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Deb Mackie's Western Saddle


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Moderators Note: The Moderator created this thread using photos and text from Deb Mackie's post in a section of the forum that will be changed and we didn't want to loose this information.

 

Basketweave tooling pattern on rear skirt of saddle with corner plate placement

 

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Using a tiny pounce wheel to simulate stitching on leather saddle pieces

 

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Saddle pieces dyed, cut and ready for assembly

 

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Assembly of the leather pieces--this particular saddle is easiest to assemble on the horse.

 

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Finished saddle in place on 1:12 Scale model Horse

 

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Finished 1:12 Scale western saddle

 

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A couple questions..... Is your metal hardware photo etched or stamped out? What kind of metal? Do you do anything to soften the leather before tooling it?

Thanks, those look just great and I am so glad you posted some progress pictures.

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The metal hardware is photo etched. It's nickel plated brass, from www.riorondo.com, a company that specializes in supplies for the model horse hobby. They also sell some cast sets, and I think they used to have some silver stuff, but the photo etched stuff actually looks nicer.

 

The leather is "cased" (moistened slightly with water) before tooling. It's usually pretty stiff once it dries, and sometimes I wet it again afterwards to shape it so it appears to hang properly. There are oils and other softeners that can be used after tooling, but I usually just re-wet it and then fasten it with rubber bands and/or string to shape it to the horse model or stand it will be displayed on.

Hope that answers your questions!

A couple questions..... Is your metal hardware photo etched or stamped out? What kind of metal? Do you do anything to soften the leather before tooling it?

Thanks, those look just great and I am so glad you posted some progress pictures.

 

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Really great leather work Deb. The nicest I have seen in a long while.  What leather are you using? Do you have to skive it down in thickness?  I used to have requests for horses to go with my carriage commissions.  First horses were re-make horses with hair made by Cheryl Abelson.  Later (and more recently) I have had Denise Pritchett (D-Leprechaun) re-make my horses and Linda Spiesschart (Niki) made the leather work for me. She also made wonderful saddles which I had no problem selling at shows. Linda quit and I ended up making my own harness. Fun but very tedious for me. I had problems finding thin enough, tool-able leather.

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Thanks Bill. I use veg-tanned tooling leather, usually 2-3 oz in weight. I do the tooling, then skive it down to the thickness I want. It tends to be stiffer than most of the thin finished leather that's available, but it has to be to accept the tooling.

I do horses too, but only have one finished model in my studio right now--all my time has been going to getting ready for teaching at Castine!

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