Latest Off The Bench

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Here is the latest saddle I just made and delivered for one of my customers. It is for a mule as you can see in the pics. Because this mule is quite stout she couldn't find a saddle that fit him , and she is very particular with what she does and rides. She normally likes a some "bling", however; in this case while she wanted it to look good, she also wanted it to look "old timey" . This one is built on a C S Roper style tree with mule bars , a cruper D, external stirrup leathers and a 5" cantle. She wanted the dark oil look. Delivered it today, the smile on here face says it all. Feel free to critique, your comments are welcome.

Bob

[Zooker]

I don't know much about saddles, but it looks very nice to me.

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Really! Only one comment, no critiques from anyone?

[ReneeCanady]

I don't know anything about saddles either but it looks awesome to me! Great detail and it fits nicely! I have to admit the mules haircut has be cracking up. Marine mule

[David8386]

Looks good, tooling and color all blend together well. Don't know diddly about saddles but it looks good.

David

[shooter55]

Bob, Looks great. You achieved the "old timey" look in my opinion. Don't know a thing about making saddles, but I do have a question for you. Do you "custom" fit the saddle to the animal? I see saddles for sale and wondered if there is a general size or if you need to tweak them for different configurations. Just curious.

Again, very nice.

Tim

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Thanks for the kind comments from all. Shooter, the answer is that I have my trees made custom for me. When I take an order, I make a template of of the animals' back, and send it to my tree maker with the specifications that the owner wants, such as cantle height, horn type and size, style of tree ect.

Bob

[H factor]

I don't kow anything about saddles either, but it looks OUTSTANDING! I imagine its a ton of work... are you self taught? GREAT JOB GUY!

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Thanks for the comment H. I started out by just reading books, but; as I got into it, there was more that I wanted to know, so I got hold of Ann Stohlman, and corresponded with her about the things I still had questions and she sort of mentored me before she passed away. Great Lady.

Bob

[Aurelie]

Hi Bob!

I really like the look of that saddle! Nice job!

I ve got some "technical" questions for you , though

1st : about the dees: i would not have dared to use so big ones. Are not they a bit too big (not going to rub anything around?)

2d : about the saddle tree : can i ask you which saddle tree maker did it for you? i am looking around for who could build that for me (mules bars) .

3d : what is the placement of the rigging dee? from where i sit it does look like a "full" but maybe it's a trick from the picture?

4th : about the color : how did you get that "dark" aspect? is it only by oiling it? you might have spent some time oiling it ...and you oiled it with what stuff?

5th : i like the conchos screwed on the back cantle but i have not yet dared to do it...kinda afraid of going all the way through the back cantle right in the middle of the seat

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Thanks Aurelie! I'll see if I can answer your questions.

1) The D's are large, however; they were what the customer wanted. They seem to work nicely on this saddle and with this mule.

2) This saddle like most of the saddles I build, has a Bowden tree in it. David Bowden makes all my trees himself. The bars are not specifically just "mule" bars. These folks had a really hard time trying to find an off the shelf saddle with , what was advertised as mule bars, to fit this mule. Since I have made several custom saddles for them in the past for horses they had problems fitting they came to me for another one. What I do, and I believe most custom saddlemakers do, is send templates of the animal's back to the tree maker and let him know what it is that they are building. In a lot of cases, they use the Lane system to show the maker what the animal configured like, and let the tree maker make the saddle to fit. Personally I don't use the Lane system. I take 4 templates from front to back, a) at the top of the whithers, at the lowest point of the animal's back, c) 6" inches back from that , and d) 6" inches farther back from that. I then make a template of the animal from front to back along the spinal column. I put the cross sections onto it at the respective places they were taken and send that to my maker. I have yet (in the last 15 or so years ) had one that didn't fit perfectly when it came back. I also take a couple of pictures of the animal, both profile and from the rear to show the maker visually what he is dealing with. It must be said, that there are lots of makers out there, Rod and Denise, Jon Whatsabaug, and others that will be able to make you a good fitting tree with those templates. I started out shopping around, many years ago, and eventually settled on Bowden, and for the money, ( a major consideration in the market for which I service) they have not let me down. To give you an idea of what the cost of this saddle was it was $3300. If I used some of the others it would have been $300 to $400 more and would have priced me out of the market.

