oltoot

Tax software has gotten really good and has this advantage over CPA orH&R in that you don't have to get things ready to take to somebody all at once. You can input things as you get them together. Granted you then have to compare the amount that you're saving with the amount of work that you could be getting done. The right answer is going to be different for everyone. And then there is the thrill of waiting till the last minute

Bull hide is a designation for a class of raw hides and they are big and heavy. Tanneries make a variety of products from bull hides but they are a small part of the hides(and subsequently leather market) available to tanneries with the bulk being steers (which includes heifers) and old cows. Bull hide is as good as anything else tanned the same way and generally would end up finishing at a heavier weight than you are interested in. Buy by weight and grade that suits your purpose and don't be led astray by packaging/marketing pitches.

First a generalization about plugging/lining. If you cut the plugs a little oversize and soak them dripping wet in plain ol h2o then hank them up to dry. If you can speed up the drying with a fan or by using a breezy location, so much the better. When they have dried you can moisten, fit and install. Now then to the question to plug or not to plug. My answer would be only in extreme circumstances. Some Old Timers are/were insistent that everything be plugged. My personal use has been, if I can get the skirts I want out of a pair of 13/15 oz skirting sides and the same/correct thickness of skirting will be showing all around front and back, why plug? On the other hand if I find it nearly impossible to achieve that and one skirt's back end is going to look thin, then plug. Then I do it this way. Cut a paper pattern, cut a leather piece that is 1/4 larger on the outside edge and a little thicker than I want the finished product to be. Then with a 1" french edger, I edge that plug around the outside edge, resulting in the plug Tapering from the full thickness of the plug to somewhat less than you want the finished skirt to look. Glue the plug in place with rubber cement. Take a very sharp knife and trim the plug flush with the skirt. Voila. And knowing how much it takes to do it right makes me look real hard for a way to get the piece cut so that plugging isn't indicated.

You see well. It (cord) is not sewn anywhere. The edges are actually forcefully rubbed into the surrounding part of the cord to be and become part of another part

Shtoink gave some valuable tips for finishing it, but how do you start? Here's one way: First decide what size you want it to be. If 1/2 then find a piece of leather. Best for this is a strip from the back of a side of strap or skirting. If you have some real dry tanned harness, that can work, too. By cutting carefully, you should end up with a piece that is about 1/16 bigger than the cord you are targeting and square. Then case it and come back to it when it is almost dry. Next edge all four sides with what you have. Depending on the tools you have, you will end up with a piece that is almost round allready or one that has X number of flat sides with sharp angles of interception. or somewhere inbetween. This is the piece that you start attacking as Shtoink has described.

If you want a real big piece, go to a place that carves headstones and ask to look through their scrap and reject stuff. Maybe, with a cutting charge, you can get what you're looking for. I would also look for a black piece that was only about 18" square and 1/2 to 1 inch thick for a movable skiving surface. I have tooled on a headstone and skived on a piece of man-made white countertop for 40+ years.

I'm glad to only have to wait 3 months or less from Quality Mfg

IMHO, If you don't use a clicker and you handsew horn and cantle, then a saddle is still hand made if what can be sewn on a machine is the saddle is still handmade. If you don't have a sewing machine, the stuff you make won't be better than it would just be handsewn.

More generalizations. They are a little slower to mature and, if not pushed too hard too young, tend to live longer useful lives than horses so your experience suggests 5. But you may well find that with pads to fill in the gaps while waiting you will have more long term use for the saddle that works on 5 yr olds than the one that works on 2-3 yr olds.

I got mine new in 1976. It was haunted for about 2 yrs. I guess the ghosts finally figured out I wasn't gonna give up and they did. I did get a MM manual with mine. It is for about 6 different models and instructions are more often than not pick from a list. And things got a lot easier after I accumulated a set of tools that would reach into places without having to block my view with my hands (long T allen wrenches, long screwdrivers, short screwdiver, 90 degree screwdiver). Here it is 2014 and we have developed a good relationship. Hang in there!

8 button construction fell out of favor as tanning practices changed and produced more moldable leather. The kinds of hides used have changed, too. Very few grass fat cattle are slaughtered and the average age of slaughter cattle has gone way down resulting in thicker, less dense hides being commonly used for skirting and harness. The 8 button (and loop seat) had evolved as makers began experimenting with new shapes, one piece at a time. First came seat jockeys nailed on in separate pieces, then somebody said I can make that all one piece, then the front jockeys followed the same development. Whenever I am forced to make an 8 button, I just put the string through the seat jockey and screw the whole affair down. with the string way up on the swells, there is usually no interference but it can be a little bit of a factor. My response to the single rig question is always "why?" Just leave the flank billets and cinch hanging in the barn until something happens that you wish you had them. Remember that if you do your job right, this saddle will last you till they wash your neck and throw dirt in your face and no horse is gonna live that long. Your tastes could change. It has happened. Another thing to remember, all this info and advice is well worth what it cost you, and old guys are not always right they are, however, always old.

