Do you want to replace your old horse saddles with new ones, but you have no idea how to dispose of the old ones? Worry not because the guide below will help you make good use of those saddles. You can repurpose those saddles to use them for making saddle bar stools. Having saddle bar stools will add pomp and taste to your home or at your bar. It gives you a feeling of belonging to the western cowboy culture. If you plan to change your bar’s interior look, consider this as a pocket-friendly solution since it is cheap to make. Read along to know how to make a western saddle bar stool.
Safety Precautions
Before attempting to do any project, it is essential to be cautious about your safety. This is to prevent any unfortunate accident from occurring because of using any power tool. The following are necessary safety precautions you should know before you begin:
a) Do not use any tool under the influence of alcohol or any other drug substance since you may end up injuring yourself. Drugs tend to impair the judgment of people, and it can cause serious accidents to occur.
b) Ensure that you disconnect any power tool that you are not using.
c) Wear some protective equipment that will help protect your body organs from harm. They include items such as safety glasses, gloves, and earmuffs to protect your eyes, hands, and ears, respectively.
d) Avoid unnecessary distractions while working with power tools. Attentiveness is critical while using power machines such as chainsaw to prevent cutting yourself.
e) Make sure that you sharpen all your cutting tools. This includes even the blades on your chainsaw. It will prevent you from destroying your wood.
Step By Step Instructions on How to Make a Western Saddle Bar Stools
Tools and equipment needed
-A saddle
-Oak log of wood
-Pencil
-3″ nails
-Hammer
-Sanding machine
-Tape measure
-Chisel
-Hand saw
-Wood glue
– Screwdriver
– A 50cm diameter log of wood
Step one
-Using a chainsaw, chop a piece of the log of about 50 cm in diameter. Place the log that you have cut on one end. Ensure that it is stable to prevent it from falling while you cut it. Locate the center of the log and cut it downwards using a chainsaw. Do this before the day that you will join the pieces to enable the wood to dry properly. This piece is the top of the stool where the saddle is placed. Use a sanding machine to smoothen any rough edges and surfaces.
Step two
This step involves cutting in size the legs of the stool. The length of the legs should be long enough to reach the counter of the bar. Standard legs are usually about 80 cm in length. Take the other half of the log and cut four wood pieces of about 11 cm in diameter and 80 cm in length. Smoothen the legs using a sanding machine.
Step three
Take the log we prepared in step one and place it so that the flat surface faces up. Use a chisel and hammer to bore a hole of diameter 11cm and a depth of 5cm. This is the hole where the legs will be fixed. Try fixing the legs in the holes to confirm whether they fit in exactly.
Step four
After ensuring that the four legs have a perfect fit in the holes, smoothen the insides of those four holes properly to ensure that it does not contain some tiny debris in it. Put the wood glue inside the holes. Slot the four legs inside the holes and allow the glue to dry for an hour.
Step five
In this step, we shall make the stool’s sidestep where the user will be placing the legs when having a drink. Turn the stool after the glue has dried up well. Measure the distances between the legs. Cut four pieces of the stick of diameter 10cm. The length should be equal to the distance between legs. Smoothen the four pieces with the sanding machine. Measure 25 cm length from the base of the stool’s leg. Use a pencil to mark that on every leg of the stool.
Step six
Use a hammer to nail the 10 cm sticks on the four legs. Take the glue and apply it uniformly across the top surface of the stool. Be keen to avoid spilling it in unnecessary spots. Pick the saddle and carefully place it on the glued surface. Let the glue set for a minimum duration of one day.
How to Maintain Your Saddle Seat Stools?
-It is essential to know how to maintain your saddle stool to remain good looking for a longer duration. The following tips will help you to maintain your saddle stools:
a) It is important to regularly clean your saddle stool, especially if it is a commercial one. You can use a leather conditioner to help preserve the leather. A standard leather conditioner cost around $16 on Amazon. Doing this is a guarantee for the long-term service and classy look the saddle will have.
b) It is obvious that alcohol may be spilled on the saddle stools due to drunks’ natural behavior. Once this happens, immediately wipe it up. Do not let it dry out on the leather because it can damage it.
c) Inspect the leather’s condition regularly to make sure it does not crack or have any loose stitching. Professional saddle makers or a leather tanner can quickly repair such defects.
d) Check under the saddle to see if the wooden glue is still correctly set. If it has come off, add some more glue proportionately.
e) Ensure that your saddle stools are stored in a dry room always. You can cover the saddle with a dry cloth during the winter season to prevent the moisture from falling on the saddle.
Recommended Western Saddle Stools
Conclusion
This article is about a procedure on how to make a western saddle stool. This comes in handy when you have many old horse saddles and want to put them into good use. Suppose you have a bar and want to change the seats’ look; saddle bar stools are ideal since they are unique and cheap to come by. You will also save some bucks since you will not need to hire a carpenter to build the stools for you.
