Mechanical Cowgirl

That's all I've been able to find out about this maker as well. My neighbor just gave me a number of a guy up to Shoshone (just south of Hailey) that he thinks might know of the guy or know someone who might know something. If I find anything out I'll post it. I have finally finished the saddle, every bit of stitching was rotted out so I've hand sewn the cantle binding, horn, and all of the rigging back together and refleeced it (in the original holes, don't worry). Maybe the pictures will help be able to date the saddle? And of course now that I'm done I'd like to sell it but have absolutely no idea what it is worth these days. There's a lady over this way that is trying to find a saddle collector to buy it, I guess Idaho made saddles where quite sought after a few years ago (in Idaho), but now it's hard to find people with excess money for pieces of history. Do any of you have any experience pricing these old saddles currently? I'm not in a hurry to sell it, it is completely rideable and fits me very well so I'm not interested in dumping it. Everything is original except new fleece, rope strap, stirrups, and strings, and the 20 hours of hand stitching, I sure appriciate my machine A LOT). Here is the maker's mark.

Art- Thanks for all the thought and time you've put into answering my questions! I really appriciate it, which I know can be hard to get across in typing... So, pretty much, if it's not a Juki 441 then it is a clone. Are any brands better than another or are they all comparable and you just look for the best price and shipping deal? I have a Juki LU-563 currently, is there a 441 clone that could perform well on chaps and the heavier stuff so I would only have one machine in my shop? And, if there is one machine that would work for all my projects, what could I expect to get out of my 563? I would kinda hate to part with it as it is one of the old Japanise made ones and works perfectly, it hasn't been used much and the stand and motor were just bought new a few years ago, not much runtime on it and I'm the only one that has used it in close to 15 years. Thanks!

I've seen the '441' mentioned on several threads here, what brand is it? What about the Cobra class 4 or a Cowboy 4500? There's a somewhat local saddlemaker with an Artisan cylinder arm machine who loves it, but when I was looking for my first machine I was told those where lower quality and to now waste my money on them. Thoughts? I don't need top of the line, but I want to put enough money into a new machine that I will have one that will work well and for a long time. Thanks!

I was wondering about the table part of it, that's what I have now but all the heavy machines I've seen in shops are the cylinder arm. Thanks for all the tips and advice, I'll keep looking :-)

There's a Juki 243 for sale a few hours away, was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on it before I spend a bunch of time and money going to look at it. It's used and I've googled it and it is not the new white model it's an old green one. I have an old Juki machine that does great for chaps and such but the foot can't lift up high enough for more than about 1/4" of leather. I'd like to get something with at least 5/8" lift for refleecing skirts and heavier working tack, there's some call for harness repair in the area as well. Would anyone recommend the 243? And what price range should it be in to be reasonable? Thanks!

I know I'm jumping in late, but maybe we could keep this going a bit? I think I remembre reading somewhere that folks where saying real sheepskin under the skirts helped with temperature and shock absorption. Has anyone done any tests with this? If you have a good pad on your critter, is there any difference at all between synthetic, real, foam, ect? If the fleece is just to keep the saddle pad from sliding around then why don't you line the skirts with the hook side of velcro? Your pad sure wouldn't go anywhere :-) I just had a saddle in that had fleece in good condition (I thought) it was just all the stitching that had rotted out. I started handstitching it all back together using all the original holes, I got about a foot done and gave the fleece a little tug and it all split down my stitchline so I ended up refleecing the whole thing. So, that to me is a drawback to real fleece, you can't exactly condition it like you do the rest of your saddle, plus bugs get into it and mice like it for their nests. If you are relying on the fleece to give you cusioning, then synthetic fleece isn't that great, but it is easy to use and econimical and an accepted lining (to most saddle buyers I think it is safe to say). With all the advancements in synthetic fibers and materials, shouldn't there be something better than fleece out there now anyway? If fleece was really great for controling temperature, then wouldn't you see anthletes going around in sheepskin clothes? And, I'm not 100% convinced that the skirts do much to distrubute the weight of the tree or the rigging for the horse. Leather is flexible, it will do a little, but is it significant enough to warrant the weight of the skirts added to the saddle? So I'm thinking you could do a saddle with no skirts, drop plate type rigging and velcro under the tree and be setting pretty on a very lightweight saddle :-) ...sorry for the ramble at the end...

If your leather is cased right it really shouldn't take too much pounding to get a nice impression. I'm not sure how light your maul is, I started out with a bright orange deadblow hammer (the orange is a kind of rubber/plastic stuff) that I bought at Harbor Freight. I used that one for years and it must have been cheap since I was in highschool at the time I bought it!

Yep, that's where my engineering degree comes in handy! Solid modeling programs are amazing. :-)

I farmed for a few years up on the Palouse while I was going to college at UI, beautiful country. I've seen a few sets of the stirrups, very cool. It's a good spot to stick someone's personal brand or initials which can be easily changed out if they sell the saddle. This maker also put his brand on the side of the stirrup against the horse, like you I might get some when I have the extra money...

