sidesaddle queen

this is an offside..  your left leg goes around the upper pommel and down the right side,,  they are very rare..

you never sit sideways in a sidesaddle unless it was made before 1700,     Frosty..    but many riders let the hip with the leg over the pommel side forward.. this is not safe, but it happens..   only the legs are one sided ,  the shoulders and hips are square to the horses and you look between the ears..  

usually a person ..including me.. rides offside because the right knee or hip are damaged,,,    yrs ago some wealthy women would have separate saddles forboth so they didn't get one-sided in muscle development,, or there are a few reversible saddles..  i used to have one,, you move the pommels from one side to the other really cool..   one sidedness is not a issue now days but if you rode for 6 to 8 hrs a day it might be,,  lol!!

legend as it that mounting from the left side was really about where the rider wore  his sword,, most had theirs on the  left,  so they mounted from the left,  to keep the sword out of the way.. 

ready to ship out tomorrow she will finish the rest..

i raise exotic japanese chickens, used to raise 900 a yr.. only chicken that didn't taste good was the asian game bird type  asils and malays

i still raise my own meat chickens, don't like the store-bought cardboard birds. lol!!  you just need to cook them slow,,,

3 more rivets to go and the saddle tree is done!!!  

lol!!! we had a lambchops when we were kids.. we were told "he ran away".... lol!!

lol!!!!  y'all are too funny!!

y'all will have to run me off with a big stick to get me gone..  lol!!!  this is much better than facebook!! 

i love the way the conversations morph... lol!!! 

i will not finish this one out.. i just repaired the tree and am putting seat in .. she wants to see if she can rebuild it,, herself.. 

i will start a page when  i work on one  my trees.. it is mine.. lol! so i can so the finished saddle.. i will have to do some forged work on it,,  

she will send me photos ..if she gets it done,, lol!!  i will keep y'all in the loop  ..  

rivets done, saddle going together..  lol!! i thought you might like to see it  

i will try some of your methods on my stuff ..lol!!.. but not on client saddles,,   i hope to develop my  skills using heat  this summer 

i am getting a lot of useful imput here.. glad i joined.. 

not going to use heat on these old saddles, i have seen many ruined,,  my cold rivets are fine ..lol!! 

i do need   a torch though..  it is on my my wish list..  

thank you!!

no, the vise grip is holding the the metal where is one more part  goes... it needs welding that  i can't do to finish it,,  so i am waiting on a welder friend ... lol!! frustrating... 

rivets are done!! time to rebuild,,, 

wow!! lots of information!! 

but thanks for addressing my question first,,  i have tried reshaping the metal without heat,, even a farrier friend could not shape it so i figured heat was next.. i had read somewhere.. that ductile cast iron could be heated and shaped but now can't find the article,,, 

wow!!! i just stepped into the deep end of the pool..     interesting discussion,, 

yes i have the patent. interestingly , it does not state a method of production.. leaves to the maker.. just the engraving shows it is metal.. my fork doesn't have the pat # on it.. they didn't always do that back then.    this patent is  4 /3 / 1900.. 

i was very surpassed to see cast iron rather than forged.. i have handled or owned over 100 of the these saddles and only had 3 with cast pommels,,  i one here now that cast fork!! very interesting.  has an american patent on it,, 

surprised not surpassed,,  

lol!! yes .. contrary to old timers memories there was a lot of junk made in the 19 century,, lol!!

lol!! got it..  i like the answer you gave , only stated i knew what it was to save you typing .. but your answer will be more helpful in the long run . i am not used to a blog situation where many people are talking a the same time on a subject,,     i am still thinking as a one one conversation,, lol!!  

montgomery wards. sears and other catalog companies  of the time carried all kinds of sidesaddles.. some very well made and were not..lol!!  

thy are very   very old saddles...  120 -150 yrs  

i understand what cast iron is,, i  just didn't expect it in a  sidesaddle part that is normally shaped to fit the rider..  so i blindly forged ahead..lol!! pun intended and asked a friend to heat it and rebend it,,  i told him to hea the whole thing but he decided he knew better  and just quickly tested the spot e was going to bend.. lol!! he was so surprised.. lol!! 

 some sidesaddle were cheaply made, like saddles now and they probably cast them because they were making them all the same shape and size rather than bespoke/custom

the one i broke was  very bent.. curled up . but it might have  been made that way to fit a thin thigh..  lol!!!

thank you so much , i knew there was a spark test but didn't have that in my info!!!! 

so, another question.. could the cast leaping heads be  mild steel  cast ??   rather than cast iron?  and the rough texture fooled me??   i will see if i can dig one up..

i had one made to place the one i broke,,     

hi,  

many times my sidesaddle  trees  need  the leaping head   (the part that goes over the thigh)   reshaped,  either to fit the new owner or because it is bent , either in a horse fall or mishandled thru the yrs,, 

most are easy to do and can be heated and shaped  like any mild steel but lately i have come across some that are cast.  

 sad to say the first cast one we ruined not realizing what it was  .. broke it in half because we spot heated it..  snapped like a popsicle stick!!  lol!

 now when i find a cast one i do not try to change it ..  if badly bent ,, i have to replace with a newly built one which is expensive ..    plus,  i like to keep them all original if i can,, 

 recently i read there was a ductile cast iron that could be heated and shaped..  is the true and if so how can i tell the difference,, 

yes .. i really miss used book stores,,, i used to spend hrs in the up in main when we went up there for the summer..  incredible books  i would never have found in east texas..  

that is the other book of his that i have,,    very interesting!!   i picked it up on eBay!!

yes, i have 2 of his books..  i like the way he explains things..    you are lucky to have an original!!!  nice!!,

i was wrong.. it was not the 1907 book it was the 1937 book by  thomas f. googerty   decorative wrought ironwork.. projects for beginners    

pg 10  an drawing of the header  and forging instructions.   fig 3. vise heading tool

john now knows.. lol!!

a riveting conversation!!!

lol!! way off topic now.. lol!!!   i quit...   back to rivets ...