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I don't remember which one it is but one of the Al Stohlman books on casemaking includes some gun case approaches. Tandy carries them as do others.

If you can talk to somebody with a good general grasp of the history the fact that it has aluminum rigging rings might be helpful in dating it. Generally aluminum was used during war times when brass was scarce and before stainless became so prevailant

Verry interesting! The additional pictures are helpful. Now I would revise my guesses, and that's all they are, a bit. I still am going to stick with my Spanish or Portuguese 'look' but made for the US market and who's to say that it wasn't made in the USA by someone who had mastered those techniques. The rigging is obviously original from the marks on the underside of the leg flaps. I will have to dig out my old catalogue collection and go looking. OBTW, if it were for any market other than the US, it wouldn't have sheepskin but stuffed pads. At $54 total investment, dont be surprised if they come and arrest you for thievery?

chrome tan simply wont skive pretty like veg tan will. I have had some success by putting duct tape on the back of the piece and then pulling it through or taking my round knife to it but if it is tanned too soft, it will still not do well.

Scrape until it all has that clear, translucent look like some of the middle already does. The flesh side white is connective tissue, muscle covering membrane, fat still adhering to the hide. Some will wait and shave that off when they split but there will be little opportunity then to get that clear, translucent look uniformly on the majority of string.

Why not cut them yourself? Every so often I get a sheet metal guy to cut up a sheet for me into appropriately sized rectangles. Cutting and shaping them myself takes a little time but is well worth it to me.

Looks Spanish or Portuguese to me. And I doubt that it ever had a horn. May I ask what you paid? I can't see where there is hardware to replace other than the little turrets and rings for tying things behind the cantle. A saddle like this would not have cinched down with rigging rings like a western saddle but with straps like an English Saddle. And then there is the hook thing for holding the stirrup leathers. I've seen them somewhere, I just can't remember where. They were used on a lot military stuff. I have also seen an adapter that three buckles a dee ring to that type of rigging so it can be used with western cinches & tie straps. Yes it was quite a find

Looks awful narrow in the gullet to me. Tree bars are probably a bit small with very little rocker. My guess would be pretty uncomfortable for most of today's horses. And for people with meaty thighs

Based on many years of experience, I would put tapered plugs between the top and bottom with full thickness next to the plate, tapering off to be very thin out at edges. Design objective: To create a gradual, smooth surface for the stirrup leathers/fenders to ride over eliminating any bumps which would wear faster. These don't attach to the plate. IMHO then the rawhide would be overkill. Those vertical stitch lines might add quite a bit of stability and longevity to the setup.

Just luck, but I could vote never; however, having been through it with my wife, I do have some observations: First comes motivation, for MW I begged her for years to no avail but when the kids got big enough to beg and cry (which I had nothing to do with) that did it. Next face up to the reality of being an addict which thankfully won't last for long, then come all the physical habits and associations that went along with it. Busy hands, no smoking please signs, removing all the ash trays (yes the decorative and commemorative, too), a little dab of 'tough love' from significant others, next and potentially final is reward and recognition, appreciation demonstrated. We started with the little steps and soon went to annual and eventually dropped it. That was ~35 years ago and for some time now my wife and her sense have been offended to say the least, which seems to signal victory. "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I'm free at last" MLK

IMHO, if you have a decent makers stamp that gives you clear impressions in properly cased leather, don't mess around inside the out side border of the impression. Beveling around the outside and border stamping will help in setting it off, messing around inside will just mess it up. If you put the impression in a field of geometric or regular carving, beveling and matting or border stamping to complement other borders used will help.

Its low enough to get by but too high to be a model for things to come (#2 for instance). I sure wouldn't think about doing anything over, you're probably full of that. Next time, revise your rigging pattern to set front rigging ~ 2" lower and skirt ~ 1" ending up with an inch greater separation between edges. For most applications the 'latigo lump' created by the cinched up saddle should be right below the edge of the 'average' pad. FYI even though I was reluctant at first, I have started using nylon latigos and off straps (usually tie straps on off side, too) They are stronger, trimmer and don't stretch so one part of 'breakin' on new saddles is eliminated. I first started using them myself before making them part of my base, leather being available on request, meanwhile, look at back rigging as you might want to change that, too given the issues you had with your skirts. Its certainly not as critical that it be in an exact spot, just that it be in balance with everything else and fully functional. Hold her head up Newt, the end is in sight!

