cavsgt

Depending on the style of your saddle the strings maybe what holds the skirts to the tree along with a couple of nails in the top of the bars. If you just use the strings for decoration scabbing them on will work but if used for tying I would pull the skirts and replace.

Not sure what the market is where you are but around here after you get done it will be about a $75.00 saddle. Most of this style saddle came from a second rate mass production saddlery and were pretty cheap when new. That said if you just want to use it to learn it is worth what you will give.

Add me please

Did some repair work on a similar rig many years ago. The seat, jockeys, rigging and skirts were all one piece. It was a very nice hand tooled custom made saddle and the only one that I have ever seen. Took some picture and was always going to try one but did not get around to it. If the pictures show up I will post them.

Probably the two best pieces of advice I have is do not get all of your eggs in one basket diversify and let your business tell you where it wants to go. We have built everything from boot harness to movie props and saddles. Neither were where we initially headed but both made us fair money. I like to laugh that at one time we were the leading purveyor of bad taste as boot harness manufactures for the whole country. A salesman came in the shop one night and asked if we could make this boot harness, I said yes but why would I want to when he told me what he was paying for them we signed on. My point is keep trying to come up with new ideas and do not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone

You would be better with an old shoe shop sole skiver if you can find one. We use one to skive stirrup lthrs. and such.

Make your self a guide out of brass or set a scribe for the width and length of the cut. Make a light mark on the end and side for the desired removal piece use your pound or head knife to make the cut. After you cut a couple thousand tips it will become a snap:rolleyes:rolleyes2: . I have never found a good way to free hand an English point but fold a piece of paper in half and cut a long arc, open and see if it is what you are looking for if not try again. After arriving at an acceptable point transfer it to something more durable such as a piece from the lid of an ice cream container. If you will send me the price of a gallon of good ice cream I would be glad to save you the onerous chore of eating it and will send you the lid. . Time spent acquiring patterns is time well spent.

a pull type splitter IMHO works better as a skiver that a splitter. We have been using a crank type splitter for years and did not even bother mounting the pull splitters when we moved.

I doubt that I will find a solution as the shop was first started in 1962 part time and became full time in 1981 when a distribution company for wholesale horse products went business went belly up. Most of what I do now is just with two long time wholesale customers and a few friends. Leatherwork can be very rewarding and at the same time very frustating. The biggest problem is when dealing with horsemen remember that we are a cheap bunch. This is caused by the cost of having a 1000 lb. friend and is compounded if we have a family as that always required more big friends.

I have worked in some area of the horse business for most of my life and finally figured out that most of the calls are not judgemental. Your customers have spent all day in the mundane world without their main intrest. Most will be looking for nothing more than a conversation about their favorite subject. That said it will be up to you to figure out how to handle them as it is possible to spend all day visiting and not get anything done. I* would love to share my secret but have not ever found a solution. You will also have to learn to deal with the dissatisfied customer as no matter how hard you try some are never pleased. A whole lot of talk without an answer right. Sorry