Denise

Here's one longer topic on it. I did the advance search, put in drill strings and searched in the saddle and tack forum. There are a few other threads in there too. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=8162&st=0#entry6736

Welcome to LW Julia. We have people from all over the world and I would be surprised if there wasn't someone here who could help you out. Glad you joined us!

Angles on pictures can make things look off that aren't and straight that aren't. I would suggest you wait till you get the saddle and check it out really well before you make any more moves.

Did you just make new fenders for an older saddle and did the carving on them? Pretty good idea! They will darken with age too, and with being used. Looks like the two sides gave you a chance to practice a couple different styles. Thanks for posting!

I am not one to be able to tell you the quality of a saddle. But honestly, I can tell you that I would not ride that saddle. The seat in it will slide you and keep you right at the base of the cantle, way back on your horse with your feet way forward. I know this was a very common way to build a seat a few years ago in some segments of the industry, but as I have heard some pretty good saddle makers quote "There is a reason they quit doing that." That was an extreme when it came to building seats even then. Putting all your weight on the back end of the saddle like will not help your horse (and may easily harm him) and trapping you in the saddle in that position doesn't help you any either. If you read through some of the material in the Saddle Construction area, particulary from 2007 - 2009 or so there were some good threads on how the makers like to shape their seats. Or search for groundseat or "ground seat" in the Saddles and Tack section. Also, here are a few threads with some good saddles built with good seats in them. Try to ignore the rest of the saddle for the moment (it's tough!) and just look at the pictures directly from the side to see the shape of the seat, how it will position you and where you will be sitting on a horse. These are all different makers, most making for working cowboys, but you will notice a real similarity in how they build their seats - and it is done for a reason! If you are looking for a riding saddle rather than just a museum piece, it is really important to know what makes a good seat and why. Getting that is really important, regardless of what the rest of the saddle looks like. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29875 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29774 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=4987 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1767 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=8449 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29369 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=28824 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9354 OK, I'll quit now. There's LOTS more good ones on here. I hope this is helpful to you in learning more about what makes a good quality saddle. It was meant to be.

Just a quick response to this comment. While there are some badly made hand made saddles out there, just because something is hand made doesn't mean it has to have flaws. In fact, most hand made saddles are far better than the vast majority of production saddles. One of the maker's signature line here is "Make it look hand made, not home made." If you take a peak through the Saddle and Tack Makers Gallery you will see what I mean.

When you get the saddle do every test in the book to see if you can get any squeaks, movement etc. out of the tree. In 50 years a lot of things can happen to a saddle, and there are a lot of broken trees out here being ridden by people who don't know enough to realize that they are broken. We had one sent to us that was in two pieces, broken across both bars. It had been taken in to repair some minor cosmetic things and the saddle maker quickly noticed that the tree was badly broken. He phoned the owners up and told them, to which they replied, "It's been working just fine." They called him back a bit later and said "Come to think of it, last time I roped something, my mare did go to bucking." Some people just don't know...

I can't help you with who a maker is. I'm just curious about the side ways D ring on the back. Any idea why that is there?

want2braid Please post them here. We don't all have access to facebook and I want to see what you guys were doing! There is a total size limit per post. If you compress your pictures to 100 kb max you can get a lot on one post. Then add another post after that one with more. However, you have to wait a couple minutes bewteen posts. The software automatically tries to combine your posts if you send them too close together and if you have a lot of pictures on both, it will tell you that it won't take them. If you wait maybe 5 mintues? (not sure exactly, but definitely less than 10) between posts you can put in multiple posts with as many pictures as you can under the limit in each of them.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=15122 Here you go, Billy. It is pinned at the top of the Computer Help section.

I have been told that Ad-Aware and Malwarebytes will neutralize each other (best of my understanding) and I have had knowledgable people recommend both. Is it a good idea to have both or not? If you were only going to have one, which one should it be? (No wars, here, now!!)

Tejas Industries Box 2257 Hereford, Texas 79045 1-866-660-2830 806-350-5540 confer at tejasindustries dot com Bill Confer is the guy to ask questions of. He knows his stuff!