Here's what I learned and repeat with confidence as applies to tack and harness: The first sewing machines were single needle, needle feed. They used large needles but made a lockstitch of which the benefits have been discussed. It was a tossup which was better. When needle and awl machines were introduced, smaller holes, packed tighter with thread resulted so machine became potentially better, especially when speed was emphasized with handsewing and big awls were used to make thread passage easier. The question with things like cantle bindings and horn covers which can be machine sewn if certain assembly techniques are used is the relative suitability of the construction outcome not the inherent nature of hand vs machine sewing. Now fast forwarding to today, single needle, needle feed heavy duty machines have improved and advances in thread and needle availability make the stitch quality real close to needle and awl but a well adjusted and appropriately used N&A machine still is the champ! Now long story short, the answer to the "which is better" is it depends. Proper utilization and needle/awl/thread selection is still key and the relative prices of the different types of machines is still a consideration. All is offered IMHO

As a 'silent' tooling station, which btw, is a great idea, heavy steel is the way to go. Truck tire rim for base, ~ 10" pipe for single upright, heavy steel top, rubber floor mat pad, then marble ( I have a cemetary grave stone, plain rectangular shape) and then an angle iron reinforced plywood larger flush work surface. When I am tooling geometrics with a 3# rawhide maul, it makes a muted tunk, tunk. Beveling, etc w/ 1 1/2# maul, real muted tink, tink. I also use it (w/ poly punch board) for heavy punching of shapes which makes a little noise but not problematic) PS, I have a sound and smell sensitive wife which makes for some 'issues' sometimes; ie the choice between ventilation and warmth in the winter that comes with extensive use of Barges.

As the years have gone by and people have started breeding for "good" saddle mules, selecting mares and jacks for more 'horselike' instead of 'donkey like' conformation, the idea of a different kind of saddle fitting all mules has become a myth. Just like selecting specific trees for specific horses, mules must be treated as individuals. The new or novice mule owner must make the same kind of long term decisions about future use. All that said, the generalizations about rock and gullet configuration are good generalizations.

In the meantime, there should be an adjustment down underneath on the clutch motor that will increase the resistance on the throttle. There are some different clutch motor setups on those machines so I can't describe exactly where it might be but just look for something that would make the arm movement in response to the chain or rods coming from the foot pedal stiffer and increase the resistance. It will make a world of difference. Don't go overboard as these babies were made to run fast and if you slow it down too much, you will be slipping the clutch and you might develop problems with the hook catching the loop and missing stitches.

Assuming that on a horse the pad would be pulled up all the way into the gullet, that might be about right. Remember that the end goal is to have the lump that will be created by the latigo looped over the rig plate just past the pad so it wont make a hump to bite the horse and catch moving stirrup leathers

1" in front, measured after blocking is enough. I have used all the way from 1" to 3" behind, again, measured after blocking. In the case of the back, the best thing to look at is how much it takes to cover up the back rigging like you want and go from there. Line, flow, balance should make the final decision, not a hard and fast measurement tradition.

My focus is the point of pull or usually the attachment of the latigo which is pretty close to the same for all the different shapes of plates. The object of the position being that that point sets just enough below the bottom of the traditional pad to make for a smooth connection, no lump but at the same time being high enough that it wont bite into the horse.

As you go down the leg cutting fringe, change the angle slightly several times with smaller wedge cuts so the switch to straight down at the corner will be slight also.

Maybe an answer: I have never had to deal with 3 yr old hides but terribly dry pieces I would oil lightly on flesh side with Lexol NF and let set for a day or so, if they weren't noticebly better, another coat, then soak in HOT water. Some oil may come out and scum up the surface of the water but that will just mean you have enough oil in it. Then proceed. As to the mildewed hides, if it were extensive I would probably be inclined to discard. I have had some luck with mildew stains by soaking up the piece, taking it out and laying flat then attacking stains with Oxalic acid applied liberally on sheepskin with vigorous circular rubbing.

PS And we were also continually in a race to stay ahead of mold forming. Had to clean out the lockers with bleach between every 3rd or 4th saddle. Lockers were the old time casing boxes with rubber bicycle inner tube gaskets.

I do it a little different but not really. My main difference comes from years of total project management. I wet pieces by throwing in the tub and leaving till no more bubbles then set them out flat for a little while till the surface is uniform, then plastic wrap over night to get all fibers uniformly plumped. Then lay them out again till they are ready to tool. I do test with my thumbnail to be sure that I'm not letting them get to dry, then plastic wrap again till time to start. I have gotten several exposed XRay films from a vet friend and on large pieces I lay them around to keep the areas I'm not working on from drying out and when I take a break, (I'm my own boss so I can approve a break any time I want to), I cover the piece on my marble slab till I'm ready to resume. And I too try to keep rewetting to a minimum and when I do need to rewet I apply the additional with a fairly dry sponge on the flesh side and give it a few minutes to migrate up a little. Thinking back I guess this all stems from time I spent in a shop where the boss cut out all the saddles I was assigned, soaked them and put them in my individual locker, I was expected to work out of there and rewet very little. So the initial soaking served as the fitting wetting and the other steps were developed to go from fitting to tooling then final work up. In a two man operation we didn't need to work that way but he had worked in Porters in Phoenix, AZ at the heighth of its glory days when there were about 20 folks working. They had specialists who didn't do anything but sew horns and cantles, and assembly men, and carvers and he tried to incorporate as much of that familiar routine as he could into our way of going.

Selari's liquid wax and thinner/cleaner is available from several sources but I would second what was said about silicone thread lube products. They are easier to use, less messy, and do a better job, I think. My last quart of wax is getting pretty old as it watches new jugs of silicone go through the UL

Grrrrrreat! I would think that they would be almost ashamed of putting that beautiful leather piece on that ugly ol nylon halter.

#1 is a mallet die for the cinch carrier normally placed under rt frnt concho on a saddle. #2 & #3 are for use in awl hafts for different border effects on border stamped only tack and saddles, #4 are home made clicker dies for cutting out different shaped and sized conchos, carriers etc. The ones with the thickened tops may have been used as mallet dies with some kind of striker. For #1 & #4, maybe a ceramic bead sand blaster in a machine shop might be the best. #2 & #3 are probably steel wool and elbow grease projects. More like wrist and finger grease.