cowboycolonel

All sorts of things pertain. Big western saddle or little English saddle? Can you ship it in pieces, or do you have to have it assembled in the box? I have tried to have boxes made to have on hand for shipping my saddles, but the minimum order is 500, and I will never make that many saddles in my life - or what remains of it. I have resorted to my friends down at UPS to package and ship. It is expensive, but not so much so when you take into consideration all the time and effort to find a box big enough and stout enough to do the job. I make and ship western style saddles, as you can tell. English are smaller and lighter, and you can find all sorts of boxes to do the job there. OR ... if you are lucky enough to have another big production saddle-maker there who might have a supply of boxes on hand, maybe you can get one from him. Good luck BTW. Please make a sleeve for the horn (fleece turned inside out and loosely stitched will work), as no matter what you do, the horn will take a beating in transit.

I have a sharpener that I got from Japanese Woodworkers. It works like a champ, but you have to be careful to not open the holes out

I just go to Staples and buy the ones that are already made up, then I tear them apart and re-build them. Don't have a Hobby Lobby here.

Doubt I'll be able tyo get in for quite some time. Lost a foal last night and getting set for a three week trip. no time to lag, then off to aREAL branding -- two weeks out. Branding every morning and gathering every afternoon, Slows down the leather work, but WTF? Chat when I can.

... and use Nitril gloves when applying dyes so your hands don't come out the same color as what you're dyeing.

It's the fleece. "wool" is the fuzzy part,, "fleece" includes the skin.

I have sent boxes of the stuff from Arizona to Tennessee to Canada. How much do you want and what size do you need?

I use a mid-weight clear plastic for my saddle patterns -- and I don't throw any away. The stuff I buy comes with a peel-off lining that you can trace onto if you want, then peel it off when done - or just leave it on. These are flexible and impervious to weather and water. Problem becomes when you lay them down, if you don't put a piece of duck tape or similar on it, you can lose it easily. Plastic comes in a 4 x 8' sheet.

If this is to be used as a logo, maybe you'd think of investing in a die with all appropriate cuttings already laid out. That way you could simply bevel where necessary, and could save lots of time and repetition. If it's not, the go back to the original for locations of hair and other details, and get a modeling tool. IMHO.

Hey Guys, Been out of town and am trying to catch up. May be in the room later tonight. If not, tomorrow for certain Cowboy Dick

You couldn't offend me if you tried, so no worries here. And you are correct. Team roping is an entirely different discussion. I'm talking about branding and open country work -- NOT arena "work". No controlled environment and you do what needs doing. It would be interesting to note just how those three saddles "failed". I'd guess the rigging was pulled out, which suggests in-skirt rigging or lightweight Dee rigging. I prefer flat plate rigging, which I'd bet is what your saddle had. Enlighten me, please.

Well, I haven't been around as long as you guys seem to have been, but I'll throw in my opinion -- not that you asked for it. My first saddle weighed nearly 60 pounds. Being new to the riding world, I thought that was just the way it was. Then I started looking around at some of the whys and wherefores, and then reached my own conclusions. I don't ride all day every day, but there are many days that I have spent all day ( more than 8 hours) in the saddle. And I've had to lug my own saddle around to different parts of the country (and Mexico), so when I made my saddle (as opposed to trail saddles for little old blue-haired ladies) I studied up on what needs to be stout and what doesn't. The saddle I ride now weighs just over 34 pounds. It has seen seven good years of work, including roping my share of about 3,000 calves per year. It was made stout, for all day work, and as light as I could get away with. As you can see, my manhood isn't tied up in hauling (or making my horse haul) a saddle that's primary virtue is how much it weighs. Naturally I take care of my gear and I watch for cracks, rips, tears, and loos stitches. That said, my saddle was painstakingly made to exactly what I wanted -- full custom, so I could get away with some things that you never could in a production model. I like the weight, the sturdiness, and would compare mine to anyone's for wear per workload placed on it. Just my humble input.

You can get away with a strap that heavy in front IF you make the connection between the yoke and the front belt weak enough to break away when the wreck occurs. I make mine with no heavier than 1/2 x 7 oz leather and light weight attachment point - just like Dwight said.

Busy, busy here. Will be in for a bit this evening.

I have made several saddles on Wade trees by Bowden. They have all been perfect in every way. All are symmetrical and well-made. You can't beat it for the price. I have used other makers as well, but found that I was just paying more for no discernible inccrease in quality.

Me too. Let's see what you've got!

I've tried both, and had several of each style. The "super skiver" never worked for me, but I've run through many of the safety skivers. I'd suggest you concentrate on that one.

Pretty impressive - the way you did that. Guess that will only work on a Wade-type tree. Never thought of trying that myself, as everything I do (flat plate wise) goes on UNDER the ground seat, and needs to be tacked/glued to the tree at the base of the swells.

Naturally I use one of my own make, but I can't keep it near as good looking as yours, although I clean it about once a week and condition it at least once a month. The picture of you mounted puts a totally different perspective on the horse. In fact, when I looked at the original picture, I wondered whether your feet dragged. I'll bet when he sets back on a rope, the steer knows he's sat back on! So are we looking at four years ago (black and white) vs now (color)? Comparative photography, or two different current photos?

Looks like about 13.2 m-- must be the angle. Saddle appears to be for trail use only. Really good looking.

Thinkin' rubber cement wouldn't work, because to form the bond, it needs to be on a somewhat porous surface, and to get that, you'd have to rough to stock -- thereby defeating the purpose, Right?

Go to the hardware store and buy a small piece of rubber drawer liner. Glue/stitch it to the back of the cuff. That along with your lacing should hold things in place. Won't mar/damage finish on the stock.

I introduced the New York Yankees to the stuff and they now use it on gloves, shoes - anything leather. One coach even bought a case to use to restore vintage leather upholstery. Can't get a better endorsement than that!!

You can call them direct, and I'm certain they'd send you some. Toll Free in the US 800-785-2466 and they're on the Pacific coast. or go to www.skidmores.com