Harness making

by Unknown

Fig. 187.—Chain and Leather Gig Front.

The throat lash must now be buckled on the off side and the strap passed through the loop on the near side; the noseband being buckled, the bridle is finished. It may be coated with liquid blacking or composition before it is put together, and the buckles and rosettes can be cleaned with paste and washleather or a clean soft rag.

To make a bearing rein a middle piece must be cut 6 ft. by ¾ in.; finish it and bend 2 in., making it ready for a buckle. Shave the end thin and cut it to a point; if two buckles are employed both ends must be prepared alike, but with only one buckle one end must be pricked for stitching to the ring of the round part. Cut the round parts 1⅜ in. wide and 2 ft. long; turn them down and narrow them to ¾ in. at one end, the turned-down part being 2 in. long. Turn down about 1 in. at the other end and prepare it for a buckle, shaving the point thin; then damp round the central part, bring the edges together, and cut a groove on each side to sink the stitches.

With a blunt point, open the groove before stitching and have a piece of cord thick enough to fill the inside and 1 in. longer at each end; unravel it at the ends and thin the strands by pulling off some of the material with an awl. Run one end of the cord through the bearing-rein ring for an inch and whip it round with waxed hemp so that it will be secured there.

Open the strands at the other end and put half of them on each side of the buckle tongue at the part which will be in the leather; whip this again fast to the buckle and see that it is of the right length inside the round to reach tightly from the buckle to the ring when in its place. It is now necessary to put the ring in the long bend and the buckle in the short one.

Now cut a billet 9 in. by ¾ in., and after shaving one end thin, round the other and prepare and crease it. Put it in the billet and a loop, and stitch the other end fine in the ring; stitch the round along the groove, being careful to have the thread in the centre of the groove at both sides and to catch the points of the turn-down at the ring and the point of the billet in the other end, between the edges of the round part, making two or three stitches in each, thus joining them firmly with the round part. Then with the spokeshave trim them round and neat, rub with coarse glasspaper, and finish with fine; close the edges of the groove well over the stitches and try to make it look as much as possible like one round, solid piece.

After well blacking and polishing the bearing rein, give it a coat of liquid blacking, polishing by sharp rubbing; finish neatly around the ring and buckle, crease the loops, and make one or two holes in the billets.

Now prepare the middle part. When there are two buckles, begin by punching a dozen holes within 9 in. of each end; with one buckle of course only one end is punched. Five running loops large enough to pass over the strap double must now be made, as explained. When they are finished and polished, put the two points together through one of the loops and pull that loop to within 2 in. from the top; fix a buckle on each side and two loops after each buckle with the right side out. Now run the points through the rings to the buckle and put a chape in place, fastening the buckle in about the sixth hole from the end and leaving the chape unstitched. Then pull one loop over the chape close to the buckle and the other loop down to the ring on each side.

To make the crupper, cut out the body 2 ft. by 1¾ in. and slit it for 8 in. at the strongest end; taper the other end to 1¼ in. wide and cut a 1¼-in. billet 3 ft. 9 in. long. Shave the strong end thin and round the other; cut the lay 16 in. by 1¼ in. and shave one end, rounding the other. The points of the slits and the end of the body must also be shaved, the slit points being tapered. Black and crease them all, only the top of the lay being edged.