cheyenne roll

[CEversole]

Anyone know how exactly the cheyenne roll is built/attached/covered? I can't seem to find anything on the web about them.

-Cord

[Blake]

Anyone know how exactly the cheyenne roll is built/attached/covered? I can't seem to find anything on the web about them.

-Cord

Hello Cord

There are a few different methods to build the roll, mainly the filler and how its attached. Steve mason has a blog and you can probably find the link by searching his name in the archives. A picture is worth a thousand words. There are several inexpensive books on the market that will probably clarify a few things . There are also different DVDs and tapes on the market that are very well done and the Leathercrafters Journal is currently advertising Pete Gorrels article on building the Cheyenne Roll.

Where are you located in Texas? If you are close by then you would be welcome to visit my shop.

Blake

[CEversole]

Hello Cord

There are a few different methods to build the roll, mainly the filler and how its attached. Steve mason has a blog and you can probably find the link by searching his name in the archives. A picture is worth a thousand words. There are several inexpensive books on the market that will probably clarify a few things . There are also different DVDs and tapes on the market that are very well done and the Leathercrafters Journal is currently advertising Pete Gorrels article on building the Cheyenne Roll.

Where are you located in Texas? If you are close by then you would be welcome to visit my shop.

Blake

I'm in Kingsville/Corpus Christi area during the week, and Houston area on most of the weekends. Where exactly is is your shop?

[D.A. Kabatoff]

Cord,

there are a few different ways to build a Cheyenne roll and if you don't have someone to show you, a book or a video would be useful. Without writing a book, here's the basics of it.

Some makers use a filler between the cantle back and seat and others don't. Typically what I do is start by fitting the cantle back and glueing it in place. Leave the the cheyenne roll portion standing straight up and let the glue cure like this over night. By letting the glue cure over night, the leather will not be as prone to pulling away from the top edge of the cantle when you start to form the roll. In the morning you can use a spray bottle to moisten the cheyenne roll portion of the cantle back and then flip it down... use a shoemaker's hammer to form the roll into the shape you want it. I use a tickler on the back side, under the roll to form a crease where you flipped the roll down.

The next step involves a filler piece which covers the cantle face and overlaps the cantle back. The lower portion goes across the face of the cantle from cantle point to cantle point and has a wide skive to blend in with the ground seat. Glue it in place while it is as wet as cased leather, this will make it easier to form it over the top edge of the cantle. I use a shoemaker's hammer across the top edge of the cantle to accentuate the bend in the filler as it goes over the top of the cantle. If you let that area stay rounded, by the time you have all your layers together, it starts to get to round and looks odd to me. At this point I often trim the two layers of leather into the width and shape I want my roll to be. You can use a tickler and crease a line into the leather around the back, top edge of the cantle. Set you calipers to whatever width you want your roll and scibe a trimming line by following the line you creased with your tickler. Some makers wait until the top seat is glued down and trim all three layers together.

Once your seat is fitted and ready to be installed, glue it down and again moisten the part of the seat that will be part of the roll so that it is easier to form over the top edge of the cantle. After it's glued down, trim the seat to match the rest of the roll. I use a small spokeshave on the back edge of the three layers to make sure everything is nice and smooth... very coarse sandpaper will also work. Take the extra time to make sure the width of the roll is the same all the way around the cantle. After you have the three layers trimmed evenly, edge the top and bottom.

You can now fit your binding. Skive the back portion of the binding down to about 3-4 oz otheriwse you will have a heck of a time trying to remove the bubbles and getting everything to fit properly. It will take a good amount of time to get the binding glued down and fitted smoothly underneath... this is a task where a video showing how to do it would make your life much easier (Jeremiah Watt does a great job of explaining this in his.

I've posted a photo below that shows the three layers. You should be able to see the cantle back and filler glued together and the seat fitting over them.

Darc

[CEversole]

Cord,

there are a few different ways to build a Cheyenne roll and if you don't have someone to show you, a book or a video would be useful. Without writing a book, here's the basics of it.

Some makers use a filler between the cantle back and seat and others don't. Typically what I do is start by fitting the cantle back and glueing it in place. Leave the the cheyenne roll portion standing straight up and let the glue cure like this over night. By letting the glue cure over night, the leather will not be as prone to pulling away from the top edge of the cantle when you start to form the roll. In the morning you can use a spray bottle to moisten the cheyenne roll portion of the cantle back and then flip it down... use a shoemaker's hammer to form the roll into the shape you want it. I use a tickler on the back side, under the roll to form a crease where you flipped the roll down.

The next step involves a filler piece which covers the cantle face and overlaps the cantle back. The lower portion goes across the face of the cantle from cantle point to cantle point and has a wide skive to blend in with the ground seat. Glue it in place while it is as wet as cased leather, this will make it easier to form it over the top edge of the cantle. I use a shoemaker's hammer across the top edge of the cantle to accentuate the bend in the filler as it goes over the top of the cantle. If you let that area stay rounded, by the time you have all your layers together, it starts to get to round and looks odd to me. At this point I often trim the two layers of leather into the width and shape I want my roll to be. You can use a tickler and crease a line into the leather around the back, top edge of the cantle. Set you calipers to whatever width you want your roll and scibe a trimming line by following the line you creased with your tickler. Some makers wait until the top seat is glued down and trim all three layers together.

Once your seat is fitted and ready to be installed, glue it down and again moisten the part of the seat that will be part of the roll so that it is easier to form over the top edge of the cantle. After it's glued down, trim the seat to match the rest of the roll. I use a small spokeshave on the back edge of the three layers to make sure everything is nice and smooth... very coarse sandpaper will also work. Take the extra time to make sure the width of the roll is the same all the way around the cantle. After you have the three layers trimmed evenly, edge the top and bottom.

You can now fit your binding. Skive the back portion of the binding down to about 3-4 oz otheriwse you will have a heck of a time trying to remove the bubbles and getting everything to fit properly. It will take a good amount of time to get the binding glued down and fitted smoothly underneath... this is a task where a video showing how to do it would make your life much easier (Jeremiah Watt does a great job of explaining this in his.

I've posted a photo below that shows the three layers. You should be able to see the cantle back and filler glued together and the seat fitting over them.

Darc

Thanks that does really help. What is the filler usually made of?