CWR

If it is done right, I think it is as good as any of the other methods. It could be argued that it is stronger than a Dee digging. I never heard the breathing theory, but the skirts can be just as full as you want them. CW

When I do a reline, I replace the strings (if it has strings), and tugs. Also give it a good cleaning and oil. If it is 40 plus years old it will probably need some other things done to it. To remove the old fleece, I run a stitch groover over the top of the stitches til it weakens them enough to pull them out with the old woolskin(Thanks Bruce Johnson). I use rubber cement instead of contact cement for relines but a lot of guys use contact cement. If you are hand sewing after you have your threads prepared rub them with a piece of brown paper sack. This burnishes the wax into the thread and it won't pull the wool into your awl hole and lock the thread. I sewed a lot of them by hand before I could afford a machine. Plan on more time than a day if it is your first one. Good luck, CW

Thank you Billy and David. I do see more seat rigs and have been getting several inquiries about them. This first one took a bit more time but I think the next one will go about as fast as a conventional rigged saddle. Thanks again, CW

David, That is a really nice saddle. You did a great job. One thing I would do is cut the seat jockey fuller. I like it to run up to about the center of the swells then flatten out and parallel the skirts. You would have less of the stirrup leather and fender showing. I think it gives a more balanced look. Just an personal opinion. CW

Thank you JW, for the help and the compliment. The feller I built it for will put it to the test. It's headed to New Mexico for some cow work tomorrow. I'm sure I'll get a report when he gets back. Thanks, CW

Thanks Joel for the compliments and the critiques both. That rear rigging did go on too thick. I think the slot is wide enough. Before I put the skirts on and after I put the leathers through the slot I moved them forward to ensure that the tree would be the limiting factor in swing rather than the slot. Since the seat is the rigging on this one I missed my mark a little as I dropped that bottom line down to meet the rings. Thanks for looking, CW

Here is a seat rigged Sid Special I finished up last week. It was the first seat rig I have done. I got a lot of coaching from JW Wright on it. All comments are welcome. Thanks,CW

Rufus, I use Hermann Oak for just the reason that fellow is complaining about. I want it to be firm and hold its shape when new. If you get one in the condition that he wants, in my opinion it will never make it to the twenty year mark. With that being said, I think you might want to use more oil. I start with a heavy coat then several light coats over a couple of days. I hate a new saddle that sounds like a rusty hinge. And sometimes you just don't make the sale or get the order. Good luck, CW

Thanks Josh. Ron, the hobble hanger placement was at the customer's request. I think the concho issue is the photo. I spent a good bit of time trying to get them lined up correctly. But it wouldn't be the first time that my eyes fooled me. LOL. Thank you both for your comments. CW

I finished this one up last week. Its a 16 in Tucson from Sonny Felkins and Hermann Oak leather. Critiques are always welcome. Thanks, CW

Thank you Harley. The stamp is under the section Block Stamps. The one I have is the large size. There are probably a lot of people who have a better method to run that stamp than I do, but I am pretty much self taught and that is the best I could come up with. I wasn't able to just eye ball it in. Cutting the lines in is pretty tedious and time consuming but the stamping goes pretty fast. CW

Thank you Aurelie. JW Wright does all his stamping first then cuts his lines in with a swivel knife. I tried this and my eye is not as accurate as his so I came up with a method that worked for me. I have the large stamp so any measurements given here will be for it, but it will work just as well on the smaller stamp because the angles are the same. First I scribed a very light horizontal line on whatever piece I was stamping. Then I used a 60 degree triangle to scribe two lines( one angled left and one angled right) to the horizontal line. These can be deeper because you then cut them in with you swivel knife. After these first two cuts were made I set my wing dividers at 5/8 inch and used them to scribe a line paralell to the first, then cut this line in then repeat until all the lines were cut in that direction. Then do all the lines going the other direction. After the lines were cut just center the stamp made in the diamonds and stamp away. I used a small seeder at the spot where the lines intersected. If you want the diamonds smaller move your wing dividers in slightly. My stamp is 1/2 inch wide so the 5/8 gave me a little room for error. Hope this helps. If you have any questions I would be glad to answer them. Thanks, CW

They used two rows of stitching. One for the skirt/rigging and one for the wool skin. CW

Stef, I think you have two options. First just glue everything until you are ready to put the fleece in or use two rows of stitching. Sew your skirts, rigging etc with one row then sew the fleece to everything in final assembly. A lot of saddlemakers use two rows of stitching as regular practice even on traditional style saddles. When it is time to reline the saddle only the last row of stitching will have to be removed. CW

Thank you all. I can take no credit for the stamp pattern. Jeremiah Watt made the stamp and the original design. JW Wright uses it a lot and was kind enough to give me some pointers on running it. I have a question for you all, Do you use tacks or some other method to secure your Cantle bind when shaping it?I have been using tacks and am not satisfied with the results. If you look at the third picture you can see where the stitch line is distorted. This was where a tack was and as the bind dried it puckered at the stitch groove. I need to find a better way. Rufus, I'm just a few hundred miles south of you in Alpine. Two years ago everything did burn up. I had to evacuate my family twice but we stayed out of harms way. Had some friends who were not so fortunate. It's gonna rain this year though . Josh send those pictures while we are waiting though. Glad yall are getting some rain. It has got to rain in the good country before we get any. As you can see I am still struggling with that back housing line covering my rear rigging leather. I made a new pattern and then trimmed off too much at the final fitting. Thanks again, CW

This is number four for me. 15 1/2 Tucson from Sonny Felkins. This is going to be my personal rig. I had to get the pictures before I got the holes punched in the billet or the camera was leaving. I still have a lot of room for improvement so any critiques are welcome. Thanks, CW

I have never ordered a new tree from them but have had them rebuild two broken trees for me. They are good to work with and the trees came back probably better than when they were new. CW

What weight is it and what would you want for it? I might be able to us e it for lining. Thanks, CW

I have to sharpen mine from time to time. If its not to bad I put compound on a piece of thin card board and strop it on each of the four sides(just pulling it back and forth). They are thinner and are polished so well that you have to be extra careful. I do it as much by feel as by sight. Sometimes I have to use a piece of 1000 grit wet dry if it hits a cantle edge or tack etc. Then follow with the compound. Hope this helps, CW

Thanks for the compliments Ricky and Clyde. CW

Thanks Josh. There are definitely things I need improvement on. I'll be starting on number four as soon as the tree gets here. Thanks again. CW

I built this saddle for my wife. The hardware was made by H.M. Wells. I tried to get this one as light as I could so it would be easier for her to handle. It came in at 34 lbs. Critiques are always welcome. CW

I do just like Bruce does. The left one will "grow" if you don't stretch them. I do a lot of repairs and it is pretty common to see the left blevins set on a higher hole than the right side on factory saddles. I have seen almost 2 inches difference between left and right leathers. Stohlman does touch on this in volume 2. CW

Josh you did a good job on that saddle. I hope to finish up my third one in the next couple of weeks. I say that to let you know that I am far from being an expert. If I were going to change anything on your saddle, I would drop the bottom line of the jockeys down so that they would cover the rigging. This would also make you need to drop the line on your front seat jockey. This was pointed out to me on my second one and so I more aware of it now. CW

I usually only get six or maybe seven sets out of a side. I cut reins only out of the part that has the neck in it. I want the thickness of that neck leather to give the ends some weight. This is also the longest section and you can usually cut them eight feet long. CW