Thursday, January 5, 2012

From Good to Better

My english saddle pattern has been under construction lately...


This is what my desk looked like the other day....this morning, it's no longer this nice.


Please note the Blue Sharpie of Death. The X on the pattern from January of last year (dang, I've been in this for a year now...) signifies that that pattern is no longer in use :) The baggie of pattern pieces on the left is on it's way out...it will only be around long enough for me to check the differences between the old pattern and the new. Then, it's time for the Sharpie...

Yesterday, I bought a sheet of aluminum to use for english saddle trees. Yeah, I was using soda cans for a while, but that aluminum tends to be too thin - by the time I glue my leather to the metal, I can't get the aluminum to bend and hold it's shape.

So, I invested in a thicker aluminum that, so far, is cooperating very nicely.



The bobby pins help to gently hold everything in place while it dries...clothes pins tend to unbend my trees, so this is a much better arrangement than clothes pins or sitting and holding the silly thing for ages.

I also made some supplies orders this morning; two new awls, some Edge Kote, Satin Shene, a western saddle tree, and two tweezers are on their way - I must admit that I am addicted to tweezers, and since I lost the only pair in the household, I've been dying without them. Not to mention I got in trouble for losing those tweezers on several occasions, so I made sure to buy two pairs this time.




So, that's it for now - I'll post progress photos as this new-and-improved saddle moves along :)