Saddlemaking books?

[jlb]

Hi all!

Now is the time for everyone help me spend some money (ok,ok, I know a book isn't much money). My b-day is right aroubd the corner and I think I want a book on saddlemaking. (I know a book isn't much of a present, but I just bought a tractor too) So this is where you all come in! I am interested in saddlemaking and have done a few small tooling projects, so I am a BEGINNER. I know of a few: Al Stohlman's, Dusty Johnson, Harry Adams Jr's book. Please comment on these and any other that you think would be worthwhile for a beginner.

Thanks for all your help!

Jeff

[Duke]

I bought all 3 of the saddle making encyclopedias by al stohlman and I love them. a local saddle guy told me about the intructional series by dusty johnson, which comes with full size patterns. his number is 1-800-571-0021. it costs about $65.00. I hope others contribute to this post as I am looking at making my first saddle within the year and am looking for resources too.I like to educate myself first before I tackle something tho, so lets see what else is out there.(by the way, wait to buy the al stohlman encyclopedias until they are on sale. 80 bucks a piece is a chunk of change.they usually go on sale about 3 or 4 times a yr.)

[jwwright]

I am a novice at saddle making myself, currently working on saddle number 4. I do have quite a bit of experience repairing saddles, and a lifetime of making my living riding them. I think I read and viewed most of the books and videos/dvds on the subject. For me, the most helpful resources have been the Stohlman series of books, and the Jeremiah Watt dvd. The Bruce Cheany videos covered some things on building swell forked and cutting saddles that was helpful. Good luck with it.

[bruce johnson]

For books, the Stohlman series and the Harry Adams book. Both.

'For the videos, I like Jeremiah Watts best, then the Dale Harwood for a little more finesse deals. They don't give either of these away, but you should learn enough to pay for them both off the next one. Bill Gomer's set would be third set to buy. Save your money on Dusty Johnson's saddle set.

Biggest thing with all of these is to remember this is how they do or did it. They all have their reasons, as do all of us here. Just look at the different ways to do cantles discussed here in the last couple days. Pick and choose what you like and what you are comfortable with. Probably very few of us do everything exactly like we did 10 years ago, but that is when some of these were made. Some things never change and some do.

[jlb]

Bruce,

Thanks for the feedback. A concern of mine is how clear, concise, and easy would either one the books you mentioned be for a beginner. Would a beginner read the book and say, hmmm what is that I need to look it up somewhere else? or is all the info right there in the book?

Thanks again

Jeff

For books, the Stohlman series and the Harry Adams book. Both.

'For the videos, I like Jeremiah Watts best, then the Dale Harwood for a little more finesse deals. They don't give either of these away, but you should learn enough to pay for them both off the next one. Bill Gomer's set would be third set to buy. Save your money on Dusty Johnson's saddle set.

Biggest thing with all of these is to remember this is how they do or did it. They all have their reasons, as do all of us here. Just look at the different ways to do cantles discussed here in the last couple days. Pick and choose what you like and what you are comfortable with. Probably very few of us do everything exactly like we did 10 years ago, but that is when some of these were made. Some things never change and some do.

[bruce johnson]

Jeff,

For books - the Stohlman series are about as complete as it gets. They show several methods of doing things. Some of what they do is pretty labor intensive, or dated. Most is pretty applicable, and the principles are sound. The thing to remember (and I catch crap for this about every time I say it) is this. Al Stohlman was A saddlemaker, not THE saddlemaker. He was in the right place at the right time, and got the instructional deal going with Tandy long before the saddle books. Like everyone else who has ever written anything, there are always guys out there making a living who are better, and were better in his time as well. They may do things the same or different. Just because he wrote the books doesn't mean he was the end-all. Most of the stuff in the books is fine.

The Harry Adams book assumes some previous leather working skills and saddle knowledge. It is more of a "how to build a Wade and make up your own patterns" book in the first part. The second section covers how to do variations in swell patterns, horn covers, skirts, etc. Pair the Harry Adams book up with the Stohlman books and you have a decent library.

Jeremiah Watt's videos are again pretty complete. He gives some of the reasoning, noit just "do this just like this" with no background as to why. The Dale Harwood DVDs are good for some of the detail work and techniques. You couldn't probably make one from from Scratch from Dale's set, but you should pick up enough tricks and tips to make the next one better.

The second part of your question is the milllion dollar question. No, I don't think a beginner could get everything they need from any of these books or videos. Philosophy time. I think you need to know how a saddle functions, why, how to order what you need, why different seat shapes improve or make a particular discipline more difficult, what you want a saddle for, and how to deal with what your customer expects from their saddle. You have to know what you want the final product to look and function like. These are intangibles that come from time in the saddle. They aren't things you can read about, learn in 2 weeks at someone's saddle school, or learn everything in a lifetime. There is also no substitute for spending time looking over someone's shoulder, having them help you, and hands-on. Saddlemaking is not just about covering a tree with leather. People and horses both hurt when something isn't right. The mechanics are a huge part of it. It is also pretty rewarding when you see your work a few years later. He tells you that it is the best sitting saddle his dad has ever ridden in too. Happened last weekend, and my wife got a picture. I'll attach the pic. He seems like a happy customer. Makes it worthwhile.

[jlb]

All,

Thanks for your suggestions! I think I will go the the Al Stohlman books initially.

Jeff

[skip]

Just thought I would add my 2 cents about books. Here in Utah we had a saddle maker by the name of John Hopper who wrote a book which is pretty complete, has lots of detail and he explaines things simple enough for the novice person to understand. It just so happens that there is one of his books on eBay and the price this morning was about half of what I paid for mine 12 years ago. this book is a hard bound book and is well worth the hundred dollars that I bought mine for.

Good luck in you search for just the right book as everyone out there has something that the others don't have or the aurthor explaines something just a little differently that will help you achieve your goal to build your first saddle.

[jlb]

Skip,

Thanks for your .02! I have never heard of this book ( not a surprise, since I'm new to this world) I looked it up on Ebay and it looks great! Let's see what my better half decides.

Just thought I would add my 2 cents about books. Here in Utah we had a saddle maker by the name of John Hopper who wrote a book which is pretty complete, has lots of detail and he explaines things simple enough for the novice person to understand. It just so happens that there is one of his books on eBay and the price this morning was about half of what I paid for mine 12 years ago. this book is a hard bound book and is well worth the hundred dollars that I bought mine for.

Good luck in you search for just the right book as everyone out there has something that the others don't have or the aurthor explaines something just a little differently that will help you achieve your goal to build your first saddle.

[skip]

No problem just want to help out, I too have the stohlman's books and they are very informative and I would tell anyone that they are a good buy. but I also agree with Bruce that you can learn from anyone and everyone when it comes to leather work. there are things I have learned from the people here on this forum that I have begun to use in my daily work with leather. so keep an open mind and do what my mentor Fred Harsant use to tell me is that "Nothing is impossible"