D.A. Kabatoff

Hi GH, that tree came from Glenn Christman of Pincher Creek, AB. I like the shop accesory you have on the table in the background of picture three... cute! Go2tex, I usually do about a 3/4" skive around the edge of the horncap and depending on the type of horn, I'll leave more or less thickness. For any horn that I'm doing a cap and wrap I leave the leather around 3-4 oz at the very edge so that my wrap doesn't sink into the crease left by a thicker edge. On a metal horn like the one in the picture, I usually leave the edge around 6-8 oz. Something that may be of use to you if you find that you are putting on and taking off your fork covers alot is to make a couple patterns. Make a pattern of a handhole so that you can trace it on the ground work and cut the same size hole all the time... do that and your pattern of a fork cover should always fit the same through the handhole. If you are covering wade forks that are always the same, fit a fork cover and save it for future trial fits. Make a paper pattern of that cover so that any Wade you need to do in the future, all you have to do is trial fit the previously fit pattern and if it fits, use your paper pattern to cut a new cover for the fork. You then only need to do all your skiving and install it once; should save you time and some leather. I do this with a few of my patterns for common fork covers, common cantle sizes, and also for gullet shields... probably got enough patterns lying around to make a saddle or two. Incidentally, I don't always do a trial fit if I know the fork or gullet or cantle is exactly the same as the last one. Darc

Celticleather, I agree with you about the pricking irons and the resulting stitch. I often mark my horncaps and cantlebindings with a pricking iron and then follow the angle they set with my awl. Often people try and make their complete hole with the iron and really make a mess of it because the tool was not designed for that. The other problem is that it is very hard to get good pricking irons in North America and impossible to get the pormanteaus and people end up with cheap ones that don't help the task. Darc

Esantoro, I'm not sure I'd bother with an Osborne awl, to start, they are the wrong shape being almost square instead of diamond. They will need alot of work to get them the proper shape, sharp enough to use smoothly and even more time to polish so that they glide through the work. I think most people who have tried an awl blade from Bob Douglas of Sheridan, Wyoming would agree that there is nothing even close to comparable and they come completely ready to use. They make them in a couple sizes with small variation among those sizes as they are handmade. If you call Bob and tell him what size thread you are sewing with and what you are making, he'll be able to pick one out for you that is most suitable. Darc

Hi Tim, my post may be a little late to help you but it isn't that difficult to cover a fork without splitting the back of it. A big part of the process has to do with the proportion of the horn neck thickness compared with the cap diameter. The bigger the cap, the thicker the neck needs to be. The reason for this is simple, if you need to cut a 1 1/2" hole in the fork cover to get it over the cap, your neck needs to have some thickness to it to fill the hole. I have posted a few photos of a slick fork (sorry the photos aren't better) with a metal horn. You can see from the tree that the cap is fairly large compared to the thin neck. When I covered the horn, I made a point of using fairly heavy leather for the wings of the neck so the neck would finish up thick. It definitly takes some pulling to get that small hole over the finished cap. I usually fit my fork cover before wrapping the horn so that it is ready to install the first time I pull it over the wrapped horn. It's a bit easier if the leather is fairly wet and a bit of saddle soap on the bottom side of the fork cover around the hole and some on the top of the horn cap and around the edges helps as well. The last photo is a good example of needing the right proportions of neck thickness to cap diameter. That cap was 5"s in diameter before being covered so when I ordered the tree, I asked my treemaker to make the neck thicker than he normally makes them. Hope that helps a little. Darc

Hi Greg, it's never really occurred to me to bevel the inside lines on a carlos border. Is this something commonly done? I'll have to give it a try and check out the difference it makes. Darc

A couple people emailed me asking me what I meant by the leather "popping up" around the tools marks... I was doing a carlos border on a saddle today and tooled a couple of scraps to show the difference I notice. The photos are close ups and show about 2 -3 inches of border. The piece of leather on the left was not slicked and the one on the right was slicked before any stamping was done. As you can see, the tools marks are very similar but the raised portion of the carlos border on the left is slightly rounded or domed while the raised portion of the slicked leather is flat across the top. When I floral carve this is even more noticeable especially on the vines and stems as well as the petals of flowers between shader impressions. I'm not saying one way is right or wrong, only that on my own carving I prefer the roundness of the non-slicked leather. Darc

