking of attaching a file is like asking for trouble. Brgds Jonas

I used the plans in an old book called "farm woodwork": https://ia802605.us.archive.org/32/items/farmwoodwork00roeh/farmwoodwork00roeh.pdf You can see the final result of my build here: The only thing I am not so happy about is that I made the strap for tightening the clamp out of some too soft veg tan leather. I should have used something better for making the strap. It resulted in that the holes started to tear in the strap when I used it. I have later repaired it with an old piece of strap from a saddle. The stitching horse work very well and the instructions are easy to follow. Have fun building whatever model you choose.

That is downright rude. It is fair if people ask for a price out of genuine curiosity, but that was insulting. Nice looking bag by the way, is the grey part of the saddlebag leather/suede, or is it some heavy felt? The contrast of the different surfaces looks really good.

Sounds like it is going to be a super thing to be part of! I'd love it if there was a real need for draft horse stuff over here, but the wagon/working scene is very limited. Only one of my customers have a harness set for driving horses, and I had to do a little bit of alteration, I think it had to be shortened and maybe altered a little, but that is the only chance I've had to work on a driving harness.

@BlackDragon Good luck with setting up shop :-) I think you are really lucky that people are already asking for your service, that must mean that there really is a customer base nearby, and that makes it all a lot easier compared to having to search for potential customers. Depending on your expected hourly rate, I think that it might be difficult to compete with prices of foreign made odd the rack stuff. So it is better to charge a realistic amount that you will be OK with and then point out to customers what the difference in quality is and why it matters. If there are Amish customers around, I would guess that they need more driving harness stuff than English dressage stuff, and likewise if there are people working cattle from horseback they might need specific gear, and templates that are to the liking of some people might not suit others. So my best advice is to talk to the potential customers. I'd ask the Amish farrier if he could perhaps introduce you to some of his customers, and the when you get to talk to them, ask if you can see some of their harness or other gear that they like, or something they feel is ok, but they would like to have changed. Bring a measuring tape and a sketch book and a camera. take pictures of details like how stuff is routed on a piece of harness etc. measurements and sketches of size and where stitching is made. Hardware position and size etc. It could be that they have some old stuff that they really liked but it has become brittle or just worn out. If you ask nicely perhaps they'll let you borrow it. If you manage to do that, then you can recreate it with any alterations that might be sought after. Like reproducing a 50 years old harness so it fits a newer type of horse (fatter or slimmer than the old). I have just done it with an old stallion halter that I borrowed from the local stallion station. They had bought some of those many years ago and I have never seen that model before, but now I have made one that will be on display so people can see that I can make those. I would love to sell new stuff, but have a really hard time selling new leather products to horse owners. I have made some really nice looking leather halters, but compared to what is available from regular shops of decent looking halters, I don't stand much of a chance. But I do make quite a lot of repairs, and that is good stable income. In our area it is mainly dressage and jumping for hobby and some breeders. Repairing stuff is sort of in vogue at the moment, and people seem to think that it is sorcery that I am able to sew two pieces of leather together. So I have sort of settled on the fact that I won't sell any new leather products, save perhaps for a walking line or something like that. But rebuilding and repairing is pretty constant. I don't know what type of leather that would be good for you since I am pretty sure that our designations are not the same as yours. I use Hechte since it is the best leather on the cow, and most of the work I do is some type of straps, and this is the perfect leather for that. If there are any working dog clubs in your neighborhood, it might be a good idea to tell them that you can repair leather. Some of those lines or harnesses need mending once in a while, and again can be a stable sort of income. And like with the horse gear, if some of the have a favourite piece of equipment, ask if you can see it and take some notes on how it is made. For repair jobs I charge an hourly rate, but broken down to the nearest 5 minutes, so I have no problem billing people 20 minutes if the job only was a 20 minutes job. I know it might not make me ultra rich, but the customers get back and will know that I don't overcharge them. Materials except sewing thread and glue will be billed, so hardware and leather will be billed, the reason to not do it for thread and glue is that it would look like I was a greedy bastard looking to get as much out of it as I can. Instead raise the hourly wage a tiny bit, and people will more likely think that it is ok. Good luck Brgds Jonas

