Today's lesson with Randy he first has us bend and shape our strainers. The metal helps to support the leather to keep the leather in the seat from sagging below or down into the bars which would be uncomfortable for horse and rider. This did used to happen before the metal was added to the seats, especially if the saddle ever got wet. One improvement that is really an improvement. My thoughts on all these new style trees are skeptical at best.

To shape the strainer we gently bang on it with a hammer over the side of a piece or railroad rail. Just a little at a time you really don't want any real lines across it or folds, you want it as smooth a curve as you can make it. Then you take a pair of pliers and bend the front tabs in such a way that it will nail to the flat side on the back of the forks. Fitting it into the seat frequently to check your progress. When happy with the fit you then mark a line down its center so you will know how to place it.

Then take a piece of chap leather, (soft chrome type), and cut the back edge of it, (the seat side), about an inch and a quarter bigger than the strainer. Wider yet in the area of the stirrup leather slots and the gullet. Then centering the leather piece on the bottom of the strainer with the good side of chap leather facing down. Using contact cement on each side, let this sit a couple of minutes then carefully place them together. Now you have the bottom layer of leather under the strainer with a pencil line drawn down the center line of the top of the strainer. Permanent marker will not stay put.

Leaving a larger portion of overlapping leather toward the front of the strainer which will get slits in it to allow for the curve. However, do not cut the slits until you get the rest of the ground seat in because you will need to pull it up higher/deeper to cover the ground seat. So, it is helpful if your chap leather is a bit stretchy. Apply contact cement again to the back side of the strainers chap leather where you had flipped the tree and marked where to put the cement onto the strainers back side of leather. (So, in other words you only want cement in the area where the strainer hits the bars and seat and the part that hits the back of the fork, not all over the of back of it). Then, on the top side of the bars where you had marked the front all around the seat side of the strainer. Place the tree side cement to the inside edges of the bars and seat. You don't want cement all over your nice chap leather so mark and glue as carefully as you can for this.

Now, nailing down the strainer you center it and hold the front end off of the base of the bars about 5/8 of an inch. Start in the center behind the narrow part and place nail. Recheck for centering keeping it all lined up and place a second nail straight across form it. Then work your way toward the seat side alternating back and forth pushing down hard as you go to make sure you don't have any lifted areas. Place the nails all around to the top center one. Then do the ones on the front, the four there. Use steel wire nails for this, 16 x 3/4.

Then take your safety skiver and skive all the seat part off of the edge of the strainer up to wear the strainer gets narrow. Leave the front as it is long. Skive down to a feather edge again in a nice sloping angle to not have any sudden drop offs. Looking good!

Now cut a small strip of the heavy leather, about one and a half inches by eight. We then trace the curve shape at the front onto it by rubbing some pencil on the edge of the strainer and then mashing the leather down to pick up the transfer at the front of the strainer and cut that out. This is the first layer of leather that will make up the ground seat. It is a process of layering and shaping and in the beginning building up the front center. Keeping rough side of leather up more contact cement to the back of the leather, (smooth side), and the center of the strainer where you outlined the shape of the leather so you knew where to put the cement. Join them together and skive again. Keep the top center ridge the height of the leather curving the edges down to the strainer and taking from the back quarter of it down to a feather. The only edge you don't skive is the front and that will get tapered on the sides, but not the center front you leave that part thick. AND, as you go you want that front edge to remain completely vertical, so that means when the leather is face down flat on the table you are actually undercutting the piece of leather on that edge.

Next trace out a shape that will cover that last piece and follow the center edges down to about where the seat meets the rise of the cantle. Use another heavy piece of leather and follow the same procedure as before with cutting, marking and applying the cement and joining onto the seat making sure to keep everything centered. Balance is very important while building your saddle. Again, leaving the front center alone skive all the edges down to a feather tapering smoothly not creating any drop offs. You are building the seat and you do not want any lumps or bumps in it. Use your hand and feel the seat for evenness. You have more layers to adjust this but every layer counts.

Then see how it feels paying attention to what you do feel. Close your eyes and do it again. Chances are if you are feeling something it is something you will have to smooth out as you build. Each layer gets a little bigger and wider. Usually at least 3 layers before the last large one, so four, then the final seat piece goes over that.

Thanks for stopping in again!