First saddle - Rigging help

[equiss]

Hello All,

I am having a really hard time on my first saddle getting past the rigging. My first mistake was cutting out the rigging pieces and then the lining and trying to get them to match 100%.

But, I have what I have and need to move forward.

I have a few questions:

1) I have excess in the rear beside my back rigging plate. What would be best to do with it? It is too small of a hangover to be able to glue down I would guess (see pic)

2) On the lining piece I was told to skife down the tops of the lining where the rigging connects to the tree - (see pic) I did that, but on the inside of the lining (see pic)

• Does it matter inside or tree side?
  
• Did I do it in the correct places?
  
• Should the top of the rigging piece that is tooled also be skifed?
  

3) I know this is boardering on perfection - but what should the BACK of the lining look like if the rigging plate is in correctly? Mine has a little bit of a gap in the corner.

Due to my initial problems, the rigging piece doesn't sit up against the cantle as I would like - it isn't bad, but next time will be better - any comments, instruction, HELP would be much appreciated!

Charlene

[bruce johnson]

Charlene,

On the corner behind the back rigging plate - round it off. I don't like 90 degree points in most places. They tend to curl or catch things.

In hindsight. Cut linings oversized to allow for little stretching things that happen with tooling and forming to the tree. Trim to fit after they are glued together. I skive my plate riggings on the top piece, I my linings are not a 100% lining of the top piece. The liner sits down a little from the top edge and is likewise preskived to make a smooth transition. I guess it all depends on what patterns you use. Regarding a gap at the edges of rigging hardware. If you case and mold it over the rigging harware, it eliminates a lot of that. Some guys will put little wedge shaped plug in there to make a smooth transition and fill that gap too.

Seems like a good spot for a plate rigging question here. I usually glue mine flesh to flesh. If I need to do any extra skiving on the grain side of the lining piece, it is above where the screws are, so I am not thinking I am losing much of the strength of the grain side. A guy I talked with a while back does his linings flesh side down. His thoughts that as they wear, the grain side is intact and it is wearing down the flesh side. I am not sure there is should be much exposure to wear, but that was his reasoning. I also suspect it would make skiving easier if you don't skive before glueing them together? Any thoughts either way from anyone?

[greg gomersall]

Bruce on my lining of a plate rig I always have the smooth side next to the tree, skirt and horse. Even do this on a roughout so I have smooth leather rather than roughout touching the horse. the smooth will absorb sweat slower than the rough.

Where she has the over hang of the leather on the back of the rear dee she can now stitch right up to the dee. Greg

[equiss]

Charlene,

On the corner behind the back rigging plate - round it off. I don't like 90 degree points in most places. They tend to curl or catch things.

In hindsight. Cut linings oversized to allow for little stretching things that happen with tooling and forming to the tree. Trim to fit after they are glued together. I skive my plate riggings on the top piece, I my linings are not a 100% lining of the top piece. The liner sits down a little from the top edge and is likewise preskived to make a smooth transition. I guess it all depends on what patterns you use. Regarding a gap at the edges of rigging hardware. If you case and mold it over the rigging harware, it eliminates a lot of that. Some guys will put little wedge shaped plug in there to make a smooth transition and fill that gap too.

Seems like a good spot for a plate rigging question here. I usually glue mine flesh to flesh. If I need to do any extra skiving on the grain side of the lining piece, it is above where the screws are, so I am not thinking I am losing much of the strength of the grain side. A guy I talked with a while back does his linings flesh side down. His thoughts that as they wear, the grain side is intact and it is wearing down the flesh side. I am not sure there is should be much exposure to wear, but that was his reasoning. I also suspect it would make skiving easier if you don't skive before glueing them together? Any thoughts either way from anyone?

Thank you - that was exactly what happenend, I cut my rigging piece, then the lining, then tooled, and then they didn't match anymore. I had to make my own pattern, so that is guesswork too

But - one more question - is the lining piece typically the same thickness as the front rigging piece?

THanks for the advice, I like the idea about rounding off the corner in the rear!

Charlene

[bruce johnson]

Charlene,

My linings are the same thickness as the top more or less. I don't have a large enough splitter to level big pieces as of yet. Regarding the space at the back of the dee ring. Like Greg pointed out, you need some room for a stitchline. I probably have a little more than that. It also depends on how low you hang the rear dees. Actually on mine, that area is pretty much covered by the rear jockey. I try to gauge my rear jockeys and back riggings so the top 1" or so of the ring is covered by the jockey.

[equiss]

Charlene,

My linings are the same thickness as the top more or less. I don't have a large enough splitter to level big pieces as of yet. Regarding the space at the back of the dee ring. Like Greg pointed out, you need some room for a stitchline. I probably have a little more than that. It also depends on how low you hang the rear dees. Actually on mine, that area is pretty much covered by the rear jockey. I try to gauge my rear jockeys and back riggings so the top 1" or so of the ring is covered by the jockey.

Thank you, I will give it a try. I have been stuck on this for weeks, every time I get it out to work on it, I just stare at it asking the same questions. Will be nice to move on to something else...thanks a bunch!

Charlene

[Mike Craw]

Hey Charlene!

Glad to see that you got your question answered, but sorry to hear that it took weeks. Next time you hit a little obstacle, just get on and ask. Nnobody will think it's a dumb question (we can all top yours with dumber questions we asked when we were getting started) and there is a wealth of knowledge here just waiting to be tapped. Each of us does things a little differently, depending on who our teacher was, but we are all trying to get better and help everybody else. If Bruce, and Greg, and Troy, and all the other saddle makers on here can't answer your question, it will be the first time!

Have fun...

Mike

[equiss]

Hey Charlene!

Glad to see that you got your question answered, but sorry to hear that it took weeks. Next time you hit a little obstacle, just get on and ask. Nnobody will think it's a dumb question (we can all top yours with dumber questions we asked when we were getting started) and there is a wealth of knowledge here just waiting to be tapped. Each of us does things a little differently, depending on who our teacher was, but we are all trying to get better and help everybody else. If Bruce, and Greg, and Troy, and all the other saddle makers on here can't answer your question, it will be the first time!

Have fun...

Mike

Thanks Mike!

I just need to jump in and do it - I just replied to my other post that part of my "problem" with myself is that I am a perfectionist to a great extent, so sometimes that is a real roadblock for me. I have all the resources that I can find, but worry about...what if my rigging is slightly off, what if both sides don't exactly match....I just need to learn to jump in and do it, maybe I am trying to do too much at once, but I want to tool well, and I just love the leatherwork - could do it all the time. Thanks so much for the help and support - they do feel like silly questions, maybe now I can post my next "mistake". Which was using leather to cover the strainer that is not flexible enough to work up over the hand hold - so now I have a mess!

Regards

Charlene Stovin