greg gomersall

Keith I'll get the part # for you when I am at the shop tomorrow and pm you. Greg Bob from the looks of the photo cutting an inside 45 on an inlay may create some sewing issues? Greg

Bob we are not cutting a 45 with the french edger. We are completely removing a 1/2" wide strip of the skirting the same thickness as the inlay material so after sewing the seat is the same thickness as it was before we started. Ryan I glue the foam to the seat and then glue the seat to the groundseat. Greg

The bulk of my inlays are done in water buffalo but I have also used (in decreasing order of popularity) stingray, pigskin, alligator , kangaroo and ostrich. I get my foam from MacMaster-Carr. It is a black quick recovery foam which is available in different thicknesses and in firmness ratings from 1 thru 10. I like my inlays on the firm side so I use an 8. I have used some different foams over the years and found the white and grey foams I had tried packed down over time, so far this stuff seems great. I have even tried a few experiments on it pushing the limits of its recoverabilty to date which it has passed supurbely. After I cut the shape of the inlay out of the skirting I turn the seat over and using a french edger I take a 1/2" wide strip of skirting out along the edge of the seat all the way around the inlay hole the THICKNESS of the inlay leather so that everything will lay flush. I do not use a light piece under the inlay in case of future removal. My toughts on this are even if you skive the edges of this you are still altering the profile of the groundseat you spent hours shaping. I form my inlay, glue it in, sew it, then glue the foam in and glue the entire seat in. Greg

I cut it with the disposable scissors as well. Greg

Ryan I have done 20 or more inlaid seats with stingray and I know Steve Mason has done several as well ( we both did our first ones close to the same time some 12 or 15 years ago). You do not have to pre punch the holes or grind the top of the knobs off due to the fact your needle is going through the skirting before it ever hits the ray so the skirting is already supporting your needle as it goes through the ray. Just glue your inlay in using whatever method you have developed and sew it. If people want to think your loco let them, what the heck we can always blame the glue. Greg

Pretty decent looking rig Ryan. I miss living close to Chuck at times as it was awful nice to stop by his shop and see what he was working on whenever one needed a humility lesson, the mans work speaks for itself, no words were needed. Greg

Most of the QH's are not downhill but some bloodlines tend to have more that are than others. All horses as yearlings into early maturity grow through growth spurts were one end grows faster than the other so this stage of life can cause fitting issues but then again a young horse should not be used hard while he is still developing anyways. Greg

A downhill built horse is a polite term for a comformation defect. The only way to keep a saddle from slidding forward on a horse like this is a crupper or a britching. It is unfortunate that people continue to breed these type of horses in our culture. Greg

Troy I use a nail top dead center on the cantle first, then I stand the tree up on the front bar tips on my stamping block and measure both front and back rig distance from block.. If everything is where its supposed to be the measurements will be exactly the same both ways. As for rigging depth I have a 1 foot wooden ruler to which I have fasten a piece of skirting flush with on end making a large stop . then I took two pieces of skirting 1" wide by 3 " long and sandwhiched the ruler between these two placing a rivet close to the edge of the ruler on both sides. I can set the blocked end of the ruler against the bottom edge of the bar then slide the riveted piece up to the bottom of the riggin ring or plate then check the other side. This is nice cause if the phone rings or I get distracted I don't need to re-measure or try and remember the measurement as I still have my ruler set. Greg

Spanish Position in rigging is an old term meaning Full position weather single or double rigged. Greg

I was taught that it was the bottom side if the tree bar that you measured off of as well because thier are too many variables affecting the top side. I have trees from 3 different high end makers in my shop right now and what I refer to as the ball of the front bar pad corresponds with the lowest point of the front pad area when sitting on a horse on all of them. All you have to do is tack a rigging in place on the tree ahead of this point and cinch it on a horse to see what happens when you go ahead of this true spanish position. For years a lot of people have been taught to use the horn to determine rigging position, this does not mean it is right or accurate. Keith you mentioned how do we determine rigging position on a finished saddle without referencing the horn? The same way we determine gullet height and width on a finished rig by measuring best we can and making an educated guess. I have far better results and consistantcy in my rigging placement by referencing from the bottom than I ever had from the top. Matt Eberle taught this to me and the light went on as soon as he started describing it. Greg

Give Keith Pommer a call in Worthing South Dakota. If anyone has any for sale he will. I've got a line on a Randall Blind Press but there are no molds with it. Greg

I've tried alot of beader blades over the years and have not been totaly sold on any of them. I have a couple of push beaders I got from Bob Douglas which I like the heck out of. He makes these out of harness creasers and I feel I can apply alot more down pressure while still keeping excellant control of my line. Use whatever works best for you this is just another option I haven't seen discussed. Greg

I was taught that when talking about saddles there were 2 places for rawhide. The first was on the tree the second was on the cow. I agree with Keith that it will wear out faster than leather and also due to the fact it NEVER quits shrinking it will pull and eventually cut the stitches. If you look back on history few if any of the legendary makers used rawhide bindings. In the last 25 years society has decided that due to the phrase "Rawhide Tough" we have assumed that means on everything. On some items given the proper care it is great stuff but on any exposed saddle parts it is a mistake. I will do it if a customer insists but I due my dangest to dissuade them. Greg

Steve some of these edgers are marked C. Rosecrans Pat. June 2. 03 and others are just marked Pat. Appl'd. For. So they were from the late 1800's till the early 1900's anyways. Maybe someone else can fill us in more. The only tools of thiers I have seen so far are Bisonette edgers. Greg

Bob's bisonette edgers are nice. He copied the shape of the old Rosecrans bisonette's which also have the heavy shank going into the handle. I have a set of the Rosecrans from 00 thru size 6 and use them everyday. Greg

Art I have heard thru the grapevine that Weaver has give up on the stitchmaster and its adler clone as well, only a rumor but the word is they lost over a million $ they had invested in devolping these machines. Please keep in mind this is a rumor. Greg

Steve the pins would sure hold it down but keep in mind those pins do loosen up and tend to come out over time. Greg

Steve I have seen it done before. My suggestion would be to dye a piece of skirting burgandy and let him think it is latigo. I also use to pink the back edge of alot of bindings and while it looks great those pinks will curl up over time and look like heck. Greg

Denise i don't think he would turn the order down if you asked him to build you one. The only question would be who he ordered the tree from? Greg

Tom that is not an embosser but a crank pinker for pinking the edge of leather and other material. Greg

Twocrow I carry rein chains in 5 different styles ranging from 20 to 50 a pair. Greg

Steve the first was " If you think the prices are too high in this establishment, bring your wife in and we'll dicker." The second one which was on the back of all my cards was "Quality is like buying oats. If you want good clean oats you must pay a fair price, however if you are satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse. Well, they are a little cheaper." Greg

Jordan; H. G. Gomph was a U.S.company in Albany N.Y. They went under in approx. 1929 and Ellis Barnes now owns the naming rights of the company. Greg

Reminds me of the bootmaker who had a sign offering to Save your sole and heel you. Greg