Looking For Advice On Removing Wool From The Skirt.

[Timbits]

Hello all,

I"ve got my saddle apart so I can redo the wool on the skirts. What is the easiest way to remove all the old wool that is on there? I know i'm gonna have to pick out all the old thread, but thats only have the battle.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

Tim

[Goldshot Ron]

Tim,

With the skirts off you'll need to use a sharp knife and insert it between the sherling and the skirt leather and start cutting the thread. Once started a flat knife works well to keep cutting the thread. Keep your knife flat against the leather so that you don't cut into the leather. The sherling will probably fall away if it was glued with rubber cement. Like you mentioned, removing the old thread is the time comsuming part of the job. Sometimes you can remove longer runs of stitching but finding the bobbin thread and pulling it out of the loops created by the needle thread, but, this isn't aways possible, or can be performed quickly.

Once the sherling is removed make sure that you mark the location of the 2 or 3 pieces of leather between the skirts and the fleece. You'll have to recement these to the skirts prior to gluing on the new fleece. I pin these pieces in place using blue tacks or small nails to line up the stitching holes prior to and during the drying of the glue.

Good luck, Ron

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Another method and a little trick I use is to take an exacto pointed knife and on he front I push the point down through the stitch that is showing in-between the holes, just enough to cut it. later when you stitch it back the small cut will not show because the new thread will pull it back together. it takes more time than cutting in between the fleece and skirt, but; it takes a lot less time once you have it done to pull the fleece off and it's easier since you cut it the way you did, the bobbin thread comes off from the fleece side in long runs because it is still in tact. Either way it takes a lot of work, and to do the job right, you want to stitch it back in the same holes it was originally stitched in order to do a professional job. Also what Ron says about putting the plugs back where they came from still applies for this method.

Good Luck,

Bob

[Timbits]

Alright, thanks guys for the advice. Got one of them apart last night, surprised how well the glue still held.

Thanks

Tim

[Goldshot Ron]

Tim,

You didn't mention how your skirts were attached to the tree: tugs, pockets, or inskirt rigging. Sometimes a maker will sew pockets on the skirts to insert the ends of the bars into these pockets. Some makers will sew these pockets on by sewing through the pocket leather the skirts, and the fleece. When resewing pockets, always use the same stitch holes; and in the case of going through the fleece style, you'll have to sew this type of pocket on after tacking the skirt to the tree. If you stitch this style of pocket (pocket, skirt, fleece) together prior to attaching to the tree, the saddle won't fit back onto the bars correctly.

One last OPINION, don't but back all of the nails that you might have removed from the fleece side of the skirts. I have removed up to 12-16 ring shank nails from the bottom of factory made saddles. This is over kill, and makes it more likely that a nail may work it's way out to sore up a horse's back.

Ron

[Timbits]

The saddle I'm working on is a older Champion Saddle, I really want to just answer with a lot of nails. But from looking at Al's book, I guess it's pockets. The pockets aren't sew into the skirts. Last night I got all the old fleece off and now am in the middle of getting all the stitches out.

[joe59]

The old style gum erasers work well to pull the stitches from the skirts. You don't have to "dig" and risk marking the skirts. Also, on stitches that are hard to get out I use the smallest drill bit I can find and the slowest speed on my drimmel tool. I don't use the drill in every hole, just the ones where the thread won't pull out. SMALLEST DRILL BIT, SLOWEST SPEED

JOE

[LBennett]

timely thread to find as i'm taking the wool off a saddle currently... the tree pockets are stitched through the fleece, lots of nails... and staples... definitely a time consuming job!!

[bruce johnson]

Here's what I was taught after I had enough stitch picking under my belt to appreciate it. Take a free hand stitch groover (aka "gum tool" or patent leather tool) and run it over the top of your stitches, An alternative is a loop style blade stitch groover like the Osborne compass groover. You want to either cut off the top of the stitches or severely weaken them. When you start pulling on the wool, the tag ends pull right through and there is little to no stitch picking. My old tool mentor taught me that and just happened to have the tool for sale to do it with. In that vein, I do too. Here's a link to what they look like - patent leather tool .

[Saddlebag]

Bruce, Thanks for the tip about the stitch groover. Speaking of overkill, I had to loosen a skirt to ease the tension on the stirrup leather for removal.The stirrup leather in that area was so thick it created a bulge and would not budge. The staples from an area the size of my hand almost filled it.