First Saddle, Rebuild Or All New?

[Mikewood]

I am planning to try my hand at a first saddle.

I have a source for broken down saddles and I thought I could take one that still has a sturdy tree and use it to make a saddle.

My thought is I could use the existing leather as a pattern and sew it up.

It seems easier than trying to make one from scratch.

What do you guys think about this idea?

Thanks!

[Timbo]

I think its an excellent idea.....just make double sure the tree is sound before wasting any effort or materials on a worthless tree.

But then again there is knowledge to be gained from tearing saddles apart.

One thing to keep in mind is that alot of the leather on a saddle has been stretched to fit then trimmed once it is stretched and glued into place. So alot of the leather you will be pulling off and using for patterns will only wind up being a loose guideline. For instance the swell cover will be alot smaller when you pull it off than what you want to start with. If you cut a new swell cover the same size as the old.....you'll never get it to work. But then again you might, it will just be more work. I have learned to never say never .......and I will also never say anything to discourage anybody from wanting to build saddles. I've ran into too many obstacles in my quest to be one for somebody else. You can achieve anything if you set your mind to it. And when you hit a brick wall........well, thats what this forum is here for. There is a wealth of knowledge on here and these saddle makers will not hesitate to share it!!!!!!!

Tim

[jmace]

I am new to this as well. I had a friend give me a saddle that had a broken tree. It had fairly good leather on it so I decided to try to replace the tree and use it to ride colts. I tweaked my back a couple of weeks ago while trying to train a knuckle headed bird dog and the chiropractor told me not to do anything strenuous so I decided it was time to fix the saddle. It looked pretty straight foreward; I would just find a tree that measures out the same and put the leather back on it. Well, I could have sent the old tree out and had a new one made, but in my infinite wisdom I bought a tree from a local saddle maker that measured out right and looked about right, but as you might guess not many of the old parts parts fit right. After spending about 3 hours building a draw down stand to hold the tree still while I worked on it; I got the new horn cover fitted and on with very little trouble. The swells, which I decided to lace, were a little more challenging. I finally did get it covered after much cussing, spitting, and pulling; and I am very pleased with the fit, but the s shape of my laced seams may drive me nuts. I guess my colt doesn't know how they are supposed to look so I guess it will work, but for anyone that knows more than me, is there a secret to getting these straight or is it just a matter of talent? I did put the old skirts back on with no problems. The cantle on the new tree is shaped a little different, so I replaced the old padded seat cover and bound the new cantle back to the seat at the top of the cantle instead of putting a Cheyene roll back on it. The seat side of my stitches look good, but the back side looks like a drunk man did it. Again, is there a secret to this, or we back to my lack of talent causing the problem? As it turns out this little project is harder on my back than I had estimated. I know that none of this answers your questions, but I thought it might help you to know that there are others out here whose projects don't turn out exactly as planned. Your colt probably doesn't know the difference either.

[seveneves]

Check out the Stohlman Saddlemaking books. It talks specifically about dealing with the twisting of the lacing.