The harness makers' illustrated manual. A practical guide ...

1 ALBEKTR,;G0Rj4 ' ' ,MANUFACTURERSANBMAKERSOFHARNESS,PADS,GI GSADDLES,ETC,CONTAININGDIRECTIONSFORSELE CTING,CUTTING,ANDPREPARINGLEATHER;TABLES OFLENGTHSANDWIDTHSFORCUTTINGTRACK,SINGLE ANDDOUBLEROAD,COUPE,COACH,EXPRESS,TEAMAN DFARMHARNESS,HALTERS,HORSEBOOTS,ETC.;EEO IPESPOEPEEPAEINGBLAOKIUGS,STAINS,OILS,AN DLEATHEEVAENISHESiHINTSONRENOVATINGANDRE PAIRINGHARNESS;NOTESONHARNESSMOUNTINGS, , ,Entered,accordingtoActofCongress, ,nllieOfficeofttieLibrarianofCongress,at Wasliington, ,COK" TestbywhichtheQualitymaybedetermined EffectofstrongAcidsinColoring ImpureOils KindsofHarnessLeather Oak,.Hemlock,andUnionTanned;theNatureofe ach HidessuitableformakingHarnessLeather Causesof''Gum,Spew,orFry" TheEffectofDampness WeightstobeselectedforallKindsofHarness Stains ComparativeValueofgoodandpoorStock HandPartLeather GrainingintheWorkshop BuffLeather LoopLeather TheNeces-sityofaMellowGrain; BuyingLeather -WeightStock UnreliabilityoftheroughBrand Backs Cropping TheUsestowhichitisput QualityofHides Splits,howdesignated TheEffectofSplittingupontheGrain Varnishing,Drying,andFinishing EnamelLeather Texture,Color,andFiiiish CareofPatentLeather WhenthebestLeatherismade ValueofScraps TheResponsibilit)'oftheCutter IllustrationofaSideofWeightStock DirectionsforCutting DividingtheSiaetothebestAdvantage ObjectionstotheSplittingMa-chine CuttingaHarnessfromoneSide IllustrationofatrimmedSide Weight Drying Howlongtosoak Test-ingStrap TrimmingtheFleshSide ApplyingTallow StrapsnottobedisturbeduntiltheWaterhasdr iedout CleaningandSlicking TheEffectofrecurrying Black-ingLeatherforaSingle-StrapHarness ResultofimproperLengths LengthofHameTugs LengthsadoptedbyprominentManufac-turers HarnessforHorsesofdifferentSizes (BreastCollar) (HameCollar)

2 TrimmingsforCarriageHarness, WantofSystem ImportanceoftheFitterandStitcherworkingi nUnison WettingtheStock SkivingandslickingtheStraps FittinguptheShaftTugs,Docks,andWinkerBra ce FinishingtheEdges PreparedTallow GumTragacarth CuttingandpreparingthePatentLeather FinishingupRounds Mak-ingDocks ^ImportanceofgoodPatterns Skillrequiredinmakingup HowtoattainthebestResults SteerHidesthebest. WeightofSidere-quired SectionalDrawings SafetyStrap SelectingStock Weightstobeused GeneralDirectionsforcuttingandfitting Pads FillingFolds Bridles,theImportanceofproperProportions Lines,Lengths Mountings, StitchingtobedonewithwhiteThread Coarsestitchingthestrongest Fittingandstitch-ingTraces FinalFinish Heavj'ornamentalTruclcHar-ness Bridles,CoachStyle WheelHarnesswithoutPads TracesandSafes,howcut LeadHarness LoinStraps Mountings PreparingtheSeatLeather PreparingtheFrame MakingJoclceys Floppingoff MakingLoops Cutti?

3 GandfittingPoints BackBands QualityofLeather MakingthePads Stuffing Materialsused PatentPads DirectionsformakingCoachPads SocketPiece,howtocut Fittingup Cut-tingFeltforthePad Stitching,etc Hair-stuffedPads Directionsformaking SoftPadillustrated CuttingTopsandSides HardPad,Directionsformaking illustrated PlainPads, PatentLoops,howmade Ad-vantagesofhandmadeLoops SelectingStock WettingtheLeather Fullnessnecessarj' Creasing BackClampIron WorkingupSidesbeforecreasing Coloringandfinishing PressedLoops,stitchingon Howtheyaremade Timeneededtopress VarietyofPatterns Thread,SizeandNumberofStrands WhiteThreadthestrongest MakinguptheThread Waxingbeforetwisting TheKindofWaxforspecificPurposes ImportanceofCareinStitching HowtheStitchesarelaid IrregularityproducedbynotdrawingtheThrea dsevenly TocausebothSidestoappearalike DirectionsforCutting Damp-eningtheLeather MakingtheStop MarkingofffortheBi:lct Fillingupandrounding BoardIron,howmade Roundingandtrimming Stain,howmade AdvantageofusingShellac ReinEnds, Winkers,StyleandFinish "Hinging" EnglishCoachBridleCuttings IllustrationsofvariousStylesofBridles Howtheyarenamed CuttingsforvariousKinds Illustration Leatherused EnglishRus-set BuifLeather UnitedStatesGovernmentHalter-^-Span-ishH alter.

