Aurelie

That's a FINE saddle!! Congrats! 1st time i see one of that kind!!! i am really curious about how you can blend the flate plates rigging with the seat! Would you mind to explain a bit the process (here or on MP) Not that i plan to try it soon ...but maybe , 1 day i will be "tough" enough to try... Again : that's a damn fine job!! I wish , i day i will be as good as you guys!

Okay....Skirts are on.... It's been quite a pain in the butt to put on and align everything... I SO hate to build inskirts!!! Who said it was easy peasy thing compared to flate plates???? but it's on! i still have to put on the plugs straight and aligned at the back and rigging dees aligned at the " millimètre près" ! the front ones and the back ones so technically everything is alright althought skirts might have been "blocked" a bit more....i ve got to improve on the next saddle since it will be a Barrel racing one! but esthetic is another history.... 2 things "bother" me.... 1st : i see the right skirt slightly lower than the left one at the front Okay, it's just esthetic but i am becoming psychotic with this ...and i know that it will be the 1 st thing that Dale will notice!! And I notice THAT above everything NOW! Totally Psycho! but i am "cajoling" myself telling me : the most important is the technical aspect over the esthetic one = better have rigging dees set straight and at same level and not perfect esthetism at the front rather than the other way around (for the horse sake) PERFECTION would be both....i tried to get the skirt higher but it won't do as i wish... 2d thing : i am not used to big opening of the gullet i ve never done an Old Mexico before and i am surprised by the look of it...i have to admit : i am not at all fond of the look of it... it just looks TOO WIDE opened.... i really do prefer the Flat Creek Packet or even the Sid Special style.... Do all the Old mexico saddles look like that at the front?

Is it possible for you to add some comments about the video in order to illustrate and explain this dorsal ligament action? thx Aurelie

Oh!! and i forgot to tell you : i really love the tapaderos too

Really nice job! I really like it! may i ask what do you call "blanks"? is that the stitched part hiding the "ball of the spur" on the side? and may i ask another question : how do you do that so that it hides the side ball of the spur but still allowes the "ball" to fit in? Thanks Aurelie

Yup! totally agree with that....and sometimes you get out of it easy, nice...and sometimes it won't let you go easily! What i ve learnt after my 2 1/2 saddles i ve built so far (3d one is in process) ?? Think outside the box and try Plan B, C, D...'til it works the way you want! i so love that job...and sometimes...i so hate it! Héhéhé And Chuck : i really like your saddle may be not perfect but totally good to me! ..and do not worry , next one will be even better! Good luck !!

Neat job for a 1st one! good supplies, nice tooling You're using a sewing machine? I like the shape of your fenders! and i am happy to hear that i am not the only one taking time to build saddles

