Big Loop Ground Seats

Posted by Don Gonzales

Here is a quick run down of what projects are in process within the custom saddle department of our shop (this department consisting of Jim and I, ha ha): we have four customers’ orders from our list, each different and uniquely complex, two ranch saddles for the All Around Performance Horse crew (due in two weeks), and all fourteen of the Big Loop saddles.  This is all happening at the same time that the rest of the shop is busy on multiple belts, wallets, scabbards, holsters, saddle repairs and handling customers on a daily basis.  The oppurtunity for chaos is so great that it makes for an exciting work week this time of year.

My goal this week was to finish all the ground seats for the Big Loop saddles and get horns started.  Some of the saddles

saddle tree and ground seat
Working hard on the Big Loop saddles

had been started already, some ground seats were done and I wanted to get them all done completely so that Jim could focus on getting the All Around saddles to a point where I could get to tooling fronts or swells (my favorite… not).  Starting Monday with that goal in mind, I made progress and got all the ground seats completed by the end of the week.  Since this is usually the part that Jim takes care of, I was sure to check with him off and on to insure that I was putting the ground seats in the way he had been doing them.  It took me a couple times and a bit of Jim giving me hell, but in the end I got them all in.

Even though Jim and I both build saddles, we each do things a little different and consistency is what we want especially with this project.  For the last couple years, our partnership on saddle making has been him building and me tooling/designing all the artwork.  He is much faster than me at building and I am much faster than him at tooling, so this arrangement works well.  Since these are all rough out, and there is fourteen of them, I have custom saddle seatsto help him with a lot of the building and keeping up with changes he has made all year is something I have to be mindful of.  Even though my name is on the sign and stamp, Jim has the lead on this project… And I think he takes a little pleasure in bossing me around.

As the week went along uneventful and productively, it didn’t start off that great.  By Monday afternoon we were met with 85 degree temperatures in the shop.  Our air conditioner was froze up and not cooling at all.  Thinking back on the last few weeks, we realized that the filters hadn’t been changed and they really needed it.  In a shop like ours the dust can get pretty bad due to the sanding from the finisher so we have to change filters every two weeks or so.  It wasn’t till Tuesday afternoon late when our AC repair guys got us back up and running… till then we just tried not to drip sweat on the leather.

As we set now: ground seats are done, all the horns are cut out and skived, no major mistakes as of yet, a few shop pranks (involving an air horn) were conducted and the new guys haven’t quit yet.  It’s still early with lots left to do…

 

What we like to call, “The Big Loop Project”

Posted by Don Gonzales

So here we are again, our third year making the saddles for the Big Loop Big Money Tour put on by the Phillip Ranch.  This is by far the biggest project that my team and I orchestrate during the year… other than getting ready for the USTRC Finals in Oklahoma City.   The product list isn’t all that complicated, 14 solid rough out saddles with 14.5″ seats.  That doesn’t sound too difficult… because you don’t work in our shop.

My team of craftsmen (and craftswoman… sorry jodi) is by far the best group of talent in any shop… the problem is there aren’t very many of us.  Not to mention our lack of space that is needed to perform such a job… cramped quarters.  All of this combined with only having one sewing machine, only three draw down stands, two head knifes, no clicker, no band knife, and only two people who actually can build a saddle from start to finish.  Every year we build these saddles within a short time frame.

The thing to remember here is that our shop is a true custom shop that produces on average 4-5 saddles a month, each completely different in design and artwork.  We work in a manner that allows us to focus on the specifics that the customer requested and do the best possible job that we can.  Then what makes us want to take on such an endeavor and how do we shift gears to get the product completed at the same quality level and deliver on time?

WE HAVE NO IDEA… BUT WE DO IT!  HA HA!

When we first took the job on, we knew that it would be challenging to say the least.  What we didn’t realize is that in complicating things a bit and pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zone, we gain very valuable skills and techniques that allow us to become more efficient throughout the rest of the year while increasing the quality.