In reading this thread I think there are some things we can all learn here for our own businesses: 1.) Customer service can never be neglected. It is often said that a satisfied customer will tell 2-3 people but an unhappy customer will tell 10. In today's world of the internet, that 10 can easily be thousands. So no matter what we make and sell, be it holsters, saddles or supplies to leatherworkers, we need, to the best of our ability, to deal with everyone so that they are satisfied. 2.) It takes time, energy and hard work to build a good reputation. 3.) It doesn't take much time to lose it. 4.) As hard as it is to build a good reputation, it is even harder to rebuild it once it has been damaged. To prevent needing to do that, see item #1. Hopefully we are are working on #1 and #2 in our businesses. If, for some reason, #3 has happened, I wish everyone the best in working on #1 and #4. It IS possible to do these things. It just takes time and effort - and sometimes being given the benefit of the doubt by people inclined to do so...

Kate, Have you given him the chance to make good on the payment owed and your bank fees. It may not be an intentional rip off. They may just have really poor money management skills or had a bad month or something. That really isn't an excuse, but it may be a reason for the problem. I sure understand your frustration, doing a good deed and then having to pay extra to do it! But sometimes going that extra step to see if things can be righted is worth it. Of course, sometimes it isn't worth it either! And that is your decision to make. Hopefully he sees himself on here and contacts you first. In any case, please don't quit giving to others like you have been. I know it has been appreciated by others.

Nice saddle. I like the looks of a corner carve myself. Perchance is that on a Felkin's tree?

Hmmm... How long does it take to make leather from fresh hides, and then make a bag from them? How long does meat keep unless you freeze it? How do you practically keep the frozen meat linked to the hide the bag is made from? I can see it for the guy that eats there 2 - 3 times a day. He probably did eat part of the cow that made his belt. The idea you can eat here today and buy a bag made from that cow today - I don't think so... But eat meat here and buy a bag from cows served here - that I can see. Interesting marketing tool though. That's thinking outside the box for sure.

flynscot I have merged your topics so they don't get separated and lost. I recognize the SD Myers name. Very interesting pictures and neat history here. Thanks for posting!

I didn't know that Herb and Nadine Bork actually had a site. Thanks for pointing that out to us! As far as I know they would take your order. I haven't heard that they are turning away new customers. And they make very good hardware. You won't be disappointed. They are very nice people too. Give them a call. Just make sure you have a lot of time when you do...

I like the look of the saddle. Nice lines and clean work. Pretty good for only a 3rd saddle! Here is a thread where D.A. Kabatoff gives a method for getting the back jockeys right down tight in post #4. Good info as far as I know: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=4207 (Those who can, do. Those who can't, point to old threads where it is discussed!)

Janneman, Good to see you on here. Post some pictures of your saddles too, eh?? That looks neat. We have a pelican horn here that someone wanted us to order and then changed their mind. I wonder...

cowdog, I've moved your post into the Saddle Trade Resources forum. There are a lot of good ideas in the threads in here that may help you - DVDs and books as well as ideas on people to learn from. Here is a recent thread with the same question that good a few good responses: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29179 All the best in reaching your goal of making saddles. There are lots of people on here that are living proof that it can be done!

rkrgirl, Your 5 Star pad is one of the best out there for disbursing pressure and helping saddles work well, no question. The fleece on the bottom of the skirts will add a bit more of that pressure distributing effect. The studies that have been done on padding consistently show wool, fleece and, yes, reindeer hair (a study from northern Europe) are the best at distributing pressure. I've also heard that it helps keep the blankets in place compared to just the leather. By the way, I've only ever heard the term reflocking used for English saddles. I've never used it heard as a term for relining Western skirts, but then, I haven't heard everything yet either. Sorry I can't help you with your other questions. Someone else here can, I am sure.

Looks good. All the best in your new projects. There are some pretty good instructions and tips on here. Check out ClayB's posts especially. Figure carving, animals, hair, etc. are things he does really well.

Hey, I told you that if I could do it, so could you!! Keep posting pictures of your work. Interesting ideas in that carving. PS. Your signature line is exactly what my Grandma used to say. Neat to see that saying again!

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=15122 Greybeard, here is a link to a topic about posting pictures specific for "us people" that don't fit into your first two categories. If I can do it, so can you!