mulefool

I can just see my mule roll her eyes when she sees me coming with the tape measure again. ;-) Chris

It's yours, glad to find a home for it. I'll get it out this afternoon. Chris

Anybody need a manual for a Landis 3? I have an old set of photocopied pages I got 25 years ago. certainly not pristine, but complete and readable. I since got a nice reprint and I was going to pitch this, but thought maybe I'd check and see if anyone wanted it before I chucked it. if any one is interested let me know and I will send it no charge. First come first served. Chris

I still struggle with this on custom work after nearly 30 years in business. Although usually my intuition is good on some things, when it comes to pricing it's not. I almost always underestimate the time it will take me to do a custom job. Like you I feel if I do give an estimate I need to stick to it. One way to handle it is give a preliminary estimate and say, "this is off the top of my head, let me take some time to figure out the details and I will call you back with a more accurate estimate." The other thing is to give a range, then if you can hit the bottom end of the range the customer is really happy. I've actually found if I think of a price off the top of my head and then double it, it comes out about right. I hate it though when I give an estimate and the customer says, "Oh, that's way less than I thought it would be".............Then I know I probably estimated low. Just one little comment about not needing to make money if this is a hobby. I don't think the value of the work should be based on how much you NEED it. the work is a skill that we should all be proud of and that we deserve to make a decent wage for. It also makes it more difficult for those of us who DO need to make a living at it to price our work at a fair price. Chris

Well, if you're ordering a side of harness leather you won't have to worry about meeting the minimum! I get the Hermann Oak harness from them for building pack saddles. they have a cutting service which saves me a ton of time. I usually get backs which saves on waste. Chris

I make mine with a finished length of 43" from the end of the dee. Chris TornowETA I spell it britchen, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's right.

Those are real classy. I'm personally not crazy about the ones with the gaudy colors, but these look sharp. Chris Tornow

i've always found them to be very willing to talk to me even when I haven't bought anything. I'm thinking about getting one of those splitters, too. Chris Tornow

Sure is a thing of beauty. I really like the shape of the inlaid seat. I always kind of wonder about what Josh asked, too. Chris Tornow

That turned out real nice, never would have thought it was a first. I always thought those Celtic designs would look neat on a saddle and yours turned out really well. Chris Tornow

I think there are probably a lot of good products out there but I have used either liquid glycerin saddle soap or Murphy's Oil Soap as cleaners for years. i've never thought of them as a conditioner, just a cleaner and then conditioned with neatsfoot or Pitchblend what ever the needs were. Since Montana Pitch blend came out with their new leather soap I have been using that pretty much exclusively. then I condition and protect with either their conditioner or paste. I really like the way it leaves the leather feeling. The way I used the Murphy's was to put a dab on a wet sponge or brush, dip it in the water and then scrub up a lather. Then I would clean it off with a sponge til the water was clear when I squeezed it out. Not sure if that's "right" but it seemed to work for me. Chris

So these will be the first saddles you have built???? Just a suggestion, but you might want to at least get one off for yourself to work the bugs out before selling a bunch. But Maybe I misunderstood. Chris

"She said she wouldn't think of selling it if it fit thehorse she has now." Maybe it doesn't fit because it's CROOKED. but since it's on it's way wait til you get it and then document the crookedness in some way or get a professional to evaluate it for you. Hopefully it's just the angle in the pics, but it sure looks off to me. Good luck with it. Chris

I've got one. If the concho isn't real stuck they work fine, but if it's REALLY tight, I still have to use something else to get it started. It might just be me, though, I don't feel like I can apply enough pressure to make it work on the really tough ones. Chris

I used to have a set of snaffle bit reins like that many years ago, I sure liked them. Afraid I don't have any suggestions on improvements, they look nice to me. Chris

I like the overall look, I've used that font as well becuase it looks so nice. I especially like the photo, the composition is pleasing and it really shows the attention to detail in your work. good luck with it. Chris

Great story , any chance of posting a pic of the finished saddle? I don't make many saddles anymore, but have used one of Rod and Denise's trees and was sure impressed with the quality and fit. Chris

Thanks for the input. Actually I'm also one of those folks that just has a prepaid cell for emergencies, too. My business has always had 2 numbers, my regular local landline and my 800 number which rings on the landline. And yes it is considered a business expense. What got me thinking though, is that I just changed my phone service provider and now have unlimited long distance on my landline, and got to realizing probably alot of other folks do, too, even on landlines. i am alittle bit behind the curve on some things. Kind of along the same lines I had a print catalog for many years but after many customers wanting to know if I had a website, I took the plunge and got one. A print catalog can sure be expensive if you do it right and so I'm just relying on the website, but of course now I get guys calling saying they don't have a computer and why don't I have something for them to look at. I guess you can't make everybody happy. Chris

I've had an 800 number for years, but I'm wondering if it's still a necessary part of business. It seems like so many people now have unlimited long distance plans, maybe it just isn't as necessary as it used to be. I could probably save a couple hundred dollars a year, but I don't want to allienate customers either. Plus my number is very close to the number for a medical evacuation helicopter service and I think I probably get as many calls for them as I do for myself. Has anyone else made the decision to get rid of their number? Chris

I have cut sole inserts for barn boots out of the scraps, I thought about seeing if the local feed store might want to carry them, but just never got my act together on figuring out sizes . I also cut out small circles to use as applicators for neatsfoot oil, I've been thinking about packaging them about 10 to a pack and selling with leather care products. 'also great for cinch ring covers although those don't seem as popular as they were years ago. Also a small piece of sheepskin with a leather leather cover makes a nice little case for fly fishing flies. But even if I made all these things, I'd still have alot of scrap. Chris

Ah, the old which way to place the skirts on the sheepskin question. I've heard opposite opinions from well respected saddlemakers, so I think it's one of those things that may not be absolute, although probably some people feel that it is. I was taught by Jesse Smith to place the skirts on the sheepskin "bottoms to center, butts to back". I think really the important thing is to be consistent and not lay them crosswise, or lay one one way and the other going the other way. Chris

Well, judging from the pics I would say the Taps look original to the saddle, too. I've just seen alot of TexTans and if I recall correctly seems like they always had the maker stamp in the middle of the fender.

I don't know the answer to your question, but did you ask TexTan about it? I would think they would know, but I would also be surprised if they made a saddle without a makers stamp. If you post a pic f the saddle It might be possible to tell if the tapaderos are an added feature by comparing any tooling on them to the rest of the saddle. Chris

If you just want them plain you could just use regular conchos, but if you want brands it would be better to put them on with escutcheon pins, otherwise if you try to screw it in it might be hard to get the brand lined up right. You might check with Hansen Western Gear. Chris

I cut mine like Mark. I try to get the best part of the hide on the outside of the leg. On the inside it will be reinforced. I wouldn't move the front strap on the chinks, If you put it up too high the front won't fit right either. if you aren't sure about the fit you can always do a fitting before finishing the chinks. When I started out I would cut out one leg and have the person come in for a fitting. I would get it just finished enough for them to put it on and I would have them climb in the saddle. Alot of chaps fit good while the person is standing, but don't fit right in the saddle, but that's where they need to fit. I still have people come in for fittings depending on body type. Some are just plain harder to fit and I want to make sure I get it right. I think the hardest for me is a woman with a small waist but really large thighs tapering down to a small calf. it can be easy for the zipper in chaps to spiral around the leg if you don't cut it right with that figure type. Chris