RWB

Here is a saddle that I just finished. I am getting really sick of building Wades, but the next three or four are swell forks. So things are looking up. As usual I have pretty thick skin. If you see anything you don't like, then fire away. I like the criticism so don't hold back. Ross

the entire saddle tree is very likely not made of steel. Instead, what they mean by "steel tree" is that some of those old saddle had a partial steel fork. The fork was cut from two peices of wood, and then the back half of it had a steel horn and fork inset into the wood of the fork. But the entire tree isn't steel. Ross

I was thinking the same thing, Bruce. Huntet, When you get a new saddle, you really have to cinch up TIGHT those first, maybe ten rides. You need to mash that woolskin down to get it to conform to a horses back. And then with a brand new pad underneath it, you are going to have about cut your horse in two, to get everything to conform. New woolskin and a new pad, all that is pretty thick and squishy. Plus a 1 1/2" Five Star pad it REALLY REALLY thick. I have found that a 3/4" to 1" worth of padding is going to be plenty for the majority of horses out there. Provided your saddle fits. But if you saddle is so wide that you need a 1 1/2 inch pad, you need a narrower saddle. I would try cinching up a little tighter. Ross

Sheridan Leather Outfitters carries it. Their info should be floating around here somewhere. Ross

Cool saddle, Andy. Like the strings and fork. Neat ideas. Did you rawhide the tree at all, or is it just straight varnished hardwood? Ross

Yeah, I screwed something up, and I had to repost it. LOL Ross

I appreciate that, Tyrel. That saddle fender you did was quite a bit nicer than I can do. My flowers always look kinda blah to me. Ross

Just a chunk of scrap that I had lying around. Figured with a little extra time I would practice a little. As usual my skin is pretty thick. Tell me what you dislike. The dress cuts on the center swirl are terrible, but ho hum that's why they call it practice. Ross

Just a chunk of scrap that I had lying around. Figured with a little extra time I would practice a little. As usual my skin is pretty thick. Tell me what you dislike. The dress cuts on the center swirl are terrible, but ho hum that's why they call it practice. Ross

Tree is sold. Ross

Thanks for the details on that, Clair. I didn't think about the print screen key. Ross

Johanna, Well said. I'm sure that everyone posting on this site appreciates that coming from you. Is there any way to "lock" pictures on this site? I know some sites have a barrier of sorts to prevent people from right clicking on them and saving them to their computer. Would that be viable for this site since there are some many different people posting here? This a great place for learning and resources, but obviously it isn't cool if people are stealing stuff. Just a thought, if it doesn't work no big deal. Ross Brunk

Looks great. I like the look your saddles have. I am really sick and tired of seeing wades, but that's just a personal problem. Quick question though. Why are you double stitching you billets? Ross Brunk

4" cantle, 1 1/2 dish. Sorry thought I had put all that down. Ross

I'm offering this tree for sale. It was a trade with some cowboy that came in and I took pity on him. I'll consider any offer. I have no idea who made it or where it came from. Pretty solid little tree for someone looking to start a first saddle. All of the measurements are below. Thanks for looking. Seat- 16" Horn - 3 1/4" high, 3 1/2" cap Gullet - 7 1/2" high, 4" @ Handhold, and 6 1/4" in the front Ross Brunk 406-672-1398

Butter?? I've heard of the veggie oil thing and have to say I'm pretty skeptical, but butter? Ross

You won't have to soak the leather to long. Just so it's pliable. If it's not enough put a little more water to it. I would just soak what you need to twist, and not be to bothered about a color change. Even if you do get a little bit of a water mark (which sometimes happens) your never going to see it. Especially if you are going to clean and oil this saddle afterwards. You want a #9 copper rivet with burrs. I either grind out the old rivets or drill them out, whatever works. You will also need a rivet setter. Bob Douglas sells them. Or you might be able to go to your local Tandy store and buy both the rivets and the setter. Fenders and stirrups leathers run all different lengths. Most custom saddle makes take an inseam measurement. If I build a saddle just to sell and not for a custom order, I try to pair the length of the fenders and stirrup leathers with the length of the seat. A 14" seat typically won't fit a 40" inseam. Hope that helps Ross Brunk

I like a bench that hit me about at my waist line. That ends up being about 36-38 inches. I don't prefer anything higher than that because I'm fairly short, and I want to be able to reach all the way across my 4 foot bench. Ross

I would call Bowden saddle tree company @ www.saddletree.com. Give them a try. I would be willing to bet that they would build you one for a reasonable price. Ross

I'm not trying to start war either. Please don't misunderstand. I just was wanting to know what you meant, and with your clarification I now understand. Opinions are great. That's what makes the world go 'round. I guess I just fall into the camp that says there is no way you can make a custom saddle for less than $2,500 and still make a profit. And that's what it's all about. If I can't make money doing this well then it's a great hobby, but I would be better off working at the coal mine or for the railroad. Even at $2,500 you are not making enough to make a living doing this. So the only way to do it is get faster and use cheaper materials. The faster you go the less picky you have to be. I'm picky, and I can't bring myself to give that up. So no war just curious. Ross

Colttrainer, I would be curious as to how you would define "overpaid" for a saddle. My base price is $3,000, and that is for a rough-out or smooth-out without any stamping. I know that Keith Seidel's base is somewhere in the neighborhood of $6,500. But Keith can justify that because he has the customer base and experience that I do not. However I literally can't price a saddle lower than $3,000 considering the time and material that I have into one. Plus on top of all that, I have shop overhead, taxes, tools, advertising, and I have to make a wage that will sustain a living. Plus after all that is said and done I am still trying to build a better mouse trap. A saddle that is a little or a lot nicer than the guy down the road builds. So that means more time trying to refine my skills in the effort to give my customers a more refined product that is worthy of my price tag. So all of that to just say that I'm somewhat curious were you think the line is of not being paid enough and being overpaid for a saddle is. Ross Brunk

Looks good, King. Keep drawing and go ahead and start cutting it and trying to stamp it. No better time than the present to learn. One thing that I see that I would suggest you change, is that all of your circles are independent of one another. They need to be connected. Take a look at Bob Park's or any other accomplished stampers work, and you will see that it is all one continuous line of stem work that flows through the entire piece. Sure directions change, but you should never have a flower and stem work that is not joined somehow to the rest of it. That's one of the tough parts of flower stamping, because if it is all one unit, like it's suppose to be, then that means space becomes much harder to fill. The reason is because you can't just move one independent circle over. If you do, with it being all one continuous flow, it will distort the entire design. Hope that helps. Keep drawing and practiceing it will come, and look at others work. Studying others is key. Ross Brunk www.nrcowboygear.com

Great looking saddle . Smooth lines good color. I like the horn on it. What is it, a #4 dally. Who made the tree? Ross

Nope. Latigo will always bleed. Just the nature of the leather. Ross

Hermann Oak and Thoroughbred Skirting both take Neatsfoot quite well while still slightly damp. I do it all the time. No color variation or spotting. If anything I would say it oils more evenly a little wet than bone dry. Sometimes if I'm in a hurry I will have a piece oiled Neat-laced, antiqued, and totally finished within 20 min of stamping it. It will scare the piss out of you though. As it dries it will look like it's going to spot bad, but it always evens out. Try it on scrap. If it you don't like how it turns out don't try it again, but like I said I do it all the time. Ross