The first year was very stressful, constant worry and running close to the deadline… but quality was maintained.  The second year we finished with time to spare and quality increased a little.  This year we started earlier, working the saddles in with our customers orders, and feel more confident than last year.  That is not to say that we are not conscious of the task before us or too comfortable and wasting time.  We still have a lot to learn about the art of project planning and execution, but we do have a couple years behind us now and feel like every year has benefited us not only on this project but on all our projects year round.

So as we have already begun the “Big Loops” this year, I thought it would be fun to give an inside look at how we handle them and the chaos that could possibly insue within our little shop in Bryan, TX.  I will do my best to not only post about the triumphs, but also post on the screw ups and mishaps (hopefully we don’t have too many of those).  I have no idea how many post there will be or if it will be worth reading at all, but I will do my best.  I’m not going to lead you on, there usually isn’t ever a ton of shop drama, fist fights, crying, or firing of employees… but this is a new year so you never know!

We want to thank the Phillip Ranch for giving us this opportunity and all the ropers that spend their hard earned money and time traveling every month trying to win one of our saddles.  We will make sure that this year’s saddles are everything that has come to be expected from the Big Loop Big Money Tour Finals!

Pick Guard

Posted by Don Gonzales

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My brother, Ben Schane, brought his Martin guitar in the shop on a Saturday and after a song and a beer or two we did what anyone would do. We tore the pick guard off and made one out of thin Herman Oak leather. It was a lot of fun and turned out kinda cool.

Which tree style would fit my horse better?

Posted by Don Gonzales

“I need to use an Olin Young on this horse because it fits him better.”  “I can’t ride a wade on this horse because his withers are too tall.”  “You need to be riding a Low TM on that horse because he is too round backed for that Association.”

These are common thoughts about different styles of trees and what fits certain horses better.  The truth of the matter is that the tree style doesn’t decide how a tree fits on a horse.  The tree style (TM, OY, Association, Wade, Buster Welch, etc) is nothing more than the style of the front, or swells, that the tree has.  Now some of these styles have a certain cantle or horn that is common to use with it, but these can be changed to the customers specs. Continue reading →

Saddle Slides Back on my Horse

Posted by Don Gonzales

A common problem among people is “saddle slides back on my horse.”  Many times this is with competition ropers and/or ranch cowboys who rope quite a bit in the pasture.  Almost every single time I see this issue, it is more of human error than saddle fitting issues.

When I am checking on this problem for someone, I have them saddle the horse just as they would any other time.  This is when I know if we actually have a serious issue or just a simple human error.  Usually, the customer will put the saddle way up on the withers right on top of the shoulder blades.  At this point I run my hand under the saddle and pads and find the tip of the shoulder blade which is usually right under the center of the front bar pad.  THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT SPOT FOR THE SADDLE TO SET.

Now I don’t care how old you are or how long you have been a cowboy.  I don’t even care if your dad, old grampy, your uncle, or John Wayne told you to set the saddle up high on the withers, I am telling you now, THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT SPOT FOR THE SADDLE TO SET. Continue reading →

Third year at the George Strait Team Roping

Posted by Don Gonzales

Well it’s upon us again. Seems like we just finished the Christmas season, and here we are set up at the George Strait Team roping Classic in San Antonio, TX.

This is our third year attending this event and we are looking forward to seeing our friends and making new ones. Like every year in the past, we try to start early and have two or three custom saddles made for this show. Again this year we were only able to bring one. With our growing order list and the demand our saddles have at home, we were only able to escape Brazos county with one.

This is the first time in our three years here that the weather has been bad. It’s currently raining and cold, so the ropers will have to contend with cold fingers if they want a chance at the money, truck and trailer.

Good luck to all the contestants! And to all the spectators, set back and enjoy some of the best team roping action on the planet!

What kind of oil should I use?

