Finally Made My Own Stitching Pony

[Ryan Barto]

Finally got around to making my own stitching pony. The small one that I bought from Tandy a few years ago just wasn't cutting it anymore. This one is just the right height for me, so I can clamp it to the top of my work bench and stitch standing up or sit with it under my legs and have it right at chest level. No more sore back from stooping or hunching over. I bought everything in 1 trip to Lowes (the leather was 2/3oz that I had lying around). Total cost was less than $25 and took me about 2 hours with a hand saw and miter box. I chose not to seal it because I'm lazy.

[immiketoo]

That clinches it. I'm making my own tomorrow!!! Nice job and I like the stamp.

[bluesman1951]

I like this a lot . In fact even though I have a very nice sit down stitching horse ,I would buy one of these if the price was right . As a long time hand stitcher the only down side I see to this is your knob is going to catch a long string a million times. Sewing short stuff wallets and stuff will be a breeze . Send me a private message if you want to sell me one . Well done sir ,nice job . I am interested in one . Bill

[volpert]

nice work!

[Ryan Barto]

Thanks everyone for the compliments. Bluesman, I agree with you about the knob catching the string. I'm not concerned about it, since as you said, it wouldn't be much of an issue with shorter items like wallets and that is all I plan on stitching right now. I don't have any plans on selling these as the cost of shipping would skyrocket the price, but they are extremely easy to make with a miter box, saw, and electric drill.

Parts list:

1x4 Pine board - 6 foot

3" brass door hinge (item 308904 at lowes comes with the perfect length screws and is the cheapest one I could find)

Utility compression spring #224

5/16"-18 Bar Knob (found in the "hard to find" drawers in the nuts and bolts section)

5/16"-18 4" Carriage Bolt

5/16" Fender Washer

5/16"-18 hex nut

2" wood screws (I needed 6)

1" wood screws (I used 4)

Pack of .75" upholstery nails

2/3 oz leather cut to 3.5" x 9"

Find out how tall you want the arms of the clamp. I'm a relatively tall guy and made mine 18" tall. (Much taller and you may need to buy an 8' board). The Base is 16" long, the two pieces between the arms at the base are 3.5" tall each and the angled pieces that make the clamp at the top of the arms are 3" each. The spring goes over the bolt in between the arms and the hex nut gets screwed the entire way down the bolt before sliding the bolt through in order to have the right length sicking out for the handle to clamp securely. The hole for the tightening bolt is about 7" up the arms from the base.

I think with those measurements, everyone should be able to figure out how to put it together. Just remember that the arm with hinge the needs to be able to swing, so only attach it to the unit through the hinge. Everything else is glued down to the base with contact cement (what I had available) and then screwed down. The angled jaw pieces at the top of the arms are screwed to the arm with the 1" screws. Screw them in through the outside to keep the screw head from making marks on what you are clamping.

The best part about this is that you can make it exactly the height you need to keep your back from hurting.

I hope this info helps anyone who wants to make one and if any of it doesn't make sense, just let me know.

Thanks,

Ryan

[Horrrk]

Hi Ryan..

Nice work with the stitching pony and also with the quick write up for those wishing to make one..

You've ended up with a better looking pony than some for sale out there already, so I'd expect more people, as well as Bill asking about you selling them..

Hope it serves you well..

Regards

Phil

[Texas Rancher]

The string catching on the knob is an easy fix. Just cut a triangle piece of wood that mounts under and extends just past the end of the bolt. Sand and round the edges and and glue or screw it in place. If you have a router and can sink the triangle a 1/16 of an inch even better. I had the same problem on my stitching pony and it was well worth doing. That is a nice looking pony and you will really get a lot of use out of it.

[immiketoo]

OK, here's mine. I am clearly NOT a woodworker, but I believe this will be serviceable. I need a better screw handle but this will do for now. Thanks Ryan for the inspiration!

Edited October 3, 2012 by immiketoo

[Horrrk]

OK, here's mine. I am clearly NOT a woodworker, but I believe this will be serviceable. I need a better screw handle but this will do for now. Thanks Ryan for the inspiration!

Hi Mike..looks like it'll do the job, nicely..

