Machine Man looking to become a better Leatherworker

[mbnaegle]

Hi! I'm Miles Naegle from Conroe Texas. I'm new to this forum, but grew up in the industry and I've likely talked to many of you over the phone over the years. My family owns and operates a leather machinery business, but my goal joining the forum is to better my personal skills and offer advise if I can, and not to solicit my company.

If anyone has any questions about leather machinery repair and adjustment in general, I'm happy to help. Most of my expertise is in needle and awl lockstitch machines (Campbells, Unions, etc.), band knife splitters, skivers, bevelers, burnishing and painting systems, strap cutters, Adlers, Jukis, and Seikos (I don't work much with the Chinese and Taiwanese cloans). I tend to focus on equipment that has OEM support and parts availability, but "parts is parts" as my dad used to say.

Before getting into leather machinery, my dad (Connie Naegle) was a Saddle and Harness maker, worked in Hollywood props and special effects, and restored and reproduced vintage travel trunks. I grew up between a machine shop and a leatherworking bench, but have spent most of my career perfecting the machinery more than my own skill at the bench. Dad passed away a couple years ago, and when I'm not working on equipment, I'm hoping to become a better leatherworker.

While I'm interested in all kinds of leatherwork, Saddle and Harness is what I'd like to focus my efforts on. We have several family heirloom saddles that were passed on to my dad to restore, but his health declined faster than we all expected and there's still much to be done with them. I'd like to learn more about pre-1960's Saddle design and construction so that one day I can finish preserving and restoring those saddles. The oldest is from the 1880's belonged to my great grandfather, which I want to preserve for the historical relic it is, but on the other hand my grandfather's saddle from the 1940's I would like to make into a solid rideable saddle again.

Before I dig into those projects, Ive been sorting and setting up my dads old tools and equipment, and I have a couple of non-sentimental saddle trees to build out and cut my teeth on. I'll post more on those projects as they come.

Other than leather machines and leather work, I enjoy machining and general metal fabrication, industrial history, traditional woodworking, gardening, classic cars and trucks (late 40's till early 50's are my favorites).

[bruce johnson]

Welcome to the forum!  I don't believe I have talked to you but may have. Dan and I  talked quite a bit several years ago when I was still doing active leatherwork and then more when I was getting started in leather tools. I called once and your dad answered. He found out where I lived and we had quite a talk. Knew lots of people in common. When I first moved here to California many of the older horse generation still talked about "ol' Buster Naegle". 

[mbnaegle]

1 hour ago, bruce johnson said:

Welcome to the forum!  I don't believe I have talked to you but may have. Dan and I  talked quite a bit several years ago when I was still doing active leatherwork and then more when I was getting started in leather tools. I called once and your dad answered. He found out where I lived and we had quite a talk. Knew lots of people in common. When I first moved here to California many of the older horse generation still talked about "ol' Buster Naegle". 

Thanks Bruce! I'm glad Buster's name is still getting around.  

[mbnaegle]

Here's some pics of "The Leather Room" as we call it. It mainly gets used at our shop to setup samples to run through our machinery for clients. Recently, I've been going through everything getting the hand tools sorted out and stuff hung up on the walls again. The bench my dad built when he was working in Hollywood and was made to close up as a big crate to take to film set locations. Most of Dad's tools he bought off of the old timers he worked with in the 60's and 70's, like his old stitching horse and his old Landis 3, which I recently got set up again. Over the years he took parts off of it to help fix other machines for clients and it eventually became a bare frame. I found enough parts to make it complete, but am still tuning it up. I'm partial to Campbells and Union Locks, but the Landis 3 is sentimental.

He also used a Campbell Lockstitch that was picked out of our inventory because we found in our company records that it was leased to Universal Studios for 50 years. We though it was fitting he would have it given his background. It's mainly been used to sew samples, but between it, the Landis 3, and the stitching horse,  I should be set to do some saddle work.

The horse collars and haims go back the Van Vorhees in Sacramento CA. The little jocky saddle on the wall my dad picked up when he was doing tack work on the Santa Anita race track.

These mounts are from a heard of sheep my grandpa Buster had back in the day. They're an old breed going back to biblical times called "Jacobs" sheep, and were mainly characterized by their four horns. We've had people tell us they must be a weird taxidermy prank, but I can tell you they're real (the skull in the middle was mounted as proof).

[Ferg]

You have had a very interesting life. I have worked with leather for over 70 years, not a lot recently with too many physical limitations.

Most of my life's work has been in residential and light commercial building plus over 40 years of manufacturing wooden commercial cabinetry and decorative items for the home and children's wooden puzzles. 

I have always felt woodworking and leather go hand-in-hand.

Stick around. We all learn new things every day.

[Sem2390]

On 4/25/2025 at 5:21 AM, mbnaegle said:

Hi! I'm Miles Naegle from Conroe Texas. I'm new to this forum, but grew up in the industry and I've likely talked to many of you over the phone over the years. My family owns and operates a leather machinery business, but my goal joining the forum is to better my personal skills and offer advise if I can, and not to solicit my company.

If anyone has any questions about leather machinery repair and adjustment in general, I'm happy to help. Most of my expertise is in needle and awl lockstitch machines (Campbells, Unions, etc.), band knife splitters, skivers, bevelers, burnishing and painting systems, strap cutters, Adlers, Jukis, and Seikos (I don't work much with the Chinese and Taiwanese cloans). I tend to focus on equipment that has OEM support and parts availability, but "parts is parts" as my dad used to say.