@rastanley I can't remember the name of the stitch on the knee pad, but I am pretty sure that Al Stohlman shows it in his book "hand sewing leather", maybe it is blind stitching? To me it looks like it has been done from the inside (before the saddle was assembled). Both edges are butted against each other, and you use a curved awl to make a stitching hole from one flesh side - through the middle of the butted assembly - and back up on the other flesh side again. Then you sew it with a regular saddle makers stitch. I could be wrong though, but it is my best guess. You could try to see if you could recreate that on the knee pads and then sew it "on top" of the leather in front of the knee pads. If you have to make any doubling it would be best if it is a place where the knees or legs don't touch, in order to not get a blister from a protruding edge. The cantle might be a bit more difficult since you wouldn't want to have a protruding edge where the butt of the rider rubs up and down during riding. A suggestion is to make something like when you wrap a steering wheel in leather. You first make a regular saddle stitch along the crack, maybe 1/4" below. on both sides. Then you lace those saddle stitches together in a crossing zig zag pattern with a thread. You just need to find some sturdy thread that can take a bit of rubbing without breaking. I'd go with some braided stuff. Good luck. Brgds Jonas Here's a picture I found that gives the general idea, except the picture only makes a single zig zag, not a crossing zig zag.

@jcuk That makes a lot of sense :-) I usually do like Tom describes, by forming and gluing before marking out for stitching, so that's what puzzled me a bit about the pre-pricking thing, but it makes sense if I don't glue first, then I could unfold it and prick at least one layer. I must say that I think that gluing at least those long double straps gives a good look. If not I'm afraid that the leather will slide a bit apart when it is put around the neck of the horse. Perhaps I should try to give tacking a try. In hindsight, I should have wet formed the chin strap, and taken the time to readjust the sewing machine to be able to sew through the 4 layers. Used the sewing machine to prick the leather and then hand sewn it. I guess I'll just have to make another one next time I get home :-)

Thanks for the kind words. I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by pre-pricking, but I'd love to get a trick or two since it actually bothers me that it looks so wavy and disorderly in the ends. :- ) I did indeed hand stitch in the areas sort of where the leather flapped over for the D-rings etc, so sort of 3" length at each end. I was afraid that if I used the sewing machine, the stitching would be less durable and not quite as tight as I could make it by hand. I used a marking wheel and put the (much too bulky) parts in the stitching horse, and then used a diamond awl. But those results weren't super great (to say the least). But I suppose that I could have taken the thread out of the needle of the sewing machine and used that one to do the pre-pricking. I have actually done that on an earlier double stitched halter, but I can't really remember why I didn't do it on this one. Technically I think that I could have made it a bit tighter around the massive D-ring if I had wet formed the straps first, and then let them dry in position before gluing it up with contact cement before the sewing, but I'm afraid that it wouldn't have helped much on my sewing :-) Brgds Jonas

That was actually also how I read it at first, but now I can see that it didn't exactly say that :-) Trotting poles and cavalettis are great for getting a fluent move on the horse. And also great for instilling a bit of security in young riders.

He does look like a champion :-) I have tried to make a halter a couple of years ago that also featured a brow band, The plans were from an old German saddlers book, but sadly I had made the halter according to the measurements in the book, and it was too small for our warmblood. I am not quite sure what the benefit of a browband on a halter is, but I would guess that it makes the halter sit a bit better. A regular halter can be a fairly loose fit, but I'm only guessing. I enlarged the picture, and I can see that strap you are talking about. It also looks like the poll strap sits rather tight on him, but I guess he was a powerhouse, so better safe than sorry when handling him. A fellow parent back when our youngest was in kindergarten had some Oldenburg horses on a meadow in the village. The youngest of her horses (around 3 years I guess) had a neck strap on. I can't remember her explanation why, I just remember that it was so tight that one day when we were looking at him, I asked her if it would be ok with her that I loosened it. She seemed a bit afraid of the horse and she said that if I really thought that I could do it and still keep it on him it would be ok. I loosened it maybe 3 holes and I felt so much better for that poor horse. She moved not long after and I don't know what became of her horses. But that is technically the only horse I have seen wearing a neck strap. Learning to jump that way sounds scary, but I see the idea of learning to have a good seat and not jerk the horses mouth, and a neck strap seems like a much more secure thing to grip than trying to grab a handful of mane if you loose your balance :-)

The nasal bone could be a very logic explanation, I have never thought about that. And given the worth of most of those stallions at the stallion station, I am pretty sure that they don't want any of them to be damaged. The owner told me that when he had purchased those halters back in the days it had cost a small fortune, so he had the name of his stallion station stamped into the halters to ensure that they didn't "wander off"