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rktaylor

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Posts posted by rktaylor

  1. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks for the compliments. The conchos are not burnished. I try to cut the as clean as possible. 

    Ron, I always appreciate your critique of my work. I've picked up a lot of tips from you. I'll see if I can find a binding edger at the show. The wife would be disappointed if I didn't buy anything. BTW there's some really nice saddles here.

    Randy

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks for the comments and encouragement. I'll post pictures in the gallery when it's complete.

    Oltoot, Can you share a picture of your breast collar dee? I know you don't like domed rivets, but I feel like trading some durability for appearance is acceptable. Maybe if I was fixing them, I would change my mind.

    Randy

  7. Posted · Report reply

    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

  10. Posted · Report reply

    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

  12. Posted · Report reply

    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

  16. Posted · Report reply

    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

  17. Posted · Report reply

    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

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  19. Posted · Report reply

    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

  23. Posted · Report reply

    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

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