Since sewing leather sheaths whilst holding them between one’s knees is a huge pain in all kinds of regions, I have decided to bite the bullet and build myself a small stitching pony. It is very simple, but, as usual, it took me way more time to make than it should have. Here it is for you to admire.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
It is made from reclaimed firewood, so I have spent a lot of time sanding of splinters. The “H” formed base is for stability, but the two planks are only fixed with one screw each and tightened only with a winged nut. That way I can loosen them, and fold them so the pony can be put out of the way and leaned against a wall when not in use, together with other useless junk I posess, like painter’s easel.
You can also see that I have bought a suitcase for my leatherworking tools. It is already full to the brim and I have barely begun :(.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Jaws are covered with leather, here it is not fully trimmed yet. You can admire the high precisisn’t with which I am usually assembling these tools.
The right jaw is fixed, the left jaw swivels on a hinge. They are tightened via one long screw with a winged nut. The screw is deliberately very loose, so it cannot be overtightened.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
A piece of wedge-shaped hardwood with slits slides on two screws and under the winged nut, allowing for a sort of easy quick-tighten and -release tool.
It works as it should. Like all tools, it gets some getting used to, but it does make the leather stitching several orders of magnitude easier. I have tested it today and I was definitively a lot quicker. And my back hurt less.
Expect some leatherwork in future too. Hopefully.
The stitching pony looks really practical. Tool boxes always fill up, it’s a universal rule.
Very nice.
With some wider jaws you could sharpen, true, and set handsaws. With narrower jaws you might file or grind knife bolsters.
Traditional woodworkers had a similar idea but with a seat attached. Sitting eases strain and adds mass that helps everything stay firmly fixed and much less likely to wobble or vibrate.
If I remember right various woodworkers used a device generally described as a ‘horse’ which featured a seat and clamping device. Often the clamping is worked by the legs. As in a ‘cooper’s horse’ , a shingle-maker’s horse’, or simply a ‘shaving horse’. A mechanical, screw driven, clamp seems more practical for stitching but seating, using your weight for stability, seems like an improvement IMHO.
Very clever, Charly. Well-done and well made.