kseidel

I make a lot of saddles for ladies who work cattle and ride long distances. Comfortable, narrow seats, good stirrup freedom and flexibility, correct horse fit are among the most important requirements. Also, light weight and relief for painless knees and ankles. At 5'7" you are not that short; how long is your inseam? What are your waist and hip measurements? You want a slick fork, how high cantle? At 127 lbs, a 15 1/2" seat will give you quite a bit of room for movement, especially with a flatter seat and 3 1/2" - 4" cantle. If you want a narrower seat, you need to add a bit more rise to the front of the seat. An in-skirt rigging will be the closest to your horse, as well as single stirrup leathers. The wrap on the fender tail does not need to be as long as what you have seen and can be made much shorter. You can also eliminate the buckle entirely and adjust the length at the top of the fender with either lace or a quick change buckle. I can make you a saddle. I would need specific information detailing what you want in a saddle as well as info profiling your horses. Keith

You can buy it direct from Fiebings. It is only packaged in quarts and gallons. Any fiebings dealer can stock it for you. Keith

Thats great Bob!!! I needed a good laugh this Monday AM. Thanks for invitation.... I'll see if I can round up a nag or two! Keith

He Steve, I've traded saddles for cows. Always figured if I could eat it it was a good trade. I hear some of you Canadians eat horse meat....... Keith

I have a few thousand of them in various sizes in the stndard 8-32 thread. I'll be glad to send some. What length do you need? If you need the odd sizes, Ohio Travel Bag sells an assortment with various sizes... $5-8. Keith

I no longer use Tan-Kote. I don't like the way it water spots. I have discovered "colorless harness dressing". It applies similar to tan kote, but is a more satin or flatter finish. It is mostly water resistant, it does not water spot, and it can be easilly oiled thru. It can be re-applied many times without the sticky buildup of other products. It is not entirely colorless, as it does darken slightly. I think it is one of the best kept secrets in leatherwork. Keith

I use hog rings for the "staple" to connect the ends of the belting. You can also lap skive and stitch the ends together. It is difficult to keep tight as the leather stretches, so only works well if you can adjust the motor or pully to tighten belt. Keith

Hi Shelly, Actually I am not the first to notice the horn wrap. Another forum member asked me via PM if that was correct. He had been taught that it was wrong to wrap to the left. I figured it might be a reverse pic. We have a pretty observant bunch of leatherworkers here. All is well in Cody. Business is sure slower this summer! We sold our interest in the AZ store last fall. I was in Cody most of the winter while the rest of the family was in Scottsdale. We didn't like being separated and I didn't like being in Cody alone all winter! Sure miss AZ in the winter. Missed you in Sheridan this spring. Hope you can come next year. Keith

Hi Shelly, Nice to see your work. I have always been a fan of your braiding. Question: your third pic showing a close-up of the horn shows the wrap in a left handed configuration. Did you edit this pic and post the reverse image, or did you wrap it left handed? Keith

The "draw down" is to aid in stretching a seat into a saddle. The seat starts out as a flat piece of heavy leather and must be shaped to the shape of the saddle seat. It is a difficult task and nearly impossible without a draw down strap. The hydraulic stands are great! Most saddlemakers make their own drawdown stands out of wooden planks and the seat is drawn down using ones foot on a lever attached to the strap. Keith

Is it practical to adjust the holes in the new rigging to match the holes in the tree and make the riggings the same? I would still plug the original holes even when using them again. Helps to keep the screws tight. Keith

I crimp the blade into the skiver and sharpen it with a buffing wheel. The blades will last for months instead of hours. Replacing the blade is more difficult.... you have to open up the crimp to get the blade out. Keith

Denise, I feel your pain!!! I hateed dial-up. I used a satellite service from Hughs Net. It was not great, but soooo much better than dial-up. They have many different packages available, so I don't know what the price would be for you, but it sounds like it may be your only choice for faster connections. The website is url="http://www.hughesnet.com"]www.hughesnet.com[/url]. We had a VPN using their service and the only problem was the latency between computer and satellite. Speeds were about 1.5gb two years ago. I'm sure it is faster now. Hope you get some improvement! Keith

