1st Lt. Albert Saguto of the Perthshire Home Guard, 1941, and his wife, Miriam, "out together dancing...cheek to cheek."

What a night, a beautiful girl, a good looking guy, on the dance floor. A great time of life! You go Lt. May the force be with you.
Life is good and all is as it should be.
God Bless
Love Ya
The Waller Clan

PS I would like a hard copy of this picture for my mantal.

Dec. 1941...Home Guards Corporal P.F. Oakley, Lt. Saguto, and HG Auxillery Miriam Saguto pool their ration books for a modest celebration of the American entry into the war.

Several things I've been doing that are not connected with bootmaking that I thought I would share with the forum...





Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

My weekends are spent in the "sugar shack"...



Pulled pork cooked low and slow 225°-240° with hickory for 9 hrs+ tender and juicy.




Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

DW, the woodworking is beautiful. It's not fair for someone to have so many talents!

Jenny

DW,

Nice looking pulled pork!

Is that a double smoker in the top picture? Fire in the little side and your pork in the other?

Also, What is the second picture of? Thanks Joel

Jenny,

Thanks! Of course up to a certain point where it might start to slip into what some might call "Art," it's all the same thing.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Joel,

There's a WSM on the left--a bullet smoker--which is considered the best smoker on the market, for the money. Uses charcoal and wood chunks or pellets for smoke flavor. Mostly used for low and slow, long cooks where stability of temperatures is a necessity if you are going to get any sleep at all.

And the smoker you asked about is an "offset" smoker that wants to be like the professional models. This one is a Chargriller. It will smoke anything with charcoal and wood chunks and some even use it burning "sticks" like the big boys. It needs constant watching to regulate temps and although it can do long cooks it will need to be tended and refueled. The Chargriller has cast iron grates in the main chamber and an adjustable ash pan in there as well, so you can grill steaks and brats and so forth real easily. I like to do smoked chicken and country style ribs on it. And yes, the fire is built in the small "offset" firebox to the right of the main chamber and the food, in the main chamber, is subject to a cooler smoke coming from the offset--usually around 240° for as long as it takes. I sometimes do smoked cheese in the main chamber too.

There's also an old Weber kettle there but I only use it as a place to light the charcoal safely.

I don't know what you are referring to as the "second picture." The second picture is the pulled pork on a counter top with my wife's handmade copper backsplash behind it. She used one of my old stitch patterns to punch the copper. It kind of looks like two photos there but it's really only one...

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

(Message edited by dw on June 25, 2007)

DW,

Did you use what they refer to as a Boston Butt for the pulled pork? My neighbor slow cooked one of those the other day...excellent.

I also stewed one down in the crock pot with sauerkraut not too long ago. Good stuff.

Mark

Mark,

Good to see you back!! I was wondering where you had gotten to.

Yes, you can use "Boston Butt" although in this part of the country they have never heard of it. The name has something to do with the way it was packed for transportation back in the days of sailing ships--or so I've been told. But it is really just a portion of the shoulder. You can also buy just the shoulder which is the smaller end, I think, but it cooks up the same. I probably used shoulder. You can cook a beef chuck roast the same way and get pulled beef too.

My wife will cook one in a big cast iron pot during the winter and after pulling we will use it in Mexican dishes, mostly.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

DW,

I hadn't really gone anywhere. I've just been sitting in the corner here listening.

It looks like Robert and Tim are fielding all the tough questions. I just figured I'd jump in on the Bar-B-Q thread while they were doing all the heavy lifting.

I've been trying to perfect the Baby Back rib. I've been trying some different rubs and maranades and I've gone from using mostly mesquite to live oak for a little less smokey flavor.

I seem to never miss participating in a thread about food or beer. Is there something wrong with this picture? Am I on the wrong forum?

Mark

Mark,

I don't know...but without the necessities of life (bar-b-que and beer...and single malt scotch) we wouldn't have the energy for the trivial stuff (like making a living).

As for the right forum...if you want, I'll pm you some links to a few BBQ forums that I post to.



Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Mark

Try using Apple Wood, it's not to strong and has a really nice sweet taste to it. Joel

Hey Joel,

Thanks for the tip. I actually like the smokey taste but my wife doesn't. So you know how that goes.

I'll have to try to find some apple wood. Here on the Texas Gulf Coast we have lots of Mesquite, Hickory, Pecan and Oak but not too many apples.

Thanks,

Mark

Mark,

Pecan is said to be one of the very best smoking woods...

Mesquite is an acquired taste. If your wife has never been exposed to anything but mesquite she may like foods smoked in pecan.

BTW, I often use wood pellets made by BBQrsdelight. they come in about twenty different wood types. You simply wrap a handful in heavy duty foil, poke a pinhole in the foil, and through it on the coals. You get smoke for about 20 minutes. You can get a sample pack of several different wood types for very little money, orange, apple, cherry, pecan, hickory ...and on and on...even Jack Daniels Whiskey barrel (which is probably oak from the old barrels).

