Blackbirdhills Andy

Hello there! Well, if I look at my finished pieces, there's always one (or two ;-) little things I know I can do better on the next one, even if it's just me seeing it... And I guess that'll never change, right? :-) We are always learning and moving forward, and that's what I like about Leatherwork... There's so much to learn and know about, and I don't think it'll fit all in one lifetime? And if we ever come to a point where we stop learning, we'll probably lose- or allready have lost- the love for our craft... BTW: I'm definitly planning to do a nr. 3 and 4 and 5 etc, but first of all, I need a decent nr 1 and 2! haha :-) Andy

Hello Randy, Thanks for your suggestion! Yeah, there's always something to do while the glue is drying, right? ;-) In fact, even my mentor, who's a master saddle maker, does only work on one saddle at the time... I will order two trees at once, because I live in switzerland and shipping etc is expensive. But when it comes to building the saddles; I'll take my time! So one at a time will be my choice too... Have a nice day/evening, Andy

Thanks a lot, I think I get what you mean now! :-) Anyway, my goal was not to separate them in the first place, so I'll stick with the combined solution for now... I will continue to draw and I have an old, broken "cheapo" saddle here where I can check all the stuff I'm working on... And someday, I'm gonna order that tree! ;-) Thanks a lot again, it's good to know that there's people out there willing to help! :-) Andy

Hello there, Thanks for your feedback! I was sketching and drawing today, did you by any chance mean something like this? :-) Nice Saddles that you build!

Adam, That's exactly my thinking too! ;-) I have looked at that same picture a couple of times before, and another member sent it to me as well. It's interesting, and I think I'm gonna contact the maker to get a little more information on it... However, I'm still wrapping my head around the version I did, since my saddle(s) would be covered with a back jockey, I think it would be easier to have a smoother look, 'cause the way it is on the picture, there's 3 layers of leather, and they would cross underneath the jockeys, so that would be a bulky story I guess... Thanks from switzerland, Andy

Hi Adam, First of all thank you for your answer! I think maybe I'll have to draw the thing proper; it's just a rough sketch, so the rear rigging position is not exact and thought trough yet, it's just there to show that the rigging is gonna have a rear one too... Anyway, good points you mentioned there! Sorry for not being more exact! :-) Thanks, Andy

Hello everyone here, First of all, I'd like to thank you all for the great tips and topics here! I'm doing Leatherwork since 2 Years now, and with a new work-shop coming in our new home, I'll be ready to take the next step and make my very first saddle. I've been reading, and watching everything about saddles I could in the last half a year, and I visited courses and schools about horses, saddles and their physiology.... I'm planning to build my first one (maybe 2 simultaneously, one for my lady, one for me) on a wade tree (if everything goes well on one of rod nikkels). And I am thinking and sketching now the parts of my first saddles. I'm a huge old-time fan, so I came up with this sketch of an old timey sam stagg-style front rigging, connected with the back rigging. Now all of you professionals out there, your opinion is very important to me! I wanna learn from the best and keep up the good work and tradition! :-) Is there any point on this (rough) sketch you wouldn't recommend me to try? Thanks a lot in advance! Greetings from switzerland, Andy

Hello there, Yes you are right, those are too small for my project, but thanks a lot anyway! Regards, Andy

Hi there, Well, anyone who's willing to sell and ship to switzerland... :-) I would prefer rather larger treesizes (i think yours are larger than LL's, right) cause I think it's easier to handle... Thanks!

Hi there and greetings from switzerland! I love your mini-saddles, they look great! Since I am getting into Saddle-Making, I am considering doing miniature versions of my planned Saddles to display them in my shop... Would you consider selling some of your trees? :-) Regards, Andy

Hi Screed, Is it still available? What would be your absolute best price? And would you send them over to switzerland? Kind regards, Andy

Hi Elwood, are these still available? What would be your absolute best price, and would you send them over to switzerland? :-) greetings, Andy