They seem to run in cycles. Round skirts for a while then square then pointed, etc. People also seem to buy what they see and when you have something different for them to see, they seem to buy the "new" model. I'm not making any more than usual. Keith

JustWakinUp, If you sharply bend and flex the strap after you tool it and before you oil, the strap woll be much softer. Also, using saddle skirting leveled to the correct thickness will be naturally softer than strap leather. Saddle skirting is tanned twice as long and is finished differently at the tannery, making it more supple. Olive oil will penetrate and wick deeper into the fibers than neatsfoot and allow more oil without oversaturating the leather. Both will darken significantly! Try a scrap strap to check out the result. Keith

You don't have to wait so long to cut the pattern with the swivel knife. The knife will have a tendancy to drag and stick more when the leather is drier. If too wet, the surface will not be firm and will wrinkle from the presure of the blade. One of the most common causes is the knife blade having micro grooves from the whet stone. Polish with a cutting compound untill the blade is completely smooth. Inspect the edge under magnification. Keith

All this being said.......... Snaps are still the best, and most professional way to attach a buckle to a belt and be able to easilly remove and replace it. Use good snaps and set them correctly and they will hold very well. Keith

Several things here to reply to: first of all, if whatever you use as a topcoat over the antique is disolving and wiping it away, then you are leaving too much antique on the surface. You only want to "antique" the surface, not dye it a different color. The antique should be rubbed into the open pores and then buffed off leaving only that which will remain in the grain and texture of the leather and in the tooling, if any. As I stated before, it is very difficult to apply a smooth antique finish to smooth leather. If you apply the antique straight to naked leather, certain precautions need to be followed. Be sure the leather is clean and prepped for finishing. The antique should be a bit thinner... not a thick, heavy paste but more the consistency of a lotion. This will allow you to apply it more evenly. The dye in the antique will color the leather. only apply a small area at a time and buff off excess immediately. Only try to cover about 8-12 inches square at once before buffing. Buff with fresh sheepskin. I seldom apply antique to naked leather. I get a more desireable result applying a good coat of lacquer to the leather first, let dry and then follow with antique and another coat of lacquer for top coat and sealer. Mixing antique with lacquer or tan-kote or bag-kote is an alternative method of application. Mixed with lacquer will result in a lighter antiqued finish, mixed with tan or bag kote will result in more of a stain-like color change. Both must be followed with a topcoat. Do not buff with this method; there should not be any excess to remove. You can vary the mixture ratio to achieve your desired effect. More antique will result in darker color change. I use about about 2 large tablespoons of antique to a pint of finish. Apply with woolskin. Your local tandy store should have oxalic acid. it is a powdered crystaline that you mix with water; about 2-3 tablespoons to a quart. Applying any topcoat can be challenging. The objective is to get enough product on the surface to seal and protect the leather and not so much as to add thickness all while not getting streaks! If you have worked the previous coats into the leather properly and buffed all excess away, top coating should be easy. Use FINESSE! Rubbing too hard will penetrate and streak earlier coats. Rub it in lightly and let dry. don't over-work it as this will also cause streaking and clumping. Rubbing lightly while drying will make a gloss finish into a flat or satin finish. This requires some practice. Lacquer finishes offer better protection from the elements as they completely seal the surface. Tan kote and bag kote can water spot and stain. Anything sprayed on the surface is more apt to peel and crack, and usually looks more artificial. I hope this clarifies the process. If not I will try to answer more questions. Keith

