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wyldflower

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Posts posted by wyldflower

  1. Posted · Report reply

    Lovely accident prone critters gave me yet another big vet bill. Price reduced to $650 ~ and promise you'll send me a pic of the finished saddle ;)

    Wade tree made by Rod and Denise Nikkel in 2010, seat will finish to 14 to 14 1/2 in seat, 5 " Cantle, 9" slick fork swell.  About 4 1/4" handhole width, 8" gullet rise Made for a petite woman to fit old style QH with broad shoulders and good withers. Guadeljara style horn, 2 3/4" or 3" tall.   Always Stored In the house out of the sun. Can send additional pics showing measurements, and I think Rod and Denise might still have the original specs.

    My life took on a different direction not long after I got this tree.  I love it and am a little heartsore to give it up, especially since the Nikkel's won't be building any more trees. But, I don't see myself building a saddle in the foreseeable future and am now riding a narrow little mule so no good having a saddle built for me on it.  Would much rather see this tree become the saddle It was meant to be Instead of sitting in my closet.  

     Buyer to pay shipping and insurance costs, which should be around $75 or so total. PayPa accepted for paymentl, or cash if you pick up in person - located near Portland, OR. Sorry but will ship only US or Canada (shipping/insurance costs may be higher to Canada).

    Nikkel Tree left.jpg

    Nikkel Tree Rt top.jpg

  3. Posted · Edited by wyldflower
    content     · Report reply

    Wade tree made by Rod and Denise Nikkel in 2010, seat will finish to 14 to 14 1/2 in seat, 5 " Cantle, 9" slick fork swell.  About 4 1/4" handhole width, 8" gullet rise Made for a petite woman to fit old style QH with broad shoulders, high withers with plenty of rock in the bars. Think old Hancock style horses. Guadeljara style horn, 2 3/4" or 3" tall.   Always Stored In the house out of the sun.

    My life took on a different direction not long after I got this tree.  I love it and am a little heartsore to give it up, especially since the Nikkel's won't be building any more trees. But, I don't see myself building a saddle in the foreseeable future and am now riding a narrow little mule so no good having a saddle built for me on it.  Would much rather see this tree become the saddle It was meant to be Instead of sitting in my closet.  

    $800, Price is firm. Buyer to pay shipping and insurance costs, which should be around $75 or so total. PayPa accepted for paymentl, or cash if you pick up in person - located near Portland, OR. Sorry but will ship only US or Canada (shipping/insurance costs may be higher to Canada).

    12977131_1702962463293605_1689709114928375032_o.jpg

    12961176_1702962409960277_7331563881620247186_o.jpg

  5. Posted · Report reply

    Joanna, you just plain super ROCK!

    My computer is an old clunker, so I expect lag and longer loading times. The faster load is quite noticeable.

    I'm looking forward to when you can play with colors again. I don't know if any other users are noticing eye-strain, but I am. I think it is all the white space coupled with the smaller font? I know on the main forum page, the grey text on white is hard on the eyes.

    Oh, and did I mention Joanna and the LW Tech Team ROCK?! :)

  6. Posted · Report reply

    I hate to admit it, but the older I get, the less I like change.

    I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I really dislike the new layout and some of the new features. In particular, I find the huge popups when you cursor over someone's name (which I do by accident all the time) objectionable.

    I also strongly object to how much time I'm online being recorded and publicly displayed. It's nobody's business how much time I spend online on this site. I'm one who likes her privacy, and that really bothers me. So much so I won't be visiting much now until it's gone or can turn it off.

    As it was said before, it is the people on a forum that makes a forum what it is, and I don't believe there is a finer group of folks than what you find here on LW. One can get used to a new look, even if you don't like it much. But, as I mentioned some of the new things are objectionable enough that it may be I visit only when I need to, and not because I want to, and I'm saddened by that.

  7. Posted · Edited by wyldflower · Report reply

    Ok, I'm a fuddy-duddy who dislikes change, so trying very hard to keep an open mind.

    The pages do seem to load more quickly - a nice plus.

    THANK YOU for keeping the brown/tan leather-ey look. The popular "sleek modern" look with lots of white space I find rather cold and impersonal. The warm tones help quite a lot.

    I'm finding the new look harder to navigate; all the typeface is in black so it is not clear what is a link, what's not.

    The huge popups when I inadvertently place my cursor over somebody's name or picture, is very distracting. Love to be able to turn that off. I also sure hope I can also keep private such things as how much time I'm online. Sorry to be so critical, but privacy is important to me (and I really don't want to know that much about other people, either!)

    It would also be very helpful to get back the icons that tell you there are pictures associated with a thread. Saves a lot of time.

    I realize a lot of time, effort, and dedication goes into making this site live, and want to extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all you do! :)

  17. Posted · Report reply

    I am a school psychologist. Presently I work in a high school -about 2200 hundred students. I've worked with all ages, preschool to post-high, and I like 'em all :) Much of what I do involves special education services for students with disabilities. I get to do some intervention and counseling work too.