I finally got some time to give my two cents worth on this topic... I agree with Go2tex about a slicker firming the leather up too much. I don't have experience with drum dyed leathers but certainly on Hermann Oak skirting leather it is just another example of overworking the leather. I find after slicking that it's extremely difficult to use my push beader, especially around curves, and my swilvel knife doesn't cut anywhere near as smoothly as on non-slicked leather. Larger stamping tools such as flower centers, geometrics, and even shaders don't leave as nice of an impression and I find the final carving to be rather dull in comparison. The actual impression of the tool is only slightly different between slicked and non slicked leather... where I really notice it is the leather around the tool marks. On non-slicked leather, the tool impression causes leather to slightly pop up around the actual impression that causes stems and petals to have a rounder, fuller, more lively appearance to me. With slicked leather, because the leather is so firm the tool doesn't cause the leather around the impression to move very much leaving it flat and dull looking to my eye. About the only time I slick leather is when it actually performs a function like pulling the stretch out of stirrup leathers or fenders that won't be stamped. In my opinion, basket stamping or floral carving a seat or a fender or skirt will have the same effect on the leather as using a glass slicker, compressing the fibers and making the leather wear harder. Darc

Grumpyguy and TrooperChuck, I certainly don't mean this in a disrespectful way and I realize we all have our own experiences to draw on, but I often wonder when I hear comments like yours regarding rear cinches, about the type of trees you are using and the types of backs on the horses being ridden. In my own experiences with factory made trees from Ritter, Hercules, Superior, etc... I always found the front gullet much too wide leaving a very sloppy fit upfront. Combined with a horse with a mediocre back and you have a saddle that is simply not capable of staying put as well as can be achieved. Over the last seven years I have been using handmade trees from different makers and even though like Rod and Denise always say "every maker does things differently", one common element among handmade trees is that the front end has a much more precise fit that in my opinion, holds a horse much better than a factory made tree. Combine that with a decent back and you can ride rough terrain such as that found in the mountains of British Columbia and Alberta with no rear cinch. And to be clear, I am talking about steep, gravel slopes that sometimes you slide down with matching trails going up the mountain. As I mentioned, I don't mean any disrespect from my comments, but it seems there are so many variables besides the type of rigging, that it is difficult to give someone a sweeping answer that covers all scenarios. Darc

Hi John, ClayB is right about the broken edge of glass... it is best to use glass that is fairly thick so it doesn't break in your hands. I heard about the technique from an old saddlemaking book I have and thought I'd give it a try (I usually use spoke shaves). If you go to a glass repair shop and ask if they have any scraps (they usually give them to you for free) and try to pick out the larger pieces. There are probably better ways to break the glass but I usually put a piece in a plastic bag and hit it with a hammer. I do this so I don't have small shards of glass all over my bench. I then take out the larger pieces that have relatively straight edges and throw out the smaller stuff. I usually use the glass on the leather groundseat of my saddles while they are still damp and a fresh piece of broken glass will shave leather better than any spoke shave I've come in contact with. I haven't used glass on leather edges but I'm sure it would be just as effective as what I have used it for. I think I would run a damp rag over the edge to give it just a little moisture. If you find it isn't working for you, the glass may not have the necessary burr on the edge so try another piece. Darc

Hey Elton, did that tree happen to be at Caledon leather? I saw one in there that about fit your description. Darc

I was driving down a range road near Calgary, Alberta earlier today and came across something interesting... two small ranches almost across the road from each other... a guy on a quad was roaring back and forth behind about forty cows making a bunch of smoke and noise to move them into another pasture. Across the road was a rider on horseback, slowly moving about the same number of cows, presumably for the same purpose. Point is, it's not always about finding a better or faster way of doing something. Some people take pride in their work and that pride comes from how you do a job and not necessarily how quick you get it done. A good handmade tree that forms the base of a finely made saddle to be used by a good horseman on horses with good backs all takes time from getting the tree to building the saddle to learning to ride and even the breeding that went into the horse. These are the the things that reward me when I pour my heart and soul into building a saddle; for me, there is little satisfaction in dealing with someone who wants a quick, cheap saddle...speaks volumes about the person and what they'll probably do with the saddle. Darc

Hi Alan, I have no experience building a half seat saddle but did read an article in the Leather Crafter's Journal, written by Dick Sherer. He mentioned that one of the common problems with half seats was the seat leather coming unfastened where it was folded over the groundwork at the the front of the seat. The article mentioned he had seen this fastened every way imagineable but still working loose over the years. His method to try to overcome this problem was to use a layer of rawhide in the groundwork and use tiny, self tapping, brass screws to screw into it. This said, he also mentioned that while he believed this to be the best method he could come up with, it wasn't a proven fix over the long term. good luck, Darc

Mike, if lopsided riding is the issue, measure your wife's individual leg lengths.... some people are off enough that they always have more weight on one side. Sometimes adding a thicker stirrup tread on one side can help, other times the stirrup leather length needs ajusting on one side. Darc

It's very doubtful all three layers are riveted because this would have to be done while the fenders/leathers were hung on the tree... otherwise you wouldn't be able to loop them over the bars of the tree. If it was done this way you wouldn't be able to adjust them as Troy mentioned and you also wouldn't be able to remove them from the tree without popping the rivets. Darc

