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I made these breast straps for a local rodeo. On the back I used 15oz hot stuffed and waxed harness leather. Hardware is Horseshoe brand from Weavers. Tim

I just finished this for a customer going to Montana this friday. Tim

Just finished this for our church auction

Brian, Went to your website and it was very impressive. The breastcollar rings were the customers idea and she is left handed. After looking at your work I feel preety good about my first effort at a Wade. In my store here in central Texas I have customers that have never seen one before. Thank You for your for your advice Tim

I hate new computers, Thanks for your patience. This is my first Wade so be ruthless. Tim

Sorry, I had to learn how to attach pictures. Tim

There are several places I go for leather, Mid-Continant (918-486-2900), Hide Crafter in Ft. Worth (817-878-5797). Talk to Tom at Mid-Continant because they handle Wicket and Craig, Herman Oak, Plus the Tandy leathers at pretty good prices. Tandy in Austin are good for emergency leather and hardware. As far as Saltgrass Steakhouse get a better quality steak at almost half the price at Big Bob's Steakhouse in Cameron, Texas. Tim

How are yall I just traded for a Singer 144w204 machine and I dont know anything about it. Does anyone know about how thick of leather it will sew or if it will sew thick leather, where to get parts, ect... Thank You Tim

Alright everyone, I asked everyone about flex in a saddle tree and got great info, BUT, my sister in law is a prca barrell chaser and has two treeless saddles. First off they have a tree but the bars must be made of rubber or somthing like it because you can almost bend it in half. The stirrup leathers are connected to the skirt on a small D ring and the skirt and has a rubber or neophrene under the artificial wool.The construction is lacking in true craftsmanship, the tooling is worse than clicker tooling,and the stitching looks like 4 stitches per inch with a very loose bobbin tenision. She gave a substancial amount for these saddles because it is a treeless saddle. What I would like from my most learned collegues is an opinion on these questions, 1. with this much flex would these saddles cause more sore backs because of a rubbing motion, 2 Is this a fad with salesmanship pushing a inferior product with a price tag of a true saddle, 3 If this saddle is truley inferior how as craftsman how do we educate people that this is a inferior product while promoting a quality without making the customer feel like true moron. I know that telling the truth is imperative, but some people will not belive it, and I would like to counter ther arguments, or I am wrong and I need education on a better saddle design. Thanks all of you Tim

I just cut 75 acres of haygrazer, but because of a dry spring I don't think I will get more than 3 round bales per acre. With the cost of fuel, fertalizer, seed,ect.. I caculate around 32.50 a bale. My costal patch I have already cut and round baled and got 2 bales per acre. I tried somthing diffrent the past 3 years and fertalized with turkey scratch, then I spray 3 gallons of feed molasses per acres. The yeilds are pretty good and cut fertalizer cost by 40%. I don't sell much hay because I feed so much of what I make. Everybody have a great Fourth of July weekend Tim

In the topic about fiberglass or rawhide trees the subject of flex was brought up. When is there to much flex or is this tree to ridged ? It would seem if you had a 1000 lb cow on the end of a rope and are pulling it in a trailer, the pressure on the horn would be constricting the swells on real flexable tree thus putting a pinch effect on the horses withers. I know there must flex but when is it to much? Tim

Jon, Rod, and Denise, I did not know that much about poplar trees, the only poplar trees I have been around is cottenwood. The reason I brought this up I have recently repaired a name brand production saddle that the cantle was broken away from the bars. I told the customer that a fix on the tree would in know way be able to say that the tree would able to hold up to the roping that they were doing.The customer ended up trading me the saddle for on of my saddles. The tree on the boken saddle I fixed by pre drilling into the cantle and gluing with gorilla glue. The wood smelled like yellow pine. I screwed two three inch wood screws on each bar. I sold the saddle with expressed knowledge that the tree was repaired and would not hold up to any roping. The rawhide on the tree looked compenant but either the the wood was inferior or it was not well made. That is what started me thinking about the wood under the covering either rawhide or fiberglass. Thank all of you for the education on the diffrent woods on the trees. Tim

It seems that the discussion on rawhide or glass covering a wood tree and wich one is the stongest. I think that there has been no discussion on the wood that the tree is made of. It would seem that if you made the tree of softwood rather than a hardwood( oak, maple, hickory, ect...) no matter what you covered it with it would not be as high quality. If a tree was made of oak and double covered with bullhide that it would virtually indestructable, but a tree made of a softwood like a popular and double covered bullhide it would not be as strong because the actual stucture of the tree would be inferior to the oak. Tim

In North Texas it is also called a horseapple tree. They do get real big and the Jumbo Saddle Co. used the wood in their trees. My Grandfathers house was framed with boudark 2x6's and you had to drill a pilot hole to drive a nail. The saddle trees that were made with boudark are indestuctable. Tim

Lets see if this gets any responce, I have a few saddles that have a boudark tree. I know these trees are almost industructable. Anybody that has used boudark fence posts knows that you can't hardley drive a nail in them and when you cut the tree with a chainsaw sparks come off the saw. I know that in the old days people cut lumber from the trees for houses because it would not rot and will almost petrify over just a few years. Your thoughts please Tim

Ron, Use the two needle method of sewing, but remember on your waxed thread burnish the thread with a brown paper sack to keep the wool fibers from grabbing the thread and pulling through and clogging your awl holes. Tim

Jennifer, M.L. Leddy is still in business but they consentrate more on boots. That saddle looks like 1960's Leddy and will probably has beaudark tree. This means it is industructable. The tree will never break under any condition. M.L. Leddy has made boots for all the Presidents since F.D.R. In there store on the North Side of Fort Worth ( by the Stockyards ) they have a custom saddle that when you look from the front the swells look huge, when you look from the cantle you see a car A.M radio with speakers in the swells. The batteries are in the saddle bags ( small 12 volt car battery ). The saddle in the pictures looks solid and probably has a lifetime tree. The price seems very reasonble. Tim

I bought the longarm 441 from Neel's Saddlery and it has been a very good machine. It has performed better than expectations. Ryan Neel will help you anytime and has a full line of extras at good prices. Tim

Chuck, I was taught butt to the front because the thickest shearling is on the butt, Hideco has real good shearling for about $5.45 sq.ft. Also if I have to I use two shearlings to make sure I have good coverage, sure thats alot of left over but use that to line breast straps ect... Tim

Has any one inlayed turquiose or coral in there tooling? Tim

To add to this a roping saddle evolved from not only working the cattle but the cowboy being in the saddle 12 to18 hours a day. Over a period of time certain styles evolved from the area the cowboy was from and the conditions of the area, such as tapaderos in the southwest ( stirrup covers that protect your feet from thorns) horn styles, fork styles, ect... One thing you have to remember everything on a roping saddle has a specfic purpose, it is there for a reason for everything on the saddles. Tim

To me it when steer roping that big of a horn would be slower to dally,and being that I am portly I would hit my belly. Tim

Very nice. Clean lines a very usable saddle. Outstanding craftsman ship. Tim

Kieth, Thank you for your reply. I think I am reaching that point in my buisness where I have that hump, buy equipment to make your products faster but with the same quality, but you are nervous about the money that you are spending. My customer base is expanding just by word of mouth. Every day more people are coming into my store that I have never seen before ( the regulars come in every day because I make good coffee). I have seen your work and it is a honor to visit with to you. Tim