MLGilbert

Hi all, a good friend of mine asked me to make him a pair of woolies with an elk hide he had skinned and tanned. I’m worried about longevity because I know elk hair is hollow and brittle. For those of you who have worked with hair-on elk hide or made woolies, would you suggest I try it or tell him it’s not a good idea? Thanks, Morgan

Thank you all! I used a cross over because I like how it pulls the rope up tight against the horn, but I can definitely see how it doesn’t fit as well as on a slick fork.

Well it's been almost two years since the first one, but I finally finished my second saddle - a 1/4 carved Will James! I generally prefer slick forks but as my first saddle was a wade, I wanted to learn how to cover swell forks. I was a little too optimistic and tried a no-welt swell cover, but quickly had to scrap that and use a folded welt instead, which I think turned out well. The cheyenne roll was new to me as well, and while I'm fairly happy with it, I feel it isn't angled back quite as much as it should be. Keeping consistent stitches on the underside was also much more difficult than with the straight-up binding. I'm much more satisfied with the seat on this saddle than I was on my first, but unfortunately I won't be able to really test it out since I'm listing this one for sale! I'd be glad to hear any and all critiques and advice on this saddle that I can apply to the next one! Thank you!

That looks like the TCAA logo to me, but I wonder if there are stitches hidden under the keeper.

I think I understand, so the tongue is friction fit in the keeper? Thank you Dwight!

Hi all, my friend ordered a carved hat band for his cowboy hat, and has basically given me free rein on the design. I'll be making it 1/2" wide, and I would like to connect the ends similar to the way the Pedro Pedrini does, where the tongue slips through a small keeper, but without a buckle. Can anyone tell me how he might fasten the ends so it doesn't slip apart? Thank you, Morgan

That looks fantastic Ed! It all looks incredibly well put together, truly something to aspire to.

John, I didn't order these new trees for a particular horse so I can't speak as to the custom fit, but I'd agree that the finish on the Timberline tree is much nicer than Bowdens.

Thanks Rich, this tree was the stock cliff wade from Bowdens, and I was reasonably happy with the tree. It did need leather built up and smoothed out over some of the rawhide lacing. I just bought two custom trees from Timberline in Utah, and at first glance they look like they'll need less cleanup. Have fun with your saddle!

Thanks very much Randy!

Don Gonzales also has a video on it https://dgsaddlery.com/one-piece-saddle-swell-cover/

I like they way you've set up you templates, I may just have to use your idea there! Thank you very much!

Ed, thank you so much for all the tips, I really appreciate you taking the time to write it all out! I'll certainly be saving this and looking back for my next saddle. After riding in it for a week I'm really noticing the problem with the ground seat - It's comfortable but at a lope I find that it pushes me back and makes it difficult to keep my seat in the right place. I like that you measure your ground seat off of the stirrup slots, that will help a lot next time. Thanks again! Morgan

Thanks John! Actually all I used was neatsfoot oil and skidmore's leather cream, and then buffed. No antique or topcoat at all, I managed to get some pretty good burnishing on the HO and it showed up just fine.

Thank you! Thank you Ken, that means a lot! That's really interesting that the first was from the midwest after all, I spoke too soon!