Latest Will James

[jwwright]

I finished this one up a few days ago. It's a Will James fork 13" wide, 15 1/2" finished seat length, 3 1/2" cantle and #7 horn. I finally got around to building this one for myself to use...........at least untill I sell it out from under myself, as I seem to have a habit of doing. JW

[Billy H]

Hey JW,

Man that is a good looking Rig!

May I ask how you sew the inside half circle of your rigging ring, you do such a nice job of it.

The one thing that always stands out on your saddles that I have been admiring is your seat profile, it just looks like you could ride all day.

Great job! Billy

[e green]

looks real good. now the question I have always wondered about.what did Will James ride,maker, style ,and is there a good picture ? Edward

[RWB]

Cool saddle, JW. Your saddles always have a clean look. They look ranchy to. I like 'em.

Ross

[gtwister09]

JW,

This is a very nice clean saddle with great lines! I like it a lot. Quick question on your billets ... what did you use to separate each of the diamonds? It's hard to see what you used. I see why you would have this as a keeper. Good luck with that...

Regards,

Ben

[BuckhornBrand]

Thats a great looking rig, JW. I really like the shape of your seats and the nice lines you have around those forks. I fit the seat on a Mod. Assoc. today and thought I had done a good job until now! Always good to have something to aspire to I guess.

Thanks for posting the pics, Chuck

[jwwright]

Thanks for the flowers guys.

Billy, I sew that inside of the rigging ring on my machine, carefully. I've built about 8 saddles using this ring hardware on the plate rigs...........as opposed to the usual plate hardware. Still tweaking on that inside radius, and not quite completely happy with it's appearance yet. I, like most folks, spend alot of time on the seats. This one has a little less rise at the front than some. Thanks.

Edward, I believe that there is a video clip on youtube, or somewhere I saw, that shows Chas Weldon doing some restoration work on one of Will James' old saddles. Probably could find it with a search. Thanks.

Ross, your comments, coming from a cowboy saddle maker as yourself, mean alot . Thanks.

Ben, in between the diamonds on the billets is a seeder dot. I use the same seeder in making the diamond pattern that is on the other stamped portions of this saddle, and I thought it fit. Thanks.

Chuck, Thanks. Got enough rain down your way? It's sure been wet here, unusually so this far into summer.............but it's made grass.

JW

[CWR]

That's my kind of saddle. I bet you don't keep it long.

Thanks for posting JW.

CW

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

JW, really really nice rig. I like the way you blend your lines so they run together (rear jockey to front jockey, parallel edges of jockeys to skirt and so on) and the look as if it grew that way. That was something I learned from an old timer 40 years when I was making custom gunstocks. Old Pete had this thing about everything being natural looking, as if you could just reach up and pick it off the tree cause Mother Nature just grew it that way. Like your saddles, front jockeys and rear jockeys in line, and jockeys and skirt edges clean and parallel and so on. All together, really really nice. It's the kind of result I strive for in my work.

Bondo Bob

[jwwright]

CW and Bob..........Thanks for your generous comments. JW

[BuckhornBrand]

JW- I relocated last fall right after my daughter was born. I'm now in the smokey hills, in the N.E. corner of Ellsworth county. I was cow foreman here for an outfit in the late 90's and they bought another ranch and needed someone to run it. It's a smaller outfit than I was running but it's giving me more time for saddles. I've got three to build and the first one about done.

Life's pretty good right now, but you could send us a little of that rain! Chuck

[Huntet02]

Cool saddle, JW. Your saddles always have a clean look. They look ranchy to. I like 'em.

Ross

And I've seen them in person they are "very clean looking" yet very finished (decorative yet ranchy and sturdy) .......he's got his own clean concept and style I think.

[Huntet02]

JW- I relocated last fall right after my daughter was born. I'm now in the smokey hills, in the N.E. corner of Ellsworth county. I was cow foreman here for an outfit in the late 90's and they bought another ranch and needed someone to run it. It's a smaller outfit than I was running but it's giving me more time for saddles. I've got three to build and the first one about done.

Life's pretty good right now, but you could send us a little of that rain! Chuck

Not to change subject but I rode with a kid last weekend in Lathom KS who said he and his horse were from the "Sandy Hills" of Nebraska when we asked why his horse had mucho trouble crossing a creek.....we hadn't heard of the sandy `hills of Neb but he was pretty young...

[hidepounder]

JW,

I'm glad this post got bumped.....it's amother one I missed. Great looking saddle!

Bobby

[jwwright]

Huntet....................most all of western Nebraska is Sandhills country. Some of the nation's largest ranches are there.................such as the Haythorns. JW.

Hey Bobby...............Many Thanks, JW.

[Huntet02]

Huntet....................most all of western Nebraska is Sandhills country. Some of the nation's largest ranches are there.................such as the Haythorns. JW.

Hey Bobby...............Many Thanks, JW.

JW,

We dont get out much' figures though...at lunch today we found out those (2) kids parents leased half this huge spread of cattle, huge doesn't satisfy the vastness of land. I 'did' wait to ensure they crossed water safely (what seemed like hours to me) missing all the cattle but its all helping

[roperdad]

I really do like looking at your saddles. They have the 'look' I strive to achieve. Useful and classy at the same time.

The Will James tree is favorite of mine, but I can't get many people to stretch past the Assoc/Mod Assoc stuff up here. We slip in a Wade here and there, but the swell forks are bread and butter in the Norther Plains.

I notice most of your saddles have the exposed leathers... Personal preference? If so, tell me why? I've not ridden one and haven't been asked to make one, but we all so things for a reason-

Thanks,

Clay

[jwwright]

Howdy Clay.................Thanks for the comments on my saddles. I've been participating in this forum for about 3 years now, and the great saddle makers here have been great help to me in progressing and refining my work.

I too, build swellforks primarily. Many heavy Buster Welch fronts, Will James and a few Associations. I am happy to build what ever a customer wants, but I've only made 4 Wades in the last several years. Concerning the exposed stirrup leathers, I do build quite a few of those. Again, it's what ever folks order. I have had them on several of my personal saddles, and I liked them just fine. Most of the time though on my personal saddles, I use 1/2 stirrup leathers with what I call my ranch cutter fender..........that pattern has some sweep forward to it, without much "bell" to it.

Glad to have you here, JW.

[cincolittles]

Great looking saddle.