oltoot

Monte Foreman put out a book, I think. Trees were custom made. All-in-all, try to convince customer that it should not have been allowed to use word balanced. Required tension for 'balance'

Best (but not without struggle) place for a swell cover is in the front leg crease. Horn hole right at the firm/stretchy break. (Transition from firm to belly, not either/or) Start at the horn hole, then the gullet and hand hole, then pull the front down starting where welts would be and then 'splitting' the gaps around and there will be no second trys, it will work the first time or go in the scrap box, and best shot is well cased, not real wet. I have even seen Little Wonders without welts but why? Welts are better on swells over 11" IMHO

Did you try Quality Mfg. in Monticello, Utah?

S K's and horses: Take the time it takes; don't rush

Another 'trick' . Rather than try to acquire and then ruin a series of stones, get a series of grit sandpapers from coarse to fine and lay a sheet of sandpaper down on your tooling or skiving place (big smooth spot) and back and forth with your blade in the little Tandy roller guide. When you have the metal 'scored' with a series of lines to match the grit then repeat with a finer grit till you are down to emory paper and just polishing. Finish with hard strop and enjoy!

It was good but things got better with Landis #3, #16, and so on . What is your budget? A modern Juki 441 clone would be better, but a #1 sure beat handsewing for lots of things.

And a book by Julie Hough on horsehair

hard to visualize. If there were a filler in there (attached to the tree) and a join in that is separated, at any rate, glue just sounds like a 'hail Mary'.

My "standard" was a combination of strings through everything, lug strings, and a screw(s) in the gullet and under the cantle. I did not like pocketed bars, also most that I built were skirt rigged and had additional attachment with rigging set up. Never experienced a skirt move that way unless involved in one of "them big wrecks" (Pole or post or trailer door) Not hard to repair either if I just stopped and thought a moment about sequence. MY own were easiest as I had replaced most nails with drywall screws and had figured out where to taper and skive to avoid jerks and pops which tore and broke things. And all (most of) my strings left the shop extra long so they could be double wrapped and release tied. You can always cut a little off of a string but rarely can you make them longer

Notice too, that that all stems from having used the stuff and knowing what works and doesn't before figuring out how to make it.

Wild Horses were getting along with native wildlife before bison and Indians were killed off and replaced by domestic livestock and so on. How far back do you go to put things right? Today's wild horses must be managed, not eliminated

Hardware can be pretty time specific. Brass is either new or pre war. Aluminum is newest (probably post war) while plated steel is from the war years, generally speaking. Screw heads have time periods, too.

The "best way" and not too readily available way to start would be to repair a lot of stuff that is actually being used and make careful and complete observation of what works and doesn't.

Probably made in Mexico in the 70's. Not buckstitched but painted

The whole setup needs to fit snugly with the conformation of the horse including the connector from the middle to the cinch, then 3/4 is enough. If it is loose anywhere and can pop and jerk then stress is concentrated, not well distributed. Fit, fit!