3) This saddle is actually set between full and 7/8's rigging. When I set the tree in the place where it should be on the mule, this is where the cinch wanted to be. Who am I to argue with a cinch?

4)First, it was stained with Fieblings saddle tan pro oil die. twice. Then once dry, I went back with several coats of pure neatsfoot oil, and finally, worked in a couple coats of saddle soap. Normally I would have also used Tan Coat, but; the customer was addamate that she wanted that dull leather look.

5)In this case, I punched a hole in the back cantle leather, after ci formed it to the cantle, and used it for the center of all the stamping. Then, I put a screw though into the concho, if you do it that way be sure to use a liberal amount of red lock-tite on the threads so that it won't come loose later.

Hope that covers it for you.

Bob

[Aurelie]

Thanks a lot Bob

I really like you "open mind" and your willingness to share your tips

[brianjaa]

man that saddle is awesome-looking. I sure appreciate how you are so willing to share your tips and processes with others.

[Basically Bob]

Well Bob, I'm not a horse or saddle guy but really admire and appreciate the workmanship, time and effort you have put into this project. I have just started leatherworking and this forum has given me a real appreciation for saddle makers.

(another) Bob

[harrington]

Nice job. Did you scallop cut your cantle binding before final fit and sewing, or after you sewed it? Also, what kind of sewing machine do you use, just curious looking at your skirt stitch line. Am also interested in the Dennis Lane system, ordered a set of the cards but haven't used them yet.

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Harrington, thanks. Actually I did the final fit and let the binding dry fully. Then I took it off and cut the scallops. Then glued and stitched it back on. I like to let the binding come to a complete dry, so that when I hand stitch the binding I don't pull the stitches though the wet leather when pulling them tight. As for the skirt lines, for years I have used a Boss, however; I finally got a new CB4500 and this is the first one I've done with it, still getting used to the "gas pedal" ! The machine is great, user, not so much!!! Yet! LOL

Bob

[Northmount]

Thanks for the comment H. I started out by just reading books, but; as I got into it, there was more that I wanted to know, so I got hold of Ann Stohlman, and corresponded with her about the things I still had questions and she sort of mentored me before she passed away. Great Lady.

Bob

Lucky guy, to get Ann Sthoman's guidance.

And, from a guy that can only wish to be able to make a saddle, you have done a great job. Also great mentoring comments to others.

Tom

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Thanks Tom. Yes I was lucky to make contact with Ann. When I first called her, I was really surprised to find out that I was able to get her phone no. from the information line for Cash Creek British Columbia! I called and she answered, the conversation went something like this, " (Ann) Hello, Hi, is this Ann Stohlman? (Ann) Yes, the Ann Stohlman that makes saddles? (Ann) Yes it is. Hi Ann, I appologize if I am bothering you, but; you don't know me, my name is Bob Buono, and I am from Manchester Michigan. I bought your saddle making books, and in the middle of making a saddle for my daughter, and I have a question about rolled rope edges. I know I am a little old to be starting out making saddles, but; well I just thought that I would like to do this so here I am in the middle of it with questions. (Ann) Well, bless your heart doing this for your daughter! How old are you? I am 51. (Ann) Why you're just a youngster!!! We both had a good laugh and went on to correspond for the couple of years before her passing, mostly by me calling her with questions, and she was always gratious and informative. I received help from her and never forgot that she was so nice and friendly to me. I guess that is why I feel, if I can I like to keep "playing it forward". As I am writing this, I am smiling, and wishing that I had gotten out there to meet here in person at the King museum when they opened up the Al Stohlman exhibit before she passed, Any way, she was a great lady, and she is missed.

Bob

[Northmount]

Ann Stohlman

Thanks Bob. Great story.

Tom

[Josh Ashman]

Hey Bob, the saddle looks great and seeing it on the mule is even better. What a cool story about Ann Stohlman, thanks for sharing!

Best regards, Josh

[H factor]

Thanks for sharing Bob!

[AdamReidWilson]

Incredible.

[alisia23]

Great looking saddle- nice work!

[Billy H]

Great looking saddle Bob!

I have not been looking at the Gallery for a while------- so doing some catching up.

I always like to see what folks have worked hard on. Thanks Billy

[SeekingPerfection]

I am only beginning to truly appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into these saddles. How refreshing to see someone so open, and honest. I love your attention to detail and a great saddle.