4 FrenchHalter TrainingHalter BittingHalter StableHalter YankeeHalter SlipHalter TeamHalter ,Shin,Ankle,andCombinationBoots Directionsformaking IllustrationsforWeights Howmade ^Plated,closeandelectro GradesofSilverforClosePlate HowtodeterminetheQuality Elec-troPlatelessdurable,butcheaper TarnishingnotanEvidenceofImpurit}' GoldPlate Nickel ItsColorandAdvantages Brassnotpopular Oroide,itsColor Notde-sirableexceptasaBaseforGilding AluminumthemostexpensiveMetal GermanSilver,itssuperiorityasawhiteMetal CoveredMountings LeatherandComposition Leatherused Liabilitytorip Improvementsmade Rub-ber-covered Whenpatented DescriptionofProcessofManufacture Celluloid-covered DescriptionofManufac-ture Tinned XCPlate ^Japanned PatentedStyles Il-lustrationsofTerrets,Hooks, harness Trace Collar CenterBar PopularStyles PopularStyles Snaffle Dexter Hano-verian HalfCheekTrottingSnaffle Metalsused Steelnotdesirable UnreliabilityofMalleableIron Systemofnumbering Howdesignated Illustrations WoodenJockey, illustrated PatentJockey, FalseDirections CleaningtheLeatheranimportantConsiderati on Whentorepair CleaningtheSurfacebeforeoiling HowtosoftenoldLeather PureNeat's-footOilthebest CastorOil,itsqualities TallowtheonlyreliableGrease HowtoapplyGrease Gum,howtoremoveit PatentLeather -VarnishonlywillrestoretheLustre ConsumersnotacquaintedwiththePeculiariti esofStock ThegreatDestroyer CareofHarnessinStock WhiteMold Im-portanceofremovingitimmediately CleaningMountings PegsforhangingHarness Daub,howmade HowtokeepRussetStrapping TheManufacturer'sdutytohisCus-tomers DirectionsfortheCareofHarnessintheStable Mountingsnottobescoured ,Varnishes.

5 , , ,SingleHarness113 HameCollar; , ,office,salesroom, ,itstexture,strength,adaptabilityforspec ificuses;howtocut,fit,andfinish;measurmg forharness;completetablesforlengthsandwi dthsforcuttingthevariousclassesinuse,whe therforthecarriage,farm,orroad;bridles,h alters,horse-boots,mountings,bits, , ,alargeamountofinformationisfurnishedthe manufacturerandconsumer, ,stains,varnishes,polishes,etc.,havebeen testedandfoundreliable;thewholemakingame thodicalmanualindispensabletotheprogress iveharnessmaker, , , , , ,ex-clusiveofallcollateralbranches, ,607saddler};^andharnessestablishments,g ivingemploymentto23,557workmen;allbut841 weremalesabove16yearsofage;employingacap italof$13,935,961;pay-inginwages$7,046,2 07;formaterials,$16,068,-310;andproducin ggoodstothevalueof$32,-709, ,butfifthinthenumberofworkmenemployed, ,firstin" ,Ohio,Illi-nois, $299ayear,being$78belowtheaverageforthew holecoun-tryin1870,and$ ,andinviewofthisfact, ,saddlery,etc.,for7,145,370horses,1,125, 415mulesandasses,atotalof8,270,785animal s;yetthetotalvalueofproductsofayearshowb ut$4aheadforeachanimal afiguredisproportion-atelysmall,andonewh ichexplains,inpartatleast, ,thecasewouldbedifferent;butasitis,thein vestmentofafewhundreddollarsenablesamant oengageinasmallbusinesswhichreturnshimam oderateliv-ing, , ,andaddtheretoafairpercentageofprofit, , ,itwillbeoneimportantsteptowardmakingthe businessaprofitableandpleasantone.

