Josh Ashman

Those all really look nice Frank, outstanding job! Josh

Thanks Frank, that's good advice! I wish I'd have thought of that when i was stamping the cantle back. I wonder if it's worth doing now..... Having just finished a saddle the one thing that I'm really noticing is that all of my gun leather projects seem really small and fast moving now ! Have a great day, Josh

I've been working on this for a while now. The main saddle was done in mid February but it took me some time to button up the finishing touches. There's a post that shows the progress in the saddle construction forum. If the weather holds out we'll take it out for a ride after work and see how it sits on a horse. Thanks for looking, Josh

Thanks Steve, that just two light coats of NF oil with a little saddle butter rubbed on to give it a finish. Best regards, Josh

Thanks Aurelie! I appreciate the kind words. I may have to build a few with cheyenne rolls if I can't get a better handle on my binder stitching ! BTW, I really enjoyed watching your progress on the saddle pictured above! I finally completely finished this saddle for my wife. If the weather holds up we'll go out for a ride after work and see how it fits on a horse. Here's a picture of the complete package. I'll put a bunch more in a seperate post in the "show off" forum. Thanks for looking and thanks to everybody for the helpful advise. Best regards, Josh

Here is a horse hide shoulder holster I put together for a Ruger P95. It's basically a modified Jackass type rig with heavy influence by a post that Lobo made a while back. This is the first time I've used horse and it really seemed like a good choice for this type of set up. Thanks for looking and thanks to Lobo for giving me a great starting place. Best regards, Josh

Nice job on both holsters! Josh

Lookin good Randy! Best regards, Josh

The leather and guns look great Robert. Is that a 44 mag model 92 with the Ruger? They make quite a pair! Best regards, Josh

Chris, Yes, the copper rivets are set by hand with the tools Ron noted above. I use a horse shoeing hammer instead of a ball peen hammer and I also keep a nail nipper at my bench to cut off the extra length on the rivet. I haven't seen the Tandy video but I'm sure i set them the same way. One thing you can do to "dress" them up a little is round off the rivet side, I use a double cap/jiffy rivet setting tool (the one with a concave side) to do this. It fits pretty nice on a #12 and works OK on a #9, just set the burr, flip the piece over and using the concave face of the rivet setting tool smack it pretty good once or twice with with a mallet or maul. You can over-do this so a little practice isn't a bad idea. Ron's suggestion on sewing the stress points is also very good advice. Good luck, Josh

Chris, I mostly use #9 and #12 copper rivets and burrs, I also do some sewing and sometimes I'll use double cap rivets and chicago screws. It all depends on the application. Double cap rivets aren't super strong so if the piece your riveting will recieve much pull it's a good idea to sew it as well or use a copper rivet. Chicago screws are OK for attacing bits to headstalls or reins to bits but they do rattle loose and having your bridle fall apart in the middle of a ride is never very fun, I'll usually use a laced tie instead of a chicago screw if it makes sense and looks right. I've attached some pictures below to maybe give you an idea or two, the best thing is to look around at tack you like that you feel works correctly then build yours in a similar fashion. Good luck, Josh

Craig, Dwight's suggestion to use some extra thread was pretty good, it seems like the first 6" from the needles usually get it the worst. You can also see a lot of improvement just by going over your stitches with your overstitch wheel after you get done. I rarely make anything that is truely black but here's some that are certainly dark and the stitching stayed pretty white. FYI, the IWB is dyed with eco-flow dark coco brown (cut with a little water to give it a little distressed look) and a resolene top coat and the western rig is fiebings liquid antique black with leather balm for a top coat. Good luck, Josh

Thanks Ron & CW! I appreciate the compliments and the good feedback. Best regards, Josh

Thanks again Bob, I really appreciate that you're taking the time to share your thoughts.

I think there is a difference between "fatal flaws" and things we would do differently next time. I've sure never built anything that was "perfect" and my very best work from a few years ago isn't nearly as good as what I make now. If I make a major mistake I toss it, if it's a minor mistake I fix it as best as possible and move on. Do the best job you can and get better with each one. That's my 2 cents.

Thanks Dave & Jinxed! I really like the combination of rough out and smooth out too. The border stamp pattern turned out really nice and it all seems to flow together. I'm pretty pleased with that aspect of this saddle. Bob (BondoBobCustomSaddles) took the time to give me a few pointers in a private message, which was really nice of him and I'll share one of the things he brought up. One of things I didn't do very well was the blocking on the skirts. I'm sure the experianced makers all see it straight away but the novices like me might not be picking it up. It's easy to see that the back jockys don't sit down on the skirts like they should. It's not so much that they aren't tight but that my blocking wasn't good enough. I did block around the back of the bars and even tacked ths skirts into the edges of the bars while it dried but I didn't go far enough and once the intial blocking was done and the skirts had shrunk a bit I didn't force them back to where the blocked edge matched the skirt. Add that to the previously mentioned horrible cantle binding and this saddle doesn't look near as good as it should from the backside. Neither of these is a "fatal" flaw or has any "structural" impact in my very humble opinion but they certainly do detract alot. Anyway, I shared that so maybe others could avoid these problems. If you go look in the "Makers" page cac just posted some pictures of an awesome roughout association saddle where he nailed the jocky/skirt fit up and cantle binding. Best regards, Josh

That looks great, very nice job! I really like that you fit the swell cover without cutting it. I'm sure you'll have a very happy customer. Best regards, Josh

I really like your work Frank, thanks for sharing! Best regards, Josh

Great looking rig George, I really like it. Best regards, Josh

It sure looks good to me Eric, nice job! Best regards, Josh

Excellent job on the leather and the grips Ran! Best regards, Josh

Well, it's not 100% done but it's very close. The wife is very pleased and can't wait to put it on a horse. Here are some pictures of how it looks now and a few i took along the way. I appreciate any comments and I'll be the first to note my cantle binding is horrible. Bad doesn't even come close and I know it, I'm not sure how to fix it on the next one but I need to figure it out. Other than that I'm fairly happy with it. Thanks for looking, Josh

It looks awesome, great job as always. There's no question you are your harshest critic, I think most of us are! I am somewhat concerned about your Ruger SBH being a "little" gun.... Take care! Josh

Thanks Harley, it has a border made with Crafttool D447, you can go to Tandy's website and search for it. I don't recall what the seeder in the corners are but anything you like would work there. Best regards, Josh

Thanks Brian, Semper Fi!