rktaylor

Ron, Thanks for the update. I was getting curious about your progress. I can't offer tips on sewing a Cheyenne roll, but am interested in hearing any. Looking forward to seeing the final product. Randy

A friend asked me to repair this stitching. Sorry for the image focus (or lack of). At first, I was thinking about stitching over it. But I am concerned I might damage more stitches. Then I thought about just pulling this thread back through the holes and tying it on the back side. Or maybe someone knows the correct way to fix it. This is on the seat jockey and is only cosmetic. Thanks, Randy

Really nice. I need to build a new one and like your design. What's the clearance on your jaws? It looks like enough to sew saddle skirts.

Ron, You are correct. The pulling collar does not lay flat on the chest. I will modify my pattern with more taper. Randy

I am far from an expert and further from an artist, but I am also attempting some floral design. I have Bob Park's book and compared your design to some of those he displays. The first thing I see is some large blank areas between the flowers. Maybe the flowers are too far apart. Bob talks about spacing and balance between elements. I also think you need more 'non flower' elements. Maybe some stumps. The two smaller flowers seem disconnected. That's a lot of information from someone with no experience, so take it for what it's worth. I don't get a commission, but Bob's book was a value buy for me. Randy

WyomingSlick, I picked the Tech-Tips book today. Thanks for the tip. I believe it will be well worth the money spent. I noticed that my backgrounding looks a lot like the "Wrong." I am going to practice this weekend. Randy

Bob, Thanks for the insight. Attention to detail. I was afraid someone would say that. I always look for the complex solutions first, but I suppose if you do all the little things right the rest takes care of itself. I have looked at Keith's saddles and also Troy West's. They are certainly worth striving to replicate. I noticed most of your points were on the rear of the saddle. I did not get the jockeys tight enough on my first saddle, so I need to improve. I really like the way Jeremiah Watt spikes the rear jockeys to get them tight. Actually his entire approach of using a center line on everthing made sense to me. I think my ear cuts were ok, but this is a really visible area so I need to pay attention. I figured somone would point out edge finishing as it really does make a difference in appearance. I am still practicing that on some other projects. Since it will all be hand sewn, I am still trying to build those skills. Again, thanks for the repsonse. Randy

Saddle Experts: I guess I am doing this a little backwards, but I am trying to improve my saddle building skills after I already built one. But, as I plan for the second, I am trying to be more systematic. I would like to end up with a saddle that no one would ever guess it was only the second one I ever built. Thus, my questions are: What are the first things you look at when critiquing a saddle to assess quality, first class construction? What do you feel are the most common mistakes made or overlooked by novice saddle makers? I want to make sure that I don't get to some point in saddle construction (that the experts feel is critical) just to think 'that's good enough.' I have books and DVDs to help me in the process and plan to build on my library, but I want to know what your eye is drawn to when you first look at a saddle. Thanks in advance for the tips. Randy

Ron and Bob, Thanks for the compliments and encouragement. I used another breast collar to make a pattern for the OSU collar. I did change the cinch tie down piece on this collar. I have been making them shaped more like the pulling collar, but thought I would experiment with something different. I will take your suggestion and try a little more taper. I made the pattern for the pulling collar by checking it on one of our mares. She may not have been the best choice (kind of thin in the neck area). If I understand correctly, you think it curves too much where it connects to the center dee. I plan to connect it through the handhole, but have not ridden with it. I will wait until it sees some use before I make another like it. I am looking forward to seeing my next saddle too. Randy

I just finished a couple of breast collars. I use these to practice sewing, stamping, etc. in preparation for building another saddle. The one is my first attempt at a pulling collar. I was made to match my first saddle. The top piece is saddle skirting and the back is latigo. All stainless steel hardware. The other was made for a friend of mine who wanted me to 'put my OSU stamp' on his breast collar. I informed him that it wasn't a stamp. I used his as a pattern and used the basket weave to match his saddle. This baby is heavy (double thick saddle skirting). I am considering getting "Crafter's License" from OSU and selling these. Comments are welcome. Randy

Wyoming Slick and others: Thanks for all the tips. I will use your instructions on my next project. I have a 104 tool and a couple other backgrounders. I need to practice beveling too, but that's for another day. I will try to pick up the Stohlman book next time I am in the City. Randy

Thanks for the tips. I think it was too wet. I understand 'bash' so that's what I'll do. Maybe I can even it out some.

This might not be the best place for this question, but I need some advice on using backgrounding tools. While this work is surrounding a letter, I need to improve for some floral carving as well. Thanks for any advice. Randy

Thanks for the lead. I will check them out.

Ron, Can you elaborate on the cantle not being square? Where did you measure from and where did you place the leather to compensate? It's this a common problem? Thanks, Randy

My guess is that the thread on the backside is going through the loop. This will make it run straight instead of the slight angle of the saddle stitch. I have to pay attention or it happens to me.