6 ^e^THEHARNESS- makers ' ,Ishallgivesomegeneraldirectionsregardin gthevari-ouskindsofleatherused,itsadapta tiontospeci-ficgradesandpatternsofharnes s, ,"Thereisnothinglikeleather,"isanoldone, , ,close,andtotheeyeallthatcanbedesired, ' ,ofgoodcolor,andfinelyfinished, ,thegrainmaybecoarseandthefleshsidebadly cleaned,andyet,foractualwear, ,insufficientlytanned,badlycurriedwithch eapoilandtallow,stuffedtoweighheavy,blac kedwithstrongacids,whichhavepassedthroug hthegrainandrenderedithardandbrittle,ofu neventhickness,theshoul-dersthinandunfit forgeneraluse;allofwhichfaultsareofaseri ousnature,andyetalongex-perience,bywhich theeyeandtoucharesoeducatedastodetectalm ostbyintuitiondefectsotherthanthemostpro minent, ,however, ,inmostcases, ,possessinginagreaterdegreethefirm,elast icnaturenecessaryfortheproductionofharne ssleather, ,thegrainwillbecoarse,uneven,andirregula r,theneckhardandrough,theflanksthickandf labby,andtheHA&NESSLEATHfiK.^Jshouldersa ndhipsthinandbaggy;iffromayoung,well-kep tanimal,thegrainwillinmostcasesbefine,cl ose,andeven,thefleshsidesmoothandofagood color, ,but,astheycanbesoeasilydetected, ,butitisonethatcanbedetectedbycuttingast ripfromthehideandwettingthefreshly-cuted gewiththetongue:ifthecolorisuniformthrou ghout,andthecutedgepresentsasmoothandgla ssyappearance,insteadofbeingcoveredwithf inefibres, ,ontheotherhand,thecutedgepresentsafuzzy appearance,feelsharshandroughwhendry,and showsawhiteorlight-coloredstripthroughth ecentrewhenwet,itisinsufficientlytanned, , ,butitisjustasliabletoinjuryfromtheuseof strongacidblacks,which,whilegivingitadee pblackcolor, ,fleshsidestogether,andcloseitdownbe-twe entheteeth; ' , ,how-ever,theleatherisextraheavy,thistes twillbelikelytorupturethegrain,whetherth equalitybegoodorbad.

7 Butifgood, ,whichhaveburnedit,afreshly-cutedgewills howtowhatdepththeyhavepenetrated, ,itbeingverydifficult,infactalmostimposs ible,todetectthefaultuntilaftertheharnes shasbeenmadeupandexposedforatimeinthesho w-case,whenthetell-talegum-spotswillappe aronthesurface,exposingthefraud, , ,buttheycannotberelieduponunderallcircum stances;frequenthandlmgandcloseobservati onwillalonegivetheeyeandtouchthetraining necessaryfortheintelligentselectionofthe different' , ,shouldbe"solid,butnothard;mellow,butnot soft" qualitiesthatcannotbeexplained, namely,oak,hem-lock,andunion(oakandhemlo ck)tanned, ,however, ,butnotsohardashemlock,thefibreisfineran dmoredense,and,asanaturalresult,isnotsoe asilyaffectfedbywater;italsoworksupfiner ,takesamuchbetterfinish,ismoreeasilywork ed,andpossessesmoreofthequalitiesindispe nsabletotheproductionofgoodharness strengthandpliability ;ofadarkredcolor,whichgreatlyinterferesw ithitstakingagoodblack,andalsocausesthel attertoassumeadingybrownappearanceonexpo suretotheelements;thegrainismoreopenanda ppearscoarser;itwetsupquickly,anddoesnot dryoutassoftasdoesoakleather;itishardert ostitch,andisin-feriorinstrength, ,adifferencethatmakesupforthemarginin26 THEharness- makers ' "Union"leatheriseithertannedwithmixedoak andhemlockliquors,orfirsttannedwithhemlo ck,andafter-wardsretannedwithoak,thelatt eroperationgivingitamuchlightercolorthan itoriginallypossessed; ,asarule,finerthaneitheroakorhemlock,but forharnessthisleatherisinferiortooakinev eryrespect, , ,hemlockleatherismadewithmuchcare,thehid esbeingcloselyselected,welltanned, ,itgivessatisfactionwhennotbroughtintodi rectcompetitionwithoak-tannedstock.

