FlyinBP

Do you have a company you would recommend? Been doing some shopping, but there's so many options out there. Many don't have any clue when I say the word "saddle".

I've only used olive oil for the last several years. I prefer it over anything else. Warm it up before application. I would suspect your leather was toast before you got to it.

Did you find a stirrup bar supplier here in the States? I am looking also.

All, I've got a tree from Chicago Stockyard Saddle Tree. It's the endurance model. Building this rig for my wife as an extremely lightweight/minimally covered tree. Basically, it's only going to have a small Motherhubbard style skirt, small seat leather, and thin stirrup leathers. The Cantle back and pommel will be exposed tree. That said, I'd like to neaten up the look of the exposed tree. I'd like a smooth white finish vs the gray plastic look. I'm apprehensive at just using paint, as that's pretty prone to chipping and scratching. The product I'm leaning towards using at the moment is Line-X Ultra. It's thin and extremely durable. Taking the tree to the Line-X guy soon for him to look at. The tree maker also mention Krylon plastic paint. I'm just concerned about finish durability. I wonder if I could put a semi-glossy/glossy epoxy over the paint, but the curved surface could present a challange. What are your thoughts.

This definitely makes sense. I guess sometimes it costs money to save money. So you have both a personal umbrella policy AND business insurance? I really appreciate the insight.

So you just pay for liability coverage on it's own, and not an LLC? I agree with what you say in regards to repairs and used stuff. I'm curious mostly trying to fact find for new-build gear. Thanks!

New saddle maker here, with 8 under my belt. As I complete more rigs, I've been thinking more and more about insurance. While I try to build my products to the highest quality, and guarantee my work, life still happens. Should something, God forbid, really bad happen, and if there were ever any question of whether or not my construction played part, or could have, in a resulting injury to a rider, what are some of the other builders out there using? For a full fledged business, a fairly simple LLC seems like a very straight forward method. However, if I'm just building rigs in my garage in my spare time and selling to friends and the occasion referred to customer, this may not seem like the best option. I will also add, that as a military member, I move around a lot, so consistently registering LLCs in different states seems cumbersome. What are some of y'all's thoughts? I tell my customers I stand behind my work, and will fix/replace things if they break due to my construction, or anything other than normal wear and tear, but I want to look at this somewhat through the lens lawyer folks would look at me and my work through, especially since my name is stamped in each one. Thanks y'all! Putt -BP-

I just use masking tape. Regular or painter's work great. Clear packaging tape is another option. Leather has to go somewhere when tooled. If you are tooling a small area of a larger piece, shape/size change of the overall piece is less likely. However, if you're tooling the majority of a piece, then it WILL expand after tooling. After tooling, when you go to pull the tape off, it tends to fuzz the flesh side a bit, but it's not a big deal; fixable with a little water and burnishing.

This is perfect. Thank you!

So, I build western saddles, but I'm living in English saddle country right now. I'm getting ready to replace some billets (Double butt of 5mm chrome billet leather). I've got some extra falldown staples and nails. I've got some close-up photos of up under the flap, but I'd really appreciate a few photos at a bit wider angle of a panel unstitched and dropped. I can just dive in, but a bit of a better idea would be better I reckon. I've seen one thread here about the subject, but it was again pretty zoomed in. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for the tip. I think i may have a bad batch of 277. It's really prone to twisting and fraying more so than my 207. The 207 works great by hand, it's just small for horns and binders.

So, I'm a novice saddle maker, currently have 8 Wades under my belt. I worked under a master maker for my first one, but have pretty much been slogging it out on my own since. The more I learn, the more I don't know. One thing I'm looking at changing up is my thread choice. Currently using 207 nylon for everything except my cantle binding and horn, which is 277 nylon. Yes, the 277 is a pain to hand sew with. I'm looking to find a type/size that is a little more universal for both machine and hand stitching on working ranch saddles. Braided, nylon, linen? Recommendations and tips greatly appreciated!