oltoot

Deglazing fluid has never done that for me, another thought would be to clean with oxalic acid and see if that helps. Lexol nf after dye shouldn't change things but try a little piece to be sure.

I don't know how the thread comes out of the lube pot on your machine but if it goes through some kind of stripper tube the it sounds like the 'O' ring in the tube is too big for the size thread you are using or that it is missing altogether. Beware that if the ring is hard and unyielding it will add to the tension and you will have to loosen your tension to compensate. My pot doesn't have a thread exit tube so I have an elaborate capture thing made of pieces of sheepskin that keeps excess lube from getting out of the pot. I have a Union Lockstitch and so that's the top thread I'm talking about. My bobbin winder goes through strippers but I don't lube the bottom thread anyway.

Years ago, I used an old GI scabbard with a Garand I sure wish I still had and the bolt handle channel was very unobtrusive ( didn't use words like that in those days) I'll bet a good sheet metal shop could make you one from your choice of materials, maybe you could have it made from ~ 20 ga and then glue a pigskin cover over it and the rivet it on.

The cantle is machine sewn all the way around and then the whole assembly is slipped on and glued. I imagine you will find no leather under the padded seat, rather it with the seat jockeys and then the cantle cover is the whole thing. That top piece of the cantle looks like it is not fit around a filler as in a complete build up, rather it is sewed on top of the cantle cover and then they are trimmed flush with one another. This assembly method, common to 'production saddles' of the 50's to 70's made for much more economical cutting from the hides. All you saddlemakers imagine how much easier it would be to get a saddle out of 2 sides if you didn't have to reserve the best part of one hide for a seat but could cut a right and left piece- seat jockey with a little extra and hide on the top edges and join the whole thing with a padded seat. Only drawback would be that you would need a large and tough padded seat leather to complete it. Somebody earlier guessed a Flor tree and I would vote for that. In the 60's when I got started they were about 1/4 the cost of Standard trees from Vernal, Utah which were the 'standard' for good trees.

On the middle piece you have those little streaks of purple on the edges of the piece, that and the flesh side of the first piece looks purple. These should tell you something? One thought, most skirting is finished with a little bit of dye. That may be reacting with the purple to produce a mixed color. If it is something like that, try first something called deglazing fluid. Apply and buff off while still wet then dye. But be aware that will dry out your leather so you may want to incorporate a little Lexol nf in your finishing program to replace lost moisture.

It isn't necessarily the thickness that matters but the firmness, cut the swell cover from the belly with the gullet up in the firmer part. Getting that transition in the piece. And you can also skive the handhole area just a tiny bit and taking that first layer off will soften the piece a little.

I would offer a different view. First, the skirt plug advice is spot on. AND ALSO the advice to think about replacing the lining someday. My mentor would often point out in the design of something, "think of the poor @#$%^& who will have to repair it, if you hang around long enough it might even be you!" With regard to the rigging and plugging it I offer this. In my many years of building and repair I noticed that 'rigging plates' would wear and need eventual replacement if they presented an obvious bump for the stirrup leather to contact on it's back and forths so, for years, I have been 'plugging' between the rigging plate and the skirt so that smooth transitions are presented instead of bumps. If you elect to do this first consider the ability of your sewing machine to handle the extra and place plate and plugs and design accordingly.

Looks like the seat leather is just getting completely broke in. Look at pictures of others and you will note that many start out looking like that. To eliminate it from happening, move the ear cut down about 1/2" but better yet, IMHO, would be to work harder initially to get seat molded that way to start. One little trick is to mold an exagerated curve into the seat leather when you have it fit and take it off to dry. This takes advantage of the fibers' tendency to 'remember' and then when you give it its final rub in it will stay.

Did it have a nickle horn?

Up high. With a good vee in the breastcollar with ring in the middle and kept pulled down snug between legs to cinch. The point is to duplicate the effect of a collar and hames on a draft horse which will allow shoulder freedom. This way collar is not 'bumped' at the extent of stride but keeps everything snugly in place.

There aren't many advantages to being old but one is that years ago while there were still loggers in the Rocky Mountains cutting and sawing big aspen trees for truck/trailer beds, I got some boards cut 4 x 16, stickered them, air dried them for a year, planed them to a full 3 x 12 and made what I hope will be a lifetime supply of 3' x 8' cutting boards. I use a side, rotate it 360 use it, then turn it over and repeat. When all used up, I sand out the cuts, use it again etc til its about 1 1/2, then get another one. I'm 70 and still have 1" on one and another clean one. Maybe we'll wear out together. Aspen is soft but, being a monocot, chips don't come out like they would from a tree with growth rings.

Do you know the breed, age, condition of the cattle the hides came from?

Just curious; what is the serial number on it?

You didn't say how wide your splitter was. I have an Osborne 84 8" and if my blade is sharp and stropped I can pull 6" with relative ease.

