horsewreck

While I have not bought any in several years, as I recall Valley Vet Equine, and Jeffers Supply both had them in their catalog. They both have web sites.... Jeff

The heavy waxed nylon monocord hand sewing thread, as Troy suggested is what everyone uses to resew those bar pockets on with, just remember to burn the tips as the ends can work back out if you don't...... Jeff

C.W. I think you did a great job on your rebuild. Good luck on the Will James. I'm sure you will make something your son will be proud of for years to come, even when he gets to big to sit in it..... Jeff

I think a lot was lost in the translation. It has been my experience that if we start off confused as this product supplier is, it does not get any better after the order is placed. I am none the wiser as to what this product is after I looked at it than before. I say let Siegel worry about the importing and we can deal with him, he speakes English well and he prices his stuff in american dollars..... Jeff

Low 40s, 40 to 44 I would say without looking it up. We make for stock 34 to 46.... Jeff

Darcy, I get the black and white, I think it makes the site, reminds me of all the old paper catalogs that saddlers printed up back in the day. From the home page photo to the black and white saddles, it grabs you. I will let the other guys point out the places for small improvement, I give it two thumbs up, just great...... Jeff

Get some RUDY'S leather conditioner by Bee Natural Leathercare. It will not only improve the smell but will kill the mold and mildew. I use it alot and if you put on two or three coats of it it makes the leather smell good,fights mold and mildew, and is good for the leather. One sixteen ounce bottle should do you fine.... Jeff

Ann, When I first started working on saddles a ralide tree cost about $35. so for a lot of years it was cheaper to replace the tree than to repair it. Given the shorter life span of a ralide tree, replacement rather than repair always seemed to be the smart thing to do. Because ralide trees are most often used in low end mass produced saddles I often suggest to the owner not to fix the saddle at all, and buy a different saddle as this course of action will cost less in the long run. Because ralide is a different animal than wood based trees I have never thought it wise to repair new or old ralide and as Denise pointed out in her post on this subject whenever we have any break in a tree the saddler should check the whole tree for problems, not spot repair. In addition I have "never" opened up a saddle with a ralide tree that has been repaired by someone a while back that the repair has held tight for a long period of time. Long story short on ralide treed saddles I say replace the tree or scrap the saddle..... Jeff

If you are going to make a lot of holsters and belts as well you might want to buy sides, but as has been said shoulders work great for a few holsters. Shoulders also let you try different weights and leathers without getting a huge amount of money tied up in large chunks of leather..... Jeff

Dirtclod, the photos aren't the best but to me it looks like an early ralide tree that does have a plastic ground seat strainer as the early ralide trees had. At some point they started forming the ground seat as part of the tree. That two piece ralide tree, strainer deal tells me that is a very early version of the plastic tree, and is past its useful life. If it were a canvas covered wood tree it might be able to be fixed and then glassed over. But it lookes more like ralide to me..... Jeff

Ann, Based on what we have seen the life span is 30 years give or take. They seem to start cracking between staple, and nail holes at that age then, they get brittle all over...... Jeff

A ralide tree that has been around for several decades as this saddle has should "never" be repaired. We are not talking about a horse wreck, but old age. I have seen these old trees break up into enough pieces to fill a five gallon bucket. They get old as this saddle has and the plastic dries out and they are done for it . I am speaking from over 30 years of experience with these trees, having changed more of them than other any saddler in Texas, because a lot of saddle guys won't touch them. Ralide is a different animal than the wood trees which we repair on a regular basis. If a ralide tree is old and broke, raplace it or junk it...... Jeff

The pictures aren't clear but it appears to be a mass produced saddle with a broken Ralide (plastic) tree. One of the problems with ralide trees is, after around 25 or 30 years the material they are made of dries out and starts to fall apart, fracture, and decompose. The tree can be replaced, but why would you want to? The last time I changed a ralide tree was a couple of years ago and the tree alone cost @ $125, plus several hundred dollars labor. These plastic trees unlike wood trees should "never" be repaired period! Your saddle was a entry level pleasure saddle when new and did not cost much, I would take it back to the person who sold it to you and get your 50 bucks back and start shopping for a better saddle. By all means when you are thinking of buying a saddle, take it to a saddler and have it checked before you invest your money. I hope this is of some help to you.....