You have a pretty big problem! But it should be salvageable. It seems that the finish(s) did not adhere to the leather. A common problem sepecially with certain leathers. I don't think the super sheen or leather sheen is entirely to blame. The antique finish under the sheen did not work properly. The leather has to be clean and preped prior to applying any finish. Oils from your hands and residue from working the leather resists even finishing. You need to strip the finish that you have applied. Antique is hard to remove. Acetone will strip the Sheen, and mineral spirits will lift most of the antique. Wash and rinse thoroughly with soap and water after stripping. Then wash with oxalic acid. This opens the pores and makes the leather receptive to more finishes. Skirting leather should be oiled to restore the life into the leather. Oil does darken some. You should plan for this when developing your color strategy. If you choose not to use any oil, you will be more apt to get some unevenness in the finish. If you do oil, apply a light coat and let set for at least 8 hours to allow the oil to wick deep into the fibers and not be left on the surface. It takes a day or two to completely level the color. If you are using a paste antique, it will apply more evenly if mixed with the leather sheen. I prefer Neat-lac or tan-kote for this. If you don't mix the paste antique, thin it a little with mineral spirits. Smooth leather is hard to antique smoothly with out blotching. Buff off the excess fairly quickly. Apply the lacquer finish by hand with a woolskin. Using extra lacquer will help to smooth the antique further. Work the lacquer into the leather like oil, not just a thick coat on the surface to dry. This will crack and peel and look like a plastic finish. Hopes this helps, best of luck, Keith

I don't know if they have any kind of catalog, I'm sure they have a price list. The new full veg tan latigo from Hermann Oak was pliable to wrap around a cinch ring and tie. Chrome retan is much softer than alum and is not as dry in the center as alum. The characteristics are unique; I don't know anything else to compare. Keith

You never want to soak leather in any kind of oil. Depending on how hot the water to cause unfinished skirting to harden. Scalding the leather will make it harden. New skirting is already hard and any casing will cause the fibers to tighten tighter when dry again making it harder than original. It is up to the leatherworker to "finish" the leather to soften and to withstand the elements. Keith

Bighorn also makes a brown latigo. It is a bit stiffer but the color is brown. Harvey Boutin has several shades of brown in their "salz" brand. Chrome retan remains more flexible over time and use but is not as strong and the holes may tear out more easily. Herman Oak is making a new softer all veg tan. I saw it for the first time at Sheridan. Have ordered some but not tried it yet. Keith

You can wash out a lot of the oil with hot water. If smooth or rough-out, a presure washer will lighten the leather to almost natural. The presure will damage tooling. The principle is that water will displace the oil and then evaporate leaving the leather dry again and in need of more oil. Keith

Finally had a few minutes to go back and read some old posts and found this one. First, nice carving.... We have seen this saddle finished and it is beautiful. Clear-lay plastic film is a great clear plastic to use for pattern layout. It is available in large sheets from art supply stores. Using a permanant felt tip marker like a "Sharpie" and it will not rub off. You can use denatured alcohol to wipe it clean and re-use film for more patterns. You are a pretty fast tooler to do a seat panel in 4.5 hours and a fender in 6. Nevertheless, it does dry out faster. I don't wet as thoroughly as some. Certainly deep into the fibers, but not completely thru the entire thickness. I only wet one panel at a time. If you don't wet as much you won't get sa much stretch. Here in WY. we have to deal with shrinkage more than stretch.... no humidity. Sometimes a seat will shrink as much as a full inch front to back! Not wetting as deep helps with that as well. Depending on the leather that you use, you may find that you can tool a great deal drier. In most cases each re-wetting will cause the tooling to swell and not stay as deep, so unless it is unavoidable, I keep the panel moist until finished. Re-wet and bag it overnight. The key is not to over-wet the partially tooled leather. I use a presure sprayer to wet leather for tooling, much finer and more consistant spray than a spritzer. I can apply a fine mist to the surface and within moments return to stamping. This more frequent but minute wetting wicks into the deeper fibers making deep re-wetting unnecessary. I get a lot of interuptions, and usually just put the piece in a plastic bag and when I get back to it (sometimes the next day) only a light spray and it is ready to stamp again. Another tip, when drawing your patterns, make some flowers without full circles of vines all around. Let some flowers lay against the borders or the vines around other flowers without having their own full circle. It helps add variety and break up the "grid" look. Keith

Try working the wax into the thread more. Burnish it into the thread with a piece of chap leather getting it hotenough to melt into the thread. Keith