Junk Saddle for practice

[ta2r]

Hi all,

I got this wild hair that I want to get into saddle repair and possibly build a saddle some day, so I advertised on craigslist in the wanted section for a saddle, one that was of no use anymore, and that my intentions were to learn by taking it apart and if it was rebuildable, and i was successful, it would be donated to a charitable place where it could be used. Well, someone came through and this saddle is VERY rough. I think it is a pretty cheap saddle to start with and may not be worth the effort to rebuild but I will learn something from it. Looks like the tooling is embossed, and I can't find any makers mark on it either,other than a 1473 stamped on the rear jockey, the tree looks to be covered with cheescloth, and the skirts are covered with what looks to be a white chalk probably from the salts in sweat. If anybody has any advise PLEASE pipe in. If anyone is interested I'll try to post more pictures later.

Thanks for looking.

[Go2Tex]

So far it doesn't look that bad of prospect for what you have in mind. Tear it down and take a good look at the tree. That will tell you if it's worth recovering. Leather is not cheap. But, it's a learning experience and might be worth the price of the leather if the tree is worth building on. If nothing else, you will learn how not to do it.

[tonyc1]

I had one through my workshop a few years ago and it looked as if the tree had been cut out with a chainsaw and then coated with Plaster of Paris to hide the highs and lows and covered with Cheesecloth. I reckon the timber was old broken pallets or such. Not worth 20 cents!

Tony.

[TOM123]

the cheese cloth might have been a fiberglass covering at one time, you will find out when you start working with it and your arms start to itch.

a good place for information on saddle bilding is Al stohlman's encyclopedia, there is 3 books but vol. 1&2 are the most helpful

(load of tips) i got mine off of e-bay---all 3 for about $120.00

[TrooperChuck]

I've run into one of those cheese cloth-covered trees. It was on a REALLY cheap saddle that a lady brought in for repairs. I think she said it cost about $150, brand new. By the time I got done repairing it, she had to pay another $75. I told her she would have been better off saving her money for a few months and buying a medium quality saddle.

I think you got the right idea about tearing down worn out saddles and rebuilding them. I did that to a couple saddles when I was first starting out, and it was a good learning experience. Later, I sold those saddles as "used" and I made sure to tell the buyers what I had done to them. That helped recover the cost of the leather.

[Saddlebag]

These trees were being sold in the 50's, perhaps earlier and were often sold by Eaton's and Sear's catalogs. Birt Saddlery in Wpg. sold them as well. They sold for under $75 and predate Ralide trees. I have an old Birt Saddlery catalog from about 1960 and can provide some info on the items they carried at the time.

[mulefool]

The concept is good, but a cheesecloth covered tree is pretty weak and then you've put alot of work into it. I'm sure you'll learn alot taking it apart, whether you redo it or not. I've got a couple old wrecks hanging around the shop and I've been meaning to advertise them on here in case some one wanted to redo one. They both have solid rawhide covered wood trees. I haven't looked at them in awhile. If anybody is interested I'll pull them out and take a look at them again. Chris

[rustyriggin]

I agree with everyone else, it will be a good learning experiance, but as far as building a saddle, your better off just to get a NEW tree. I'd go with ralide or something less expensive than a rawhide covered one for your first. Even if your first one isn't pretty atleast it'll be sound. I have an older tree in the shop for my first saddle, but I couldn't bring myself to use it so I bought and equi-fit from American saddlery. My next tree will probably be from Oxbow trees.

[Saddlebag]

Many of the older trees don't fit the wider horses of today so you are probably better off with something more modern. It seems that 16 and 17" seats are the most in demand.