Looking at your pics, made me wonder if one of those quick release spindle nuts from a pushbike (cycle) wouldn't do the job for locking the clamp together.. Spin it to tighten and then pull the lever over for final lockdown and vice versa to release the work..

Just food for thought..

Regards

Phil

[immiketoo]

That's not a bad idea Phil! I was considering just making a wood lever that would attach to the large nut. T-handle fashion. I'll have to give your idea some thought though.

[Ryan Barto]

Nicely done! I'm glad my post got the gears turning on some new ideas for these.

[lwm803]

I am new to the group and have been in the lurking/learning mode so this is my first post here.

I have recently developed a renewed interest in leather working and being unable to locate my old Tandy lacing pony I decided to build my own based on Tandy's latest version. Never having actually seen one, I loosely copied the online pics and specs.

I have yet to actually use it for anything and still need to cover the jaws with leather but it was the mention of a cam action clamping

nut that inspired me to post what I used. It is a cam clamp from Rockler Woodworking and Hardware.

I was tempted to hinge one side of my clamp but decided to give this design a try, as it will be easy enough to add a hinge later if I do not like it as it is.

[electrathon]

One issue I see with how these are set up is the two arms need to be spaced slightly wider at the bottom than at the top. The way they are set up when you spread them and slide the leather in, the bottom of the clamp will hold but the top of the clamp will be loose. This causes the piece you are trying to secure to be loose along the stitching area but tight two inches lower. Change the angle of the arms (or angle the jaws wider at the bottom) and you will find you can securely hold the stitch line.

I speak from experience. The first pony I made clamped so nice and straight out in the shop, then I went in and clamped a wallet in it...

Aaron

[St8LineGunsmith]

I found plans for a stitching horse that i would like to build but i have limited space in my work area so a stitching pony like this would be more practical

I think I will build this design.

any one who would like the file for the stitching horse PM me your Email address and I will send the file to you.

[lwm803]

One issue I see with how these are set up is the two arms need to be spaced slightly wider at the bottom than at the top. The way they are set up when you spread them and slide the leather in, the bottom of the clamp will hold but the top of the clamp will be loose. This causes the piece you are trying to secure to be loose along the stitching area but tight two inches lower. Change the angle of the arms (or angle the jaws wider at the bottom) and you will find you can securely hold the stitch line.

I speak from experience. The first pony I made clamped so nice and straight out in the shop, then I went in and clamped a wallet in it...

Aaron

That's a good point. I put mine together with screws only (no glue) in anticipation of future modifications. I had already decided that I need to make a thicker spacer block to compensate for the thickness of the leather padding that I will be adding for the jaws but had yet to consider the thickness of the project itself. Now I think I will make that block, not only thicker, but tapered a bit as well to add a bit of negative camber to the jaws. I still might add a hinge to one side if the "self holding" feature of this design proves to be more trouble than it is worth (requires the spreader block to open the jaws).

The one Ryan built is very likely the better design.

[Horrrk]

That's not a bad idea Phil! I was considering just making a wood lever that would attach to the large nut. T-handle fashion. I'll have to give your idea some thought though.

I've just been out for the afternoon with my good lady and I've come back, to see that Iwm803 has already posted pics of the type of quick release I mentioned earlier.. lol..

In fact he's posted it on this thread too..

Nicely done! I'm glad my post got the gears turning on some new ideas for these.

It certainly has Ryan.. It's all good and I think it helps others along who suddenly realise that it's something they can do for themselves....

I am new to the group and have been in the lurking/learning mode so this is my first post here.

I have recently developed a renewed interest in leather working and being unable to locate my old Tandy lacing pony I decided to build my own based on Tandy's latest version. Never having actually seen one, I loosely copied the online pics and specs.

I have yet to actually use it for anything and still need to cover the jaws with leather but it was the mention of a cam action clamping

nut that inspired me to post what I used. It is a cam clamp from Rockler Woodworking and Hardware.

I was tempted to hinge one side of my clamp but decided to give this design a try, as it will be easy enough to add a hinge later if I do not like it as it is.

Welcome to the forum Iwm803..I see you're using a similar type of clamp on your pony, which I mentioned earlier in the thread.. You'll have to let us know how you find it, as far as ease of use and adjustability, etc..