Camano Ridge is right in that there are two things you might find when you take the liner loose. I made my guess by looking at the dimples on the back. Properly done, splash backs are almost flush and don't show through like your pics, but it will still be a little moment of discovery when you first peek under the liner. Sewing caveats still apply.

I don't use them but one of my mentors did and I watched. The impression I came away with is that the thread (at least 4 chord linen and tapered the length of the join ) the beeswax (warmed to almost melting) thorough casing of the project (so the awl holes would be slicked by the passage of the awl) and the awl work itself were the 'tricks' that had to be mastered to make it work. The awl needed to be stropped slick and the awl work needed to be precise and steady so that a smooth surface was what the assembled bristles had to pass through. He, having been a bootmaker for awhile had it all mastered and made it look easy.

Short answer yes; a little more info: Copper is a good comprimise between solid brass and the tubular nature of rapid rivets, which most definitely have their place ie securing the terminus of a line of stitching, especially on lighter materials. Properly set, CRs become lifetime anchors even holding after ends are mostly worn off.

Yes, the silver is attached with chicago screws to the top piece and then the lining is sewed on. If you use the old headstall for a pattern you will have to be careful to lay out the pieces with careful consideration for the way you plan to sew them as not just any foot will sew that close if you plan to machine sew.

Looks great! You will probably want to make another blade that is a little slimmer. So the hole it makes will be just big enough to pass your 2 threads. And you will probably find that a little longer on the taper will be easier to use. When you start making longer, slimmer, more tapered blades, try making them the same contour all the way to avoid weak spots from stress concentration at shoulders. Handle looks beautiful and I predict you will do some great work with it due to the fact that everytime you pick it up, you will be holding it exactly the same as when you last put it down. And hint: if you aren't quite happy with the angle of the holes, turn the blade in the chuck and don't try to twist your wrist to get it 'just right' PS. When do you plan to start selling them?

IMHO a well done skirt rig is hands down better than anything else. There are umpteen ways to do a skirt rig; many good, some great others yuck. If possible, the best way to evaluate is in comparing well used versions for wear and rider reaction. Not everybody agrees with me or others but as you said they are still selling saddles (along with their competing rationales). All but my first and second personal saddles have been skirt rigs and they have all given me lots of miles of great service and btw held up to jerking big cattle on them, too although in my last 20 yrs horseback, I learned the easier, kinder both to horses and cattle, dally and let rope run ways of working cattle and didn't subject animals nor saddles to as much stress. But I digress.

First, echo what Dwight says and then for me for straps I have a very old, probably 1850's strap roller that I have put very heavy tension springs on that I roll straps through. Weaver sells newly constructed ones in some different configurations. I put cased pieces through under extreme pressure and they come out nice without a lot of work. Depending on the application, I may do additional burnishing on the edges ( while still cased)

Depending on the leather, double gussets usually fold up neater and often an internal divider is sewn in the DG seam. Often, on softer leathers especially, the DG is made from a single piece that is folded flat, flesh to flesh and the DG seam sewn as close to the fold as possible to keep it folded into DG configuration. as to sewing, especially corners, slight notches which become a flat surface when curved will usually do the trick

My answer to how? for your type of work would be don't. Use instead a product like Lexol Nf or Weaver's Neatslene Light. Save Neatsfoot for larger things and heed Treed's advice

Without feeling it, one can do no more than guess but mine would be a steel for keeping knives sharp.

I never do but I often do oil to replace what the OA seems to take out. Lexol Nf most of the time

The underneath is probably lt wt chap leather or upholstery leather, the plates probably sole bends

I'm old enough and busy enough that I would tell somebody to spend the money on one of the great new pads that have become available, but if the owner insisted, I would tell him that I won't wrestle with dirty old gear and wash, oil, restring and generally recondition for $200