Hi Tim, the space between the holes depends on what size rosettes you are using... punch holes evenly spaced apart in your top and bottom rosettes and then use one to mark the spacing on the tree. I do the same as Andy when it comes to roughing up the finish on the tree I use sandpaper. If you can find a store that sells autobody supplies, they sell a paper that is 50 grit. It usually comes in 5" circles and is very abrasive and durable; I've been using the same piece for about a year now. Darc

I'm not generally a big fan of the aesthetics of skeleton saddles but I came across a saddle on Ebay that has quite a nice look to it; the link is below. http://cgi.ebay.com/VAQUERO-SADDLE-STERLIN...id=p3286.c0.m14 also have a second ebay link to an antique cable rigged saddle. From the looks of the saddle I'd guess it to be 80 years of age or older. http://cgi.ebay.com/Saddle-Vintage-Cable-r...id=p3286.c0.m14 Darc

Bebah, carving looks pretty good for your first attempt... carving aside, you may consider moving your rear rigging dee forward about 2 inches... if it hangs straight down from that position you may have a rodeo on your hands. If your counting on the connecting strap from the rear cinch to the front cinch pulling it forward, you may have the leading edge of the rear cinch digging in instead of the cinch laying flat on the belly. Darc

Hi Doug, I agree with what others have already said about the roundness of the seat in front of the cantle. Imagine a rider's pelvic bones and the round profile of your seat under them... every time the seat puts pressure on those bones it will be forcing them outward causing alot of discomfort. The area where the rider actually sits should be relatively flat, kind of like sitting on a chair at the kitchen table. There will be some roundness to the seat from side to side, but it really shouldn't form any peak in the middle. JRedding mentioned that your low spot might be too far back but couldn't say for sure from your original photo. From the photos that Johanna posted, I would say this is also an issue. This will force the rider back against the cantle causing hip pain when the rider tries to adjust their seat to different gaits. The rider will end up fighting the rise of the seat as they try to stay balanced with the horse's movement. I've posted a couple of photos below of what I consider a good seat shape. If the seat you have put in is an all leather ground seat, there is a slight chance you can remove enough material to change the seat shape. If the leather is somewhat thin through the area the rider occupies, you may have to take the whole ground seat out to get the right shape. good luck, Darc

Well put Brian... from what I've seen first hand, it takes more than talent and ability to be a member of the TCAA; it requires a committment of time and the willingness to share knowledge and skills to help other non-member makers improve their skills. I attended a workshop a few years back and watched Dale Harwood bust his butt for five days straight to show a group of us how he makes a saddle. Beyond his obvious skill as a saddlemaker, his work ethic is what impressed me most. Cary Schwarz also spent a good amount of time researching the history of leather carving that year and then doing a presentation about it to a packed auditorium. As I understand it, this is the effort required of all the members of the TCAA, so anyone who thinks they are a bunch of self promoting elitists, really doesn't know what they are talking about. Darc

Here's a link to the TCAA's online catalog for this years sale. Unbelievable work by all the members! http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/events...og/Catalog.aspx Darc

Thought I'd post a link to the Kamloops Cowboy Festival's updated page on the Western Art & Gear show. It gives more details about the saddle competition and the entry requirements. You have to scroll half way down the page to get to the section on saddles. http://www.bcchs.com/art.html Darc

Hi Julia, glad to hear you are concerned enough about fit to use handmade trees. I hope you aren't misinterpreting what I'm saying as I only use handmade trees in my saddles and know how poorly a factory made tree fits in comparison. I do not give people the option of a factory tree in my saddles because my experience with trees from Bowden, Superior, Hercules etc... is such that I don't believe in them at any cost. Just because someone is in a hurry or doesn't want to spend an extra couple hundred bucks doesn't mean that their old nag deserves anything less than your two mares. The one thing you must keep in mind at all times is how quickly a single saddle can affect your reputation. As an example, the 95 degree bars you mentioned... if they fit the horse they are intended for a bit better, that's great! The concern as a saddlemaker is what happens when that person decides they no longer want the saddle... maybe they got rid of the horse, quit riding, need money, didn't like the saddle..etc... that saddle goes to another person without the information that the bars are 95 degrees. The new owner sees a saddle that isn't working on their horses, doesn't know why, but does see your makers mark on the seat and tells the next ten people about the poor fit and who made the saddle. This is a common scenario in the saddlemaking world and word spreads like wildfire. One bad saddle will do more to your reputation than a hundred good ones. As far as Travis being inscensed, I'd hope that he'd be responsible enough to consider the future horses his trees may end up on and not create anything that could possibly damage other horses. Shaving a hair here and there is one thing, completely altering a bar pattern is another. By "microfitting" I do not mean making small adjustments such as a little more flare; what I do mean is altering the complete bar to fit a single, odd shaped back. It will also be his reputation on the line when such a saddle moves to the next owner. I'm not suggesting you ignore the needs of horses that need a little "extra", but I am suggesting approaching oddball horses with caution. Darc