Regards

Phil

[immiketoo]

I clamped a few different things in mine last night, and I found that they were held well as long as I tightened the bolt enough. I havent tried stitching anything yet and I am not sure I will like it. I guess we'll see on my next holster.

[Horrrk]

One issue I see with how these are set up is the two arms need to be spaced slightly wider at the bottom than at the top. The way they are set up when you spread them and slide the leather in, the bottom of the clamp will hold but the top of the clamp will be loose. This causes the piece you are trying to secure to be loose along the stitching area but tight two inches lower. Change the angle of the arms (or angle the jaws wider at the bottom) and you will find you can securely hold the stitch line.

I speak from experience. The first pony I made clamped so nice and straight out in the shop, then I went in and clamped a wallet in it...

Aaron

Good point Aaron..

The effect will vary, down to the length or rather height of the jaws..if there's only an inch or so of jaw height, then it will be minimised too..

At least you learnt from the experience..

Regards

Phil

[lwm803]

This discussion finally got me in gear to go ahead and modify the stitching pony that I built. I realized early on that I needed to widen the spacer block at the bottom of the clamp arms to make room for padded jaws. Based on suggestions in this thread I not only made the new block wider but also angled the sides to give the arms some negative camber, I also resurfaced the clamp jaws for even more camber. Of course these mods called for a longer clamp bolt and a wider spreader block, but I got'er done. I still need to pad the jaws when I run across some thin veg tan scraps.

[LeatherSmith68]

This discussion finally got me in gear to go ahead and modify the stitching pony that I built. I realized early on that I needed to widen the spacer block at the bottom of the clamp arms to make room for padded jaws. Based on suggestions in this thread I not only made the new block wider but also angled the sides to give the arms some negative camber, I also resurfaced the clamp jaws for even more camber. Of course these mods called for a longer clamp bolt and a wider spreader block, but I got'er done. I still need to pad the jaws when I run across some thin veg tan scraps.

lwn803 really like your pony. Was wonder if you could tell me what you used for the "clamp or what some use a bolt". Looks like you have a lever style handle to clamp the jaws.

[Horrrk]

lwn803 really like your pony. Was wonder if you could tell me what you used for the "clamp or what some use a bolt". Looks like you have a lever style handle to clamp the jaws.

The clamp lwm used is this one..

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10602

Hope that helps..

Regards

Phil

[lwm803]

lwn803 really like your pony. Was wonder if you could tell me what you used for the "clamp or what some use a bolt". Looks like you have a lever style handle to clamp the jaws.

Thanks, based on the limited use so far the pony seems to work very well. The clamp nut, as Phil replied, is from Rockler.com, other than that I just used a 5/16" carriage bolt. It is a cam action lever nut that I already had laying around the shop, I use two of the same clamp nuts to position/hold the fence on my drill press.

[RedFlag]

New member to this forum. Had a go at leatherworking a few years ago when a shoemaker friend gave some scraps. I didn't have a stiching pony then, and found I needed more hands than I had available. Finally got round to re-starting this hobby and knew the main tool I needed was a stiching pony. Started work on one today based on the tips in this thread. I've managed to finish most of the construction and hope to finish it off tomorrow. When it is done I will try to upload a photo.

Thanks for all the tips and advice.

Edited July 6, 2013 by RedFlag

[Renoir]

I recently made my own pony too

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56285539@N06/sets/72157635258004549/

Adding a couple of foam blocks (I grabbed some of my wife's cosmetic foam wedges) gives a really handy place to shove the needles when pausing. I also drilled a 4mm hole and padded with foam to put the awl somewhere.

I had the 'catching' problem with the thread loop - a large spare needle shoved in at an angle fixed it.

Interesting to see all the variations!

[kellysomer]

This is my first post on this site, so hello from Hampshire, England. I couldn't resist replying to say thanks so much for this tutorial, this is the first thing i have made in wood since school, and that was 16 years ago! It turned out lovely, not quite as tidy as the original one posted but it works and its not bad for a girl!!

Thanks again.

Edited September 8, 2013 by kellysomer