The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1873-08-02
Harness Mended Without Sewing.

l 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 trihing, and the costs
SO small, that every farmer ought to
provide himself with the necessary
tools, and quit the harness maker for
ever No special training is necessary.
Any body that makes partridge trap,
or pares his finger nails, can make his
pillow gear with rivets. l have made a
good farm bride in thirty minutes, at
cost of fifty cents all told / needed
set of buggy harness, and the harness
maker proposed to accommodate me
for S25. 18th the harness makers aid
on the saddle and traces which had
to be sewed, l 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 a 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 - boxes
rivets, $500; 2 punches, Acc; l set,
soc; / harness knife, 75c; brad ham
mer, SOC; pair trimmers nippers
$l.OO
LIST. The rivcts should be IA, 3-S,
l-2, 5-S, 7-S, for various thicknesses of
leather. The IA and 3-S boxes should
be bride rivets. No. -, which count
out 400 to 500 to the pound. The
other boxes should be No. s or 9, regu-
lar "belt rivets" My merchant retails
them at sixty-cents per pound box.
q 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 zoe.
each 1t is very convenient to have q
spring hand punch, with tubes of two
sizes but in wide work, as backband,
the straight hammer punch, already
mentioned, is necessary
3d. The set is the same that trim
mers use in riveting stove pipe. My
blacksmith makes the two punches and
the set for fifty cents.
4th. The harness knife is indspensa-
BILE. l used a straight edge while !;
but it was very troublesome. The
knitc should be gagged to cut from
half an inch to four inches. Mine is
homemade; the handle is hickory, and
the graduated slide is fastened at any
desired point with q wedge; the knife
part can be made at the grindstone, out
of an old piece of scythe blade, brok-
en- pocket or shoe knife blade or any
other piece of steel, which can be held
with nippcrs and hand vice and
ground to shape in few minutes. My
knife cuts anything from shoestring to
five inch backband. a good article
can be bought for about seventy-fve
cents
5th. The brad hammer needs no dcs-
cription. 1t should be light, but heavy
enough to do any ordinary nail driving
My 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 nippcrs are very
necessary If brad is too short no
harm can be done; but if it is too
long, an inexperienced hand is apt to
try to brad it down any how The re-
suit is the brad is bent, an ugly, rough
lump of head made, and generally,
the hard hammering necessary, forces
the head end of the brad through the
leather on the side, and the joint is
worthless. This is all avoided by cut
ting the rivet down to the right length
by the nippers before the hammer
touches it. These same trimmer's nip
pers are very useful for drawing any
kind of nail, cutting nails, cutting
wire for fence ties twisting wire bands
on split plow handles, etc
Now having described the tools ne
cessary, l will describe the process
Two rivets are enough for almost any
joint in brides, buggy harness, lines,
etc. The pieces are cut with the guag-
ed knife; Tapped about an inch two
holes are punched on piece of lead, or
hard piece of wood, with the hand or
hammer punch, as the case may be ;
the rivets are put in from the under
side with the head end always toward
the horse, by the way, BRAIDED end
might rub the skin off y piece of solid
iron is provided to brad on; q use six
inches of an old railroad bar; the burs
are now put on, the set is used to COM
pact the leather and tighten the burs
down I; the nippers arc used to cut the
rivets to the right length if it is too
long, it is BRAIDED down by few light
taps of the brad hammer, and the
new head smoothed down by few
light taps of the driving end of the
hammer, and the joint is complete, and
will never give way till the leather
rots; and it is all done before YOU
could make the holes with the awl, if
you had the end ready or it is done
not less than three times while you are
sewing, after you get the end and
holes ready; and it can't come out till
the piece rots, which is long enough for
anything to last
One caution is necessary a beginner
is very apt to brad too hard, and to
drive the set too hard, by which means
the dead end of the rivet is forced
through the leather on the under side,
and the joint just unbuttons and is
worthless.
Of course this bradding work can't
make good joint out of mean or lanky
leather, but it will make a joint stronger
than any other part OF the leather, and
in less time than it will take to make
waxed end; and | will confdentialy
assert that no live farmer who ever
tries them will be without copper belt
rivets, nor will he ever regret having
learned most perfect short cut in the
harness business.
DON'T CROWD Your TREEs.-Few
persons escape making the great mis-