I got tired of spending as much time fixing and trading machines as working and brought a brand new ULS head from the factory in 1975 (ser # 6100) Then I entered into about 5 years of learning. Since then, I have enjoyed a great relationship with my ULS. I set it up with a 1/2 horse 1725rpm motor and a speed reducer (shaft on pillow blocks w/ twin 2" machinedrive pulleys and a 5" power supply pulley from a 1" motor shaft drive) underneath the stand and a separate little motor for the bobbin winder. Looks Rube Goldberg but has never let me down. I have tried many combinations and settled on #4 awls, #2 1/2 needles, 277 poly thread run through silicone thread lube on top. As to greater than 3/4" limitation, I have just learned to design within that or hand sew. I have often thought of adding a cylinder arm for certain kinds of work but am still happy with my ULS as an only heavy machine (I have a singer 211G for chaps, etc., 135X16 LP needles, 138 thread). If I were younger and having to take everything that would come in the door, my first would probably be the Artisan with the real long arm or another 441 clone. Just my thoughts

Just a guess: I would guess SEastern US during the 50's-60's. Probably made by somebody who had worked for someone else for resale by yet somebody else. From pics and your description of the tree, I certainly have a hard time seeing 'high quality' The leather is doubled to be able to use lighter leather. I can't tell from pics but it might even be a veg tan oiltan retan latigo on top. The stitch pattern helps with stability and durability. It looks like it was first used regularly for a few years and then only very lightly for many more years. Because of the rigging and general appearance I would rule out Mexico. The rigging plate used in the rear is quite unusual in that it was designed to be used in front??

I'm not sure why you would choose this rigging for other than reproduction work. It's not around any more because it had lots of issues. On the plus side, it did accomplish what it set out to do and that was to stabilize a rigging at ~ 7/8. The variety in attachment of the small strap comes from the minds of makers looking to establish stability for the front ring. To add help so that downward pressure on the ring would remain downward and not, following the path of least resistance, jerk the ring forward. In the last of your pics, the small strap is where it is because the longer strap going back to the rear accomplishes most of the desired the stabilityso the small one doesn't have much to do. As to attachment in the first four, my guess would be: 1 The rivit above the big ring 2 The rivits 3 to the ring itself 4 folded over the ring inside the fold of the large strap and secured by the lacing on the right side Just guesses

Sorta likewise, as a protector against stress, I sew a leather strip over the zipper so it's between 2 pieces of leather and have no problems. Singer 211G machine, 23 needle, 138 thread. I trim the strip right next to the seam with a french edger after sewing. Thus the plastic end is between 2 pieces of leather and I never have any issues.

The more the merrier; my practice has evolved from 'old days' when we would cut out an entire saddle and throw it in a tub of hot water til there were no more air bubbles, then drip dry, then put in between sheepskins to keep and take it out a piece at a time to work but I digress. I put a piece that is fit and ready to be stamped in a tub of hot water til all the air bubbles cease, drip dry, lay it out flat on my cutting table, apply pro-carve solution 5-1 mix or Murphy's oil soap liberally to surface then let that soak in til surface is again free of puddles, place in plastic overnight to plump fibers, then lay out flat til it dries back to almost natural color then tool. If I need to add moisture- plain water from the back then cover with exposed x-ray films I got from my vet clinic till it soaks through then, if necessary, let it dry back to tool.

If you are still searching, check with a podiatrist. The stuff they use for temporary orthotics and pads is 1/4" and real dense + closed cell

If by remade you mean reconditioned or restored on the original tree, yes; also yes if you mean made a saddle with an "Old Timey" look on a modern tree. These are two are completely different endeavors. But either one is demanding and pricey. As to restoration, it can often reduce the value of an old collectable piece. With the old it is often prudent to stop at reconditioning if the saddle has all or most of its original pieces.

If you are trying to pinch pennies on a tree, stop. Reshaping a tree is NOT easy. Having made reproductions, I will tell you it is probably not a good place to start learning to build saddles. If your customer is real discerning you will have a problem because of the availability of tools to reproduce the period look exactly rather than close. If you cant afford to start with a good tree, you will run into other barriers along the way. Generally speaking, saddles aren't made the way they were because we have developed better ways and leather availability can be another issue if you want to be exact. You can get it just not cheap. Kudos though for realizing that old saddles generally dont fit today's horses. I dont mean to be a wet blanket but you asked.

I have several of varying ages in my collection. I have large hands and all are just a tad shorter than anybody else and I have to be careful about how I hold them so as not to crack my left index knuckle. Also it seems like they are often on the soft side, bending with use and I bend them back straight and go a little more til they bend again. All that said, the impressions are great.

Most of their non Hermann Oak skirting, strap and latigo is Chahin from Mexico. They still have a few pieces they get from Sadesa in Mexico and then a few others

With all due respect to Bruce Grant, a real master, most of us that I know of tie those multi string knots by the braiding method (Brian Neubert's video also shows it), That, with drawing the line and paying close attention to keeping the base straight and it gets easier each time.