Stitching Horse/Pony?

Alan G. said:
I made this for about $10 and less than an hour of work. Tall enough to put on my chair but short enough for some tables.
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Alan,
I've read that some guys find wing nuts tend to catch the thread while stitching, do you find it to be the case?
 
Not the wing nut, but the end of the bolt does. It would probably be better with a shorter bolt but it really isn't that big of a deal. I don't stitch all the time though so maybe I just don't use it enough to be bothered by it.
 
Ian Atkinson from Leodis Leather uses spring clamps on his Tandy Pony. I believe his stripped, but it would work if that bolt gets to be annoying.
 
Pony plan...

In the tutorial section of the Wild Rose Trading Co. there is a complete Pony project.
 
Zaper said:
Pony plan...

In the tutorial section of the Wild Rose Trading Co. there is a complete Pony project.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the email my man. Just because I didn't have trouble sewing my first sheath doesn't mean I don't want the pony. ;)

Plus working with wood is one of my very favorite things. Win/win.
 
I have gone back and forth thinking about using a pony. I haven't as of yet. It would probably make my life easier, but I would worry about it marring my leather...
 
I made my own. I saddle stitch and like having the workpiece in a vise. And a lot of times I get some fun out of building tools/equipment. I didn't want to mess with wing nuts and wanted a quick lock/release set up so this is what I built. Works like a charm. The additional hole is so I can orient the jaws horizontally if needed as well.






 
Marc,
that's a good idea to have it on a pivoting block to change angle for comfort:thumbup:
 
One thing I've noticed going over a bunch of pictures of commercially and amateur built ponies is that the thickness of the clamping surface seems to vary greatly.

My newbie guess would be that larger, lumpier projects would be better held in clamps like "a" picured bellow; and thiner, flatter projects would be better held with "b" pictured below.


For the folks with a lot of experience, is there one thickness you prefer?





 
You may be right about lumpier projects and clamp A. I think most of the one's I've seen tend to use the wider clamping surfaces because it spreads the clamping force over a wider area. I would think this makes it less likely to leave clamp impressions in the workpiece. Also with a wider grip it makes the workpiece less likely to shift in the clamp and possibly marring or marking the work. Just about all the ponies/horses I've seen have the clamp blocks glued and/or screwed to the upright arms. I suppose you could make a set of wide clamps and narrow clamps that attach to the vertical pieces by screws or other removable means so you could swap them when necessary.
 
i4Marc, that's gotta be the most trick horse I've seen. Love the design. Do you have issues with the thread getting wrapped up in the hardware at all? Yours looks pretty clean, but some folks have problems with the thread wrapping around the wingnuts and bolts.
 
I built this 20 years ago and have stitched miles of thread on here. If you hand stitch this is the most comfortable way to go. I used the plans in the back of the Tandy, Al Stolhman How to Hand Stitch book.
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Another impressive example. Very nice. I don't think I could go without a back of some sort, too many spine issues, but I bet I could still sew on that for a while without too much trouble.

Thanks for posting it. Do you sew outside, or is that just for the pic? I like to carve wood outside sometimes. It's a really nice environment for craft work.
 
I sew in front of the TV most of the time. I was just a nice day today, and shot a few pics.
 
Both of those pony's are really nice. I use the pony which is sold at Tandy. Over time one of the uprights have cracked along its length. It's not the best quality but it works. I wish someone would make and sell a better quality pony where one of the uprights pivot into the other to hold the work, rather than the Tandy design where the wood upright is bent into the clamping mode by tightening the fasteners.

Mike L.
 
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