8 But,nomatterhowmuchcaremayhavebeenex-erc ised,itisinferiortooak-tannedleatherwith whichthesamepainshavebeentaken,andtherei sbutoneconditionunderwhichitshouldre-cei vethepreference, ' 'ESStEAT' 'ityofthickness, ;thebuttoftheformerislia-bletobethickand theshoulderthin,whilethelatterwillbethic kattheheadandbelly, , ,thoughapparent-lysimple,areveryinjuriou s,astheycannotbeentirelyremoved, , ,andmanyhidesareseriouslydamagedinthisre spectbythebutcherhavingcuttheanimal'sthr oatfromeartoear, ,thoughnotaportionoftheharness-maker'sbu siness, ; :onethesoleleather,bywhichthelea-therism adefirmandhard;theothertheupperleather,b ywhichtheleatherismadepliableand2 THS; harness -MAftERs'ILLUStRAi'EDMAis'X/A f,. , ,andtherebysecureagreaterweight, , ,orwhenbeingraised, ,thereiswhatisknownastheshort-tanned,thi sleathercoilinglikeapieceoftin, ,withaloose,wrinkledgrain,orpuffedupbeyo nditsproperthickness,whichwill,uponbeing worked, , ;theuseofpooroilsandgreasecausesthe"gum, ""spew,"or"fr}-,"asitisknownindifferentl o-calities;ifproperlycurriedwithgoodoils , , ,therefore, ,reasonablyfreefromscratches,warbleorgru bholes,orcutsbythebutcher,offine,mellowt annage, ; , , ,thattheynevercutaharnessfromasingleside ,butselecttheleathercarefullyanduseaspec ificgradeorweightforeachparticularstrap.

9 ,however,buytheirleatherinsmallquantitie s, ,theyselecttheweightbestadaptedtothegrea terportionoftheirwork,andwhenlighterstoc kisneededtheyresorttothesplitting-machin e,entailingonthem-selvesextralabor,andwa stingnoinconsiderableamountofleather,bes idesmateriallyweakening30 THEharness- makers ' , ,threethick-nessesofleatherareused,which inmostcasescallsfortheuseofthesplitting- machinetopreventoverweight, ,insteadoffollowingthiscourse,theywoulda ssortthesidessoastoprovidethemselveswith afulllineofweights,fromsixtotwentypounds aside,theywouldatalltimespossessleathera daptedtoeveryrequirementexcepttheheavies ttruck- harness , ,nomatterwhatkindofharnessistobemade,and ,asarule, ,back-bands,andbreech-ing-strapsrequireh eavierleather, 'experiencewillenableanymantodetermineth eproperweightsandproportionsforhislineof business, ,whethersingleordouble, ,rangingfromfourteentosixteenpoundstothe sidefortheharnessproper,andeighttotwelve poundsforthebridles, ! ;itfitsupwell,retainsitsshape, ,whichisnowoneofthemostpopularstylesinus efortrotting-horses,ismadeupofsinglestra psthroughout, ,younghides,theweightbeingaboutsixteenpo undstothesideforallbutthebodies;these,be ingalsosingle,shouldbeofalighterweight, , ,exceptforthebridle,inordertoobtainthere qui-sitefirmnessandstrength, ,thoughitisbet-tertouseheavierweightsfor traces,hold-backs, ,thebestweightisabouteighteenpoundstoasi de;butifextraheavytracesareused,itisbett ertoselectlea-thersufficientlyheavytoall owoftheemploy-jijentofonlytwothjcknegses ,thusobviating32 THEharness- makers ' , }-weights,particularlyfortraces,hold-bac ks,back-bands,andbreeching-straps;forall otherstraps,except-ingbridles,eighteento twentypoundstoasidearegoodweights, ,beingmadeupofsinglestraps,requirestheus eofsidesweighingfromeighteentotwentypoun dseach;thebridles,however.

10 Extralargeorsmallhides,orthosetannedwith hemlock, ,and,asarule,thebellies,oratleastthelowe rportionsoftrimmedhides,answerwellforthi spur-pose;thoughthefinest,forcoachandlig hthar-ness,ismadefromsidesweighingsixtee npoundsorunder, ,thesametestsastoqualityshouldbeemployed aswithharnessleather,asitisineveryrespec tthesamewiththeexceptionthat,insteadofbe ingcoloredblack,itisbleached, ,soastoproducewhatisknownascuir-color,av erylight,almostimper-ceptiblebrown;infac t,theshadeisnearertothenaturalcoloroffin eoak-tannedleatherthananythingelse, ,verylittlestainisneededontheedgesofstra pstobringthemuptothesameshadeasthegrain; andwhereitcanbedone,theharness-makerwill findittohisadvantagetoprocureoftheleathe r-manufacturerthesamekindofstai