wyldflower

Hi Bobby~ Thanks for the information about the tooling! I hadn't seen tooling anything quite like it before - most of the old saddles I've seen don't have any tooling on the seat surface, only on the cantle "dish" part of the seat (sorry, I'm sure there's a proper term for that part of a saddle's anatomy!). That this one had both, but were somewhat different from each other - cool! If I were to try to preserving this design, how would I go about it? My first thought is doing a rubbing, and then transferring the pattern via tracepaper. Any thoughts? Dixie

Over the past year or so, I generally lurk and learn, and only occasionally post. However, this board has had an huge (and positive!) impact on my little ol' life... thus, I feel I should speak up here. That leatherworker.net is growing such that upgrades are needed is great news! And hats off to Johanna and the other "behind the sceners" who are putting in lots of hard work on their own time to keep leatherworker.net healthy and viable for all who wish to share in this amazing community. I am like some others here who do not relish change, so I really appreciate the reassurances during this process - especially about the blue skin! If at least the original color scheme returns, I will be much happier. For now, I will have to limit my visits with the blues and black/white contrast until it's back as it was or users can set their own color schemes. That makes me sad, but if the alternative is non-functional board, well that's a no brainer! I agree with others that post-upgrade, the closer the end-user interface is to the pre-upgrade, the better. I think as the upgrade is completed there will be many more things to like than to not. We all just gotta hang in there Dixie

Hi Jon~ Ah! I wondered why the border around the skirts and jockeys just ran off the edges! That makes sense. The fleece is in really good shape, and with all the masking tape around the horn, I'm gonna guess this saddle was in use until fairly recently. It's really a shame that it was left out in a barn for the mice to chew on. The more I learn about the history of these old rigs and those who made them, the more interested I get. I'm not sure that's a good sign! LOL! Any pointers on where to dig for information about the tree design and/or the maker? Thanks for the info and feedback, very helpful! I was excited to have it just cuz it was a neat old saddle, but I'm super excited to have it now and learn more about it. Only now I still need to go find an old junker to tear apart - oh well! Dixie

Hi Bruce ~ Thanks so much for the input and I'm going to follow your and Jon's advice and keep this as a restoration project. The swells and seat are in really good shape I think for it's age; the cantle is pretty good too except for the binding which has worn away or come loose in a few spots. The left jockey though may be a problem - it's come unstitched at the edges and the edges are ragged. The horn was covered with masking tape that must have been layered an inch thick lol. I got most of it off, and yes, the horn is intact and solidly attached. There's even leather on it still - the cap is almost crumbled away, but I thought was kinda neat there any leather at all still on it. Now I need to find a place to store it until I trust myself to make it pretty again Dixie

Hello ~ Attached are some photos of an old saddle I bought at a thrift store to practice tearing down and putting together as part of my saddle-making aspiration and education After I got it home, I tried researching the saddlemaker's mark - W.R. Thompson, maker, Rifle, CO. I was able to find this much out courtesy of vintagegunleather.com: "In the later part of the 1800s William R. Thompson was a very famous saddle maker, and designer whose designs were used by many saddle makers throughout the west. In 1847 William R. Thompson was born, and while a young teen, he started learning saddle making and working as a saddle maker in various Saddleries as a younger adult. One of W. R. Thompson's saddle designs was the White River Saddle Tree, which he designed later in his career. In 1888, W. R. Thompson had his own Saddlery in Rifle, Colorado and he worked this Saddlery until his death in 1908. Although W. R. Thompson died in 1908, his Company continued to operate until 1941, the Company ended when the last owner E. C. Webb died." The examples of the maker's stamp on the website match those on the saddle I have. Any information anyone might have or could point me to about the approximate age of my saddle, and if this tree is the White River Saddle Tree referenced. Any information about the tree design (purpose, etc.) would be helpful also. As for my plans with the saddle - I bought it to tear apart as a learning tool, and if the tree was salvageable (it feels very solid), possibly rebuilding it. The leather overall is a little dry but doesn't have any cracking. Sadly, mice and rats have had snacked on the skirts and a few other parts. From what I can tell, the leather seems to have pretty good care until recently. I'm guessing that it really doesn't have any value as a collectible item because of the chewed up leather and cut off fenders, but thought I'd ask before I tore it apart! Any advice on proceeding with a tear apart and/or rebuild is very welcomed. I really appreciate the willingness of the folks on this board to share their knowledge - I've learned so much by reading posts and responses. thanks so much, Dixie