Real nice, I like the BIG basket weave. It works great on the holster..... Jeff

JW is right on this topic, I would only add that in years past one of the popular saddle leathers in California and the north west was from Muir Mcdonald Tannery. Though they are now out of business their leather oiled off to a pretty red color, and it had to do with the bark they used to make their tanning liquor which I think was made from Fir bark. Olive oil is my choice for oiling new work when I use veg. oil, but I still use mostly pure neatsfoot on my work. A word of warning if you are sunning leather in very hot climates in mid summer you can over do it and blotch, and burn the leather. In Texas I sit stuff out but not in direct sunlight, you still get the same result. Compare some leather scrap done with olive oil to some done in neatsfoot oil and you can figure out what you like best....... Jeff

Very nice, great lines, the man who rides that saddle can be proud.....

It has to be the most different holster I have seen in, well ever!!! I would have never thought of useing two thick plugs down the seam, and the back flap is unique. I give it two thumbs up. Original designs like this shows you are thinking, and thats how new changes come about in our business. Keep on that track you are doing fine...... Jeff

As far as cleaning the saddle up first try regular liquid saddle soap, and warm (not hot) water. If that doesn't do the trick use mild liquid dish soap such as Ivory and warm water. When it is clean give it a light oiling with saddlers oil or olive oil, but keep the coat thin not heavy. It should be oiled a little each year. On glueing back the loose pieces of leather try a water based leather glue and put a thin leather backer on such places as the fenders, on the skirts you may have to glue the cracked pieces back to the woolskin. I don't think I would use the super glue.... Jeff

Chuck, I did not know weaver had dropped their Minimum order requirement, that may be why some shipping cost seem high to some of these folks, as you know smaller orders have higher shipping cost per dollar purchased. This is why I try to avoid making smaller orders. I agree the cost of shipping is not just shipping but includes pulling, packaging, etc. My point was and is I don't think Weaver is out of line on their shipping charges.... Jeff

I'm not sure I can agree with you guys on weaver and their shipping costs. The last shipment I got from them on a June 16th order ran 14% shipping for about $200. worth of stuff. We don't as a rule send in a order until we have at least $200. or more worth of items on it, even though weaver only requires a $50. Minimum order. We have found that not making real small orders helps to keep our shipping costs down. My shipping cost from weaver is and has been for the past several years running 10 to 15% on orders of $200. or more. This has been the same since the fuel price jump of several years when all shipping went up. The shipping costs from several other of my suppliers seems to run in that same 10 to 15% range, and we pass that cost on to our customers.... Jeff

It looks like your old saddle has seen better days. In saddle repair or restoration we have to ask what is the goal? Is it to ride the saddle, or simply display it in our home? Your saddle seems as though it might be best for the latter. If the goal is to ride the saddle there appears to be a lot of things to do to this saddle. The cost of doing these repairs would make the price of a newer saddle seem reasonable. In general for a saddle to be considered safe to ride, it must attach well to the horse and provide a safe platform for the rider to sit. Comfort and safety of the horse (mule) and the rider are a must. First the tree would be checked by a qualified saddler to make sure the wood, rawhide and lacing are in good repair and also the fit of the tree on the horse should be verified. If the tree checked out then the saddle would require new riggings, and new stirrup leathers/buckles. The fenders would likely need to be doubled (add a layer of leather on the back side) or replaced. As you can see the cost of such repairs would be maddening. Then you are still faced with the old dry rot leather on the seat jockey, skirts and so on. Once leather is dry rotted there is no way to bring it back to life! We can only slow down the advance of the problem but it "cannot" be reversed! I hope this is of some help to you...... Jeff

Welcome, this has got to be the best forum in the world for all things leather. There are many of the country's best saddlers on this site so enjoy..... Jeff

Bobby, I have run in to more than a few saddles that have been relined using contact cement to hold the wool on. It does hold tight but can be peeled off to reline with some effort. In his 1982 book "Making and Repairing Western Saddles" Dave Jones directs the reader to use contact cement to put down the wool. I even recall one saddlemaker who said in his catalog, he used Epoxy to put his woolskins on. His reasoning was that neetsfoot oil would cause even contact cement to fail and let go. It seems to me that it would take a lot of oil to do that. Go figure!... Jeff

Aermotor, I guess I will have to get some wallpaper paste and do a side by side test with the dextrin. I like to mix dextrin the day before I need it, because it always has lumps in it when I make a fresh batch, but let it sit overnight and it's pretty and smooth ready to go. Sometimes I will hold some for several days in an air tight jar, but it will start to mold after a few days. Knowing Bob Marrs has used it, says to me that it has merit. Thanks for the feedback..... Jeff