First post excited to find this place

[cantbesure]

stumbled on your forum here and got all excited.

I do some piddling and am getting ready to hopefully tackle my first saddle here in the near future. 

I lost the best teacher a man could ask for around 2 years ago and now have nobody to call on those little questions that plauge nearly every project for a greenhorn like me.

wish i had him back, but you guys seem great at putting out answers and giving advise.

I guess i'll go ahead and post my first question here while i'm at it..

i want to put a good deal of carving on my saddle when i get to build it.
my question is about how to carve the swells, with out distorting the pattern and stretching the cuts and such.

this may be humorous to suggest but one of the only ideas that i've come up with is to carve and stamp it after it is on the tree...

Is this ridiculous and if so, how is it REALLy done.

thanks

[cowboywc]

Howdy
I've made 2 saddles so far. Both of them I did the stamping on the tree. It's a bit of a challenge but can be
done.
WC

[cantbesure]

thanks bud... is there another way(s)? 
or is this pretty much how it's done with most everyone?

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Welcome, pard. Good to see you on the forum. We'll all be looking to see pictures of some of your work.

As to saddles, I've never made a tooled one. Some of the other pards here may be able to offer some suggestions for you.

[Ace Lungger]

 :)Cantbesure, nice to have you here!This is home away from hom for leather workers! I am new to this hobby and cannot give you any advice on saddle workl! I am sorry!
Have a good one
ACE

[will ghormley]

Hey Cantbesure,

I've done it both ways, on and off.  For your first saddles it's easiest to start out carvin' 'em while they are on.  You have to strap it down solid so it's not bouncin' and shiftin' on ya'.  However, dependin' on what style of saddle you are makin', you can fit it, take it off, flatten it out, lay on your pattern, carve it and put it on the tree while it's still damp.  It works best if you have a fairly wide border, so if your fittin' is a little off, it's not so noticable.

That's my two cents worth,
Will

[cantbesure]

thanks will

that helps a bunch

when you do the carving off the tree... do the cuts stretch out when you put it back on?

if so is there a way to combat it?

i only ask because the first holster i made, i carved it then shaped it around the gun and it looked like crap.
sounds like i should've shaped the leather first and then carved it???

[will ghormley]

I haven't had that problem yet.  When you wet-fit the leather to the tree, it streatches and conforms.  When you pull it off and flatten it back out, it isn't in the same shape as when you cut it out in the first place.  At that point, you make your carving pattern, transfer it to the leather and do your carving.  Carving itself distorts the leather some, (one of the reasons for the wide border), but when you lay it back on the tree it looks pretty natural.  When it drys down, it snugs itself down to the tree and looks like it grew there.

I'm not sure what could have caused the carving problem with the holster.  If you start with a good fitting holster pattern, the pistol shouldn't distort the holster that much.  If you cased your leather before transfering your holster pattern to the leather, that might have been a problem.  When you fully hydrate the leather, it swells.  With a holster pattern, the leather can swell enough when you case it, that if you transfer the pattern to the leather when it's swollen, it shrinks too small when it's dryed out.

I always transfer my holster patterns to the leather when the surface of the leather is just damp.  After the pattern is trasnfered, I case the leather if it is goin' to be carved.  This way, when the leather drys out, it shrinks back closer to the original size of the actual pattern.

I don't know if that helps with the problem you experienced, but that's my best guess.

Will

[HorsePen Henry]

stumbled on your forum here and got all excited.

I do some piddling and am getting ready to hopefully tackle my first saddle here in the near future. 

I lost the best teacher a man could ask for around 2 years ago and now have nobody to call on those little questions that plauge nearly every project for a greenhorn like me.

wish i had him back, but you guys seem great at putting out answers and giving advise.

I guess i'll go ahead and post my first question here while i'm at it..

i want to put a good deal of carving on my saddle when i get to build it.
my question is about how to carve the swells, with out distorting the pattern and stretching the cuts and such.

this may be humorous to suggest but one of the only ideas that i've come up with is to carve and stamp it after it is on the tree...

Is this ridiculous and if so, how is it REALLy done.

thanks

Well...Can'tbesure,
You can be sure about stamping it on the tree. You got it figured out just fine. I wouldn't recommend this on holsters though. Carve them up and then sew them and finish them.
Welcome to the forum. Coffee is always good.
Good luck,
X Horse Pen

P.S. It won't be perfect the first time. No worries....it won't be perfect the hundredth time neither. 
One thing though...it will be 99 times better than the first one you do. Guaranteed!!!

[cantbesure]

thanks again guys...
and thanks for answering AND explaining your answer.... helps alot