Aurelie

mold appeared within a few hours???? how weird! are you sure there was not mold in the 1st place on the leather? never heard of mold appearing so quickly....but i am kinda a greenhorn.... As for the "hurry" part => i ALWAYS remember what have been taught to me (and sure it's right) DO NOT HURRY WITH LEATHER OR YOU WILL GO DIRECTLY INTO A WRECK IF YOU START A BATTLE WITH LEATHER AND WANT TO HURRY => LEATHER WILL ALWAYS WIN .....and i hate when i lose :D and i do not go down without a good fight Hit once, hard and fast to make sure you win it Ahahaha :D When i wrecked my padded seat ...i let the saddle alone almost for 1 week.....while i was planning a nice strategy, thinking on the whys and hows it gone wrong...i asked questions around to make sure my "judgment" was good and then when i thought i had covered all possibilities...i went back to pulling my seat (after redoing it) and it went good and smoothly...even turned out very nice

AhAh! good one!!! i may hang it on my wall with my wrecked seat too! as for me i wrecked it on the "pulling " part , not the measurement......i do measure 3 or 4 times!!! maybe a psycho i am!

wrecked the 1st fitting of your seat? hum yup fatal error.....but happens even to the bests i wrecked one 1 month ago when pulling it .....too bad...but part of the game! keep going!

thx a lot!

Those are really nice! i have never braided anything aside the back jockeys on my saddles I would like to try my hand at braiding reins (not something such "difficult" as those you have done).....and maybe 1 day build ones like yours or even a bridle What kind of book would you advice me to buy in order to learn something about braiding? what kind of book which say what material to use , why? and how to braid? Thanks a lot for the tip!

thanks a lot for the adding informations!

@Gianni : that's exactly what told me my "teacher" : follow the way you ve been taught at first...then try other things when you feel more comfy! As for the trees : i have not found someone in Europe who build western saddle trees i do import them from the USA i usually buy them to Timberline in Utah - wood and rawhide made by hand but i am going to order a ralide to see what it worthes Keep going!

Thanks for the answer ! I thought i already used size #9 for my copper rivets with Blevin Buckles so either i am wrong on the size i use but it seems that the holes on those superior quick change buckles are slightly smaller than on Blevins Ok, from your explanation , i get it you set them the same way as Blevin Buckles => the little "tits" (not the proper name but i can't get my finger on it right now but i guess that you will understand what i mean) toward the horse if twisted or toward you if not May i ask what kind of buckles you use? i guess you use those quick change buckle or laced stirrups if you do not use Blevins? Or does it exists something else?

just "whoa" really nice job!!

Hello guys and girls! Here is my question (see the picture for illustration) B : Blevin Buckle (regular one) I know then, use them and know how to set them (on conventionnal stirrups, balanced ride ones, with wyoming or Nevada twist or not) I 've got other kind of buckles "A" on pictures: I can't remember the name of thoses i do not know why but i have got troubles remembering the name... Here is my questions: - what's their name? - what size of rivet i should use? (it seems the holes are smaller than on Blevin Buckles) - how do you set them on stirrup straps? same way as for Blevins' ones? i mean the part with the string (the one you can remove) should be front to you (not on the horse's flesh side) -what are the pros and cons between those 2 types of buckles? Thanks for your help! Aurelie

Thanks a lot BoB! it's been a long time i was wondering about those i ve tried to find info around the web...but nothing more "precise" than your explanation!

really nice job!

1 single word to sum up : BRAVO!

