Brokenolmarine

I was planning to use a ruler to make the edges straight, but you are right, razor straight edges do give a nice appeal. The rectangle idea is a good one. Once everything comes out of the clamps I had planned on making measurements on everything to insure true layout in spite of the twisting. The wife and I had been discussing this earlier. Great suggestion though. As far as the wraps for the twist? Nope, I have a great plan for that. I'm going to cheat... I'm going to remake the fenders, do whatever tooling and borders, burnishing, and finishing, etc. Then I'll rivet everything together. I am going to make NEW wraps from new leather using the old wraps as guides and send them along with the new fender assemblies. I'll let HER wrap the fenders to her liking since they need to be wrapped to fit her position in the saddle. I'm doing this project as a favor to my daughter and her friend. I'm not claiming to be a saddle maker. My daughter has been trying to get me to make fancy nose bands (?) to sell at shows and rodeos for a good while. Her friend does the wraps on all her saddle fenders because she likes them that way... I'll let HER do it. LOL.

Thanks BD. I was back out this morning, and was about to start the layout, when I realized that with the way the original owner had laced up the fender above the Blevin to make the riding easier, it was all twisted. My wife and daughter were/are horse folk. Me? All I ever did was pay for things, clean a stall here and there, or go to shows and admire the horses (or the riders - female riders - in their tight riding wear.) ADULT riders... get your minds out of the gutters. LOL. The wife told my daughter to tell the original owner that when I remade the fender, I could flip the Blevin and have the same result and she wouldn't have to lace up the fender to clear her legs, it would automatically twist the leather. Nope, she liked it like that. Hey, it's her leather. BUT, it's so twisted it won't work like this as my template. I had to disassemble the good one as well to make it usable. First step, (hadn't read this post yet) Center punch. Went through the whole process and got it all done. Next up was to flatten the twisted sections so they would lay flat. I went them down good, then using a cutting board and some short wood pieces, clamped them flat. Not as easy as it sounds with two hands. The fender wanted to fight me, and I had to coordinate the fender leather, the boards and the clamps, and tighten them... but I got 'er done. I will let it sit for several hours, and check it. If it needs more time, I'll re-wet 'er and leave it overnight. Not worried, in this case, about damaging the leather, as it will all get tossed. I just need it flat to act as my template. Here is a long view of the clamped Fender. I am looking forward to actually getting started on the process. It's an older saddle, I think she bought used. My daughter told my wife that the saddle isn't as dark as the fenders, so she is supposed to take pics of the saddle to help me try and match them when I dye the fenders... but we know how that might work. A picture on the phone depends on the color settings on the phone. I may tell her to bring the saddle when she comes up the next time. The girl isn't riding in it with it broken down.

So, I began the Johnny Five Process. "Awww Disassemble." Using everything from a hammer and centering punch, to a drill and a pair of dental extraction pliers (Great for grabbing rivet heads) I took my time and pulled the failed fender setup apart into individual components. ONLY the Stirrup straps and hardware will be reused. After about two hours, the one setup was pieces and parts. I'll leave the other Fender setup all together to use as a reference for assembly and a pattern for tracing the cutouts for both sides... up until the time I need to remove the metal hardware and the stirrup strap. Stick around, this could get interesting. Stick around for the ride... (Pun Intended.) LOL.

The two fenders had been clearly well (loved) worn. One so much that it actually failed.

I got the order in late yesterday. Got out this morning and rearranged the shop for the larger workspace needed for this project. The shop usually looks like this, with a cutting table on the near side, and the table behind it holding the table top drill press for knife scales, the oscillating sander and the belt sander for shaping and finishing the knives. After moving the equipment to the woodworking bench behind the table and cleaning them both off, I had the needed space to get started.

Getting close, the order is due Wednesday, via Fedex.

Yup, they do that a lot here as the temps get into triple digits. I've watched a lot of his stuff over the years. Excellent instructor, even via you tube where you can't ask questions.

Still waiting for materials. I'm chomping at the bit to get started.

I have been making holsters, sheathes, pouches, belts, etc. My daughter came up for Christmas, and dropped a new project on my bench. One of her friends has an old saddle she loves, and her fenders are badly worn. "See if you can redo the fenders," my daughter said, "the attached stirrup leathers should be fine." The fenders were tooled in a basket weave pattern. "Nope, she'd actually rather lose the basket weave, it's been eating up her legs for years. A border would be okay." This will be a new experience. Break down the existing pieces, saving the parts that are still good, and the hardware. I ordered the saddle skirting weight from Makers, and the heavy rivets/burrs plus the setter I'd need. Looking forward to the challenge. The owner knows I've never done this work, but has seen my tooled belts and sheaths. I have my wife and daughter to advise me. Both have years of equine experience. Waiting on UPS. Wish me luck.

I really like this one the best. Clean, neat, great color and excellent tooling and stitching. Something I would carry myself.

Nice work on the sheath, and I can understand replacing the scales on the knife if they had gotten beaten up over the years. I have had the same knife for more than 40 years. I received it as a gift while stationed in Hawaii, after helping a friend out for several weeks... Nice little knife and was a workhorse for me for years. I keep it now because it was a gift. Good knives. I ought to make a new sheath for mine as well, just to kill time.

Graceful curves, clean crisp tooling. Very nice.

I bought molar extraction pliers on amazon to use for removing rivets in leather if I messed them up, or had a belt or holster in need of repair. The pliers work great to hold the edge of chicago screws for removal or installation as well. https://www.ebay.com/itm/305751247935

Most constitutional (permitless) carry states also offer permits if you go thru the permiting process. The advantage there is reciprocity. My home state permit allows concealed carry in nearly forty of the fifty states. We just won't travel in the others. I use a J frame Smith 357 in a pocket holster during warmer months, and a SIG 45 in a shoulder holster in cooler weather. Injuries make a belt uncomfortable these days. The truth is, nearly everyone I know who carries concealed, has "the box" in a closet. It holds all the holsters that were going to be perfect. The longer you have been carrying, the larger the box/collection. Maybe you'll find a friend and they'll let you try some of the holsters in their box. 😉

I started leather work, for the same reason I started making knives. My daughter asked me to. She wanted me to make her a knife. I told her I didn't know how. "YouTube," she said. I bought the knife kit from Woodcraft, and watched a few videos and made the first knife, years ago. She still uses it daily. A month after I sent the knife she called and wanted a sheath. I don't do leather work... "Youtube... Duh." Got the basics from Tandy and got started.... made the sheath. Later she wanted a tooled sheath. I didn't even call her, just fired up YouTube and got started. What I found is that to improve, I saved off cuts and scraps, and practiced tooling, and sewing on scraps. Youtube has hundreds of videos on tooling techniques and stitching. Watch a lot, pick out the ones that work for you. Practice them on scraps. Toss the bad ones and save the improvements for reference. I STILL practice when I'm bored, and try new things often. I have severe arthritis... my Hands tell me when I have had enough time in the shop... sometimes an hour, sometimes Ninety Minutes. STOP then. I can do two or three sessions a day, sometimes ONE. Don't push it. Trying to work in pain is a call for failure. I learned the hard way. It's a hobby, not a job, enjoy it. Between practice, and time, you'll see improvement as you move forward. Everything I have accomplished, I learned from YouTube. There are some great videos out there, and some patient teachers in the videos. Others, not that good, you'll find them. Once you get better and have more confidence, move to better leather. I finally did, makes a big difference. Good luck.