Thanks for all the help! I'd personally be inclined toward a graphic based stamp, but I am also wanting to get my name out there. That is a good point about the more you put on there the more things could change. I'm not sure how long I'll live where I'm at, but then again, it might pay itself off having the town on there, and my name... When I get a chance maybe I'll sketch a few options up and get your opinions.

I think I've progressed to the point where a makers stamp would do me some good and I have some pretty enough pieces that I wouldn't be embarassed to put my name on them... Any tips on what to put on the stamp? I've been calling my shop work up here 'Huckleberry Leather', but putting that and my name and the city, state, seems like a lot to cram on a stamp. Suggestions?

Yes, that's the place. I haven't ever bought anything from them, but I think I remember hearing their stock barrel racing ones (powder coated and with a standard cutout) were around 100$. Don't quote me on it though, but I remember they were a bit more than I would want to spend on a set of stirrups just now, maybe someday when I win the Loto... But I do think poder coated bits shanks would be nifty! Have you ever seen a set of their stirrups in person?

Thanks! That looks perfect. I've also found a company up here in Idaho that makes custom stirrups and then powder coats them, they can even do zebra stripes, wonder if they could cut out bit shanks and do the same? :-)

I've had that happen. And the times when you kinda squeeze the plastic bottle and it spits dye everywhere you don't want it, or the bottle tips over...

There are some folks making these and posting in the furniture section, they might give you some ideas. I made one several years ago, just screwed the leather seat to the 3 legs I made out of dowels, I was copying one my friend had and never got to the connecting the legs together part. His was made of leather with the legs poked through then screwed into the legs, I know that probably made no sense. I wrapped mine all up in baling twine for a temporary fix, and now 8 years later I'm still using it that way... Here's a link to a site that has instructions for sale. http://www.bighousedaddy.com/three_legged_camp_stool.htm

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but I figure a bit is a saddle accessory... I found a place that I can buy mouthpieces and I was wondering if there is any company out there that sells just plain shanks that I could embelish as I wish and weld on a mouthpiece. Or does anyone on here make bits that could sell me just the shanks? I think it would be a fun addition to a custom bridle without truly starting a new hobby of metal work :-D Thanks!

That sounds great! Luckily I have more to try this out on... And, I found out today I'm missing a letter in the saddle maker's name, apearantly it is A. Womack of Hailey Idaho. So, anyone heard of this one? I took a few pictures today but they didn't turn out very well, I'll try to get some better ones tomorrow.

Umm,,, I already have it in pieces :-) I'll get some photos of the parts when I get out to my shop today and post them. Currently I'm picking all the rotted stitching out of the skirts to re-fleece them and it's taking forever. Any tricks to get it done faster other than pliers, an awl, and patience?

Anyone out there know any history on saddles stamped with A.W. Mack Hailey, Idaho? I picked one up to repair, needs a good bit of work but I think it will fix up nicely. It would be interesting to know some history on the brand. Thanks!

True in some cases. But I like perfection in shiny black paint, it's more dashing and suave than scratched paint.

I'm interested in making a tank cover for the lower portion of the tank on my HD Road King to avoid scratching the clear coat and/or paint with my inner thighs when riding. Of course I'm concerned about the cover causing wear issues as well, so it would need to be lined or something. Has anyone seen something like this done well?

Thanks for the prod to step it up a little, I find it easy to slack off when it's just for myself. Plus, hadn't thought of using sandpaper to get that fuzz off, Thanks!

I have the saddle stripped down to just having the seat, cantle, swells and pomell on the tree. No marks on the skirts, but there is a 9' 40 that is impressed probably with a stylus, could this be that it was made Sept. of 1940?

The tree is rawhide covered, the rawhide is cracked along the back of one stirrup groove, but there is no damage to the wood beneath. Should I do something to seal this or let it be? I've cleaned some of the dirt off the bottom of the tree still hoping that there might be some sort of identification, nothing yet. The most likely spot for something to be written on the tree would be the back of the cantle right? I'm not going to tear it down that far though...

Spur2009, Thanks for the info on that saddle! I wasn't real sure as to the age of the Rowell as it doesn't have any 'dating' characteristics that I recognise. It's a style that my dad, an outfitter, would use in the mountains and you can find similar saddles new. It does have that half horn cover deal with the screw on the top of the horn, which isn't common anymore (I think...). I also have come up with absolutely nothing yet on the Thomas, maybe it was a part-time saddle maker? But the maker stamp isn't hand done, it's with a single stamp, if that makes sense, so I'm guessing that they must have been fairly serious about the business. It is a well made saddle, not a cheaply made saddle by any means. Any thoughts on what they are worth? I'm getting ready to put them up for sale, they are going to fund converting a stall in my barn to my new leather shop! I'm currently using 2 rooms in my 900 ft^2 house, makes things really cramped for living... MC