ClaimedVacancy

@Dwight Looks like I might have inspired ya huh? So the size of the one I posted is 16” long, 11” tall, and 4” deep. Only problem is that it’s not an available template since I had to create it. This book https://archive.org/details/leatherworkingha0000mich/page/128/mode/2up by Valerie Michael has a template in the advanced section that is close to the same size if that interests you. And with the online archive you can just borrow the book versus buying it. If you would rather the Swiss type, you can get one for $50 and take it apart to create your own, or! Just use it as is. This is BY FAR the best price for these bags. Most still have a ton of life left in them too. I’ve purchase from Teskey for years, and they are just down the road from me. https://teskeys.com/collections/salebarn-tack/products/used-vintage-german-leather-saddle-bag-copy-3 This one would be a lot more simple, and it’s about 13-14” long, 9-10” tall, 3-4” deep. I have one and it is fantastic. https://teskeys.com/collections/salebarn-tack/products/used-vintage-german-leather-saddle-bag-copy-1 Take a look on their barn sale page.

@revilop Just adding my two-sense since you’ve acquired some of the tools to get you going. Leather working is a life long pursuit for many of us, and growing never stops. Books are fantastic, but which ones you may ask? Here are two: - Leathercraft: Traditional Handcrafted Leatherwork Skills and Projects https://a.co/d/7IBDi6Q -The Leatherworking Handbook: A Practical Illustrated Sourcebook of Techniques and Projects https://a.co/d/g1cVSHy If you need more, say, in the video format I can’t recommend Nigel Armitage enough. https://secretsfromtheworkshop.com After all of that, PRACTICE. And more of that. You’ll shock yourself how far you can get in just a few years with diligent, disciplined practice.

@MarshalWill Thank you for the suggestion! I very much so like what you did there. I have experienced some discomfort with the handle at the edge even with it beveled to a #3 beveler. So fortunately i can make the adjustment to it. For the design, it’s fantastic. Once i made all the minor adjustments on the template to account for various lengths of parts, stitching edge distance, etc, it just kinda fell together. The way the Swiss designed this is a huge testament to their craftsmanship. I have three more Swiss bags that I'm working the templates out. All various shapes and designs. I’ll be sure to post once completed.

Very clean, and consistent. I wont comment on thread since its been touched on. Very good and neat edge distance. Your thread slant is correct so you’re stitching appropriately with the slant of the hole slit. Apply the same technique to any (most) items such as bags or belts and it will turn out well!

I had a very similar experience leaving the military; internship at a wood shop making furniture, while still being paid by the government (legitimate program!). It works great if the company is great to work for, but i was free labor and made a lot of pretty stuff at no cost to them. of course there is wayyy more vetting of companies now than there was then to prevent that. I learned more about what i don’t want versus what i do, and ended back in my original field of expertise post service. And fortunately it worked out very well. But my path was trades first then college. So a bit in reverse. Best of luck out there! There’s an opportunity out there. PS, we’re experiencing the same problem in the US with applying and being rejected in respective fields. Its became a major problem, and hiring appears to be stonewalled out by some entity (AI usage on both ends?). It’s a weird time that i hope will loosen.

Hey everyone, i never lost sight of the project! Ive really just been trying to procure one but it’s proving very difficult. There is a site in Switzerland that sells them, but they don't ship to the US. They are also around $1,000 and thats just a bit high. It’s the site i posted at the top. Now i can find them on Rocado. But yet again, no shipping. Just local pickup in Switzerland. https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/naehbock-sattler-lederarbeiten-1236720066/ So, back to the drawing board. Literally. Leveraging some drafting skills from the military, i’m working out the draft. Ill be building this out of baltic birch ply with a sapele base (92mm thick!). Overall, it will come out to around 94cm tall. I may reduce this to around 84 as i have some play around the foot lever cam. I just need to get to cutting pieces and assembling to see of it beds together before doing so.

@JDFred Certainly! Aluminum is pretty remarkable. It only becomes problematic with contact to dissimilar metals, prolonged water contact, and salts. Or a combination of those. If you ever give them a go and need different head sizes, i would stick with the annealed versions. If they are tempered, they will toenail bad inside the leather since the walls of the hole do not have support against the compression of the rivet. Ive tried mil spec aircraft rivets, and its always a disaster in my applications. I would think if you have enough support around the whole, you could reasonably work with tempered alum rivets on leather. If you are in need of using different metals for the application, check the galvanic corrosion charts to see if they are compatible, too. Stainless and alum should be okay for a good bit, but ill say that depending on the size difference of the parts, and how far apart on the chart they are, the alum rivets would fail over time.

@dikman Thank you! Its stout. But not like the motor oil type drinks, more like a Guinness extra stout

@BlackDragon Thanks! The interior piped seam is by far the worst, followed by the d-ring attachment pieces. If ya don’t pull the needles excessively when saddle stitching (and use beeswax when hard to pull on the needle!!) its not that bad. You wont singe the tendons and ligaments in your hands. For the harness from W&C, I've got some! But i had to use J&FJ Baker harness for the rigidity of the back and lid. Herman oak harness would be more than sufficient though. It just needs to be real stiff so it maintains its shape. @FrankHester Thank you! It’s been a labor of true love.