Hello, Hello! I ve been quite busy lately with Charlotte, saddles and some stuff... but here i am for a little update on "How is going that saddle" It's.........how could i put that on? ....it's ...not easy, never going the "easy" way.....and always thinking of a better way to do what i want.... It's time consuming....but it's working rather good.... slowly, but surely ... not perfect but ok 1st of all : 1st of both skirt finished to be tooled and stitched i am pretty happy with the tooling there it seems to be enough deep i had some troubles around the rigging dee because the leather (the feeling) is just "weird" when tooling... At 1st , i wanted to interlock the design around the rivets, but that "weird" feeling just made me back up ...and i guess it was a wise decision Regarding the stitching.i am way not yet out of the wood!!! the waxed thread i used (the one too waxed) is SO NOT WORKING I tried to rub it with canvas, paper, leather and even sand paper....NOTHING works good to remove enough of that extra wax......too much wax or not enough and it weaken the thread It makes "dreadlocks" in the sheepskin = PERFECTLY AWFUL A TOTAL HELL so , i finally decided to stitch with sewing machine thread (with a bit of wax on it) FYI, sewing machine thread IS NOT intended to be used to stitch by hand => as sharp as a wire , even with Bike's gloves héhéhéhé i won't put a pic of my hand.... BUT The important thing is to find a solution that works and which is clean That makes the trick ! clean, efficient and nice looking! I just have to do the second one....... I jumped the bridge regarding the Fork cover carving.... Anyway...if i wanted to try ...i had to start and do it at some point! So here i am.... not too tricky, a small thing to start I just have to have a smaller stand the next time i am a bit too short to be comfy working on it What can i tell about it? hum ...not that bad...but next time it will be better i guess i did not dare cut too deep because the leather here is quite stretched and thin I do not know how deep i can cut without risking a total wreck so the design is not too deep i guess it could be a bit deeper....but it looks not that bad what do you think? some advices? Ah! and the stirrups are finished!! :D but this is a surprise for the end !!! TIME CONSUMING but AWESOME! Oh! and you remember the trouble i had with the stained yellow latigo??? If fact, it's not a storage trouble.....it just changes color with time...... I do not understand .... i have cut the strings they are properly stored no humidity, no light , no contact...and they just darken..... and better keep away from Olive Oil because it darkens it even more!!! when the Kangaroo is bright yellow and do not darken that bothers me a lot because at 1st, latigo and Roo were the same color and now with the time going , the latigo changes color..... Any idea??? Next steps : finish stitching the 2d skirt, lacing them, put on the skirts then THE BIG JOB = Inlaid seat and when that 's over and ok.....It will be a nice lil stroll in the grass (except the binding for straight cantle) héhéhéhé Keep tuned!

no i did not know thzm but in fact i am looking carved stirrups and wee tack as lil' dude stirrups, saddle bag rather than supply i do have an account for supply at weaver but i wanted to open an account to their tack dpt and they won't do it

i am not looking for lower prices only 1 supplier willing to deal with me and with good quality products

Hello guys, I won't lay down all the details but i am looking for a Tack supplier (american one with quality products) willing to work with a small structure (as i am ) and which is oversea. Aside Weaver in the USA...Do you know of someoneelse? ThX Aurelie

Héhéhé as for me i have way more on my plate than what i can eat! I ve got that saddle to finish for Sheridan then i have an order for a reining saddle : a black and bungury one (the black and yellow one gave some idea to some customers) i have also a barrel saddle tree and i think that i will make it bicolor : natural + chestnuts (i have the leather to do it ) and it will allowes me to try a barrel saddle i have ordered an endurance arabian tree too and i have a nice idea in the corner of my mind but not yet the leather for it On each saddle i build i try to put some more "challenge" and try something i have never done before : it's the way to learn Geez.....in fact i have work for more than the year! Have fun Gianni and remember : "Always think outside the box!"

then "hush" i guess you mean "rough out" or the underside of the hide on top? Always! the next one is always better than the previous one you learn something with each new saddle i can tell you about Yves Lesire, 1 big western saddle maker here in france who told me rightly : the day when you're satified with your job, the day you think you have nothing more to learn is the day you must quit that job! and i really think that he is totally right on that matter i bought 10 hides directly from Hand O - grade A top quality but it cost me a lot of money i do not have enough "turn over" to use thoses hides quickly enough I had some storage troubles and to top it off i encoutered troubles with the quality of the last batch of leather so i was a bit...disappointed ..... so i tried to buy from Weaver 3 hides from another supplier : chahin it's a bit more thick that H and O that i usually use from 1st tests , it seems to behave quite similar to H and O but it's a bit cheaper (no much though) i will tell you my feeling when i will start my next saddle in June if you want time for scientific tests i guess

good job on the tooling! you tried that new tandy background which looks like waterdrops? nice! i am not good at all with flowers but yours look good for a first 3d pic : about the saddle structure i do not know if it's because of the picture or the way the saddle sit on the stand but it seems to me that your rigging dee is a bit too backward or was it your intend to do a 3/4 rigging dee? about the leather aspect : have you oiled your leather or put a specific product on it? i really like the looks .....it looks like an antique saddle!

