Spur Straps

[Hennessy]

when in me home country n working with various saddle n harness folk,as a lad.the rule was horse first,nothing that pricks ,scratches,lumps or bumps goes against th horse, but away from th animal allways !

[cmantz]

Here is the finished product...at least one pair. Six more to go.

I still need to put the holes in for the spurs but waiting for a larger hole punch to arrive. They didn't turn out too bad. The was my first stamping attempt...figured an decorative edge wouldn't be too hard. But I had a problem with my stamp "walking". I need a better mallet I think. Recommendations? I was thinking about waiting until mid April as Tandy is having a sale on a Al Stohlman mallet. I think she said it will be $48 with the Elite membership.

Any advice or critiques welcome...

[Josh Ashman]

Those look nice Chis, good job. I've had problems with large stamps "bouncing" a heavier mallet and better base (granite slab, steel plate, etc.) helped me. With the cam tool you used I kind of doubt that's what's happened to you though. For most of my tooling that size I use a small poly mallet on a 2" granite slab.

Good luck, Josh

[cmantz]

It is probably more like "user error ". I am using an OLD wooden mallet my husband made in like 7th grade LOL. I did figure out that I was holding it too close to the mallet end. When I moved my hand more to the end of the handle, it seemed better. Also, it might be that I am not holding the stamp correct and not hitting square. Definitely need to practice.

Question: when holding a stamp like the cam tool...should I hold it vertical or slightly tipped back? Also, what about the depth of the impressions. What is "just right"?

[cowboy bowhunter]

If I were you i would buy a Maul. From barry king, the bear man or other.

If you are making more the the straps you may want to make the L and I a but farther apart. When i saw it, it looked like a U.

[cmantz]

Yeah...boy that always comes up!. I once did some shirts for them with a drop shadow around the lettering and then stacked the year underneath. That really made you look twice. That is one of those instances in which I knew what it said but didn't take a step back and SEE how others might see it. Talk about being too close to the work to see the big picture. I never hear the end of it...in fact some of the kids got in trouble for wearing it them school! Also, one little old lady in church questioned one of the kids shirts!!!!! Really? In church?

Yeah..the maul is the next purchase. Any recommendations on style or weight?

[cowboy bowhunter]

Yeah..the maul is the next purchase. Any recommendations on style or weight?

I just got a barry king 24 oz works great for basket stamping and for tooling just dont hit it as hard.

[cmantz]

So, tooling requires lighter weight than stamping?

Does the 24 oz get heavy? I was looking at a 16 oz. at Tandy.

[Josh Ashman]

I use a 14 oz. poly mallet for stamping, a 19 oz. mallet for punching holes and slots and a 22 oz. maul for larger stamps and slots. I just checked in Weaver's catalog, buying all three would run around $70. I've been using the 14 oz. mallet for 3 or 4 years and it's about due to be replaced, for an investment of less than $20 I don't have any complaints. I do like the Barry King mallets but the Garland ones are much cheaper, they're also American made and they work good for me.

That's my 2 cents.

Have a good day,

Josh

[cmantz]

Thanks Josh...I will check them out. I am trying to get together my initial $250 order with Weaver.