    It's a stressful job, so I come to my leatherbench to let my creative self free and destress me.

    wyldflower

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Wow Dixie! Celtics chinks! Very cool. Just the sort of ting ya need to wear when ridin' dem der Black Pookas! I have only made one pair of chaps but these look just great.

    Storm

    LOL thank you Storm! I really enjoy mixing styles, and might trying goin medieval on my next ones :)

    BTW - I didn't know what a Black Pooka was (thank goodness for Google!) Does it count if I ride a dark horse??? I'm pretty sure some of the rides I take on that particular dark horse might be Pooka-ish! ;)

    Hi Wyldflower, i think your chinks look fine espically for your first time. When i make a pair for a customer i have a base pattern made out of poster board and hold that around their leg to see how they fit. Then you can mark it and and cut or add on. If you cut to much off tape the piece you cut off back on and go again.

    Plus save all of your patterns. They may fit the next customer at worst you can see how much you need to add or take off for them to fit. Poster board is your friend and a lot cheaper than leather.

    John

    Thank you John - I really like the poster board idea. And boy howdy are you right - lots cheaper than leather. And I bet the air is less blue when mistakes are made on poster board than on leather...

    Good job,

    may i suggest cutting your fringe thinner. A working cowboy will take those pieces to fix a bridle or anything that breaks.

    I didn't even think about the fringe width as having a purpose, but that makes perfect sense. I'm learning that most, if not all, true cowboying gear has multifunctions in ways that might not be obvious to those who haven't had to get creative in a hurry in the middle of nowhere. Thank you for sharing that bit of info and suggestion Seveneves - very much appreciated.

    WOW -those are great, I am about to start my first pair.....does Bob Klenda sell patterns? If so, maybe I should wait until I can order one from him? That looks like a really good pattern, and I would LOVE mine to turn out that good! Good job!

    Charlene

    Thank you for the compliments Charlene! Yes, Bob Klenda sells patterns. If you go on his website there is a form you can download. Just do a search on Google for "Bob Klenda saddlery" and it'll pull the website right up for you. There are several to choose from - these were made from the Red Rock pattern. I thought the pattern was great as far as layout and how to size and lace the belt, but be aware that there is not a lot of instruction on how to assemble or resize the chinks themselves. If you don't mind pioneering you'll do fine - but I would take the advice from John and work them up on poster board or heavy paper first if you've not made them before. As you can see, folks here on LW are really great about answering questions, so don't be afraid to post if you're not sure how to proceed.

    Hi Dixie

    Nice Chinks , you did a nice job. I'm with 7, I would cut my fringe a bit thinner.

    You were saying in your text that you are unable to use your roller guide, I use a pair of dividers and sharpen the point and scribe a line where I want the stitch line. My feeling about the stitch line is , it's the last thing you put on, and the stitch line will make or brake the looks of a sewed item. Hope that helps.

    Happy tooling

    Tim

    Thank you Tim very much for the praise and the tip on using the dividers - that is helpful. I have a couple of different kinds of stitch groovers, but scribing first sure would've helped me see where things might've gone a little ragged before I committed to grooving. I agree with you that nice, even stitching is one of the hallmarks of quality. Something to strive for and just keep practicin toward that perfect practice!

    Dixie

    You did a great job for your first pair. You will find new ways to lay out your fringe as you do more. It took me a few tries to get the look I liked. As for stitching its practice, practice and more practice.

    Mark

    Thanks very much Mark for the compliment and the encouragement! And yes - practice, practice, practice. Oh yeah, and then some more practice! :)

  19. Posted · Report reply

    Hi David and welcome!

    I am not an expert by any means, but I have some experience with rehabbing tack. Many production saddles are sprayed with a finish at the factory to make them shiny. The problem is that often this finish prevents NF or similar oils from penetrating into the leather (a heavy application of just about any finish can do this). Even saddle soap loses much of it's effectiveness because it can't penetrate into the leather. I have used diluted acetone to get that finish off so I could really clean and condition the leather. Now, I've only done this when it was clear that oil wouldn't penetrate otherwise, as acetone isn't anything I want to put on leather unless I have to.

    I doubt acetone would be helpful in keeping the tooling lighter than the surrounding leather though - but I have never used it to that purpose or observed that so someone else may have a different answer. My guess is that if there is a finish on the leather preventing the oil from penetrating well, there may be less finish down in the recesses of the tooling so more oil is penetrating there, thus the darker color. That's only a guess, however.

    I would recommend you browse the Saddle and Tack forum - there is a wealth of information there! I did pull up this post about finishing saddles - the topic was about finishing newly made custom saddles, but I think there is information about how to maintain a lighter color to the finish that might be of interest to you

    http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=3225

    I have not used Lexol in 15 or so years - so can't help you there. I use light coats of NF or olive oil after thorough saddle soaping to condition. I like RM Williams or Bee Natural Leather Balm for a final finish.

    Hope this is of some help to you,

    Wyldflower

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