Saddlebag

The first number is the model number. The day the saddle was assembled, month and year are in the second number.

I know N Porter made a square skirted saddle in 1931. Back in those days the cowboys were small, often only about 5'6 and with their skinny butts could ride a 13" seat.

Only saddle factories can afford to make half decent economy saddles as they get bulk prices on everything which we can't. They use machines to stamp and cut out the patterns which results in a great saving on labor.

My repetoire consists mainly of the Fiebing's paste soaps in the metal cans - yellow, white and black. a white bar soap with lanolin, glycerin bar soap, neatsfoot oil and dubbin. I've cleaned over two hundred saddles, in all stages of mildew to dry and this has worked well for me.

I don't think I'd try it on the lacing. Perhaps you can "age" the new lacing. In this case the saddle had been lifted by the forks and cantle instead of the hand hold and skirts. The owner is pleased even knowing the results could be temporary but with careful handling it should get her thro the next show season. I'll touch it up again when the time comes. The Tan Cote test area makes it too yellow so I opted for a clear wax.

Nice show saddle came to the shop today with a rawhide and stainless laced piecrust cantle trim as well as on the gullet bridge. Altho the rawhide was basically in good shape there were numerous dirty grey abrasion marks that made it unsightly and certainly not suitable for the show ring. I gave it a good soaping with the white soap then using a small straight end paint brush, painted white shoe polish on the dark spots and allowed to dry. I then poured about 1/8 tsp into a saucer, added a few drops of water, then added a few granules of instant coffee, mixing until I had the right "cream color". I then "painted" all the rawhide trim for evenness of color. This finish may not be a permanent fix but with careful handling the saddle can certainly go back in the show ring. I shall later play around with adding some Tan Cote for more protection.

I win.....I guessed the closest! Lol

When I worked in the restoration of library materials we had numerous leathers which were rolled grain side out and along the grain (head to rump). The rolls were kept in long shallow bunks with the front edge covered with a curtain. The goatskins and unborn calfskins were rolled in acid free paper. If one is using paper to roll leather in it must be acid free as the acid in regular brown paper can deteriorate the leather in time.

Oiling latigo isn't a good idea. When refleecing the skirts on a saddle, I'll add half a dozen tailor's tacks around the skirt which holds everything beautifully while I machine stitch. I pull these stitches as I arrive at each one.

I usually use saddleweight thread for handstitching, unwaxed, polyester and I like how it looks and works up. But then I'm doing mostly horse tack. I love the tips tho and at least will know what to do should the need arise. Thanks

So far I haven't experienced this but the remedy is good to know, in case.

I'll take a crack at describing this. With the buckle facing your chest, leather smoothside up, add your keeper. Then run the leather thro either the tree or slot from front to back, bring it down and thro the stirrup slot (if english type) or bolt (if western style) Bring the end of the leather up and feed thro the buckle. Slide the end in the keeper and you're done. This is the opposite of how it's usually done. Dressage prefers this style as well.

I'm inclined to think that this saddles goes back to the late 50's, early 60's if it has the double rigged cinch plate. The conchos at that time would have been Alpace or Mexican or German which is a copper, nickel zinc alloy which meant it wouldn't rust and was quite durable. The metal on the cantle is probably stainless.

You could try a larger diameter nail of the same length. If it's the one that attaches high up into the gullet I like to use brass screws. I've had saddles come in whereby a nail or two is loose that has it missed it's mark.(human error) I just move them over a little and drive them in again.

What is the tree made of? I seldom here of a tree breaking unless it's a molded fiberglass tree.

From the pic I thot it was in good shape. Felt was sometimes used, being pure wool. I think it was more to do with market fluctuations on fleece. Beartraps were often used for colt breaking until there were some serious wrecks because the riders couldn't bail out.

What products did you use to change the color? The saddle looks great altho personally I prefer the brownish tones of the first pic and would have tried to maintain that color. I'm a fan of the older TT's as they were very well made.

The problem is one doesn't always know just who made the saddle because at the time this saddle was made, many saddle companies made saddles for hardware and department stores and catalog sales. The stipulation was that the saddle would carry the retailer's name, not the saddlemaker's name or saddle making company name. It appears to have rather wide forks which weren't popular. That may account for why the saddle appears to be in fairly good condition.

What is the tree made of?

Well at least I know what it's called. It's amazing how answers seem to come to me as I drift off to sleep. I picked out 3 rows of stitching about 2" up from the bolt. This enabled me to remove the bolt and have a good look at it. Yup, it's solid. I slid the new ring into the slot in the leather, slid the bolt back thro and machine stitched what I'd picked out. Since my machine couldn't go real close I finished the last few stitches by hand. Altho I won't make a dime, it's been a pleasure to work on a high quality halter.

This concerns the lower end of the under jaw strap that links to the noseband. At the lower end the leather wraps around a small brass cylinder with capped ends which prevent it from sliding through the fold of leather. Does anyone know if one of the ends of this cylinder will come undone or am I facing opening up three layers of leather in order to replace the halter ring. I know it's cheaper to buy a new one but the guyss a good friend and is a n/c.

When I add the new fleece I add glue but not near the stitch line. I'll add a few basting stitches about every 6-8", closer near a corner. It takes only about 10 min to each skirt. My big machine has a micrometer setting so I'm able to use the original holes. Does a beautiful job and the basting stitches are removed as I'm stitching. Perfect job every time.

If the fender and lower stirrup leather are one piece and in good condition all you need to do is drill out the rivets, add a new stirrup leather, add a new blevins and refasten at the top of the fender to the new leather. Sometimes the fender is separate from the stirrup leather and just reattached on a new one. Just copy what was done before.

I played around with an old leather girth to see how much oil it would take without affecting the leather. Three light applications went well, the fourth left a gummy, sticky finish. OK, let's see how to remove some of this. Saddle soaping a few times, dish detergent, glycerin soap. They all removed only a modicum of oil and even after a year it remained gummy.

Check Caledon Leather in Calgary Alberta. They have a model that clamps to the counter and I believe it's under $300. I had the same problem so I clamped my little cutter in the vice which I had screwed into the corner of my work table. My cutter is the metal one. This enables me to use both hands to control my work. When you start your end make sure you are going with the grain rather than against. Huge difference in how it cuts.