waddy

Add another vote for the horse stall mats. Murdocks frequently has good sales on them. Buy the biggest ones, and cut them to fit, they cut very easily with a utility knife. Like a lot of you, I have a concrete garage floor, which kills my feet, and what it does to a good head knife when dropped chills my soul (why do they ALWAYS have to land on one of the points?). For some reason, after I put the mats down, I very seldom even drop my tools. They just seem to know it won't do them any good to try and destroy themselves on the rubber mat!

I just cut out THREE holsters for the Colt Woodsman, and they were all backwards. And that was after I checked, double checked, and then convinced myself I had to turn the pattern over. I seem to have some kind of perverse need to do most things backwards at least once. Maybe we could form some kind of an organization to convince more shooters that left handed holsters are the new way to go!!

So cold that when I sat a pot of boiling water out the back door, it froze so fast the ice was still warm.

Thanks to both of you. Your points are all well taken and mirror my sentiments exactly. I think I will see if I can talk my customer into the Bork #287 which is a deep double dee or B shape. Thanks again, and as always, any more input would be greatly appreciated.

I just got a new saddle order requesting an in-skirt with 3-way rigging. I have never cared for this type rigging, so have no experience with it. For those of you who have used this type, what make/brand and style do you prefer. My customer definitely does not want the stamped steel type with the sharp edges seen on so many production saddles. I'm wondering about strength issues with the ones designed with a short post in the middle, versus the advantage of being able to change the rigging position without unlacing the latigoes. I have also had several repair saddles in with the "ear" type rigging plates which were completely worn through skirt and blocking at the rear ear. I'm wondering if just the plain double dee type would be best? I'm open to any and all suggestions and observations and thank you all.

Neat idea!! Thanks

Remember that saddles are used hard all winter long without benefit of a heated tack room. They have been for more than a hundred years, and what ones are not just plain worn out, or destroyed from lack of a little oil and cleaning once in awhile, are still in good shape. Granted, it would be wonderful to have a heated tack room where you didn't have to light matches under your bit to keep it from freezing to your horses mouth, and the seat of your saddle didn't freeze your butt for an hour, but that's the way it is more often than not. So no, leaving a saddle in an unheated tack room won't hurt it.

I have to say I really admire all you bronc stompers out there who can ride the tough ones without "pullin' leather". I must admit that I have been in many storms that required (in my mind, at least) me to grab anything I could get aholt of, and I did just that. SHAMEFULL!!! Actually, I have never ridden a saddle with a night latch, and never been with anybody who did (and that's a lot of genuine cowboys). For those of us who feel the shameful need to hang on to something while "enjoying" a little bit of a pony tantrum, hanging onto the rear edge of a Cheyenne Roll is a great help, and works much better than the horn. I agree with smokinp, with the exception that I like Clinton Anderson's suggestion even better: "Get your wife drunk and put her on him!" Forgive me for getting a little far afield from the original post, it just seemed like fun! I have had a couple of requests to put leather night latches on saddles, and have stuggled with a good way to attach them without using buckles. It seems to me that a buckle jerked through your hand could do a lot of damage. I tried to talk them into just putting on a chunk of rope secured with a "rope buckle" knot, but that was too ugly! I ended up cutting a thick piece of harness leather, rounding the edges with a large edger until it was nearly a round. I made one end large enough to punch a bag punch through and ran the free end through the hole and tied it with the rope buckle knot. It's now fully adjustable, with no sharp, hard edges to cut into your hand.

The video is available at www.gunvideo.com .

Many thanks for the speedy replies! I kind of figured the only solution was to make the post shorter. I was looking for a more time effective way than cutting the post. I had discarded the idea of cutting them with side cutters, as you mentioned Regis, for the very reason you mention. Do you have much difficulty straightening them out? I had thought about the dremel tool with the cut-off wheel, and will probably try that. I will also look into the crimping pliers Jim, thanks for that. I have already been on the too thick side Jordan, and solved that problem just as you have. Thanks to all for your suggestions, I appreciate them all very much. This is something you would think I would have worked out by now, but I actually do very little work with snaps. Thanks again.

I just needed to set some of the large Line 24 snaps on some 4 oz chap leather. I don't have a press, just the little snap and rivet set that handles the two sizes of large snaps, segma snaps, and rapid rivets. Basically just an anvil and a hand held punch. For me, it is extremely difficult to get the long post on the cap (female) side of the snap to crimp or roll straight without squashing to the side. Anyone have a simple solution (which is probably obvious to most folks) to this perplexing problem? Is there an easy way to cut off the post so it is more appropriate to the thickness (or thinness) of the leather. Thanks for suggestions.

Weaver Leather is actually a wholesale outfit. Their web site is http://www.weaverleather.com/ but they do not have an online catalog. If you don't have a dealer close to you who would order for you, then I would definitely suggest calling Bill directly. He is a very nice fellow and I'm sure he could help you. As Ashley stated earlier, she can get you his phone number, and I can as well. Just PM either one of us (so we don't put a personal phone number on the "net") and we'll get you fixed up!

I got my tapes from Weaver. If that doesn't work for you, you might try contacting Bill Gomer personally. I'm not very comfortable putting personal information on the web, but if you'll PM me I'll give you contact information for Bill.

Between the two you are thinking of, I would strongly recommend Bill Gomer's. I have both, and there is good in both of them, but I think you will find the Gomer one will give you the best information.

