Denise

That is the neat thing about leatherwork. You can make chequebook covers for those of us who still use them (count me in!), but cell phone cases, I pad covers, etc. etc. for all the new technology too. If Tandy isn't selling kits made up for these new things, that would be a great opportunity for a leatherworker to step up and fill that niche. The world changes, but leather just goes on, and on, and on...

Very nice. I always enjoy looking at your work.

Here is a thread from a few years ago that talked about them and the problems with groundseats and building on them from people who had tried. Blake espeically makes some good points about how it works with ground seats. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=4947&st My question is - if it is supposed to flex easily enough that it moves with the horse, then how can it not flex under a 150 lb rider and put most of that pressure in the center of the back right under the rider?

Deer hide is very stretchy, which is what makes it great for lacing saddle trees. You can suck it down tight and it will get much thinner and yet is still very strong. The stretchiness makes it difficult to cut even string and I expect it will affect the braiding unless you are really, really careful with it. But I know some people still use it, so it can be done!

I know that would make building the saddle a lot easier for you and I think you will be happier with it in the end. Why put a new building on an old foundation, especially one that doesn't look to be in good condition to start with.

vernish = vernice?? according to Google Translate here anyway.

I have been told it is much harder to build a saddle on an old tree that has been built on before because of all the old holes in it. I would suggest filling all the old holes with something like auto body filler, making sure everything is smooth and then giving it a couple coats of varnish before you start. The smoother everything is the better.

I agree with Jeff. We have an old saddle sitting in our living room which is in much better shape than that one (it has been worked on since it was rescued), but it won't fit today's bigger horses (or today's bigger people either...) but it is worth having for the historical value and for us, as a discussion piece. But please, fix it up before you put it up for show somewhere! I see these magazines that have "decorated western" with bits of JUNK tack around. Decorators may like the look, but those of us who appreciate good tack don't! It sounds like this one is worth it sentimentally to keep, and that makes it worth the time and effort to make it look good again, even if it won't be usable.

Here is a thread some history on the Billy Cook saddles. Troy West's post part way down the first page has some good information in it. Don't know if it what you are looking for, but I hope it helps. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=3128

Here is a good thread with lots of pictures showing how one good maker does it: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19473

Neat old saddle! Thanks for posting the pictures. Please let us know what you find out if you do learn more about it.

Ferg, being on the receiving end, I can't agree with this. Picked up a package Sept 14 from the US. Mailed August 29th. Shipped Priority. Waiting on another shipped August 29th. We'll see how they shipped that. We've had the same thing consistenly from other places too. The US shippers usually worry about it if it isn't here in a week. We don't get concerned till more than 2 weeks go by. Frustrating, but that's the way it is. We currently have a customer anxiously awaiting a box we shipped the 2nd. Going from Alberta to Utah. Last check in was Quebec. ???? I guess people who don't know geography live on both sides of the border...

Oldtimer, here is an OLD thread about this topic: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1719&st But we have a lot of new members since this one was posted so hopefully there will be some more input on the topic.

Bob, I understand about stirrup slots. Most trees (ours included) only have the slots on the bottom so you don't have to worry about the fork being in the way. The one in your picture is pretty straight compared to the ones we put on our bars, and we have never had a problem with people wanting more angle on them once they have had one of our trees. This is quoted from Chuck Storme's article in Eclectic Horseman. I have been trying to figure out why a ring rig like the centerfire one shown in that article have any more restriction on stirrup movement than a skirt rig. I finally figured out my problem. I have been thinking about the top stirrup leather and not the bottom one. The answer finally became obvious to me from the drawings Keith posted in post # 13 on this thread: post 13 in this thread http://leatherworker...h=1 He has a "cut out" if you will in both drawings to allow the bottom stirrup leather more forward movement. With a ring rigging angled backwards, there is no way to make that "cut out" so while the top stirrup leather rides over the rigging OK, the bottom one is stalled out by coming between the rigging and the bar. The higher the rigging ring is set, the worse the restriction is. Sometimes, it just takes me a while to get the simplest ideas... As a curiousity factor, here are a couple pictures of the old saddle that sits in our living room. The rigging has been redone years ago, so who knows how the original matched with the front jockeys. (The rigging is hung pretty low on this one, so it doesn't restrict stirrup swing, so it was leading me in the wrong direction in my thinking.) The bottom of the jockeys are what restrict the forward stirrup swing on this saddle. Both sides are wrinkled pretty badly, and if you try to move the stirrups forward, they sure hit the jockeys.

Bob, In this thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=286&st there is discussion about D riggings and how the connecting strap helps the stirrup leather ride over top the D ring. I can understand that with a D ring, you can't angle the rigging like you can with an O to have a connection front and back, so the pull has to be pretty much directly down. With that being the case, the D rigging has to be full or almost so or else your rigging will come into the area under the stirrup leather. But with a connecting strap "guiding" the stirrup leather over the rigging, why are there still problems with it interfering with stirrup swing? I still feel like I am missing something basic here...

Thanks Steve. Good article. I've read through all the rigging threads on here as well and Chuck says the same thing - that a D or ring rig can restrict stirrup movement. But then it is a ring rig that is used for the center fire rigging pictured. How are these so different that one restricts the stirrups and the other doesn't? I'm obviously missing something simple here (and I couldn't understand Rod's explanation...). Maybe I just need pictures????

If you are still working on the post or are still able to edit it, got to the "full edit" mode. You can't play with pictures in the quick edit mode. Then on the right where you have to click to Add to Post, there is also the choice of a red Delete button. Click that and you can delete the wrong image you put up. There is a time limit during which you can edit your post. If you have left it for a while and are outside that time line, just shoot a PM to a moderator and they can delete it for you.

Wow. That is different! No help from here (sorry) but pictures showing the fork better from the back and front would sure be interesting if you could post them.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1907&st According to the history buffs in this thread, the 58 (or 56) Wade was made by Ray Holes based on the basic Wade design. How he built the Wade would differ slightly from how Walt Youngman built it, because even back then "every tree maker did things differently"... Anyway, you can read the discussion on the differences as seen in pictures in some old catalogs.

CW - here you go. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=17120&st=0 I also pinned that topic as it looked pretty useful. To put a link in, just go to the thread you want to post the link from, go to the top of the screen where the "address" is and right click, then copy. Go back to the post where you want to put the link and paste it. Presto - the fancy computer world turns it into a link! (usually... Technology is great, when it works... )

What are they wanting, klint?

It is common/normal for wooden horn caps to be added to metal horns to give the desired horn cap size and to give the saddle maker something to nail into. The wood should be screwed solidly to the horn, not just glued.

Art, you got be curious so I did the Google Translate thing. Congratulations too all Ukranian nationals from Canada too!

Where are you taking your courses from?