badhatter1005

I'm with Dwight. I can do repair work. Just need the info on what I'm fixing.

Thank you for following up with the photos of the buckle in action. Makes perfect sense now. Great job.

I like the way this looks. Would you be willing to upload a picture of how it attaches to a belt strap? I do not have an engineering mind unfortunately so I'm having trouble seeing how this would work. Thank you in advance.

Welcome my friend. Hopefully you find a niche here and start doing some leather work. We will definitely keep you in mind for the IT work as well.

George McClellan invented the cavalry saddle a lot of them were used during the war between the states on both sides. This saddle is obviously an issued cavalry saddle. I would take it to a professional if I was going to do anything to it. Have to be really careful with leather that old as saddle soap and even mink or neatsfoot oil could potentially break down the fibers. You have a piece of American history there and it is beautiful. Congratulations on a great find.

It looks like someone punched holes with a precision chisel set the holes with an awl and then saddle stitched that particular portion by hand. I know a lot of pro shops do that however I'm by no means an expert.

I agree with Dwight. I've been using a Tippmann Boss for over a year now and my business has improved exponentially. It is a hand crank machine so be ready to have that right shoulder broken in really good however the results speak for themselves.

Dwight my friend. Where in the world did you get this and also where in the world can I get one? This is genius.

Beautiful work. What did you use as a filler?

Leave it. For sure

Look at the will gromley BBQ pattern pack. You can slightly modify the Glock holster to be a duty holster. I've done it multiple times and it is great. If you notify me I will send you a card stock pattern that I use for the Glock 17. You can do it as a paddle holster or you can make a belt loop for the back.

Thank you very much.

I'd say in this situation it's a matter of preference. I can't think of anything saddle wise that was made a hundred years ago that is going to be more comfortable than a current saddle made with a fiberglass frame. Also not as light to carry back and forth. Seriously pick up a McClellan saddle Pre-World war II ride with it for 2 hours and then carry it back to the tack room. Then do the same thing with a modern saddle and feel the difference. I think it has to do more with the person making the saddle. Find a reputable tackman. I can personally recommend Don Gonzalez. Probably the best I know of.

Sorry it took me so long to get back. You can use the olive oil itself to seal the product. The nature of the olive oil dictates that it will hold strong in the leather fibers. The only other option to seal would be neat's foot oil which I really like. It has the same effect but will not be as waterproof as tancoat. The good part about that is that you can go back later and add more oil if you need to.

For the probably thousandth time on these threads I'm going to agree with Dwight on all accounts. Tandy is right near me and I really enjoy being able to hold something before I buy it. I've had not so great luck from Weaver with some of their leather. It started out being great when I first ordered however later on down the road the quality control went down significantly. With Tandy being so close I can go to the shop and pick out my hide off of the table or out of the deck that they have set up. I can hold the tools and see what they're actually going to do and what they feel like in my hand. My recommendation is to find the nearest shop and driving distance and go check it out. Ordering off of the web is handy if you know exactly what you want and exactly what it's going to do. However if you want to feel the stuff in your hands (And I think that is very important because every hand is different) then you'll want to go into a shop. Most of the shops have knowledgeable people working that can tell you what you need to know about each item. If they don't know then they have somebody on the staff that does. I will say I have met Chuck Dorsey several times from Weaver and he is a leather genius. You can see him on their YouTube page. However with leather I like Wickett and Craig now that I'm charging a little more for my stuff and can afford it. However buying that from a local shop is impossible so I've had to bite the proverbial bullet and order offline. A general rule of shopping. If you don't absolutely love it in the store you'll never use it when you take it home.