Hi Julia, way to go on the first saddle... Looks like a good useable saddle! A few notes that may help you in the future... you mentioned the tree was custom fit for your mare, I'm not sure how "custom fit" your tree actually was but most saddlemakers will agree that "micro fitting" for a particular horse is not a good idea. If a properly designed tree needs to be altered significantly to fit a single horse, there is a good chance it will not fit other more "typical" horses as well as it should. Saddles will generally outlast horses by a good number of years meaning you as a saddlemaker will have to worry about where that saddle spends the rest of it's life and what it's doing to other horse's backs when the horse it was "custom fit" for is gone. A properly designed tree should fit a good number of similar horse backs that have slight variations without having to be altered for any particular horse. By the looks of the horse the saddle is on, I'm guessing the treemaker probably did next to nothing to get the right fit other than choosing the correct gullet width and height (or handhole width and height). If you continue on with making saddles for others you will eventually get customers asking you to fit a certain horse. As a saddlemaker you should try to choose the most appropriate tree size for the horse in question with out offering to have a trees bars significantly changed. For the construction of your first saddle it has a nice overall appearance with a pretty good seat shape. After riding it some you'll have a better idea of what you like and don't like about it and where you need to make changes. There isn't a whole lot of criticism to be given since most of the small details will take care of themselves as your skills improve with future saddles. The photo of the rear of the saddle shows quite a gap between the rear jockeys and the skirts. The saddle will look much cleaner if you can have the rear edge of the jockeys tight over the top of the skirts. I've attached a photo to show you what I mean. One way to get your jockeys tight is to use a spike on them to pull the leather around and forward when you are installing them. You can start by putting your jockeys on the tree and keeping the center line between the two jockeys slightly off center to one side by about 1/2". Pull the jockey up tight to the back of the cantle and put a nail in the area where the rosette will be. Using a long seat spike type awl, put it in one of the string holes on the other jockey and spike both downward and inward, pulling the jockey down toward the rear rigging dee and forward towards the cantle. This will put a tremendous amount of tension on the jockey and pull the rear edge of the jockeys down on the skirts and also help give you a tight fit around the back of the cantle. While the spike is hold the tension, put a nail in the area around the string holes where it will be covered by the rosettes. When you spike jockeys in this fashion, the rear edge will be so tight that you cannot lift it off the skirts. I like that you didn't lace your skirts all the way to the back as this is a preference of mine... it'll allow those skirts to flex with short backs or high rumps. One thing i'd suggest is slightly changing your jockeys so that they better cover the lacing of the skirts. From your photos I can see a small amount of skirt lacing... your work will look cleaner if you cover that up. The only other suggestion i'd offer from your photos is to stay aware of where the bottom of your front rigging dee is in relation to the top of your blevin buckles keepers. Keith offered 8 1/4"s as a number for how low to keep that rigging dee but you have to also account for a rider's leg length when deciding how low to drop the rigging. From your photos, it looks like the blevins keepers are getting close to the rigging and if you were to tie a knot in your latigo around the rigging dee, your stirrup leathers will start to catch on that knot when your legs move forward. Generally, this isn't a problem with longer legged riders, but the shorter the legs the more you need to be aware. If you are riding that saddle with a knot instead of a buckle and pin type cinch, look down and have a look at how that area of the stirrup leather moves over the rigging plate. Good luck with your next saddle and watch out for the "addiction"... you'll be thinking about saddles last thing before you sleep and first thing when you wake up! Darc

Hi Tosch, I can't remember the exact details of those posts you are referring to, I can't speak for Greg, but feel free to post what I wrote if you think it may be helpful to anyone. Darc

Thanks for the ideas guys... Greg and Keith, I would probably do as either of you suggested but I made the new riggings and drilled small pilot holes in them using the right side rigging as a guide. I had eyeballed the old riggings quickly and assumed they were symmetrical before drilling my holes in the new ones and now I'm just trying to avoid making a second set. I talked to my treemaker and although the tree isn't one of his, he mentioned on his own trees he would be perfectly comfortable using a Bondo product called fiberglass resin. thanks again, Darc Incidentally Keith, that idea I had using the paper pattern for marking the rigging screw holes to be predrilled on the tree is working out quite nicely. I have used it as a guide on four saddles now and the holes have been perfectly positioned on all four. Will probably use it as a guide on several more saddles before I begin to rely on it.