Thank you both! @Dwight, if you need to get a pattern my only recommendation is get one of the Swiss saddle packs, preferably for “restoration” on ebay. Take it apart, and build your template off that. You can make all your changes and adjustment there, if you’re up to it! @chuck123wapati Haha i certainly could use a thinner weight. Maybe by just one margin. Getting harness in split maybe difficult! I will say though that the weight and how substantial it is has not been a problem for me. The Swiss were really onto something with the weights they choose and how the bag supports itself under a load, even if it’s just my shoulder.

Hi everyone, I recently completed a saddle pack of Swiss design origin. The horizontal type that just so happens to make a fantastic satchel/briefcase. I’ve been battle testing it in the world for four months and it’s been fantastic. I’ve only made one change to the strap area with the d-rings; changing out the thinner Russian calf for a piece of thick bridle (shown in the pictures with the needles for alignment). I stuck with the traditional materials; bridle, harness, and even a bit of Russian calf here and there. Let’s just say that having to get a working pattern took a lot of time and work. Building it took many, many hours. There are parts of the bag that are just shy of 1” thick, and required high degree of accuracy and precision. All of it is saddle stitched, 3.85mm spacing and some occasional 2.7mm spacing on smaller bits, linen thread, stainless hardware, and original Swiss aluminum studs. Does there happen to even be a market for saddle packs and the likes? I’ve yet to find anyone willing to tote a bag with 15oz harness and a shell made of 8oz bridle!

Hello everyone. I’m a bit late to this conversation, but wanted to give some insight on alum rivets. Ive used the Tandy “decorative” rivets with great success. They are annealed and have no temper which is good when swaging them. I’ve used them in restoration of many Swiss saddle packs, as they all originally came with alum rivets and often buckles, etc. Speaking of Swiss gear, take a look at Swiss army leathers such as saddle packs and ammo pouches. They all used aluminum rivets and studs. The oldest one I’ve restored was from 1917, and the aluminum rivets or studs were the last concern of mine. Zero corrosion, no breakage. They hold up remarkably well, and the packs from this time are all fairly hard used. Since the Tandy alum rivets are annealed, this puts them in the 1100 category of aluminum with no alloying agents. This is good because it reduces the amount of corrosion potential. If they were say 7075 series aluminum, you would have a greater corrosion risk. And mixing metal parts will give you mixed results depending on how dissimilar they are (steel vs aluminum for example). When it comes to brass, followed by copper, verdigris will be an issue especially if the item isn’t used for some time, and an electrolyte (water) is present in the air in high amounts. The verdigris is a reaction with the tannins against the metal, and aluminum does not react to the tannins. The only staining you will have is greying from the aluminum essentially being polished from abrasion by the leather. I hope this is helpful! I’ve been in aviation for over a decade, working with aluminum extensively. I’ve also attached two example pictures of aluminum fasteners from Tandy, along with a verdigris issue on a pack I’m restoring currently.

Agreed, chuck123wapati. All that I can tell is that the lower jaw actuates, the foot pedal is pressed to apply pressure to the clamping action. There also appears to be a lock that can be tripped and held in place by a notch. Based off the pictures the foot pedal has a cam that creates the actuation of the lower jaw, and the steel components apply friction at the right places. If I don't get any information on plans, drawings, etc, I will start an R&D into building one with baltic birch ply. It's not overly complicated, but the geometry could get tricky.

Hey all, I have continued the conversation regarding the Swiss clam. If you all are interested, of course!

Good morning All, I am new to the Forum, and this is my first post. I have been watching the forum for a good while and finally decided to join. I've been working with leather for about 11-12 years, on and off. Over the last several years I've grown more serious about it. I enjoy the Swiss Army style leather works by the various saddlers, and various European styles as I believe they are some of the most tried and true methods to joining pieces of leather together. I too have also started a small collection of original Swiss pouches, etc for continued inspiration. I use fairly traditional tools when it comes to building leather pieces, and I'm always trying to collect antique examples of tools where I can. I saddle stitch everything, and use at the minimum Ritza 25 tiger thread. Vegetable tanned leather is almost exclusively what I use as well. I'm certain I will post pictures of my work, but if you are interested my Instagram name is also ClaimedVacancy: https://www.instagram.com/claimedvacancy/ Main Topic: I followed this particular thread for awhile. I am interested in building the Swiss saddler clam, and I have not found any plans or drawings of said clam. I could spend the next few months in CAD drawing one from all the various images, but I believe there are more accurate drawings out there. https://shop.leder-louis.ch/product/Sattler-Naehzange-schweizer-Modell./587 Can anyone input on this? Thank you all!