mbnaegle

Got some more of the backstory on the Percheron saddle and tree from my Mom. A Dan Wagoner was trying to persuade Major Bradley to use draft horses for the LA mounted police for crowd control for the 1986 Olympics, as they were more stable on pavement. They diverted funds and the project never went through, but Dan bought the prototype (pictured) that my Dad made. The tree pictured above was for the same project, it just didn't fit the horse right.

Thanks! Stohlman is on the list, though I'm checking with my mom first as she might still have some of my dad's library at home. Yes the Percheron tree's going to stay on the wall. My dad passed away a couple years ago, and it's been interesting revisiting all the little details he left behind. Lots of stuff that was just "stuff" when he was around, has become much more special telling parts of his story. In a lot of ways, I kick myself for not taking more interest in his saddlemaking days when he was around, but then again he had pretty well moved on from it and most of my time with him was spent learning to build and adjust machines, fabricating, machining, and general trade skills. He tried to stay working as long as he could but his last 10 years were rough (Parkinson's and dementia), so I'm happy to have gotten as much as I did from him. Doing stuff like this is comforting as I feel like he's still there and he's got full use of his mind again, but I get to be his hands.

I did a little more deconstruction on this saddle tonight. Even though the tree feels solid overall, the tacks holding the leather onto it have corroded and rusted into the leather, and many of them are pulling out by hand. The saddle horn had some kind of wood putty or plaster to fair it out under the cheese cloth, but it's crumbling away and will need to be re-puttied. Before I re-varnish the cheese-cloth, I'm going to putty up all the holes and start fresh. The tree itself seems to have had a fair amount of use, and I'm saving the pieces coming off of it, but don't want to assume any of the leather was cut or mounted correctly. In addition to studying other saddles, do you guys have any recommendations for books on saddle design and construction? I've got the general jist of it (stirrup leathers, skirting, swells, etc.) but would like to better understand why some designs are used over others, what they're called etc. I realize this is a broad topic that takes decades of experience to understand, but I'd be glad of any starting points I can get (and like reading old technical literature!). I also found another tree similarly sized to this one. Same cheese cloth wrap, but unused. And on the topic of unused trees, I've got one more in the collection, but it's going to stay a wall hanger. I remember my Dad said it was a Percheron draft horse saddle made for the LA Mounted Police, but it didn't fit right. We've got a picture on the wall of him on a draft horse saddle that he made, but I'm not sure if it was the same job.

Thanks! That makes sense. I'll see if I can find someone with a pony to see how this tree fits.

Reading up on saddle tree construction, I think this one was made with cheese cloth and varnish (apparently done on cheaper saddles back in the day, instead of the better rawhide coverings). I'm thinking I'll stick with what it had and give it several coats of varnish.

Here's some pics of "The Leather Room" as we call it. It mainly gets used at our shop to setup samples to run through our machinery for clients. Recently, I've been going through everything getting the hand tools sorted out and stuff hung up on the walls again. The bench my dad built when he was working in Hollywood and was made to close up as a big crate to take to film set locations. Most of Dad's tools he bought off of the old timers he worked with in the 60's and 70's, like his old stitching horse and his old Landis 3, which I recently got set up again. Over the years he took parts off of it to help fix other machines for clients and it eventually became a bare frame. I found enough parts to make it complete, but am still tuning it up. I'm partial to Campbells and Union Locks, but the Landis 3 is sentimental. He also used a Campbell Lockstitch that was picked out of our inventory because we found in our company records that it was leased to Universal Studios for 50 years. We though it was fitting he would have it given his background. It's mainly been used to sew samples, but between it, the Landis 3, and the stitching horse, I should be set to do some saddle work. The horse collars and haims go back the Van Vorhees in Sacramento CA. The little jocky saddle on the wall my dad picked up when he was doing tack work on the Santa Anita race track. These mounts are from a heard of sheep my grandpa Buster had back in the day. They're an old breed going back to biblical times called "Jacobs" sheep, and were mainly characterized by their four horns. We've had people tell us they must be a weird taxidermy prank, but I can tell you they're real (the skull in the middle was mounted as proof).

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, or something was up with their machine). The seat wasn't shaped to well, and they used foam to smooth it out. I get the impression that it was someone else's first Saddle build as well, but was never finished. It's quite small so I think was either intended for a small pony, or as a display piece. I don't have a horse to put it on, but would prefer to build it as a usable saddle. I've started pulling it apart, and it hasn't gotten any better, but the tree seems fairly solid. The tree seems much older than the rest of it and seems to have more tack holes than I'd expect, so It might have been a rebuild. The woven covering is a bit loose, so once it's stripped down I want to start by refinishing the tree. I know lots of modern trees are finished in fiberglass and resin. How far back was that process used? Is there a more traditional method of finishing a tree? I'd appreciate any pointers and advise in this process.

I had one just like this years ago, but it had a metal "Mast Harness" tag on it. I agree with the above posts that it was either brought in from Mexico or overseas, likely sold through a few different supply companies. I remember the knives were an uncommon size.

Thanks Bruce! I'm glad Buster's name is still getting around.

Hi! I'm Miles Naegle from Conroe Texas. I'm new to this forum, but grew up in the industry and I've likely talked to many of you over the phone over the years. My family owns and operates a leather machinery business, but my goal joining the forum is to better my personal skills and offer advise if I can, and not to solicit my company. If anyone has any questions about leather machinery repair and adjustment in general, I'm happy to help. Most of my expertise is in needle and awl lockstitch machines (Campbells, Unions, etc.), band knife splitters, skivers, bevelers, burnishing and painting systems, strap cutters, Adlers, Jukis, and Seikos (I don't work much with the Chinese and Taiwanese cloans). I tend to focus on equipment that has OEM support and parts availability, but "parts is parts" as my dad used to say. Before getting into leather machinery, my dad (Connie Naegle) was a Saddle and Harness maker, worked in Hollywood props and special effects, and restored and reproduced vintage travel trunks. I grew up between a machine shop and a leatherworking bench, but have spent most of my career perfecting the machinery more than my own skill at the bench. Dad passed away a couple years ago, and when I'm not working on equipment, I'm hoping to become a better leatherworker. While I'm interested in all kinds of leatherwork, Saddle and Harness is what I'd like to focus my efforts on. We have several family heirloom saddles that were passed on to my dad to restore, but his health declined faster than we all expected and there's still much to be done with them. I'd like to learn more about pre-1960's Saddle design and construction so that one day I can finish preserving and restoring those saddles. The oldest is from the 1880's belonged to my great grandfather, which I want to preserve for the historical relic it is, but on the other hand my grandfather's saddle from the 1940's I would like to make into a solid rideable saddle again. Before I dig into those projects, Ive been sorting and setting up my dads old tools and equipment, and I have a couple of non-sentimental saddle trees to build out and cut my teeth on. I'll post more on those projects as they come. Other than leather machines and leather work, I enjoy machining and general metal fabrication, industrial history, traditional woodworking, gardening, classic cars and trucks (late 40's till early 50's are my favorites).