Blake

It was sent to me from Florida LOL. I wonder if it was enlarged in HD if we could make out the name on the police car? Blake

That appears to be from a company that was a division of Big Horn in the late 60s to early 70s located in Chattanooga Tenn. It was simply called "Western Saddlery" if my memory is correct. Blake

I don't know who made this seat but the picture was sent to me by a friend . I thought it was pretty neat and wanted to share it with the group. My compliments to the maker. Blake

I'll throw something in to add or subtract from the confusion. The full Qtr Horse, Semi Qtr Horse etc. measurements or terminology is a product of production company mail order catalogs that attempted to help a customer choose a fit for their needs. It was also usually unique to their own products since they also controlled the mfg of their trees. Its like ordering a small medium large or xtra large shirt from LL Bean and then ordering the same from JC Penneys. They probably won'y fit exactly the same but will be somewhere in the ballpark . Rigging position is critical for the horse so it is typical to set its position based on the bar shape rather than where the fork sits on the bar or the horn sits on the fork. Most Saddle makers prefer certain tree makers and that may/can also have a bearing on how they measure for their rigging position. Its not rocket science but it is common sense. This is a good topic and hopefully Denise will steer you to some past discussion on tree measurements and various Professional saddle makers will discuss their methods of setting the rigging's. You also have to take regional differences and conditions along with it and in some cases the breed differences for the way makers learned their methods. You are correct that there are no real published standards but usually most professionals set their own very high standards and based on the end results of their efforts I would say that most are working from the same perspective so you should be able to narrow down the information that you seek. Blake

This is a fun thread! Mine is pretty typical but it can be any model or make. 1993 GMC 4x4 single cab no tail gate, Reese hitch, Ball hitch in the bed . Its what is in the bed that makes it a "cowboy truck" Spare tire ( probably flat) fuel can, spare fence posts and wire. Old bumper jack to pull posts. Various cans and containers of fluids for tractors and equipment. Hot Shot, catch ropes, empty feed sack or two, Cribbing marks on the hood , doors or bed sides, bailing wire, hay strings, chain, jumper cables. Thats just one layer. My neighbor has a new 2010 Dodge and is already stocked with the above. Duallys are good for road travel but the rear fenders take a beating on narrow gates and close quarters between trees and chutes. Brush guards if still intact come in handy and some might even still have a headache rack if the original owner thought it necessary. Some will also have strategically placed dents that resemble the various points of anatomy of a bovine. Judging from the inside of the color of the door jambs mine is dark blue but its hard to remember for sure. Mud color is in style this time of year. My wife likes sport cars so hers is a Hemi Sport with a bed mat and tail gate protector. I think she puts dog food back there when she shops. Blake

I'll go out on a limb here, That looks like the work of John Simon . The saddle appears to have a Porter style influence and if I am not mistaken he worked at Porters along with Bob Dellis at some point in his career. He was in Stephensville Texas for a period in the 1990s and is currently in Arkansas. Troy West may have more information or can offer corrections to my statement . Blake

Hi Charlie Take off the rear jockeys and see if there is a card tacked to the top of the near side bar behind the cantle. Its possible that it will still be there if it has never been rebuilt before. It was fairly common to find a Porters business card with the buyers/customers name and the date if it was a custom order. I don't know if their in stock saddles had any kind of information attached. It looks to be a decent prospect for a rehab program. Let us know what you find if anything at all. Kind Regards Blake

This should help. Blake http://www.mcmaster.com

Bale twine is for riggings and stirrup leathers

Good Morning Natalie Dennis Lanes system is a good decision. You might also consider that there are a couple of excellent tree makers on this forum that understand and can use that system to your benefit. Go with either the hide or glass . The maker of the Glass trees and The makers of the Hide trees on this forum have done their homework and I along with many other saddle makers can vouch for their quality. Just because a tree is advertised with a fancy coating doesn't necessarily mean that it is of a good design. Yes there are gimmicks used there too and a lot of the time you get poor bar design and performance because you were dazzled by the hype and BS. You just need to make your choice and get that first tree ordered so that you can concentrate on getting your shop and tools in order so that you can get it built. When you start building, you will have a gazillion more questions. There is not a law in place (yet) that says you have to keep that first saddle so you can always sell it and build another since you will be one saddle smarter. You have some top saddle makers on this forum too and will more than likely give you all the help they can with your questions once they see that you are serious and standing at your bench. I would suggest that you stick with the seasoned makers of trees and saddles with your questions. People that market their skills and products on a large scale don't necessarily make the best product decisions when they are selling something, only what can turn a fast profit and has appeal because of a name attached. There is a world of difference between having a saddle with a name on it or having a saddle built by the person whose name is on it. Kind Regards Blake

