alruff94 Report post Posted November 5, 2015 Hello all! I am very, very new to all aspects of leather making. I have mainly been working on tooling and personalizing already made breast collars and headstalls for myself and family, but my goal is to eventually make saddles. With that out there, I'm wondering if some one would be able to guide me in the right direction as to what tools I will be needing. I have the basics used mainly for carving and will need some time to acquire everything needed for saddle making, but knowing where to start would be the best thing for me now! Also, I'm wondering if it's possible to completely remake an already existing saddle? I have an older saddle that I absolutely LOVE and use everyday. Lately, I've been having to put more and more repairs into it. I'm wondering if it's possible to tear down the saddle, use the parts taken off as patterns and build back up with the same tree? Is that crazy? Any help/advice/tips would be absolutely wonderful! Thanks so very much and God bless! Abby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tugadude Report post Posted November 5, 2015 Not a saddle maker, so others can chime in, but it seems reasonable that you could use an existing saddle as a pattern. As far as tools, take a look at the beginners forum. There are numerous threads covering the basics. The search function is your friend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Josh Ashman Report post Posted November 6, 2015 Saddle making is more than just making a large leather project and there are all manner of specialized tools that can make it easier. I recommend getting the Al Stohlman saddle books, if you don't want to buy all 3 then at least get volume 1 and start by reading it. Repairing saddles is a great way to learn how things are done and develop your own ideas on what you think works and doesn't work. Many of the parts of a saddle are fit in place and would be difficult, if not impossible to pull off an existing saddle, lay flat, cut a pattern from and reinstall. I'm thinking specifically of the seat, it just doesn't work that way. However you could certainly use the existing piece to get you a starting place then go from there. Good luck, Josh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