Hi Grumpy Guy - I have zilch experience building saddles (yet) or trees, but I have a little experience with epoxy and fiberglassing, albeit from a boat building perspective. I've built two wood kayaks, using fiberglass and epoxy over marine ply, and used epoxy and glass to make a boat repair or two for friends. I would recommend Systems 3 epoxy and resin. It is well-respected product, is reliable, and wets out fiberglass nicely. Ratio of resin to hardner depends on who makes the stuff; many (including System 3) are two parts resin to one part hardener -but not all! It's critical to get the ratios correct, or you will have a sticky, gummy, goey mess to contend with. There are other good epoxy products out there - which epoxy product is the best is a subject of very spirited debate amongst boatbuilders! - but I'm making my recommendation here based on my own experiences. Here is a link to "The Epoxy Book" on Systems 3 website, which will tell you more than you probably want to know lol but it is helpful if you're unfamiliar with epoxy and fiberglass, no matter what brand you're using http://systemthree.com/members/m_index.asp Good luck! Wyldflower

Randy, Thank you so much for the advice. I will stick with skirting and order a side. I have some scrap skirting to practice on for now. I was guessing I'd need heavier like the 8/10 but it sure helps to have guidance. Great to know W&C will split heavier stuff - hadn't even thought of that. rhall, Thank you for the welcome and the Weaver catalog resource - I'll add that to my list. I love catalogs! Dixie

Ok, so this newbie here thought she was ready to go leather shopping... and then realized she needed some help with leather buying! a little background on what I'm doing: I'm interested in making horse gear for my two broomtails. I thought I'd start with making some slobber leathers, then move up to making a headstall or two and a sidepull (to replace the sidepull I have but don't like the fit). If I survive those projects with leathermania intact, I'll move on to a set of saddlebags for either an organic horse or an iron one I will do some sort of carving/stamping on most of these projects. I've already learned from the wisdom of this board that dyeable vegtan is required, as I'm sure at least one of these projects I want to try dyeing. (hopefully I will be better at dyeing leather than I was at dyeing my hair). Here's where I'm stuck: Harness leather acceptable? Or stick to skirting? What weight range is ideal these kinds of projects? Would double shoulders be acceptable? I plan to purchase Herman Oak or W&C ~ primarily because I don't know much except that both HO and WC have an excellent reputation for the quality of their leather, and this is what I usually see the really good using gear made from. Yes, my mistakes are gonna cost me a little more, but I'm thinking I'm also likely to be more satisfied with end results as well as the process. However, that's just my idea and I'd be grateful to hear thoughts from others on who make this kind of gear. thanks so much, Dixie

Greybeard, Wyvern, and TomSwede ~ thank you for the warm welcome! Denise ~ Thank you so much for the link and info on contacting Dennis Lane and David A Morris through this site! Dixie

Hello everyone! I've been lurking around the past couple of weeks, and thought it was time to introduce myself. My name is Dixie, and I live not too awful far from Portland, Oregon. I have learned an amazing amount from surfing on this site, and my heartfelt thanks to all of you folks, from brand-spankin newbie to seasoned artisan for your posts. I've already learned a bunch from you all, and feel I've barely dug in. I've done a little bit of leatherwork and tooling - a few belts and other small items, though it's been a few years since I've done anything more complicated than shortening a strap or adding a buckle lol. I've always wanted to make horse gear, so I'd like to start with making bridles and perhaps breast collars and saddle bags, working my way up to making saddles. To my eye, whether english, western, australian or something else, any well-designed, well-made saddle is a work of art. And if it is well-fitted to the horse, well then, you have just pure poetry. Speaking of saddles, I'm very interested in learning more on how traditional and crossover Australian saddles are made, so if anyone can point me to some good resources accessible to a Yank it would be much appreciated! I recently bought a used Toowoomba Saddlery campdrafter poley. Since I really like riding in the saddle, it's probably better that I don't tear it apart to see inside. Although I'm most interested in horsegear, I do have a nifty little 2006 Honda Rebel that I learned to ride on last year, so I might have to make that first set of saddle bags for the bike! Ok, better get off the pc and finish setting up my leatherworking space and go shopping for supplies (thanks to this site I know what to get!) so I can get started. Thanks for reading and I promise to post with project progress! Dixie