The Repair Shop

Replacing Stirrup Leathers on a Saddle

Posted by Don Gonzales

Replacing stirrup leathers on a saddle is one of the most common repair requests that you will get if you open the door on saddle repair in your shop.

Saddle repair has always been a big piece of any saddle shop’s services that they offer. For the majority of my shop’s history that was true for us as well. In fact, we built our business doing massive amounts of repair early on. Though I don’t do much saddle repair these days, I still offer this service to our Custom Saddle customers for their DGS saddles in need of it.

Although this repair does require a little more of a material cost investment than a saddle cleaning, a shop can still make a good profit offering this to their customers. You can either cut the replacement stirrup leathers yourself or order them from a company like PanHandle Leather in Amarillo already cut. The rest of the job is really just labor and time.

I charge $250 to replace a set of stirrup leathers and Blevins buckles on a saddle. This price is for the stirrup leathers and buckles only… we use the original fenders as I show you in this video tutorial. There is a broad price range for this service depending on the shop… some folks charge less and some charge more. I feel like at the posting of this article, my price is probably about average.

Check out this video and see just how easy and straight forward replacing these straps is. If you are offering saddle cleanings in your shop, then think about adding this service as well to expand on your repair business. You will probably be surprised how many of these come your way once people find out you offer this.

Mohair Cinch Cleaning and Care

Posted by Don Gonzales

This Article was written for us by Dana Eklund with Big Sky Mohair Cinches.

Each mohair cinch is hand-tied in Bozeman, Montana, by sisters Dana and Tracy Eklund. 

Big Sky Mohair Cinches was born out of necessity- a horse at the therapeutic riding program where they worked required a 42″ cinch- a tough size to find! Their goal is to create a highly usable piece of tack that is as functional as it is beautiful.

Because a comfortable horse can get the job done.

Like any tack, there will come a time when you need to wash your mohair cinch!

As far as cinch materials go, Mohair is a terrific choice in general due to the natural fibers being highly breathable, slightly elastic, and long wearing. Dirty cinches, of any material, are more likely to trap dirt/heat and cause soring. You can have a really nicely made piece of equipment, but if it’s extremely dirty or not adjusted correctly, soring can happen.

The more you care for your cinch by washing/rinsing it when it needs it, the longer it will last.

Continue reading →

Hole Punches You Need for Leather Work

Posted by Don Gonzales

One of the most important tasks performed by anyone in leathercraft, or even just someone attempting to repair something made of leather, is making a hole in it.

There are a few ways to accomplish this task and a few different tools to help. If you are working in leathercraft then you will need to have a few different sizes and styles of tools to be able to punch holes in leather.

In this quick video, I go through what I use and prefer.

Are Saddles and Tack Ruined After Hurricane Harvey?

Posted by Don Gonzales

The most common question that I have received recently in my shop is “Are saddles and tack ruined after hurricane Harvey?

Many of us in Texas have been affected directly or have someone close to us that has been affected directly by hurricane Harvey and the effects will surely be felt for many months from now.  I grew up on the Gulf Coast in Aransas Pass, TX so I am aware of the damage that hurricanes can cause but in my lifetime I have never seen this magnitude of damage in our state.  I have so many friends and family along the South Texas Gulf Coast that are dealing with the aftermath of Harvey and are working hard to help others while trying to also assess the damage to their homes, barns, communities, livestock, and countless other recovery concerns.

In this article, I want to help you see if your saddles and tack are ruined after hurricane Harvey.  Saddles and tack are surely some of the most treasured items that were damaged due to flooding and or damaged barns and saddle houses.  As you begin to go through these areas and find your saddles and tack severely water damaged and possibly beginning to mold or mildew, the first instinct may be to put all this in the ruined pile and possibly claim them as part of items lost due to damage from the hurricane.

This may be the case in some instances, but there are some things that I want to discuss that may save some of those pieces of equipment so that you can continue using them.  Although water damage is surely not good for leather in general, it does not always mean that they can not be salvaged. Continue reading →

Do You have Projects You Procrastinate On?

Posted by Don Gonzales

img_1011Have you ever found yourself working happily on the project that you are most excited about only to have a voice in your head reminding you of that one job you put off for way too long?  Those projects you procrastinate on consistently? That one job that you set on the bench in the corner of your shop and feel it staring at you throughout the day?  In your mind you know that you need to just put down what you are doing and get it done so you can get back to what you love.  But as the days, weeks, or maybe even months continue to cycle by, you make an honest attempt to convince yourself that you will do it “tomorrow.”

 This is procrastination, resistance, or simply lying to yourself.  We all do this from time to time, but for some of us this can become a chronic disease among the best of craftsman.  We work so hard to improve our skills and talents, that we tend to put off the types of work that don’t add value to our skill set.  In an attempt to be good stewards in our business and remain financially responsible, we take these jobs because of our lack of confidence in our true passion.  We tend to look at these jobs as a necessary evil because it must be a sin to turn down work.  So we end up taking the project on, knowing in our minds that we don’t want to do them and in turn putting them off to the point that the customer is upset.  And we ourselves are upset for having to do them.

Continue reading →

How to Price Your Work

Posted by Don Gonzales

David Picciuto is a woodworker from Toledo, OH and has a YouTube channel called “Make Something” where he posts videos on creating beautiful art using wood as his primary material.  I have been a fan of his channel for a year or so now and I love the way he presents his videos and the things he creates.  Although I am not much of a woodworker myself, I find a great amount of useful information from his videos and vlogs.

A video that he did semi recently helped to answer a question that is always a huge topic of discussion for any tradesman wanting to make a living within their craft.  This question is “How to Price Your Work?” Continue reading →

Guide to Buying Used Saddles Part 3

Posted by Don Gonzales

This is the last article in our Guide to Buying Used Saddle series, and if you have already gone through the last two articles I hope you found them useful.  In this article, I will go over some key areas to look for when assessing any possible repairs that may need to be performed on a used saddle that you are considering to purchase. Continue reading →

Guide to Buying Used Saddles Part 2

Posted by Don Gonzales

This is the second article of our Guide to Buying Used Saddles, and in this section we will discuss the pricing structure of the different types of used saddles in the market.  As we spoke about in the previous article, the buyer with the most knowledge wins. Continue reading →