jwwright

Nice punchy west Texas style leggins..............are they step ins? JW

This is another ranch cutter that I finished up couple days ago. Made it for a gal who competes in ranch versatility and ranch horse competitions. I sure appreciate the knowledge and inspiration that I find on this forum. JW

Hi Joanne..........I sure can't comment on the Billy Cook saddle you are considering....no one could do so accurately without seeing the saddle on your horse. But, I will say that the tack store person that gave you the information you mentioned, doesn't know what they are talking about. My best advice, in light of the fact you state that a hand made saddle is not in the cards at the moment, is to find someone you trust, who understands both the form to function of a saddle as well as the horsemanship involved, and get them to help you find a suitable saddle to purchase. Good luck to you, JW.

I agree with Doug. Pretty smooth first saddle. Congrats on your accomplishment. JW

Welcome as well, Brian. I've been a fan of your work for quite some time. I look forward to your input. JW

Thanks for the kind comments everyone. Regarding the stamp job..........the center part of that diamond is a stamp I got from Jeremiah Watt's Horsehoe Brand. He calls it the Navajo stamp, I believe. I have played around with it quite a bit, and have several ways of using it that I like, although I think this pattern on this saddle is my favorite. I don't know if I really know how to run this stamp correctly or not. I simply saw this pattern on one of Jeremiah's saddles, and tried my best to copy it. The way I do it is to stamp the the navajo diamond centers first. Then cut the lines with a swivel knife, and then the dots with a seeder. For me, any way, I have found that this allows me some wiggle room to get the lines and seeder dots looking pretty well lined up. JW

Below, I hope, are a few photos of a saddle that I finished up today. It is my 4th saddle, and my first Wade. I sure appreciate all the wisdom offered here. Thanks, JW

Nice work Ashley. JW

Tackmaker............the tree is from Ray Lewis, and it is a ranch cutter, with a TD (Texas Dally) horn, 3" tall. I have used 6 trees from Ray so far, and have been happy with them. Grumpyguy.........this is a ranch cutter. More bar surface area than your standard BW cutter tree. It will stand up to what ever you care to put your rope on. Matter of fact, this one pictured already has. The feller that bought it doctors lots of yearlings, and competes in ranch versatility contests as well. Many Thanks to you both for your comments. JW

I sure think Bruce got it pretty well covered. I am partial to an Olin Young style front. Posted below is a photo of mine I use daily. Been wondering for a while why a plate type rig has not been used much, if ever on these arena roping saddles? JW

Looks good, congrats on your accomplishment.

It sounds like I have been cutting riggings for both D rigs and plates from about the place as described here. I have a couple of questions on plate rig leather..........how particular are you about where you cut your plate rig linings from, provided you have cut the top out of good stuff? Also, I have seen some plate riggings lined with about 8/9 oz latigo. Opinions on that? Many Thanks, JW.

Many Thanks for the comments and feedback folks. I appreciate it. JW

I agree that the W & C is good. I have been using the skirting from Seigels, and I really like it. I have built 4 saddles with it thus far, plus a fair amount of smaller goods. No complaints from me, and I have yet to run across a rawhide spot in a side yet. The old reliable Herman Oak no doubt is good, and the choice of many. For me though, by golly sometimes it seems to have too much temper to the hard side. Just a personal preference thing. I have no plans to change from the Seigels in the near future. I am curious enough to try some of the Chestnut Herman Oak that Weaver's has had on a discount lately, though.

Here a few photos of a set of hobbles I just finished up. These are hand sewn, the buckle is by Danny Pollard. JW

As far as custom "Texas style" conchos and hardware, nothing wrong with Bass work as previously suggested. Probably among the top 3 or 4 most collectible Texas style contemporary makers are Danny Pollard, Merkel, Texas........and Jayson Jones, now of Florrisant CO, but a Texan. Outstanding texas style work from both. I use alot of hardware from both, and Danny Pollard makes all the rigging Ds, etc. that I use as well. Links to their websites are below. JW www.pollardbitsandspurs.com www.jaysonjonesspurs.com

I charge my hourly shop rate. The total charge will depend upon just how much there is to do...ie. cleaning out carving, etc. I use liquid saddle soap, rinse, 100% neatsfoot oil, and a light saddle soap finish when dry.

Very kewl Troy. I would think, at least in my case, the "pucker factor" would be high cutting and fitting that big chunk of leather. That would be an expensive and time consuming piece to end up as an unscheduled practice. Always terrific to see your work, and get your thoughts. Thanks, JW.

Oldtimer......I am not Greg, but here is a photo of a seat rigged saddle, made by Richard Oliver.

Nice job getting those swells one piece. Congrats. I tried to cover some ranch cutter swells in one piece the other day....got one side, and fought with the other side for quite a while. Then went to welts. I am pretty sure it was my selection of where I cut the cover from that caused the problem Live and learn. Congrats again. JW

Troy, I would appreciate seeing your seat rig hardware pattern. I am familiar with Pointer's hardware, and Danny Pollard from Merkel, Tx is building hardware for me. At least amongst my contemporaries, the seat rig fairly popular. I would like to build one to play around with for myself, and get it right before I offer it to potential customers. Thanks, JW.

Ashley, I guess great or warped minds think alike. I have been giving some though to building a seat rig also. Tracy Moss on this board used to work for Olivers, I think. I sent him a message to get his thoughts on seat rigs, this morning. Hopefully, he'll chime in here. JW

Congratulations on your accomplishment. It's a learning experience, isn't it? Have you ridden it yet?

Ryan, my wife and I both trainers and ranchers. I built my wife a ranch cutter a couple of months ago out of 13/15 oz. I got the weight down to 32 pounds, ready to ride including cinches. Smaller skirts, and cutting a few ounces where I could helped hold the weight down. Many of the cheaper trees use mostly hardwoods in their construction and are quite a bit heavier than good quality trees. I have handled a few made by a tree company I won't name, but there are many saddles being built on them. These trees weighed at least double what some good trees I have picked up did, and the weight sure wasn't coming from the rawhide. Maybe they are building those cheap ones out of Osage Orange? It is pleniful in the part of the country where those trees are built.......quien sabe.... Any way, this was my experience, and the wife is much happier with this lighter ranch cutter than she was her old 44 pound version. JW

Thanks Steve. I have been using the apron split grey "mulehide" for quite a few years. From a craftsman's viewpoint, I wish sometimes it would go on smoother, and from a cowpuncher's viewpoint, I wish that it didn't glass up and get so slick so quick. I have done some business with Vandy, and will be calling there in the next few days to order some stuff............so, I'll check on the elk tan then. Thanks, JW