Before getting into leather machinery, my dad (Connie Naegle) was a Saddle and Harness maker, worked in Hollywood props and special effects, and restored and reproduced vintage travel trunks. I grew up between a machine shop and a leatherworking bench, but have spent most of my career perfecting the machinery more than my own skill at the bench. Dad passed away a couple years ago, and when I'm not working on equipment, I'm hoping to become a better leatherworker.

While I'm interested in all kinds of leatherwork, Saddle and Harness is what I'd like to focus my efforts on. We have several family heirloom saddles that were passed on to my dad to restore, but his health declined faster than we all expected and there's still much to be done with them. I'd like to learn more about pre-1960's Saddle design and construction so that one day I can finish preserving and restoring those saddles. The oldest is from the 1880's belonged to my great grandfather, which I want to preserve for the historical relic it is, but on the other hand my grandfather's saddle from the 1940's I would like to make into a solid rideable saddle again.

Before I dig into those projects, Ive been sorting and setting up my dads old tools and equipment, and I have a couple of non-sentimental saddle trees to build out and cut my teeth on. I'll post more on those projects as they come.

Other than leather machines and leather work, I enjoy machining and general metal fabrication, industrial history, traditional woodworking, gardening, classic cars and trucks (late 40's till early 50's are my favorites).                                                                                                                                                                                                        Focusing on craftsmanship is key, but don’t underestimate the value of understanding how leatherworking connects globally. I’ve been exploring different markets and found that looking at how leatherwork supports livelihoods abroad really gave me a new perspective — for instance, opportunities like these in Kenya. You can find more information on my link. It’s interesting to see how traditional skills can evolve into full-time careers depending on location and demand. Definitely made me think more seriously about refining my technique and potentially teaching or collaborating internationally.

Hi Miles — welcome to the forum! It’s great to have someone with such a deep family and personal connection to the industry here. Your background is seriously impressive, especially with that mix of hands-on experience, technical machinery knowledge, and a real respect for craftsmanship and history.

Your offer to share advice on leather machinery repair is incredibly generous — there are definitely folks here who will appreciate guidance with Campbells, Unions, and all the other equipment you mentioned. And your restoration projects sound like they’re going to be both meaningful and educational — preserving that kind of family history is a beautiful thing, especially with pieces as old as the 1880s saddle.

Looking forward to seeing your future posts about those saddle tree builds and the tool setup. Glad to have you here!

[Ledhep]

On 4/24/2025 at 9:21 PM, mbnaegle said:

Hi! I'm Miles Naegle from Conroe Texas. I'm new to this forum, but grew up in the industry and I've likely talked to many of you over the phone over the years. My family owns and operates a leather machinery business, but my goal joining the forum is to better my personal skills and offer advise if I can, and not to solicit my company.

If anyone has any questions about leather machinery repair and adjustment in general, I'm happy to help. Most of my expertise is in needle and awl lockstitch machines (Campbells, Unions, etc.), band knife splitters, skivers, bevelers, burnishing and painting systems, strap cutters, Adlers, Jukis, and Seikos (I don't work much with the Chinese and Taiwanese cloans). I tend to focus on equipment that has OEM support and parts availability, but "parts is parts" as my dad used to say.

Before getting into leather machinery, my dad (Connie Naegle) was a Saddle and Harness maker, worked in Hollywood props and special effects, and restored and reproduced vintage travel trunks. I grew up between a machine shop and a leatherworking bench, but have spent most of my career perfecting the machinery more than my own skill at the bench. Dad passed away a couple years ago, and when I'm not working on equipment, I'm hoping to become a better leatherworker.

While I'm interested in all kinds of leatherwork, Saddle and Harness is what I'd like to focus my efforts on. We have several family heirloom saddles that were passed on to my dad to restore, but his health declined faster than we all expected and there's still much to be done with them. I'd like to learn more about pre-1960's Saddle design and construction so that one day I can finish preserving and restoring those saddles. The oldest is from the 1880's belonged to my great grandfather, which I want to preserve for the historical relic it is, but on the other hand my grandfather's saddle from the 1940's I would like to make into a solid rideable saddle again.

Before I dig into those projects, Ive been sorting and setting up my dads old tools and equipment, and I have a couple of non-sentimental saddle trees to build out and cut my teeth on. I'll post more on those projects as they come.

Other than leather machines and leather work, I enjoy machining and general metal fabrication, industrial history, traditional woodworking, gardening, classic cars and trucks (late 40's till early 50's are my favorites).

Man, I would love to be able to spend a couple of days in your shop. I am learning everything solo mio here in northern Oklahoma City. I am just a hobbiest but I want to take everything to a professional level on a hobbiest budget. LOL. Last Year I bought a Juki straight line sewing machine (it was a steal) but it is not quite up to the heavier work that I do with sheaths and holsters. Ill keep an eye on your thread and see what I can learn. 

[awharnessshop]

I'm glad you found your way here! I'm sure your brother mutters my name when I call looking for pricker feet, channeling attachments and other random things for my Campbell! I run Pearsons, a 205 and a Campbell. I feel like the old way with the old iron is far better than the new ones! I would say your family is the "resident expert" on the good old iron in this group! 

-Andrew