mauifarrier

Hi There, I recently made my first padded seat on my third saddle. I searched here and didn't find a whole lot either. I wanted to use Gel rather than foam. Bought high quality gel on ebay from a company that sells gel inserts for motorcycle seats. On ebay their seller name is "knoplace" I'm very happy with the material. Bought size small from them, and would recommend Medium to anyone else in order to make sure they had enough square inches to work with. Right now the medium size is $47.95 with free shipping. 1. are you still making a strainer and forming a seat and then adding foam, and shaping the foam? -I still used a strainer, formed my ground seat with layers of leather as usual. -Then I shaped my seat leather over it and let it dry. -Deciding where I wanted the padded insert, I cut a hole out of the seat piece. It was nerve wracking, because the seat piece is one of your largest leather pieces, cut from some of the best hide. You do not want to make a mistake and be searching for more skirting leather to start over. -The hole you cut for your padding will almost certainly spread open a little more. I then cut my gel insert, laid it in the "hole" in the seat. -Then from 4-5 oz latigo, I cut a piece that would cover the gel and be hand stitched into the seat leather 2. are you inlaying the padded seat leather or on laying? -my style was inlaid. -The style of saddle I was making required the option to disassemble it fairly easily. Very little glue or tacks are used in Hawaiian Saddles. They are held together with strings. So my gel insert simply sits (without adhesive) under my seat piece, and the seat leather is not glued down against the ground seat. Nevertheless, everything has stayed put and not shifted or migrated. In criticism of my own work, I "over-shaped" the edge of my latigo insert, and it is a bit too square at the edges. However, after many rides in the saddle I have had no pressure points, and absolutely love the high density gel. 3. would you post some pictures and go in to some detail as to your method of doing a padded seat. If you click on this link to my webpage, You'll see all my photos of the process: http://www.mauifries...boo_Saddle.html

Wow! I took a moment to cruise your site, (www.rodnikkel.com) and immediately started reading all the detail you offer about how you build your trees. What a FANTASTIC website and amazing craftmanship. I will continue to browse and drool at your site. Found you in the forum because of your post about 1/2 size and or miniature trees. Thank you for responding. Best wishes to you and your treemaking business. I can only hope to be a customer someday in 2010 or 2011. Aloha from Hawaii, Gretchen Cardoso

Aloha from Maui, I got a chance to meet Pete last september in Waimea for the hawaiian saddle conference. At that point, I had practiced the rigging, but hadn't completed my first hawaiian saddle yet. Pete sure did a nice tribute to hawaiian saddles. Thanks for sharing those photos. I am really glad to get my hands on anything Pete writes. His saddle fit book is great, and he has a lot of wisdom to share in other articles like how to price your work (in shoptalk 2009). There is very little out there on the internet about hawaiian saddles. I hope to help change that, and I'm glad to see Pete sharing and contributing too. Mahalo, Gretchen Cardoso www.mauifriesian.com

Howzit Willie Joe. This is Gretchen Cardoso over on Maui. I am a beginner to the leatherwork and saddlemaking, but am crazy about hawaiian saddles. After making chaps for Ashley Borsum (Miss Rodeo hawaii 2009) I just finished my second saddle in time for this weekend's Upcountry Fair on Maui. I am better at tooling, than at braiding the awe'awe, but I will keep practicing. Nice to see another hawaiian on the forum. Aloha, Gretchen www.mauifriesian.com

Aloha from hawaii, I am fairly new to leatherwork also, but have a few big projects under my belt. (A few of them are posted to my profile.) Here are the products I've been very happy with: Bee Natural's line of products... Saddle oil with fungicides. This goes into the leather after tooling & before dyeing. Up to three coats, let sit overnight. This will soften your leather somewhat. Sheridan Resist and finish. Use as a resist or finish, it is acrylic and leaves a shine on the surface. Bee Natural's leather finish. This is a liquid beeswax based leather finish that you apply last. Rub on, let dry, then buff with a cotton cloth. Shines, protects, and smells great. You may know this already, but I would venture a guess the leather felt stiff in part because it hadn't been oiled. Water stiffens leather (once dry), and oil softens it. Experiment with scrap, but if you are using veg-tanned leather and tooling it, it will be quite stiff unless you oil it a bit. But use caution, the oil darkens the leather. If I make a belt and want it to stay a pale as possible, I use very little oil. Also, too much oil can over-soften the leather, and creates an undesirable effect. Best of luck! Gretchen