First Saddle Project - Advice Appreciated

[rktaylor]

Once I am finished, I plan to post some pictures and a recap of the project (time, cost, mistakes, what I learned, etc).

[rktaylor]

rdl123

Here are some photos of my saddle. It is based off Dusty Johnson's patterns I have his package (book, video and patterns) and Volumes I and II of Al Stohlman's books. I started with that and a general lack of common sense. I learned more than I care to type right now, but I am done and it is really comfortable to ride. It is a Bowman tree from Batie's Custom Tree in Welch, OK. The leather is all Hermann Oak. There are several mistakes, but none were 'deal breakers' for me. Plus, now that I know what they are, I can avoid them on #2. I have a friend who will buy the materials, so I get another shot at it. Plus I want to build one for my wife. She would probably rather have furniture, but what the hell.

Stay warm. Artic air is moving our way tonight, but you would probably think its spring weather.

Randy

[rktaylor]

You asked about time. Its hard to measure because I have a full time job and family already. I got my tree around the second week of September and finished last week. However, there were three weeks straight that I didn't touch it. Plus I stood around scratching my head a lot. I have about $1k invested in materials and another grand in labor if I got paid 50 cents an hour.

[rdl123]

Randy - That is great - Really looks good for a first time - If I can get mine to look that decent off the hop I will be pumped!

I am surprised you were able to build it that quick in spare time. I have a full time job and when I do have spare time I always seem to put going out and riding ahead of working on this saddle...However I really do want to have er done for spring.

Anyhow - Your saddle looks great and is very motivating for me! Did you hand sew skirts to fleece or did you have access to sewing machine? Do you have any advice on getting the drop plate rigging true from side to side? That is what I am about to tackle next.

Thanks,

Ron L

[Goldshot Ron]

Randy,

Your saddle looks good. A thousand in materials is pretty average any more. I, like you, make about fifty cents an hour. But, it is a thrill to finish a saddle and sit in it for the first time on your horse. Have you worked with leather prior to attempting this first saddle? I think your stamped border looked good.

Now, you need to purchase the Jeremiah Watt dvd and get a whole different perspective on saddle making.

Ron

[rktaylor]

Ron L.

I hand stitched everything. If I bought a sewing machine, my wife would get it in the divorce. I used a jig similar to the one in Dusty Johnson's book. However there is a really good discussion about rigging placement in one of these threads. I need to review it again.

Ron, I have done some tooling, but not a lot. I did some leatherwork when I got out of high school, but just got back into it a couple years ago (about a 30 year layoff). Keep in mind that I took the pictures. There are some areas that are better than others. I was more interested in construction on this saddle than tooling. My next one will have more.

Thanks for the compliments.

Randy

[rdl123]

Hello:

Here is the latest progress: Final ground seat piece installed, cantle back installed, rigging pattern drawn.

I took it and put it on a horse yesterday and the rigging pattern seems to line up like I'd wanted it to.

Comments / input will be valued as usual!

The other question I have is skirt length - I was taught to go 2" ahead of front bar tip, and 3" beyond rear bar tip. However this would give me a finished skirt length of 29.5" which I think may be long - Can someone comment on this - I have tried to research this but haven't come up with a lot of info.

[thecowboy7]

Looks great so far! As far as your skirt length is concerned... as long as it doesn't impede the movement of your horse, then do what you think is right. For comparison sake, I've got a 16.5" wade that has a 28.5" skirt length. It's a fairly long saddle, but fits my big ranch horse really well. In the end, that's what really counts. Also, with skirts that long you'll need longer saddle pads $$$ Hope that helps!

David

[rktaylor]

The Dusty Johnson book says skirts should be no longer than 29". Is the back of the cantle tooled? Your ground seat looks great.

[oltoot]

1" in front, measured after blocking is enough. I have used all the way from 1" to 3" behind, again, measured after blocking. In the case of the back, the best thing to look at is how much it takes to cover up the back rigging like you want and go from there. Line, flow, balance should make the final decision, not a hard and fast measurement tradition.