I use them a lot.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

I miss cooking over a mesquite fire...
JesseLee

Looks like lotsa great stuff gets done here aside from boots! I never been one for the limelight and was always in the background. I think I will change that. I see so much sharing of skills and ideas here, it inspires me.
Back when Lincoln was president I not only made boots, but also cuffs and spur straps. I went a bit further than that. I also made my own tooling stamps and conchos. AND, the occasional buckle..
Well I am getting back into all of that, may even make spurs again. I have started my tooling stamps which are made out of 6 inch square spikes that I found in a ghost town years ago. However, as detailed and beautiful as they are. For the life of me I can not figure how to post pics here, if I can even figger how to get 'em from the computer to here!
JesseLee

Jesse Lee,

I am attaching a word document with screen shots for attaching an image. I hope these help a bit. Try saving your image as a JPEG file and blow it down to about a quarter of the size that it comes out of your camera.

I hope this helps because I really want to see your pictures. So no more belly aching about how you can't post all of these wonderful pictures.

I realize they did not have technology like this when you were rubbin' elbows with Honest Abe but I have faith in you.



Mark

Mark

Appreciate the help. But it's still beyond me. It's the actual computer that refuses to save pics. So I have them on Kodak and can send to email, but no idea how to get em on here. There is no 'thingie'' whosit' (don't know the name) to place a picture.
Couldn't open what you sent.
now if there is a way to send the pics from Kodak, I can do it.
Jesse

Jesse Lee,

I am assuming that the digital camera is physically attached to your computer and you can browse from your email to see the camera as an additional device with the pictures; therefore, you can select them and send them in an email.

If you create the post here and follow the format \image{name of pic} when you post you will get a window that allows you to browse exactly like you would browse from email and select the picture.

Sorry I'll bet it is a version issue:


If you want you can call me and I would be happy to help if I can. I am no technical guy but my wife takes all these pictures with the digital camera and she can't get them off the camera so she makes me figure it out. And when your wife has taken her new favorite picture of the dog by the lake and can't get it onto her iPod...well you learn whatever technology you need to to make that happen.

Thanks,

Mark
Cell (713) 213-0732

Mark

This just ain't gonna happen. I am lost already, don't know what the pics are called much less where to find em other than opening them to view. I even have problems trying to send to photobucket, and my pics are awful anyway. One would have to be tuned in real good to the old stuff to get it.

So on the stamps, I guess I am going 'words'. If you have seen old stamping tools or moveable type which is bright and shiny and crisp, with total detail as if it were milled on a machine, thats my work. The stamp is polished, but the stem is left weathered as was found.

This takes super human eye/hand coordination to make an intricate pattern on a piece of steel from 3/16 to 1/4 x 3/8. I just wish I had good pics to show. I have been doing this for years as well as making small and intricate metal parts for sewing machines, guns etc.

I will also make custom old timey stamps if asked. Here is the unbelievable part. For an ornate half moon, scallopped with rays (a traditional and elaborate piece). Takes me from 10 to 20 minutes to make. So 20 minutes after starting there is a complete polish faced tool with fancy bit (non functional) on the stem and hammer head.

I'll try later to get good shots. Too frustrated. I'll send em to anyome who asks. That I can do.
Jesse

That's Ok, Jesse Lee,

Its not worth giving yourself an ulcer. But while we are on the topic of tooling I was wondering...

I have done some limited tooling. Nothing more than a few belts and fly wallets. I would like to do some tooling for a boot shaft. The material that I have used is Tandy quality belting of probably a 10oz thickness.

What would one use for doing a boot shaft. I mean what thickness and how would that differ from the Tandy quality belting veg tan?

I am just asking because it sounds like you have some pretty good experience around carving. Well it sounds like you have some pretty good experience with a lot of things.

I've been exposed to a great many skilled trades as well but that's just by virtue of being fired from so many jobs [img]http://www.thehcc.org/forum/images/old_smilies/sad.gif"%20ALT="sad[/img]

Mark

Jesse Lee,

If you want to email the photos to me I will see if I can clean them up and upload them for you.

Tim
tim@shoemakingbook.com

Mark

Some wonderful boots can be made by tooling and carving. In that area I am self taught by examining old pieces and replicating the style.
Veg tanned tooling leather in a 4/5oz. is what I have used for boots. I take it that by 'shaft', you are planning to make dress Wellingtons? In any event. Make the boots first and tool after the fact. I use boot trees when I do this. If you are doing any stitching, do that first, just tool later. If the boots are stiff to turn inside out, you may lose definition on the design. Also, some boot tops are wetted to make turning easier and then a tree set in.
Hope this helps. Things too slow here, hope to get down your way by august at least.
Jesse