Saddle Construction
Learn from experts about the art of building a good saddle.
666 topics in this forum
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Rules for Straps ©Verlane Desgrange 2003 All the stress on a strap is lengthwise. Straps take more punishment than large pieces of leather. Because of that, straps need some special treatment. These rules are designed for the user's safety in mind and the longevity of the product Never stitch crosswise on a strap. It is an invitation to break exactly where the stitching is. This is the classic phrase: "Tear on the dotted line". Remove as little leather as is necessary to get the job done. That includes: Punch only the number of holes needed (but always an odd number so you have a center hole) Skive only if needed where the strap makes contact with hardware for…
Last reply by Trox, -
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I will attempt to show my meathod of puttig in a all leather ground seat.We start with the bare tree and I add risers We then skive the risers to the shape of the bars Then i add the leather strainer piece and skive it to desired shape Followed by 3 pieces on top of it Skive to shape then add cover piece and skive out final shape Hope this will help some out .I cut the hand hole and stirrup slots after the seat is streched in. Steve
Last reply by plinkercases, -
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I usually put a frog on my rear jockeys because I have never been satisfied with my attempts at lacing them together. I would appreciate any advice on completing the task including what size holes to punch, how far btwn holes, what width lace. Thank you
Last reply by Kate, -
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Verlane Desgrange graciously agreed to share her illustrations of the parts of a saddle and the proper terms to describe the pieces. Please feel free to copy or print the diagrams for your own personal use, but please respect Verlane's request not to alter or modify her drawings in any way, or to use them for commercial purposes. Thanks, everybody! Johanna SaddlepartsVerlane.doc SaddlepartsVerlane.doc
Last reply by houndsnmules, -
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I would be interested in what everyone has to say about putting in the riggin and skirts. When I start on a saddle I usually use the center of the horn and the center of the cantle as my reference points. And then when I am in the process of attaching riggin and skirts I will use a straight edge on front of the fork resting on the top of the bars and also on the back of the fork. I usually try and find a happy medium between all of these. Sometimes I am not very happy with the end result. It seems like I end up having to make some compromises. I also wonder if you should be looking at the bottom side in regards to the riggin and not so much concern about what shows u…
Last reply by BondoBobCustomSaddles, -
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I am interested in putting a loop seat in the next saddle I build but have not done this before. Just wondering if anyone could explain "how to" for me. I've got an idea, but I'm not sure how it will look. Thanks
Last reply by Mel Payne, -
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This is one from my Dad's collection. He always called it a "squaw" saddle (no offense to native Americans meant), though I don't know if that's the proper name. I'm not sure where he picked it up but it's old. He had a knack for collecting old western and ag paraphernalia mainly from the American southwest and rural west coast, and he also was around a lot of it during his years doing props and special effects in Hollywood, as he would buy or was given authentic artifacts to study or duplicate for film, and this could be one of those pieces. It appears to be a wood tree, wrapped in rawhide, and then wrapped in leather, with brass dome tacks added for embellis…
Last reply by mbnaegle, -
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I'm still extremely early in this process, but wanted to start a thread for this project as it's technically already in motion. My Dad, Conrad "Connie" Naegle, was a saddle and harness maker and leatherworker for half his working life, before pivoting towards the machinery side of the industry where our family currently makes it's living. He had inherited several family heirloom saddles and had planned on restoring them eventually (of course life gets in the way). Half are currently in OK shape needing some basic work done, and the other half are far enough gone that they would need to be totally rebuilt. His health went downhill in later life (Alzheimer's and dementia) a…
Last reply by mbnaegle, -
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I hope this is the right subforum. I grew up in our families leather machinery company, but want to learn more about saddlemaking and keep my Dad's old leather tools in use (he was a Saddle and Harness maker before getting into the equipment side of things). In particular, I'm interested in classic pre-1960's methods and construction, and eventually want to restore some family saddles. Before I jump into those projects, I'm going to try my hand at this one. This started as an 80% finished Saddle that was thrown in with some used equipment we bought. The leather wasn't cut very symmetrical and the stitching is all over the place (I'm guessing it was all hand sewn…
Last reply by mbnaegle, -
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Hi everyone! I am looking to see if anyone here is a bit of an expert on Steele saddle trees, more specifically ones used by Crates/Fabtron currently. I am trying to fit my young mare with a saddle from them and I just need a bit of guidance from someone more expert on these saddles than myself. Ideally I would like to have their Cheyenne Ranch Roper with Cantle Roll on her #7211-CR, but the website says it has a truefit reining tree in it, and from my understanding those trees are narrower through the bars, which my mare is wider. Any help would be appreciated!
Last reply by bruce johnson,