Posted by Don Gonzales

I get this question a lot both at the shop and when we are out at events and trade shows.  The most common time this question is asked is when a customer brings in a saddle for repair and the repair needed is so extensive due to the amount of dry rot.  Here the customer will usually say, “I would of oiled it but I didn’t know what kind of oil to use.”  To this I always answer, “Even the wrong oil would have helped more than what you did… which was nothing.”

I know, oiling your saddle and gear is not the most exciting thing to do on your weekends off, but neither is writing large checks for saddle repairs or worse yet visiting the ground suddenly when something finally breaks.

There are hundreds of saddle conditioners, cleaners, lubricators, creams, savs, liquids, and the like that make choosing the best product for your gear a tuff choice.  Again, ALL of these will, in some way, help your leather retain its life better than nothing at all.  And if you still don’t feel comfortable making a decision then there is always a shop like ours that would be happy to handle this for you.

For oil, we use Olive Oil.  We buy it from a local grocery supply company by the case and use it on both new and used leather items.  I have heard of many people using canola, peanut, vegetable, and other food oils and they seem to work fine.  My only issue with the other oils is that it seems to me that they would attract rats worse than the olive oil.  Neatsfoot oil is the old standby and is still widely used.  There is nothing wrong with this but it seems to me that olive oil seems to oil more evenly than neatsfoot and the main reason that we use it in the shop.

When it comes to conditioners, I recommend Skidmore’s Leather Cream above all else.  This cream is great for lubricating the fibers in the leather and restoring life to dry stiff leather.  This product is made of all natural ingredients including vegetable oils and beeswax and will also water proof the leather.  A little bit of this cream goes a long way so don’t over do it, multiple light coats is always better than one heavy coat.  This product is also amazing on boots and hunting gear.

The one thing to remember with conditioning your saddles and tack is that putting oil and conditioners on top of dirty leather can damage the leather.  In doing this over time, you create multiple layers of dirt and oil which becomes a thick film that is almost impossible to remove.  I always recomend washing leather with a mild dish soap like Dawn, Ivory, or even Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsing thoroughly.  Scrub the saddle with a medium bristle brush to lift the dirt and grime out of the leather.  I don’t recommend saddle soap because it is suppose to be left on the saddle to dry and then the dirt stays on the leather.  If you want to lather the saddle up with saddle soap after its cleaned, then that’s okay.

Always let your saddle dry completely (could take a day or two) before oiling and conditioning.  If you oil too soon, you could get a real bad case of mold.  I will talk more about mold and controlling it in a later post.

I know its hard to remember to oil your saddle and tack, but here is my suggestion on a system that may not make it such a big deal.  Every time you worm your horses give all your tack and saddles a good look over and wipe them down with a light coat of oil.  And when it comes to doing a complete washing and oiling, I recommend this once a year.  This could be every time your coggins is due or at the end of your show season.  And if you don’t want to go through the trouble of doing it yourself you can always drop it off at the saddle shop and we will do it for you.

Continue reading →

All Around Performance Horse Ranch Rodeo Challenge 2012

Posted by Don Gonzales

It’s here again!  The world’s biggest ranch rodeo featuring some of the countries greatest cowboys and cowgirls competing for $50,000 and prizes from some of the greatest craftsmen and artist our western heritage has to offer.  We are talking about the All Around Performance Horse Ranch Rodeo Challenge!

We have worked with All Around Performance Horse since they started this ranch rodeo and this year is no different.  This year we are adding the Top Hand award to our saddle build sheet as part of our sponsorship.  The Top Horse and Top Hand saddles will be the awards that these athletes will be competing for second only to the cash.

As we begin designing and building these saddles we will update with video and photos so that the competitors and fans of this event can see the great craftsmanship that goes into building a custom Don Gonzales saddle.  If you are looking for more up to date information on this event and the creation of these awards along with other projects DGSaddlery is creating daily, visit our website at http://www.dgsaddlery.com/ where you can stay connected through facebook and twitter.

Also be sure to check out our friends at http://www.allaroundranchrodeo.com/ for event dates, their blog, and other great All Around Performance Horse info.