What Leather Weight For A Mcclellan Restoration?

[thenrie]

I am getting ready to try a McClellan saddle restoration for my first saddlery project. It is an old one, by all indications made in the mid-late 1860s, but it was most likely a commercial-made saddle, and not a military saddle, so it is of little historical or antique value. I did some homework and research, as much as I could, to make sure, before I start messing with it. While it is not in all that bad of condition for it's age, I would like to restore it to usable condition...and use it. It's pretty simple, and all the leather is there to use as patterns, so it seemed like a good first project. Question I have is what weight I ought to use for the seat. Seems like 13-15 weight might be a little difficult to work with, particularly for the seat. Also, it was originally made with leather with a black varnished finish (all cracked and decayed now). Would I be better off buying black-dyed leather or just dying it myself...or leaving it with just an oiled finish? Figured I'd better ask somebody who knows, before I start ordering leather.

Ahhh! Looks like I messed up with attaching the photos. Sorry.

Edited September 28, 2012 by thenrie

[DoubleBarP]

From the photos it appears to be a McClellan that has had some leather added to it. I have some drawing from Springfiled Arsonel of the Saddle and its construction specs.. The down side is they are mixed with other drawings. Send me a pm and I'll see what I can do about sending providing some info... If your interested that is...

[thenrie]

No, it's all original. It is apparently a commercial-made copy of the original 1857 design submitted to the govt for consideration for the military, which included the sweat flaps you see. Later models deleted the sweat flaps and added fenders on the stirrup straps. I think that's probably what you are referring to. We determined it is not an original 1857 "trial" saddle, as they were known to have been made with very thin leather, as well as some other details are different. In 1858 the military models added brass trim to try to help the problem of the thin leather splitting at the seams. In 1859 they went to a rawhide tree, rather than the black leather you see. A lot of the commercial makers didn't even know about the changes in the military saddle specs, and some made their own changes. Mine appears to have been made in the mid-to late 1860s, judging by some of the details on the saddle. I looked into that pretty thoroughly, as there is only one of those 1857s known to have survived in the world. It is in a museum in Sweden. I am quite certain this is a commercial model and was not made by a military contractor, although that does not rule out the possibility that it was used in the Civil War, since many soldiers, including officers bought their own saddles. There were literally thousands of commercial models made by private companies not affiliated with the military contracts for civilian use, so the historical or antique value is minimal, despite it's age and condition. I saw one that looked exactly like mine, but in better condition, go on ebay for $600 several months ago, from a seller in Oregon.

[thenrie]

I was hoping an experienced saddler might give me a good recommendation regarding the type and weight of leather that would be suitable for this restoration.

[dirtclod]

All of the ones i have seen and worked on had 5/6 ounce leather or maybe 6/7 ounce.

[thenrie]

I disassembled the saddle this evening. I attached some pics. Does the saddle tree give anybody any new ideas as to it's origin? The leather appears to be of several weights. The bar covers are the lightest, the seat the next heavier. The front and rear jockeys appear to be maybe 10/12 weight, while the sweat flaps appear to be maybe 10/12 ounce skirting leather from the neck area (stiff and heavy). I'm guessing the seat may be something like the 6/7 suggested above, or maybe 8/9. The bar covers appear to be something like 5/6. Problem is that I'm just guessing here. The only leather I'm familiar with at present is a side of skirting leather I bought several years ago and I can't recall whether it is 10/12 or 13/15. The leather appears to have been hand-dyed black, as the back sides are all natural-colored leather.

All the leather came apart well and intact. I soaked it this evening and will let it case overnight. Tomorrow I'll press it all between pieces of plywood and let it sit for a couple days to flatten it. All the pieces are there and will make excellent patterns. The tree is still solid, although there is a tiny bit of movement of the cantle and swells from the bars. The tree is covered with something like cheesecloth and some sort of hide glue, giving it a pink hue. I'm thinking I'll strip off the cheesecloth and sand the tree smooth, filling any gaps with epoxy, then cover the tree with a layer or two of light fiberglass for strength, before I try to recover it. Some of the metal hardware is brass. Only one escutcheon for the strap holes is left. The strap hardware and saddle rings are iron. I can see the remnants of a Japanned finish on them. I expect I'll use brass instead.

As for the leather, I guess I can't go far wrong as long as I'm in the ballpark with the weights. This isn't a restoration for a museum piece. I plan to use it.

So, questions I could use answers for are the following:

1) Should I use black harness leather, black skirting leather, or just dye it myself, for the saddle parts?

2) Where can I get brass hardware to replace the missing parts (escutcheons, rings, etc) and are Japanned parts available anywhere?

3) Any advice on fiberglassing the tree would be appreciated

4) What size thread would be recommended for hand-stitching this saddle?