CHAPTER II.
HARNESS-MAKERS’ MATERIALS.
It is now proposed to give some particulars of the materials used in saddle and harness making.
The threads used in the trade are many, but the principal is waxed thread, made by the saddler himself, and used to stitch harness and straps together. By waxed thread is generally meant thread dressed with black or cobbler’s wax, but the saddler also uses thread dressed with beeswax and sometimes with white wax. The linen thread used is in various colours, yellow, red, black, white, etc., and is on reels or in hanks. Silk threads of the same colours are used for best work, such as stitching best brown saddlery, riding bridles, martingales, etc. The white and black linen thread is used for whippingin lining in panels of both gig and riding saddles, and for stitching saving pads in any thin material for light work, and also in stitching along with the red and yellow thread in making riding bridles, and all kinds of brown light work. The hemp for wax threads, of various strengths, is to be had in black, yellow, green, and white. The white hemp is considered the best and toughest, though the coloured perhaps is a little cheaper. Fine No. 15 and coarse No. 3 will probably meet all requirements.
Beeswax, as already hinted, is used to make threads for work that is light as regards both colour and substance. Single linen threads of all colours are, before using, rubbed with beeswax, which does not deaden the colour. White wax is sometimes made for brown harness by melting together white-lead and white wax; instead of the latter, the wax from best white wax candles may be used. If the wax when cold is too soft, add more white wax; if too hard, add a little more white-lead.
Black cobbler’s wax is made by melting together ½ lb. each of resin and pitch. When thoroughly mixed, remove the pan from the fire, and add one pennyworth of boiled linseed oil, or less, according to the weather. Thoroughly mix this with the other ingredients and then pour a little into cold water to test it. Let it remain for a minute and then remove it from the water, taking care to well wet the hands in doing so, or in the subsequent working it will stick to them. If it cracks when working it in the hands, it is too hard; if it pulls out properly and sticks well together, it is all right. Put it back into the water, and pour in the rest of the stuff after it. It is important that the piece tested be not put back into the pan containing the rest of the wax, as the water absorbed will evaporate and make the hot wax frothy and spongy. Gather the wax together in the water without loss of time, remove it with wet hands, and pull it fast hand over hand as quickly as possible till it attains a light golden colour. Pull off a small piece with the hands, or cut it off with wet scissors, and throw it into the water. If it floats on the surface it has been pulled enough; if it sinks, the wax requires more working. If not pulled enough, the wax is brittle, becoming tougher and better the more it is pulled. In making the wax it must be remembered that only half as much oil is required in summer as in winter. The colder the atmosphere the more oil will be required.
The quantities of ingredients mentioned will make about thirty handy lumps of wax, and as a rule a pennyworth of oil is enough in the coldest weather. If, after working it, the wax is too hard, melt it again and add more oil; if too soft, add more pitch and resin. Hard wax may be used in a way that avoids re-melting. The thread, previous to being dressed with the wax, is rubbed with tallow, over which the wax will run smooth. Cut the wax into lumps the size of a large pigeon’s egg and keep it in water.
Directions will now be given for making wax threads. So that the hemp may be kept tidy and not mixed up with the tools on the bench, place the ball of hemp in a wooden or tin box having a small hole in the centre of its lid, through which the hemp can pass. Take hold of the end of the hemp with the left hand, twist it once around the fingers, and draw it through the right hand. When a sufficient quantity has been drawn out, break the thread by rubbing it on the knee to take out the twist, at the same time giving it a sharp pull; the strands thus loosen and break in a ragged end. Throw the hemp over a nail or hook in the bench, pull it until the sides are each about 2 ft. 9 in. long, keep the hemp tight with the end in the left hand, and with the right hand spin or rub it on the knee as before to untwist the strands; then pull it sharply to break it. The more ragged the broken end is the better will be the point on the finished thread. There is now one strand 2 ft. 9 in. long and pointed; with the right hand put the points together in the left hand, and draw the hemp again over the hook, spinning and cutting it as before, and repeating the operation till the required number of strands is obtained. The number varies with the required strength, from three to sixteen.
In putting the ends of the cut hemp together, do not leave them exactly the same length; by leaving some shorter than others a nice pointed thread is obtained at the finish, fine enough to go into the eye of a needle. When the required number of strands is obtained, take a ball of wax in the right hand, and hold both ends of the thread separately in the left; draw the wax over the points two or three times to keep the ends together, taking care to keep the ends on the left of the hook twisted round the left hand, and holding them tight with the third and fourth fingers, leaving the thumb and forefinger loose to manipulate the other end in the process of twisting; the wax on the ends or points is a great help at this stage. Having an end between the thumb and finger of the left hand, set it on the knee, and spin or twist it as when cutting the hemp. The knee should be raised about 12 in. from the floor by placing the foot on a support. Continue spinning with the palm of the right hand until the thread is twisted enough. If twisted too much, it will work into knots when used in stitching. Then put the twisted side round the left hand, kept firm by the third and fourth fingers as before; and take the other side between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and spin it to the proper twist with the palm of the right hand as the other side was done. If the thread is required very smooth, twist both of the sides of the thread once round the seat-awl and draw the latter sharply backwards and forwards along the thread, all unevenness being thus smoothed away. For coarse work and repairs this is not necessary, but for best and new work the thread should always be smoothed.
To wax the thread, hold the two ends of the thread firmly in the left hand, and with the ball of wax held in the palm of the right hand, rub all along the thread, pulling the thread from around the hook into the open to enable that portion to be waxed also. Pull back the thread into its former position, and, with a piece of soft leather or the bare hand, rub the thread sharply from end to end to smooth the wax and make it even all along. The thread is then ready for use.
Yellow or white hemp thread is made with either beeswax or white wax in exactly the same manner, but the point of the thread is not dressed with white wax, being left unwaxed until the rest of the thread is finished. The end has to be pointed with black wax, which will not stick over beeswax or white wax. Black wax is the only kind that will keep the thread fast to the needles.