I saw a YouTube video with Bruce Cheaney where he was using Trencilo 1mm polyester braided thread. I searched for it to no avail. Does anyone know where to order it or something similar? Thanks, Randy

The correct site is www.musicmedic.com. I just checked and the maximum diameter is 0.1 inch. We'll see how it works. Randy

I think I found the one you used. I ordered one from musicwire.com. Randy

Thanks for all the tips on this. Since my dad is retired with nothing to do (haha), I have him making me an awl handle. Where did you get your pin vise? I have searched, but I cannot find one that is not already assembled. Randy

It is about 6 inches from the bar to the bottom of the rigging. I knew it was wrong because the latigo lump is right on my knee. Maybe I need longer legs. Oltoot - This won't be an issue on #2 because it will be an in-skirt rigging. However, I will pay attention to this in the future. I believe what happened was that I got the front of the rigging too high, because my rear dees are angled slightly up toward the front. Just another lesson to store for the future. Thanks for the comments. Randy

Does this placement look OK. I feel like I need more clearance on the skirt or have the rigging lower. It doesn't have that smooth transition that everyone talks about. Thanks, Randy

I know this is an old thread, but I didn't want to start a new one. Here’s my assessment of saddle making DVDs (at least two of them). It’s long, but I wanted to make sure you know where I am coming from. Some of it is about the videos and some is about my thought process regarding learning to build a saddle on your own. Comments, criticism, and apathy are welcome. I had been making some tack and got the grand idea that I wanted to build a saddle. I have spent very little time working on saddles (i.e. repair and deconstruction) and didn’t (still don’t) know much about them. I talked to a few saddle makers in my area. They were polite, but didn’t really have time for me and my grand idea. I can’t say as I blame them. However one saddle maker, Mr. Smithson at Pauls Valley, was very cordial and spent time offering advice and encouragement. I am grateful for his time. I wanted to go to a saddle making school, but I just don’t have the time. I have a full time job and don’t really have an interest in making this a career. However, it could be a nice hobby if I can find a way to pay for it. So, I bought Stohlman’s volume 1 and 2 and the Dusty Johnson package (DVD, book, patterns). I bought a tree from Batie’s, Herrmann Oak leather, sheep skin, and hardware from Panhandle Leather and Bowden’s. The entire process was an exercise in overconfidence and indecision. Some of the things that I thought would be the hardest were actually fairly easy and vice versa. I learned a lot and built a saddle. It certainly has some mistakes, but I have been riding it anyway. I don’t believe I could have built a saddle with only Mr. Johnson’s DVD. In my opinion the package is a must. While some will disagree with some of his methods, it did get me though the process. I would say the DVD contains the bare minimum of information (maybe a little less). One specific shortcoming is directions for installing the cantle binding. I had to reference the Stohlman books to figure out what to do with the ends under the seat. My assessment is that you get a little bit more than you pay for with the package. It is inexpensive, but there is a lot of information and I guess from my perspective enough to build a saddle. I will also say that Mr. Johnson promptly answered my email questions more than once. That was quite pleasing, given that he only had $80 of my money. After I was almost done, I found this forum. I appreciate the wealth of information that is freely shared. One piece of advice was to buy Jeremiah Watt’s DVD and gain a whole new perspective on saddle making. I was lucky enough to find a used copy for a discounted price. I prefer to consider myself frugal, not tight. After watching the first segment, I thought WOW. There is a wealth of information shared in this video. There are some commercials, but Mr. Watt is also entertaining. Looking back, I am confident I could have built a saddle with only Mr. Watt’s video. With the knowledge gained from building a saddle, the information in this video is very empowering. Though it is based on a Wade tree, I am confident that I can build a saddle on any tree simply because he goes through making patterns. There is no doubt that the JW video is much more detailed than the DJ video. However, it is really difficult for me to assess them independently because I had more knowledge when I viewed the Mr. Watt’s video. I definitely gained a new perspective after watching this video. I have to admit that I drilled all the holes in my first saddle (I hope the purists don’t put a bounty on me). However, after watching Mr. Watt’s video, I have a newfound commitment for hand sewing and using an awl. I can’t afford a sewing machine, so everything is hand sewn. I would never have thought it, but I actually think I can sew faster and more accurately with an awl than predrilling the holes. Thus I have justified the purchase of a new awl. I plan to pick up the Dale Harwood DVD when I find a deal. I am also looking to expand my book library. I would like to have volume 3 of the Stohlman series. But I will probably invest my limited resources in material for a second saddle before I buy more educational material. Congratulations if you made it this far (unless you just skipped to the end). Randy

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like I need to order a small assortment since I find myself working on a variety of items. I need to practice sewing, but I want to make sure I am using the correct tools. Randy

Ron, That looks really nice. The stitching is very uniform and I like the tooling. Keep the updates coming. Randy