Anyone Know Who Made This Machine? I'm Stumped!

[Woodentop]

Hi,

I cannot find any info at all for this 'Heritage Tools Arthur' snap press, where can I get dies and spares from? Any help much appreciated.

Cheers

John

[LNLeather]

There is more on the handle... did you notice?

Heritage Tools Arthur IL. (Illinois)

I found a Heritage® Foot Press at Weaver Leather... might be they bought

the design for the press from the Heritage Tool company that doesn't exist any more?

Maybe their parts will fit?

Heritage® Foot Press

I think I would try talking with Weaver Leather about your press?

Edited July 6, 2014 by LNLeather

[Itch]

If you contact Weaver ask for Jackie in the fab shop.. Very knowledgeable we have a few presses around here and the anvils will all pretty much fit the other machines.. Good Luck.......

[Woodentop]

Hi,

Thanks very much for the advice, I'll give them a call.

Cheers john

[Kevin]

Mast Harness Shop had Heritage Tools and when their business got too big Weaver's stepped in and bought them out.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

"Mast Harness Shop had Heritage Tools and when their business got too big Weaver's stepped in and bought them out."

I remember the day I heard about that. I wanted to cry. I loved Masts and bought most of my harness hardware from them. They were constantly working to reproduce old patterns of both hardware and harness making equipment that hadn't been available for years. It was a sad day when Weavers bought them out.

[Kevin]

Agreed, but Weaver's has done alot for us too, before them if you wanted hardware at a decent price you had to buy 100 pieces. It took me 20 yr.s to use up the 1 1/2" brass rings somebody ordered.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

And if you want hardware at a decent price, you STILL have to buy a hundred pieces! Weavers has the highest prices in the industry and I'm buying less from than ever before. Don't get me wrong. . . I'm glad they're there and customer service is pretty good. I call them, place my order, and they ship the next day. With one of my other suppliers, It's taken nearly two weeks to get an order. They're Amish and don't take cc and don't have a phone in the shop. You either have to mail the order or leave a message and they call you back. And they have a much more limited selection than Weavers. But if I need only harness hardware and I don't need it within a few days, I'll order from them. If I need fill-in leather or saddlery hardware, I do order from Weavers. I know we're all in business to make a profit, but I feel Weavers really raised their prices after they bought Mast's. Not to turn this into a Weaver's bashing, because they've done the industry a lot of good, but to stay profitable I buy wherever is cheapest, if the quality is equal.

[Kevin]

Remember, the Weavers don't own Weaver's anymore, they are just the front now. It seems like they have tried to keep changes to a minimum, but they do experiment around some. For a while they were shipping leather shrink wrapped in plastic, but I got some the other day and they've gone back to boxes. I used to use their "english bridle leather" for halter repair, but it got too soft and fleshy in the middle, so now I use the Hermann Oak and buy sides which is very wasteful for me. It sounds like I'm bashing, but I buy probably seventy five percent of my materials from them.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

I did not know that Weavers is not owned by Weavers anymore! Guess I've been living under a rock. I did not like the plastic wrapping either. I like it wrapped in brown paper, so I can use it for patterns. I see your specialty is English tack; I would imagine there is a lot of that kind of work out east. It is virtually non-existent here. I doubt if I get more than $500 worth of English work in a year, and that's all repair work. Absolutely nobody around here would pay big bucks for quality custom English tack. Of course, there are fewer all the time who will pay it for western tack! Do you like HO English bridle? I've only used W & C and some of Weavers through the years, whatever they were handling at the time. All of it left a lot to be desired. If the English bridle that you say got too soft was Chahin's, I know their harness leather tends to be kind of mushy.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Big Sioux Saddlery

[Kevin]

Funny thing is, I learned to build saddles in Whitewood, SD, I never even would have considered working on English tack, as in the thought just never would have even occurred to me, but life happens. When I quit my job in '89, a guy from Texas that had been building the bronc saddles at Barstow Pro Rodeo came and took my place. Turns out he worked for the saddle school I went to and had taught saddlemaking at Pine Ridge. He had also lived in Whitewood right next to where I had lived (at a different time). Then I went back to work at the same place and we worked together for 20 years.