The true northerner., 1871-05-26
Harness Mended without Sewing.

make and mend all my harness with
copper belt rivets. The process is so
simple, the work so secure, the time it
takes to do it so trifing, and the cost so
small, that every farmer ought to pro-
vide himself with the necessary tools,
and quit the harness maker forever. No
special training is necessary. Anybody
that makes partridge trap, or pares his
own finger nails, can make his
plow gear with rivets. | have made a
good farm bride in thirty minutes, at q
cost of fifty cents all told. | needed a
set of buggy harness, and the harness
maker proposed to accommodate me for
$25. With the harness makers aid on
the saddle and traces which had been
sewed, made set of buggy harness in
less than two rainy days, at cost of
$3.50 all told.
That the process may be understood
by any one who has never seen belt
rivet, | will explain it in full, giving the
tools necessary, and the use and price of
each one.
The outfit is as follows, and excepting
the rivets, lasts always: Five boxes
rivets. SO two punches, 40c. one set,
SOC. one harness knife, 75c. one brad
pers, 81.
lst The rivets should be IA, 3-S, ID,
SIS, rs, for various thicknesses of
leather. The IA and 3-8 boxes should
be bride rivets, No. -, which count out
400 to 800 to the pound. The other
boxes should be No. s or 9. regular
"belt rivets." My merchant retails
them at 60c. per pound box
I'd. There must be two punches, one
for the bride or No. II rivets. Any
blacksmith can make them-or they
can be brought on and retailed at 20c.
each. 1t is very convenient to have a
spring hand punch, with tubes of two
sizes but in wide work, as a backband,
the straight hammer punch, already
mentioned, is necessary.
3d. The set is the same that trim
mers use in riveting stovepipe. My
blacksmith makes the two punches and
the set for SOC.
4th. The harness knife is indispensa-
BILE. | used straight edged while,
but it was very troublesome. The knife
should be gagged to cut from half an
inch to four inches. Mine is home
made; the handle is hickory, and tho
graduated slide is fastened at any de-
sired point with wedge; the knife
part can be made at the grindstone, out
of an old piece of scythe blade, broken
pocket or shoe knife blade, or any other
thin piece of steel, which can be held
with nippers and hand wise, and
ground to shape in a few minutes.
Ny knife cuts anything from a shoe
string to a five inch backband. A good
article can be bought for about seventy
five cents.
5th. The brad-hammer needs no de-
scription. 1t should be light but heavy
enough to do any ordinary nail driving
Nv blacksmith has Just made me one
for forty cents. The latest improve
ment in hammers is cast-steel brad
and hammer combined which serves
both purposes admirably. and is very
convenient.
9th. The trimmer's nippers are very
necessary If a brad is too short nc
harm can be done; but if it is too Ions
an inexperienced hand is apt to try tC
brad it down anyhow. The result is the
brad is bent, an ugly, rough lump OF {
head made, and generally, the hare
hammering necessary forces the heac
end of the brad through the leather OF
the other side, and the joint is worth
less. This is all avoided by cutting the
rivet down to the right length by the
nippers before the hammer touches 1t
These same trimmer's nippers are yer,
useful for drawing any kind Of a nail
twisting wire bands on split plow han
dies, etc.
Now, having described the tool
necessary, | will describe the process
Two rivets are enough for almost an.
ioint in brides, buggy harness, lines
etc. The pieces are cut with the gauge'
knife Tapped about an inch; two hole
are punched on piece of lead, or
hard piece of wood, with the hand o
hammer punch, as the case may be tn
rivets are put in from the under sid
with the head end always toward tn
horse, by the way, the BRAIDED end Nigh
rub the skin off ) piece of solid iron
provided to brad on / use six inche
of old railroad bar J the burs are no'
put on, the set is used to compact tn
leather and tighten the burs down tn
nippers are used to cut the rivets to tn
right length if it is too long, it is brad
ed down by few light taps of the bra'
hammer, and the new head smoothe
down by few light taps Of the drvin
end of the hammer, and the joint
complete and will never give way til
the leather rots and it is all done be
fore you could make the holes with tn
awl, if you had the end ready, or 1t
done not less than three times Will
Won are sewing, after you get the en-
and holes ready, and it can't come on
till the piece rots, which is long enoug
for anything to last.
One caution is necessary: beginne
is very apt to brad too hard, and t
drive the set too hard, by which mean
the dead end of the rivet is force
through the leather on the under side
and the joint just unbuttons and
worthless.
OF course this brading work can
make a good joint out of mean or flank
leather, but twill make joint stronge
than any other part of the leather, an
in less time than it will take to make