There is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation being thrown around about the flex trees. You have to completely think through the dynamics of the completed saddle and not just the tree alone. The tree loses most of its flex from front to back when the strainer is applied and how it is applied will determine the rocker. The point that Genedek is trying to make does not actually apply unless it is to the tree only and then it will depend on the bar materials as to how much and what type of pressure you get when weight is applied. The intended benefit of the flex tree was/is to provide a fix to subtle variances in the twist & flare and provide a better bar to back contact ratio. The flex tree , Like any other tree has to fit decently to start with to actually provide any benefit. Steele does have an assortment of sizes and fits but you still need to know what you are looking for . The Flex tree is designed for high production and I would not recommend it for building your first saddle unless you enjoy frustration. It is not a trampoline and the flex is being taken way out of context . Do yourselves a favor and order a conventional tree either hide or glass but make it a high quality clean, well made and designed tree. This will save you a lot of time and frustration when building which will over ride the money that you think you might save by purchasing an inexpensive one. Kind Regards Blake

Gee Dennis, You haven't heard any real BS yet. Blake

Hello Cord There are a few different methods to build the roll, mainly the filler and how its attached. Steve mason has a blog and you can probably find the link by searching his name in the archives. A picture is worth a thousand words. There are several inexpensive books on the market that will probably clarify a few things . There are also different DVDs and tapes on the market that are very well done and the Leathercrafters Journal is currently advertising Pete Gorrels article on building the Cheyenne Roll. Where are you located in Texas? If you are close by then you would be welcome to visit my shop. Blake

What are a set of these worth? Blake

HEMLOCK!

Hamley is another saddle company that comes to mind. Blake

Hi Bruce It has all the earmarks of a Buford. ( Sugar Hill Ga.) They did a lot of contract saddles for several companies and put out more than a few copies less the original companies logos. These people were ex Bona Allen Employees and followed some of the old methods from the later BA saddles. One other possibility is a Simco or from the old Southern Saddlery ( Long Gone) out of Chattanooga. If there is a small flower stamp in the center of the horn cap then it is probably one of the latter. Remember that Bona Allen was bought out by Tex-Tan Hereford and there was a short period of crossover manufacturing. The shape of the latigo carrier is that of a Buford. That was a popular style saddle at one time but I could never understand why.. Blake

Hi Brent Fantastic job. You probably needed some R&R after that one. I was hoping to see it at W.F. this October so maybe you need to do it again. LOL Best Regards Blake

Hi Steve Contact Troy West, He and Jay are good friends. Blake

This is a good topic Several months back , I had someone drag out an old worn saddle and ask me what my thoughts were about it. I recognized it to have been made by a long deceased saddle maker . After more thoughts about the saddle the next day, I realized that I own and use the tools that were probably used to make that very saddle. It sure makes you want to be sure that our tools are left in good hands when we depart. Blake

Try Smith Worthington saddle co. in Hartford Conn. They are /were a mfg. of the Trooper saddle. http://www.smithworthington.com/ Blake

Hello Everyone I don't usually plug for a supplier but.............. I just had a very pleasant transaction with a Silver Company and think that it is worth sharing. I recently ordered a custom oval plate for a saddle I am making that will be placed on the back of the cantle. I was in a rush for it because another silver company had dropped the ball and failed to process the order. Jim Dudley of Lone Star Silversmith helped me out by supplying me with a template for my order so that I could proceed with the construction of the saddle and do the tooling around the area where the plate will be while they were making the piece. Throughout the process Jim stayed in touch and kept me up to date on my order and this allowed me to stay on a promised schedule for my customer. The actual plate arrived today (early) and the quality is excellent and exactly what I ordered. I thought "What a concept" A company that will work with you, meets or exceeds their delivery promise and freely communicates along with returning calls in a timely fashion. The prices are also very decent especially for the quality and custom work is not a problem. At any rate check out their site, (Buckles are their specialty) www.lonestarsilversmith.com Jim Dudley was my contact but everyone was extremely helpful and pleasant. Blake

You might want to consider having your brand or name done with a laser. The detail would be excellent and can be burned at different depths to give you the look of a brand without damaging the leather. There are a couple of people here on the forum that can do this. Kowboy Boots is the first to come to mind. Try posting again or contact her through the members list. Blake

Hello Dennis Watching this topic closely and reviewing your options especially after looking at the Maxwell kit I'm inclined to think that that might be a good way to start since video instruction is included and a lot of the skiving and fitting is already done. It would give you a chance to inspect and give analysis to how things fit together so that you would know if Saddle making is something that you might want to expand on. I would imagine that you could recover most if not all of your investment by selling the finished saddle if you did a good and neat job. You would also see areas that you might want to do differently the next round. Why not ask for the names or numbers for a couple of customers that bought the kit and contact them for their input? As someone suggested, Rebuilding a quality used saddle would also give you a tremendous amount of insight and you could more than likely recover your investment on that too. I certainly do agree that the best way would be from personal instruction from a competent Saddle maker. Either way, You have found a forum that has a few Saddle makers that would be more than willing to help you out with answers to any problems that you might encounter. There is always a cost of some kind associated with education and in our chosen field it is usually time and materials during the learning curve. Kind Regards Blake

Dusty don't live here anymore.