mjs

Thanks for the replies guys. Shortening the bars sounds like the best choice, then dubbing them if I can't shorten them enough that way. Mike

Hello everyone. I'm about to order a tree and wanted to get some peoples opinions about something before I do. I'm wondering if you could move the swells closer to the front of the bars so you could move the seat forward an inch or two? Does anyone know if this has been done. Would you still be able to get the proper flair on the bars? I've seen some short backed cutting and reining horses where the back of the skirts are about to go over their hips and these horses seem to be getting more common so shouldn't we be looking for ways to account for this? Between this and/or shortening the amount of bar behind the cantle would we be able to fit these horses better or am I off base here. Is there anything else anyone has tried? Thanks, Mike

I have a champion stitcher that was sewing fine but suddenly the needle is slightly to the left of the awl. I've tried new needles, awls, and tightened the plate that holds the needle bar, but none of this helped. If I turn the awl a quarter turn the needle will hit the edge of the hole, but I prefer the look of the stitches with the awl lined up in the direction you're stitching and I would rather fix the problem than work around it. Thanks for any suggestions. Mike

I have a wide throat champion that was working well, but suddenly the needle is sitting slightly to the left of the awl. I've tried new needles, awls, and tightened up the plate that holds the needle bar in place, but it's still off. If I turn the awl a quarter turn it punches a wide enough hole that the needle will hit the edge of it but I feel the stitching looks better with the holes being punched in the same direction as you are sewing and I would rather fix the problem than work around it. So, if anyone has any ideas it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mike

First I would like to thank everyone, I usually can find the answers to my questions by just looking around a bit. I'm building a saddle with in skirt rigging and with all the horror stories you hear about the rigging ripping out I would like to get peoples thoughts on something I'm thinking about doing. I was planning on putting a piece of rawhide between the pieces of leather for added strength. In the picture I've laid a piece of paper to show what I'm thinking of doing. the rivets would go thru the rawhide to give added strength and the vertical lines drawn above the ring are showing where I would stitch it in to hold everything together. So, as I said earlier, let me know if you think this will help add some strength, is this a waste of time, or is there something else I should do. Thanks, Mike

I to recently bought one. What I did was found a nearby saddlemaker with the same machine who was willing to let me come in and showed me the basics. I paid her for her time, after all I was taking her away from her work, but for about $30 she showed me the basics to get started. If you've had any experience with sewing and are a little mechanical it should be enough to get you started. Mike

Hi, Do you have any presser feet for sale, also I am looking for a source for needles and awls. Thanks, Mike

Hi everyone, I recently purchased a Champion wide throat and was wondering if anyone has a good source for needles and awls? Thanks, Mike

I just finished a saddle and I feel the stirrups hang a little too far back for my taste. Is there anything that can be done to fix this and how can I avoid this in the future? Thanks, Mike

Bruce, You picked up on the 2 things that cause me the most aggrivation, the horn and base of the cantle. Also, I can see where a minimal tooling design needs a little more than what I did. As for the conchos, if you've done any cutting you know when someone calls and says he has fresh cattle to work, you go. I took the pictures in case the saddle got scuffed up, then replaced them after getting to a friends and cutting some out of the same leather on his clicker. Thanks for the replies, Mike.

Yes, I did get a reply after posting this, I guess I thought there was a problem because most of the posts had 3 or 4 comments after that many views. Mike

I'm a new member and I recently made my 1st posting in the saddle gallery. Right now I have had over 100 views and not a single reply to my asking for critiques. The only reasons I can think of for this would be my sorry looking saddle and people not wanting to hurt my feelings, or I did something wrong when I posted it. If it was in my posting, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas of what it could be and how I could fix it. Thanks, Mike

Hope you will post some after pictures

I'm new to this websight, and as I said in the heading, this is my 5th saddle, and the 1st time I've tried anything other than a geometric pattern. I wanted to do something unusual, so tell me what you think. The saddle was made on a BW cutting tree with Wickett & Craig chestnut leather.

Hi. I have a 7-34 and I was wondering about the lift you had put on it. Do you remember who did it, about how much it cost, and if it is something I could do myself? Any help I could get would be appreciated. I love the machine but it isn't quite heavy enough.