Harry Marinakis Report post Posted April 5 (edited) I used the plan by Randy Steffan, found here: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/20586-stitching-horse-plans/ I modified the plan, and made the jaw vertical instead of angled. I really don't do a lot of punching holes by hand in heavy leather, so the ergonomics of angled jaws was unnecessary. Otherwise, the dimensions are the same as in Steffan's plan. Oh, I forgot, I made the jaws 2 inches taller than what's specified in the plan. I made the jaws by laminating strips, since I don't have a bandsaw large enough for this job. First I cut the Maple into four strips, each 21 inches long and 1-1/2 inches square. For each strip, I cut out of the shape of the jaws using a jigsaw. Then when I glued all the strips together I had the basic shape of the jaws. It took only a bit of work on the 4x36 belt sander for smooth out the final shape. I repeated the process for the shorter jaw. If I had to do it over again, I would make a few changes: 1. The plan assumes that jaws are angled left, so the mortise in the seat is shifted right. Since I made the jaws vertical, I should have centered the mortise in the seat. 2. There is a slot in the seat through which the leather strap passes. That slot is so close to the mortise for the jaws that the wedge has to be very short. I should have moved that slot in the seat for the leather strap further away from the mortise for the jaws. Then I could have made a longer wedge, and the jaws would be more stable. All the wood was cut from rough-cut slabs. The Cherry slab was 10 feet long. The Maple slabs were 6 feet long. Cherry seat with Maple trim on the legs. Maple jaws Maple lever bars 3/16" plate steel 1/8" plate steel Chair spring to pop the jaws open Leather strap Wood screws Tried & True wood finish Edited April 5 by Harry Marinakis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DieselTech Report post Posted April 5 Looks good. Nice craftsmanship. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted April 6 Very nice job! Almost a work of art. The only thing I would add is to line the jaws with leather. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bruce johnson Report post Posted April 7 Great jaw shape! Much better than most made today. If you do line with leather as dikman suggested then flesh side o r a neutral color chrome tan is better. Has more grip with less pressure than grain side vegtan. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck123wapati Report post Posted April 9 beautiful work!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GerryR Report post Posted April 10 Verry nice. (I used stainless steel caps on the jaws on mine. It will defleck the needle and protect the jaws if I get too close when stitching.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
