stitching pony design questions

[dans79]

Even though the raw materials for my maul have arrived , it's still far too cold in the shop to even think about machining it.  Thus, I've been learning about stitching ponies as I know I will need one, and i have a few questions.

1.  how wide should the jaws be?  I've seen them as narrow as 2 inches and as wide as 8. Is it just personal preference?
2. what's with the 360 degree rotating base?  I understand being able to tilt forward & back for ergonomic reasons, but I don't get the rotation, nor have I seen someone actually using this feature.

[chuck123wapati]

I built one and here are my suggestions. Mine is 3" works fine. width is dependent upon what you make  and personal preference i think. Mine is made so i can sit on a chair and sit on the base to use it so its short not good ! it needs enough space lengthwise between the jaws for what you think you may be sewing. The top jaw angle is important because it needs to be angled enough so you can use your awl close to the jaws without hitting your hand or haft plus you need the clearance for sewing also. I would add the rotating base i have to turn my whole thing around or turn the work piece plus the old saying its better to have it and not need it...... lastly anything sticking out like the jaw tightening setup will catch your sewing thread every time so you have to figure that out as well... good luck and welcome to the more more things to make club.

There is a stitching pony pattern in  Stohlmans "the Art of Hand Sewing" also. 

[fredk]

44 minutes ago, dans79 said:

1.  how wide should the jaws be?  I've seen them as narrow as 2 inches and as wide as 8. Is it just personal preference?

Personal preference plus what you are making. My two have jaws about 3 or 4 inches long. Sometimes I need to clamp up a long piece of sewing work between two pieces of stick, each about 6 inches, to support it, then into the jaws. But the 3 or 4 inches or so is adequate for most jobs

 

46 minutes ago, dans79 said:

1.  
2. what's with the 360 degree rotating base?  I understand being able to tilt forward & back for ergonomic reasons, but I don't get the rotation, nor have I seen someone actually using this feature.

Not exactly used the 360, but 180, to turn the item still clamped up around to get to the other side without disturbing everything. Also useful for just turning at an angle to get a clearer view or something of one side of the work piece. Or to turn the head at an angle which suits your style of sewing. I think I usually use mine set to an angle of about 3 or 5 degrees to the left. Only one of my clamps swivels around. Most useful tho

[Klara]

Mine (one for the chair, to sit on the base) does not rotate and I never thought I needed the feature. The jaws are probably 2 or 3 inches wide - I just used what wood I had. If the jaws are narrower, you just need to move the piece more often. If they are too long, working might become uncomfortable  - I don't see myself bending over 20 cm jaws.

What is more important is the space between the jaws, both the opening and the height. The more space, the bigger the item you can sew. I put in the bolt too high because I was only thinking about dog collars at the time. When I wanted to make biggish bags, I first made a French-style saddler's clam...

 

[dans79]

27 minutes ago, Klara said:

What is more important is the space between the jaws, both the opening and the height. 

I planed on making mine the type thats sits on the floor,  you put your feed on. 

You do bring another question to mind, what's a good jaw opening distance?   

[Spyros]

I think the only limitation as to the width of the jaw is really your skills.  It's very hard to make a big jaw that is perfectly aligned and applies exactly the same pressure at both ends, especially a couple of years later, unless you're some master woodworker and your materials are completely stable. 

[dans79]

8 minutes ago, Spyros said:

unless you're some master woodworker and your materials are completely stable. 

I'm nowhere close to a master, but I've done paid work before.  This is a simple side table  a coworker commissioned me to make several years back.

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by dans79

[dikman]

 

This may answer some of your questions.

[fredk]

1 hour ago, dans79 said:

 .. .  what's a good jaw opening distance?   

Depends on what you will be making; small items such as wallets, or even larger items such as shoulder bags, no more than about 2.5 to 3 inches will suffice

[Spyros]

43 minutes ago, dans79 said:

I'm nowhere close to a master, but I've done paid work before.  This is a simple side table  a coworker commissioned me to make several years back.

 

Thats beautiful

What I meant is, if you make a jaw that is even slightly askew because of wood movement or because of looseness the hinge or whatever reason, and leaves even a 1-2 mm gap at one end of the jaw, chances are you're never gonna use that end.  Because it's just not going to hold your piece as firmly at that end and it will start moving around as you're stitching it.  And the bigger the jaw, the bigger the chances of that happening, even if you're really good at woodworking (which you clearly are)