Hatgi Horse Stuff: breyer tack

I am very fortunate to have talented people in my family, most of all my dad Mark, and my great-grandfather Fred (known as "Grandad" in the family).

I have had the hardest time making consistent center-ring backings on breastplates (the part that goes behind the ring, it protects the skin of the horse from getting caught in the ring/straps/etc.). Today I went over to my dad's shop, to see if he could help me figure out a solution, luckily he had some scrap copper tubing I could play with, and I made my "prototype" which kinda/sorta/not really cut through leather.

Squashed (sad) looking cutter on the right, my shaping tools,
and the leather cut out it made, not half bad for a piece of scrap tubing!

It was a little squashed to be honest, but now I had a good idea of how to make it. So I went back over about 10 minutes later, to get another piece of copper tubing. My dad said forget trying to make a million prototypes, and he beveled the copper section on his lathe.

I cannot tell you how convenient it is to have the ability to make my own tools, especially when I know the quality of the tack matters, including consistency of shape and reproduce-ability.

With a few more minutes I had my tool made:

There's nothing some channel locks can't do

Looks to be about right!

My great-grandfather is making a stitch wheel for me. He has quite a lot of watch parts from making and fixing watches through his lifetime. When I have it in hand I will post pictures. Unfortunately I cannot explain how to make one because I don't even know that, I just helped pick out a gear and gave him a tool to mount it on. The tool he is making will have interchangeable wheels (and a teeny-tiny screw to hold them in). I am very excited to have a nice stitch marker, and will post pics of comparisons against the commercially made one.

I did purchase a few tools in the last week that I am unlikely to have made...