Hi Jerry! and welcome in there! I am quite "happy" to see that i am not alone in that world with the same questions..... across the Atlantic, i ve got something like the same troubles i am working with only the best products i ve been taught to build "sturdy" saddles , ready to cross many years without batting an eyelash (i am a rookie in the buisness since i ve been working for 1 year ) My experience is growing up each saddle i build (i ve built 3 saddles so far on my own) I am importing most of the products from the USA (trees, leathers and hardware) just because i have no other choice. It has a cost (products, shipment, customs) I build the saddle... so at least i have to charge the price it costs me to get the products (and it costs me more than a cheap western saddle built in mexico or china) As i am rookie, i found it "logical" not to charge my "handjob" (meaning my leather working! as much as a 30 years experience saddle maker because i do think that experience makes the difference (it s a job where you learn sthg everyday) Upon this you can add : the horse morphology here in France Most are not QH Most are half breed between a lot of different kind of horses and people get a hellish time to find a saddle that fits their horse and they are just starting to be "aware" of saddle fitting problems Trouble is : they want a custom saddle as cheap as a china one...... Go figure??? Totally impossible to me ...... I won't work out a dinasty here anyway i ve got only 1 set of hands and a baby to take care....so, if i can build and sell 3 saddles per year...i would be happy but i prefer to build less saddles but good ones and to "intelligent people" that understand why they want a custom saddle and why they pay more than a cardboard saddle.... I do like my job and i am not ready to "whore" it By the way = nice saddle on your picture! And to get back to what Adam said about "the right price" : yes here too, people are that way.... they can't understand that you can find "brandless" saddles that are way better than some "well known brands"...... As i use to say : if you do not put a certain amount of money = you 're sure to get S**T BUT if you "strip" your wallet and pay a big amount of money = you're not even sure to get THE QUALITY (Good one).... :D

Your fork cover looks nice! i doid not had the "guts" to try this so far but it's in a corner of my mind Regarding your "flat plates" (to me) they look like a bit too big or long i do not know what others (more experienced) think about it but as for me, i ve been taught to "srew" the back something like under the cantle (where it meets the bars) and not on the back of the bars i do not know if there are several ways of placing flat plates or not or what are the pros and cons of doing it one way or another way... Any master saddle maker around to give his opinion? But anyway : keep going!

Good looking! i like the rought out + inlaid seat! Bravo!

Not yet Harrington but i know how to get in touch with his daughter ! Took me eons to find her when i needed a "special" punch but now i know how and where to find her! i should be in Sheridan in May 2012 so i guess i can order and pick it up then

you will more likely "ruin" 1 or 2 hides of leather...before ruinning the saddle tree! Keep us posted on how is going your 1st saddle building!

Not sure this picture is bigger than the others (i did not want them to be too huge for computers) Not sure you can see the padded seat better... but here it is

Yes Harrington, i build them for special orders here in France and yeah, the padded seat on the 2d saddle looks nice..... but it really was a "pain in the butt" because i wanted to use a specific leather and it turned out to be to thick and not stretchy at all... then when i pulled the seat => 2 huge wrinkles appeared at the base of the cantle had to tear apart the seat and redo it from scratch after 1 phone call to the USA and the answer : "Aurelie, it s impossible to do that with this leather" and given how "hard headed i am" more than a mule if i can say so i finally found a trick to pull that seat the way i wanted wew.....not sure i would do it again though! next saddle , i am going to "try" a straight cantle and a padded seat ...but with a leather more stretchy and since , it's not a special order, i am going to try to experiment some things and try to improve what i was not happy with those last saddles

:D Yes !! i see i am not the only one to have some "crazy " ideas about designs on saddles! High 5 for you Tat2 !! "chapeau bas" as said in french really great job for a 1 st saddle and most of all "learnt " by yourself with a book and a dvd!! really, congrats!

BoB: on the pictures, it seems that your back jockeys lay closer to the skirt edge than Vince'ones i do not know if this is really the case or just a trick of the pictures mines lay halfway between yours and Vince's ones..... here is what i learnt : back jockeys job is to distribute the weight over the saddle and hence the horse's back but? what's too short and what's too long? i guess that if back jockeys were same length as skirts it would make this area too thick , not enough flexible and would causes troubles to the horse 's back Am i wrong? what if they're too short? Vince : you job looks rather fine to me speaking of my own taste : i just do not like the horn of the 1st saddle because it looks too much like a phone post and congrats for the flower carving ! (i am really not good at this)

:D i am "open minded" :D if you have an idea to "avoid" using a dremel...i am up to use it! because it's more a "pain in the butt" than a joy since usually the drill bit is on the short hand and it's really tricky to avoid "nasty marks" on the leather :D thanks for the tip ! i will email him (easier than phone regarding time zone héhé :D)

nice tutorial! now i guess i will not be "scared" of doing it!

nice job indeed! it s never "easy" to make nice wee pouch like that