Mochila

[oldtimer]

Have any of you guys made a mochila?

I´m very interested in how to build a mochila. Where do I start ? At the fork or at the cantle ? Do I start with a single piece of leather or with two pieces? I really need some !

I plan to build a mountain man saddle and and a mochila is part of the plan, so I need some good advice before starting to make scrap out of leather .

Edited October 14, 2008 by oldtimer

[Hidemechanic]

Since no one has ventured in here I will give you a general idea and maybe someone else will jump in.

It depends a little bit on the style you want to end up with.

To me the most important thing is to lay the uncut cover over the tree and get an idea of how much overhang you want in front. If you start from the other end you may not have enough. Part of this step is visuallization. You are trying to visuallize where things are going to end up after you cut and slide the hide down over the horn and cantle. It will move ahead a bit for the cantle and back for the horn.

Wait, go make a patern first. I use pallet liners that I get from the feed store. Some has a slick coating on it that helps it hold up while you are messing with it.

Now unerstand that I am a make your own paterns kind of guy and I don't always figure things out scientifically, maybe one of the other guys here can. For instance on your patern material you could make a center line that you can line up with the center line that goes through your saddle front to back. Stand to the side and get a visual of where the base(sides of the seat where cantle intersect with bars) of the cantle would line up on your pat. That is where you make a refrence line on your pat. You also want to find the back center of your cantle and mark it on your pat.

Next I would get a different piece of patern material and make a patern that follows as closely as possible to the shape of the back of the cantle. The ends have to correspond in length with the marks you made for the cantle base. You will lay it on the main pattern line the marks up to transfer the line where you will make the cantle relief cut.

BTW, I am making this up as I go if I were doing it. Yes I know I said I was going to be general but I got to brain stormin.

I will admit that I am worried about the front cut for the horn because when the cantle cut is made and you slide the hide or pat down to the bars, then you run your hand forward to lay the material in the seat up to the swell the front is going to move to the rear. Maybe a good way to get a rough measure for this is to use a cloth tape from your desired front over hang, back beside the horn base, down the swell across the seat to the mark you made for the front of the cantle(where it meets the bars). That should give you a reference point to determine how much travel you will get out of the hide and help you plan for your horn hole.

-Note, be aware that the part that covers the seat will only go part way up the front of the cantle.-

Once you get things cut you will need to work the hide after you put it on to try to get wrinkles out from under where your legs with go, as well as getting other parts to lay as well as possible. The more time you take to work things in the nicer it will look. It you plan to use saddle strings and conchos to hold it down you'll want to wait til you finish working the hide before you start locating your holes.

Keep in mind that mochilas aren't supposed to look like they came from the harness shop so whatever you do, it should look good for a ron-day-voo.

Look forward to seeing it. Good luck, GH

[oldtimer]

Thank´s for your advice! A good start! My plan is now to make a template of a piece of cheap split leather that I have. I have studied many pics of mochilas and it seems that they are made of two pieces that are laced together in the center of the seat, and the reason for that must be to get rid of wrinkles . We´ll see what becomes of it!

/ Knut

[TrooperChuck]

Good luck with that mochila. I hope you post a pic of it when it's done. I've always liked the looks of those saddles.

[oldtimer]

Good luck with that mochila. I hope you post a pic of it when it's done. I've always liked the looks of those saddles.

Thank´s. I´ll need good luck for sure!

[AZThunderPony]

How is the Mochila coming along? I would love to see your step by step project unfold.

;)S

[oldtimer]

How is the Mochila coming along? I would love to see your step by step project unfold.

S

Sorry, I have not had the time to start that project yet.

/ Knut

[mulefool]

About 25 years ago I built a SantaFe style saddle with a mochila. For the life of me I can't seem to remember exactly how I did it, whether I started with fitting the fork or cut a cantle slot first. I'm pretty sure I started with the fork though. I do remember however that I used one piece and did not lace it down the center. On the fork in the middle in front of the horn it was split to pull out the slack around the fork and I used a buckle and billet there. I used my draw down to fit the seat like you usually would. When I cut out my leather I had the back toward the top of the hide and the fork area was towards the belly so it would be easier to mold. The basic shape was square "skirted" although I realize the mochila isn't really a skirt. Since the back skirt area was at the top of the hide it was nice and had alot of body. Since the front corners were towards the belly they were not as good as you'd like (I don't see how you'd get around this) so I remember lining then to stiffen them up so they wouldn't curl. I wish I could find a picture of it. I stamped a Carlos border around the edges and put a flower scroll in the corners. I also had someone make up those sort of oxbow shaped wooden stirrups. I think I got some of the ideas out of "Man Made Mobile". Boy I haven't thought about that saddle in probably 20 years. Oh, I also put a regular ground seat in since I wanted it to be comfortable and rideable. If I were to make one again I would probably do what you are doing Knut and make a pattern out of scrap leather.

[oldtimer]

Thank´s Chris. The more I think of it, I think it is wise to start fitting at the fork end, and to use cheap scrap leather for pattern. Must have some more sleepless nights figureing out how to do it! Right now I´ll dig into building a pair of sawbucks!

Edited February 19, 2009 by oldtimer

[grumpyguy]

Old timer,

I personally would avoid the lacing on the seat portion on any thing you intend to ride for any length of time at all. I have been south of the boarder and once spent an afternoon riding a rented rig and horse. The fit for the horse was not good and even worse for me. Long story short the lacing on the mochilla on the rig I rode wore a hole in my hide. Needless to say I provided much entertainment for the Mexican horse wranglers. Keep the seat as smooth and trouble free as possible! Hidemechanic has you on the right track, casing the leather properly will do alot for getting it to lay right. Any excessivly stiff area could be skived some to help it lay right too. Just like making a seat on a modern saddle, I would put the heavier stiffer end toward the forks and the lighter more supple leather to the rear of the cantle, which is where I'd anticipate having the problem with how it laid out. If you have to splice to get a big enough piece, I'd recommend splicing behind the cantel and stiching your bags over the top to hide the stiched splice. Just a thought as I have not made one of these myself.

Incidently I like to ride alot and have never found any enjoyment in riding the older style saddles when riding long distances my few experiences were somewhat painful in the end if you can gather what I mean. I like a smooth, full, unpadded seat, on a modern styled seat, I guess the old time waddies had a much stiffer constution than I.

Good luck I hope your project goes well, can't wait to see the outcome.