rktaylor

Thanks

Thanks Regan, I've been thinking about this and will have another design soon. I hope things are going well up north. It's terribly wet here, but it'll probably be too dry soon. Randy

This is my attempt at a floral pattern for a saddle cantle back. This is the right half of the cantle. The left will be mirrored. The boundaries are yet to be determined since I haven't fit the piece, but I am guessing this will fill the entire cantle back. I hope to finish tolling this tonight to see how it looks. I had to (at least that's what I told the wife) order some new tools for this and they should be in soon. There are some elements I like and some that don't quite flow. I welcome critical assessments from everyone. While I have a lot of room for improvement, I will say that drawing patterns is coming easier after taking a class from @hidepounder at Prescott and buying Sheridan Style Carving by Bill Gardener & Clinton Fay. Thanks for the feedback, Randy

Rob, First off, I think it's a nice looking saddle and appreciate you sharing it. I am far from an expert and am just trying to learn. My initial observation was that the skirts looked shallow in the rear and the rigging dominates the view. I like the rear dees to be up on the skirt. I think the rigging is balanced, but the skirts are just too shallow for my taste. I will admit that the saddle I ride (#3 for me) has skirts a little too shallow for my liking, but it wasn't enough to cut new skirts (attached picture). I think the skirts (right or wrong) changed how the rest of the pieces were shaped (front and seat jockeys in particular). After I read Ron's comments, I looked at your jockeys a little closer. I would like to see a more defined front jockey. I am going to blame my skirt depth and lack of experience for my front and seat jockey shape. Regardless, its a great looking saddle and remember I am nowhere close to an expert. Randy

Thanks for the compliments. While it's a little short, it isn't too short to be functional. I'll make the next one a little longer. Randy

Awesome work. Thanks for sharing. Randy

I made my first rifle sling. I copied the pattern from a friends sling, but still ended up a little short. I It's made from chap leather on the outside and veg tan on the inside. I need to improve my shoulder padding, but I have a plan for that. I used woolskin since I have a lot of it left from saddles. All in all, I am pretty pleased. Thanks for any comments or suggestions, Randy

Ron, Another fine job. I have always appreciated your tooling and think it's far from amateurish. I notice elements that you use consistently, so I guess you are developing your style. The stitching looks awesome and thanks for the awl handle description. I have been wanting something different and I like what you described. Looking forward to seeing #5. Randy

Thanks for sharing. I'll bet she is loving the new saddle. I am far from an expert so you can take my comments with a grain of salt. I would have placed the rear rigging a little higher so the rivets are covered by the rear jockey. This would also place the strap connecting the dees up on the skirt. It looks like your front rigging position is about 3/4 or maybe closer to centerfire. I think that will make the smaller saddle more stable. I built one about this size and the customer wanted a 7/8 flat plate (small ranch saddle). It looks great, but without the rear cinch the saddle bounced too much. Since the tree was so small, I don't think there was enough bar on the front to pull against. It's a really nice looking saddle. Congratulations on a great job and thanks for sharing. Randy

Well this isn't much help, but I like the first two better. However, the last two look more like a sunflower. Do you want 'artistic' or 'realistic'? Randy

Thanks for the comments. You've talked me out of using sheepskin so that leaves me wondering what to use. Any suggestions? Randy

I'm planning to build a case for my shotgun and was thinking about lining it with sheepskin. I have a lot of 1" bark tanned shearling left over from saddles. Any opinions on this? Thanks in advance, Randy

Looks great. Thanks for sharing. Randy

Billy, Thanks for sharing your process, though I have no desire to duplicate it. Just out of curiosity, did you square your riggings, then fit the swell cover? I have a hard enough time getting my steps in order, let alone combining a couple of them. Randy

The ones on this purse are double capped. I haven't made it to Tandy to look at replacements. Randy