Aurelie

Hey Cheryl! Do not worry! I ve made my 1st "fair" this summer ( 2 days) and my 1st BIG show 2 weeks ago (5 days long) ..... i was sharing the spot with a breeder to split the costs On the 1st event = i sold NOTHING but : I was SEEN, KNOWN and got some good contacts for future orders 2 weeks ago : I ve sold only "small things" not enough to pay my food i was at the far back of the place so few people really saw me.....but i got some good contacts too I see those events as some kind on COM' BUDGET, some way to be seen...... Next one will be better than the previous one!

awesome job! :D

Looks enough like a dragonfly to me..... As you say : cool be better...but hey...there will be always better do not worry too much! your next one will be better

good question :D because yes that was my problem to get those products we can't get in europe for those very reasons..... only solution i found so far but not yet tested : order those products (at least antique from weaver) from an intermediate that ship those by boat..... second solution : i gave up wanting that kind of finish

really nice job - congrats

nice

Hello guys! sorry, i have not been around for a while.... been "overbusy" and had a "hellish" saddle to finish for a customer "Legcut".....i learnt from my mistakes on this one..... Not at all easy to do!! + i had all kind of bad luck and troubles so that i really thought about quitting the job! but lucky me, i do not like to quit...so it's finally finished and delivered to a happy customer ! it's not my best saddle, in my opinion, (some things really good and other not that good ) but hey this is my 4th one.....i will do better on the next one and on the next "legcut" (even if it s not scheduled for soon) here is the result : in-skirt rigging (3 way) coming along with matching headstal, mohair cinch and breast collar Now i am going to enjoy a bit of "free time", chill out a bit before starting my next saddle ( enduro) and 2 others are coming after this so keep tuned! :D

Here, finally i had an answer : "Hey Aurelie,There is no standard on the height of either the front or back rigging. I like the front rigging to be at least half or fully below the skirt. It makes it easier to cinch the latigo. Most D rigging rests entirely on the skirt. MT flat plate is usually below the skirts. The back rigging usually is about level with the skirt bottom." and with my luck , i tumbled on another post that may be useful to make that answer complete : My link

ok , i had not seen that post when i posted mine here : My link but it seems that it does answer my question about the placement of the rigging dee nice to see that i am not the only one with a lot of questions

great job ! really really nice looking!

Yes, exactly, i ve looked Al's books but it's not enough detailed and clearly "laid down" Al's books are really good...but sometimes, i found some missing specifications i know...me and my never-ending-questions ....

By now you should know that i ask too much questions...but hey...that's the way i am I came to wonder about it by looking at a lot of saddles Looking my notes and several books about saddle making And it appears that i have not found a detailed a good enough answer to it..... It is NOT about the placement of the rigging dee in full, 7/8 or 3/4 position...that i know WHYS and HOWS It is about the distance between the base of the fork and the rigging dee 1st : red arrow and then green arrow Is there a "reference" distance? I ve heard of 4" , 5 1/2" or even 7" for the front rigging? or is it just a "range" acceptable distance? those 3 measurement can do? or is it depending on if it's flate plates or inskirts or even an endurance saddle with "small skirts??? i guess all of this has its importance.... same with the back rigging If i make an "educated " guess, i would say : you do not want it too low because it would hurt the horse somehow and i guess that if too high, the saddle would not be "stable" and turn..... so? Whys? and Hows? and implications technically speaking for the saddle AND the horse? Maybe i am bothering myself with stupid questions.....but as you say in the USA "Better be safe than sorry"..... Thanks for your opinions and advices

Hello Buddies, I am re- using that same thread since my question is still about STORAGE.... Concerning my last trouble with leather, i am now pretty sure that you all were right : there was a problem of temperature and a bit of sun involved (one way or another i had my scrap leather stored in a big basket on the patio and found suspiciously identical stains on them.... How weird! i am moving my "workshop" around the house and i am "ending" in the garage....i vaccumed it like crazy it's dark, it's cool (now in the summer) and will be unbelievable (ly) cold in winter for now in the summer it is not "wet", damp, no much humidity...but who knows how damp it will turn if big rains in autumn so my question is : what are the best conditions to store leather securely? => dark = check => no humidity (what is the best % the maximum % of humidity) I am just getting crazy looking for the right spot to store my leather.....and i have to admit...i am a bit bored to get it in the living room thx for the advices guys!

Hello! Congrats for that saddle! :D And yes, please, if you can share here or on PM the contacts for the hides in Leon that would be cool! don't know for the other people but as for me i am willing to give it a try! Regarding your job : it would be nice if you could add more pictures : the whole saddle, the back , the front... it would help to see more of it Same with your trees...i am really interested into seeing how you perform your saddle tree maker job from the picture i can see: basketwave : very clean if you wanted to be picky , you could make the wave, the same direction on the different parts (seat, back jockeys, fenders....) but i grant you : easy to say, not so easy to do (1 thing i learnt in sheridan...) edges : look clean and nice i , personnally, not fond of black eedges on brown leather.....but still nice even more when you know how tricky this black is to apply .... too bad there is a black stain on the side jockey edge... the padded seat looks really great! i love the white stitching on the black leather one sad thing : the edge of padded seat overlaps on your stamping border need a better adjustment and measurement when you stamp and when you put on the padded seat the stitching : are you stitching by hand or sewing machine? i guess you use a sewing machine make sure you have enough thread on the bobine before starting stitching the skirt so that you can do it in 1 shot and avoid that "mess" on the area of the back rigging same kind of thing with the spot at the meeting between back cantle and seat those are details.....do not be discouraged because we are ALL on the same boat and we do improve ourselves at each new saddle we build Now all thoses things are "esthetic" matters.....as for me i am more interested by the "technique" what have you done, how have you build you saddle (aka everything that does not show BUT whose are still important for the horse i can't wait to hear more about that saddle

thanks a lot!

Salut Laurent! Le monde est petit! on se retrouve ici ! Comme dit ailleurs...moi je suis fan pour voir la suite! Good Luck avec tes mini selles!

:D i thought of something like that....but i was just not expecting it that steep been caught out of guard!

Thank Keith for the trick! I will think about it see how my leather work and do it the way it seems to work the best way for me! Guys, i really appreciate your insights!

thanks a lot that was solethingl ike that i had in mind but befoire doing it i wanted to "cover all bases" just in case!

Hello Guys and girls! I hope you 're all doing good! I am starting a new saddle and here i am wondering about something. I ve got a Legcut Bowman saddletree: And i am wondering about this "weird" shape at the back of the fork (surprise, surprise!! another "new thing" to try!) i ve looked for some posts here and i have found nothing so i ve gone on internet hunting some pictures of Legcut bowman saddles to see how people do the fork cover i Have found 3 ways of soing it : 1/ all molded (that was my option but i was wondering how to take the turn and keep the leather stuck to the tree in that area) 2/ with a welt ( not lateral one but one coming from the front toward the back => is this more tricky than a lateral one to do?) 3/ the ugly and easy option (no way i am doing it!!) a welt without a welt => leather cut and glued with a tooling on it to "camouflage" the cut My questions are : between option 1 and 2 (forget about the 3d one), which one is easier for a rookie like me (this will be my 4th saddle) and i guess there are some tricky things = which are? and what is the "best" way to get through them? i would really appreciate some tips, advices or whatever you throw at me Thanks guys and girls

thanks a lot for the tip!

looks nice to me! i also like thez style of horn wrap....not the way i ve been taught but i like it! some intel on how to do it? so i try it on my next horn wrap?

looks nice!

I like it! simple but nice!

Hi Dirtclod! Yes ! that's for sure! I had fun!