jmace

I am working on a colt wrecked saddle. He really did a number on it and I am having to tear it down all the way to the tree. It is a fiberglass coated wood tree. My question is; can I just wood putty and varnish over the nail/screw holes or should they be filled with some type of epoxy or fiberglass resin?

Plexiglass-- If it's a pattern I know will be used often. It is clear, rigid, it can be drilled and hung on wall, and it helps me keep my knife cut at a 90 degree angle.

It's all relative to price and intended use. If it fits his needs you made a great deal.

I have used some of the horse butt leather, and it worked well for rifle slings with a chap liner etc..., and I would make an uneducated guess and say that you should be able to glue them together, but, if I invision your project is correctly, it may not be stiff enough to hold its shape.

I am new to this as well. I had a friend give me a saddle that had a broken tree. It had fairly good leather on it so I decided to try to replace the tree and use it to ride colts. I tweaked my back a couple of weeks ago while trying to train a knuckle headed bird dog and the chiropractor told me not to do anything strenuous so I decided it was time to fix the saddle. It looked pretty straight foreward; I would just find a tree that measures out the same and put the leather back on it. Well, I could have sent the old tree out and had a new one made, but in my infinite wisdom I bought a tree from a local saddle maker that measured out right and looked about right, but as you might guess not many of the old parts parts fit right. After spending about 3 hours building a draw down stand to hold the tree still while I worked on it; I got the new horn cover fitted and on with very little trouble. The swells, which I decided to lace, were a little more challenging. I finally did get it covered after much cussing, spitting, and pulling; and I am very pleased with the fit, but the s shape of my laced seams may drive me nuts. I guess my colt doesn't know how they are supposed to look so I guess it will work, but for anyone that knows more than me, is there a secret to getting these straight or is it just a matter of talent? I did put the old skirts back on with no problems. The cantle on the new tree is shaped a little different, so I replaced the old padded seat cover and bound the new cantle back to the seat at the top of the cantle instead of putting a Cheyene roll back on it. The seat side of my stitches look good, but the back side looks like a drunk man did it. Again, is there a secret to this, or we back to my lack of talent causing the problem? As it turns out this little project is harder on my back than I had estimated. I know that none of this answers your questions, but I thought it might help you to know that there are others out here whose projects don't turn out exactly as planned. Your colt probably doesn't know the difference either.

I took a Calvin Allen made saddle apart yesterday that was rigged like that. It was sewn through at both the front and back of the bars. I don't know the specific advantages/disadvantages of doing it that way, but I know a couple of cutting horse guys that really like their saddles rigged in such a way.

Insurance

I really like it. How did you do the interior?

I think flowers are just easier for alot of people. You don't have to worry as much about scale as you do with landscapes or wildlife scenes etc... The thorns don't have to be identical on 2 roses but a 2 inch cow standing next to a 3 inch barn just doesn't look right.

If you have a saleable product and can create a market for that product it's a good time to run a business. If you can't create a market for your product then you have a hobby.

Take the skirts off, remove old and install new, and put back on exactly like they were before you took them off. Working on one of these jobs myself and it is literally as simple as taking it apart, glueing/sewing your new liner in, and remembering how to put it back like it was. If it is like the one I am working on it needs more than the fleece, so for such a simple job in principal it can be hard to actually do.