One more quick idea on a simple remedy for the ratchet catch. Just go down to the hardware store and look in the section where they sell the replacement saw blades for the "Sawzall" type products, and there you will find a ready made ratchet. Just drill a couple holes and attatch to your frame with some good screws. Cheap, quick, and works fine!

I received a Tandy Leather kit for Christmas or birthday when I was pretty young. I worked through all the kits, trying to follow the directions, which were a little sparse at the time. The only help I received was a tip on how to case leather for tooling from a neighbor rancher who made chaps and did a little tooling in his spare time. Everything else has been books and lately, videos.I bought an Adler flat top sewing machine when I was still in the Navy, and wehen I got home I made headstalls, saddle bags, chaps, etc. by the trial and error method. Many errors and trials before I was able to make anything really worthwhile. I could work out the basics on my own, but the little tricks that make it easier and more professional escaped me and made things very hard and crude until I learned a few things on my own. When I decided to do this for a living I forked over the money for a bona fide saddle making school with Jesse W. Smith. It was worth 3 times what I paid for it. I would have given anything to have had help like this available earlier. I hope the folks just starting out realize just how valuable this forum actually is.

I feel I owe everyone a quick but sincere apology who read my first post in the topic "Why are Wades so popular?". All of my braying about the "superiority" of swell forks was based on lifelong experience with nothing but swell forks. You all have convinced me, I'm going to build myself a Wade with the dreaded bucking rolls, and based on virtually everyones comments, I am afraid I will really like it. I worked with Jesse W. Smith, and his preferred method of installing the rolls was to screw them solidly into both the gullet and at the base of the "swell". What do you folks think?

Ha! Your blue tarp comment gave me a chuckle! I have just read all the posts on your new topic about the Wades. I'm still not totally, absolutely convinced, but obviously the good Wades must work well and have been doing so for many years. I will freely admit that most of my prejudice comes from riding swell forks all my life, and really never even seeing any of the other cowboys riding one until fairly recently. Just one of those territorial preferences, obviously. It has been sneaking up on me in the back of my mind for a long time, and I guess I will have to admit it. I'm going to build one for myself, then I will be able to directly compare. I don't think I can live long enough to put as many miles on it as I have on the many swell forks though.

I always wonder why someone would want to have Wade or slick fork of any kind made, then put on those ugly bucking rolls as an afterthought. That's why swell fork trees were designed in the first place. To me, it is like building a beautiful custom home with no roof, then putting a blue plastic tarp over it to keep out the rain. From a saddle makers point of view, the Wade/slick fork saddle is easier and quicker to make, as the swell cover doesn't need welts, and the smaller curvature makes it much easier to stamp. They are very pleasing to the eye, and can be very comfortable, just as a well made swell fork can be. The idea of the lower horn is certainly of merit, though practically maybe more so in our imaginations than fact. Many animals have been roped on swell fork saddles with no problem. I don't intend to insult anyone, and I hope I have not done so. This is just my take on them. My heartfelt thanks to Rod and Denise for their wonderful, clear, backed up with fact explanations on this board. My comments here are just opinions.

Great pictures! What did you make your drying hoop out of, and is there any tendency for it to pull crooked while drying?

Thanks Luke and Tangent for the link. I had actually looked at the site, and there were so many specifications I had no idea how how to order what I wanted. I may give them a call if I can't find a source where I can simply order a #3 tubular rivet in a specific length. I know many folks use these rivets, so there must be a good source for them.

I badly need a source/supplier for #3 tubular rivets. Weaver does not list them, only the smaller size corresponding to about #1. They also have a different sizing system apparently, as they are not listed by size numbers like #1 or #3. Can anyone help me find a source, as I am right in the middle of a fairly large order (to me), and I need a longer #3 rivet for part of the order. Thanks

Wonderful topic! I also do a lot of re-line jobs, most of which just have plugs front and rear, nothing under the stirrup leathers. Some of them are so paper thin I wonder why they even bothered. These include many older, better made saddles, and are not limited just to the newer "hope it hangs together until it gets out the door" production hulls. On the other hand, I was taught to use plugs the entire length of the skirt. Splices are fine, as long as they are smooth and don't fall directly under the girth or stirrup leather. This has since been reinforced many times by several master saddle makers. An interesting thought, most of the saddles (the well made ones) that had plugs only on the front and rear have held up just as well as the fully plugged ones.

Looks like I'm pretty late with this, but in case you or anyone else is still looking, Wayne Jueschke in Elko, Nevada makes a very good tool that will handle everything from the fine lace all the way up to 1/2 " saddle strings. It will cut the lace to size, skive it to any thickness, and bevel the edges. It has a seperate bar for rawhide included with the lace cutter. It was around $350 when I bought mine a couple of years ago. Wayne also makes some mighty fine stamps. He doesn't have a web site, but does have a catalog/flyer. I have his contact information if anyone is interested.

When I am pre-stretching stirrup leathers, I wet them well, then tack the ends to a 2 x 8 removing as much stretch by hand as possible, then laying another short length of 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 (depending on how stretchy and how long the leathers are) between the leathers and the board they are tacked to. Then, simply turn the short length of board on edge and leave until dry. It helps to place a piece of scrap between the edgewise board and the stirrup leathers to prevent leaving edge marks from the board. I then assemble the leathers and fenders, punch the holes, and wet the bottom of the fenders and leathers and place on the final stretching, twisting device. I place the buckles into one of the upper holes (dry leather) to prevent stretching the holes. Seems to work well.