Just the name of it sounds great! I am not into the "shiny" thing but the saddle i am building is black and i find the "glossy" aspect really attractive when i am working the wet leather but when drying it is not so shiny the glossy aspect highlight the carving that 's what i am looking for , for that saddle i am bringing into sheridan Ok , i am going to search where i can find that thanks guys for replies @ Steve : i do not like the "sticky " aspect of Neat foot oil ; that's why i use olive oil (i prefer the result ...just a matter of taste )

Ok thanks a lot for those replies, guys i really appreciate

Yup , i ordered some but i thought it was a different product with a different goal in the process so you would oil the saddle and then add tan kote on it when it s dry? and this would give a shiny/glossy aspect (even is less than neat lac or whyosheen?)

Hello boys and girls! I am running out of ideas here...and i really need you to help me find an alternative solution. Usually for the "finish" of a saddle i do it that way : 1/ olive oil 2/ let it dry 3/ some Skidmore's cream on it 4/ let it dry 5 buff it and it's good to go! BUT if this process is acceptable, i find that it lacks some "shiny " aspect It lacks the shiny aspect i would need for a saddle show I have seen some terrific saddles , very nice and shiny built by Pedro Pedrini and he has been very kind to point me out some stuff to use for this shiny aspect = > Wyosheene which apparently is replacing the Old good well known "Neat Lac" Here i am encouterning THE BIG TROUBLE They can't ship Wyosheene overseas because that's inflammable => so i can forget about it "Neat Lac" does not exist anymore... I ve contacted Tandy in UK asking them if they had something similar, and apparently no.... So i am back at square 1.... Any idea of what i could use aside olive oil and skidmore's to get a nice shiny finish??? (that can be shipped overseas without troubles? and that won't ruin the leather?) I so hate it when things do not go as i wish... :/

Then Welcome to the club to be honest...i do not know.... except i have "enslaved" my hubby he gives his hands when an extra pair is needed and it's rather common to work btw 8 pm and 12 pm while baby is sleeping AND when NO HAMMERING needed AhAha sure! no problem! now you ve got to explain that saying! i do not know this one!

I would not go THAT far.... I am newbie in that business and i have been taught and discovered it while working that it's a job where you learn everyday 'til you die I said "i try" because i have followed a training for the building of saddles with Dale Moore ( http://www.montanahorseman.com ) so i ve got the basics but i seek for everything i can to improve myself in books and forums such as this one (a gold mine) but for small items , i do it from scratch...i observe a lot and try to do it when something does not suit me , i modify it always thinking : drawbacks to come? dangerous? what can be improved? My buildings are FAR from being perfects but that the goal i have : try to reach as close as possible perfection..one day i am working very slowly because i have a baby home ; working in my living room (huh, if this can still be called a living room) waiting for my workshop to be finished and to top it off I decided that i was going to go tickle US guys on their ground and bringing a saddle to the 2012 Sheridan Leather Show ( i know i will be buried down but it's a good challenge and i guess i will meet really interesting and nice people ) so...keep the faith and work hard !

Hi Cheryl! Here on my my FB page you will be able to see some of the things i try to build small things: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.281061891931465.58786.228667370504251&type=3&l=338a6f7ef3 saddles :

+1 terrific

Forget about the Ballet! All headstals are not lined ... depending on the thickness and specificity of leather and quality of leather used I just started to build up headstals and thinking about leatherwork...everything is about "good sense" when i use thick and not stretchy leather, i do not line them if i use thiner or a bit stretchy leather, i line them....with thin leather that's the way i figured it out..... definitely the lone one

same question as quoted up there and Yeah! even more than super! terrific job!

i would have shared the pics i have...but they 're not of a great help not easy to explain that by pics maybe one of our "big bad" saddle maker around will have a tutorial for that