rcsaddles

Very nice.

Thanks Clay, I can teach you how to "grow" these if you want to teach me how to carve leather. Guess who has the easier job there?

Great loooking horse, Bruce. I was able to find an old one about a year ago and just started to use it. Now I don't know what I did without it. I would much rather have an old one than a new one. As a side note, I have found an older horse at an antique shop here that is priced at $85.00. Anyone interested can contact me and I'll get some pictures and send them. I require no finders fee, only the price and shipping.

Very nice to all. I have been making the roses for about a year now. I also do calli lilies and vases. Very good seller here in Montana. Just had a lady buy some and is sending them to her mother in law in Germany. I posted a picture of the latest flowers that "grew" in my shop in the Show Off. Take a look and let me know what you think. Wildrose, I think I got my first pattern from you. Many thanks to you for getting me started. I either use the Eco Flo dye or acrylic paint on my flowers.

Those look very nice. Great job on the lacing. I have to agree about the belts. Get back to work!!!

Thank you. The flowers and leaves are painted with acrylic paint and the vase and barb wire are dyed with Eco Flo.

Here are the latest flowers that "grew" in my shop.

I do not flesh before I scrape the hair off the strap. That is accomplished in the splitting process. If I have the time, I will cut the hide into the strap and then stretch the strap between a coupld of posts. Then I will immediately start to scrape hair. If I do not get back to it for a week or so, it does not seem to matter. I must say that the fattest parts in the summer time seem to be "greasy" when I am scraping hair. As for the consistancy of the hide when I cut it.. how do you explain it? If I get the hide and it still has any heat in it, I will let it lay for an hour or two. This is hair up. I use a utitily knife to cut with. Easy to replace blades as they get dull and fairly inexpensive. I will put on a pair of knee pads, knees are not as good as they used to be, and basically walk backwards on my hands and knees while cutting. Not real easy to do and takes lots of practice to keep it a consistant width. I will pull the strap with my left hand while cutting with my right. I'm right handed. This helps to keep the line a little straighter. By the way, I will cut a little wider where the hide is thinner because when you stretch it, it will narrow down some. This past winter, I was given a couple of hides with no brands on them. I was at my paying job and it was only about 5 degrees outside. I brought them home and layed them out on the ground and let them freeze. I was able to pull them into my shop and cut them on the floor. (OK, the shop is the garage but shop sounds so much better.) I cut the hides frozen and that worked prettty good. I did end up starting on the outside and pushing my utility knife rather than pulling it. I took the straps and hung them up to dry. I will get the straps down in a couple of weeks to scrape. I hope i didn't waste my time but I have frozen rawhide befoe and it worked just fine. I hung these in an 8 foot circle so I hope it will stretch when I hang it between the posts. I will probably soak it in water for a couple of days before I stretch it and scrape hair. I will try to post something when I do this so hopefully it will help others with the process. I do not claim to be a "pro" with rawhide, I just do what seems to work fo rme. I do stay away from any chemicals or even lime with rawhide because that is what I was taught. Maybe there is an easier way and I am open to suggestions. Just letting you know how I do this.

Beautiful

Denise, Are you going to get out of pounding trees while at Sheridan or can you bring them with you? I will be there for the Sheridan Leather customer appreciation and on Saturday. I'll stop in and introduce myself. Looking for ward to meeting you and Rod.

Your e-mail link did not work. If still looking for someone, pm me and we can chat.

As of now, I am planning on being there on Friday afternoon and having my two boys in the under 18 leather carving class on Saturday morning. Not sure about a room yet. I guess I should try for one right there.

That is the braid I use on all my saddles. In fact, I also use it instead of welts on the fork cover. I always braid both top and bottom on the skirts. That way, when someone looks at the under side, it is braided. I think it shows a better finish that way.

Very nice. I have been trying also to learn the Argentine style but have not been able to find much on the subject. Anyone know where to find it? Thanks for posting.

I would highly recommend Bork if you are looking for Mohair cinchas. Just make suere you order the type of buckle you want, ie, with or without a tongue. I have made some cinchas also. They are 1/4 inch felt with three wraps of 3 inch web strap covered with Kodel. They were developed by an outfitter and he used them all the time.

I am looking for a supplier of braided cotton rope used for lead ropes for pack mules. Looking at about 1 1/4 inch diameter. It is different than a twisted cotton rope. I have been doing internet searches but found nothing yet. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I for one would like to know what you decide adn which splitter you get. All the info about how you like it and all. I am in the parket but just have not done anything about it yet.

Contact Paul at www.midwestwhips.com about a splitter. I think they are less than $120 + shipping. They are mad especifically for whipmaking. I understand they are made in Australia by a whipmaker. He also sells a wonderful lace cutter that I am going to get as soon as I have a little extrra to spend.

A little more infomation. These are going to be mule saddles that we use packing into wilderness areas. They are going to be more of a trail saddle with keeping weight in mind. I am using 10 - 12 oz leather. I am not going to drop names but was told by a well respected saddle maker and leather worker who has been in the business for more than 40 years that HO can be hard to cut and that he is now using Siegel's skirting. He would not tell anyone that if he did not use the leather and believe it. He would also not endorse anything he didi not use. With the amount of money that is invested, it is nice to know that a person is using the best material you can get. Thanks

I tried to create an account for the directory but it would not let me. Let me rephrase that. I could not get it done. How do I go in and make my account and post a few pictures of my product? Thanks, Joe Boyles rcsaddles Name: Joe UserName: rcsaddles IP Address: 71.217.143.103 Email Address: rcsaddles@yahoo.com

Which saddle skirting is the best these days? I was told that Siegel has the best to use. Also heard that Waterhouse is good. Heard bad things about Hermann Oak. I'm gettting ready to make two saddles and would like other's opinions on which leather is the best. Thanks

Thanks Doc, Haven't heard back on what she thought of the Bible Cover. The parents said it was exaclty what she had requested. I don't know much about flowers either. These don't have to be watered which is good.

Here is a Bible Cover I did for a young lady as a Christmas gift from her parents. This is the latest vase and flowers. I think I need more practice on the painting.

I use acrylic paints from Wal-Mart or JoAnn Fabric. Just thin with water and have fun. Mix colors or whatever.

It is a piece of the leather cut before the flower is molded.