rktaylor

Ryan, Thanks for the comments. I get most of my leather from Panhandle in Amarillo, but am looking into ordering direct from Hermann Oak. Randy

Bob, Thanks for commenting. I've read your burnishing tip in other posts and think about it all the time when I'm working. I just need to follow it a little more. I've thought about dying the edges, but haven't attempted it on a saddle yet. I need to do it on some smaller projects first. Randy

This looks nice. I suggest carving the practice piece as I think that improves my drawing. I feel that some items are easier to draw than to carve. But then, maybe I need practice on both ends. I hope to see the carved product. Randy

Well done. Randy

Ryan, Good catch. I did miss that area. The bevel marks are exaggerated because the leather was too wet. Normally I would go back over them, but I was in a hurry. In the past I have drawn really nice patterns that I felt were difficult to tool. By just practicing on this and the comments here, I found a few things that needed changing. The presser foot marks are primarily due to wet leather, but I have since reduced the pressure. I'm about as low as I can go now. I'll post pictures of the finished piece here and the saddle in the saddle gallery section. Thanks for the comments. Randy

Ron, Thanks for the tips. I modified the pattern some, but here's my practice piece. As noted by cowboycolonel I need more space along the edges. It was tooled and sewn too wet so it's not great. I'll draw a new version this week and maybe get it tooled next week. Thanks again. Randy

Thanks for the comments. I'm too close to the stitch love on the bottom, but have plenty of room on the top. The jockeys will cover a lot of this, but I didn't like the empty space above the cutout. I don't know why. I copied the empty acorn from another pattern, but haven't really warmed up to it. I'll probably replace it with a full acorn. Thanks again for the comments and suggestions. I'll post the final product when it's tooled. Randy

I'm looking for feedback on this oak leaf design. It's for the rigging plate on a saddle. Red is the background and the green points will be copper rivets. All critiques and comments are welcome. Thanks, Randy

Looks great. I really like that style and have made a couple like that. For what its worth, I end the liner piece just short of the buckle slot. It creates a nice pocket for the buckle. Sorry, I don't have any pictures to share. Randy

Thanks Josh, I'll, have to try the cordura. I built a burnished out of a bench grinder, but I haven't used it on saddle parts. It makes burnishing bridles and breast collars easier. Randy

Ron, Thanks for the compliments. I bought a 3/4 hp bench grinder and my dad made a burnishing wheel. We still need to do a little fine tuning, but so far it is working alright. I am hoping this helps with some of the edges, but the horn will still be by hand. I have two new trees and leather should show up this week. I working hard to turn a hobby into a job. Randy

RFI=Room for Improvement In looking at the saddles I have built, there are few areas where I feel like there is a consistent need for improvement. One of them is the seat fit around the hand hold. I don't seem to be getting the seat to fit as tight as I want in this area. These are from #3 and #5. I feel like I am getting it tight when I fit the seat, but it's too loose after it dries. Any tips are appreciated. Randy

Josh, Very nice. I like it. Do you think the pattern would also work when connected to the breast collar dees on the saddle? It looks like it would. Randy

JD and Ron, Thanks for the compliments. Howard Council was a renowned (his saddles are coveted around here) saddle maker from Lawton, OK. I am not sure what is different about his tree, but from what I have learned Sonny was making them for him. My friend, who I built this for, is a saddle junkie and he called Sonny to order the tree. I looked at some of Mr. Council's saddles and tried to follow his pattern. I struggled with the rope strap because of the swells. I worked with the customer to place it where he wanted. I agree on the front rosettes. I need to clean up the front jockey area on my saddles. It seems that there are too many after thoughts. I thought most of my edges were pretty good until I started taking pictures. I rubbed that horn a lot, but never got it slick enough. I'll look at the DVD. The cantle binding is certainly an area that I would like to improve. If only it means gaining some confidence. Thanks for the tooling and stitching compliments. This was my last hand sewn saddle (bought a Cobra 4). I like hand sewing, but the time was killing me. I appreciate the comments. I am working on 6 and 7 in hope of finishing them for the Wichita Falls contest and they will serve me well. Randy

I haven't lined a belt. I mostly make tack. I try to rub the heck out of my edges with either beeswax or glycerine saddle soap. However, I recently built an edge burnisher from a bench grinder. I still need to work on my methods, but I think it will help. Randy

I would also second Big Sioux's comment about finishing latigo edges. I don't know about harness leather, but it sure doesn't get slick like veg tan. Randy

Here's saddle #5 that I just finished. It's built on a Howard Council roping tree from Quality Mfg with Hermann Oak leather. I am making improvements in some areas, but still have a lot to learn. Comments and critiques are welcome. Randy

I have used veg tan to line breast collars, but that was mainly because that's all I had. They are holding up fine, but I doubt they will hold up like harness leather. More recently I have been using 5-7 oz latigo to back 13 oz HO. I really like that thickness for roping gear. I have been using 3-4 oz veg tan to line headstalls made with 7-8 oz veg tan. That's because I don't have latigo that light and I don't want them too thick. I preshape the outer pieces before gluing the liner. That keeps them from wrinkling too much. I look forward to seeing the final product. Randy

Thanks Steve

Clyde, Thanks for sharing. I really like Will James saddles. Your work inspires me to do better. Randy

Mike, Nice looking saddle. I like the dragonfly and cattails. Kudos for trying some new things like the inlaid seat. I haven't worked up the courage to have exposed stitches on cantle binding, but I will have to tackle it at some point. Thanks for sharing. Randy

Ron and Ron, Thanks for the comments. I have my seat formed and ready to glue down, but I think I am going to make a paper pattern. Then I can compare the two before I glue it in. Maybe I'll learn something. I have only built swell fork saddles. It would be interesting to see if people think one method is better suited for this style. Unless really pressed to change, I probably won't. Randy

In Jeremiah Watt's DVD, he cuts his seat pattern while fitting it to the tree. Makes the pattern on the left and transfers it to the right. In Harry Adams' book, he makes a paper pattern on the saddle and uses it to cut the seat. I have been using JW's method. Which method do you use? What are the pros/cons of each method? Thanks, Randy

Ron, Nice clean looking saddle. As usual, I like your tooling. That looks like a meticulous job to keep the flower spacing as well as you did. I made some seat templates from a couple saddles that I like. I am hoping they will give me a little more guidance in the future. When are you starting on #4? Randy

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. The Cowboy 4500 and Cobra 4 both have optional accessories. Any thoughts on these? They seem reasonably priced for everything that's included, but I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff that I don't need. Thanks, Randy