I bought a basket case

[Handstitched]

G'Day, 

The stuff you find  at markets. At my  regular market this morning, I found this seller selling....this ..thing ?  .  The remains of an Australian stock saddle . The seller didn't know much about it,  who owned it previous , or why it was in bits ...total mystery  I mentioned  it might have been " an unfinished project" , or  owner salvaging the tree ??  

Most components are all there, all mostly  complete all  except the horn section etc. The ( fibreglass )  tree itself, just needs a bit of TLC. I can't find a makers mark either, at least not yet.  

If it was a motorcycle, it would be classed as ' basket case' .  The onus is on the buyer to put it all back together . 

I've always wanted to learn how to assemble/make a saddle, now is my chance eh? Give it 6 months  or 6 years ...lol .  (I still have an Australian military saddle tree  thats been waiting for restration for ...um .... *cough cough* years) 

And the price I hear you ask???

 

Just $30* -  The hardware alone is worth more than that .  I'll wave the white flag if I need any help .

HS

*I got quite a few odd look s while going back to my own stall. I looked a bit like Mario Brega in GBU with both stirrups straps draped across  my shoulders ,  Ha !!  

[rleather]

At the very least, you can make a decent pattern from the pieces you have. 

And now that you have wet our whistle , you have to gitter done. Thanks for sharing your treasure find.

[Sheilajeanne]

Good luck with your project! We all have to learn at some time, and there are lots of experienced saddle makers on this board to help you out! 

[Handstitched]

21 hours ago, rleather said:

At the very least, you can make a decent pattern from the pieces you have. 

I reckon I'll be doing just that. Great minds think alike 

18 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

Good luck with your project! We all have to learn at some time, and there are lots of experienced saddle makers on this board to help you out! 

Yeh, thanks     Unlike many areas of the US,  where I live there aren't any saddle makers I can refer to . There was one, he's gone now,  but when I asked him if he could show me how to  simply repair a saddle, he wasn't  the least bit interested. Its not like I was ever going to take his trade away, he had 30-  40 years ahead of me for goodness sake. That was quite  disheartening. But ,   like the old saying goes ,  'the only way to get a job done is to do it yourself' .  But I have this thread  to refer to 

But I think once I get the pommel section and knee pads  sorted , thats the bits that are missing,  hopefully the rest should be , possibly be easy-ish ...maybe. 

It sure is a great way to learn about saddle construction .  

HS 

[Sheilajeanne]

On 12/3/2022 at 6:59 AM, Handstitched said:

Most components are all there, all mostly  complete all  except the horn section etc.

The pieces I see there look like they are from an English riding saddle. Do Australian stock saddles have horns?  Can't say I've ever seen one up close, though I did watch The Man From Snowy River many moons ago.

[Handstitched]

14 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

Do Australian stock saddles have horns? 

Some do some don't .  Heres one without  and one with a horn .  ( sample pics) .

I also have 3 hanging up on display ( w/out horns) in my workshop. Might use one as a reference.  But after a closer look at mine this afternoon , I can't see any evidence of a horn .  Either way,  I look forward to getting stuck into it and learn from the experience 

HS

Edited December 6, 2022 by Handstitched

[Sheilajeanne]

Cool! Good luck with the project!