Replacing a broken tree

[mulefool]

If the saddle just has a burlap covered tree in it, it's hard to imagine it would be worth the expense of a new tree.

[David Genadek]

Replacing a tree is something everyone should do once so you know how to convince people not to do it in the future. The $ will very seldom add up. But you should know how.

David Genadek

[jonwatsabaugh]

Steve, After I glued and clamped the bars together, I milled a slot completely through the bar and made a beam of hard maple for a light hand press fit. Holes were then bored through the bar edges and pinned with dowels. This part of the assembly was secured with Gorilla glue. The fork and cantle were glued and pinned also. I removed the horn and reset it in Kevlar based epoxy. Photo three does show the tree fiberglassed, semi-finished. There are a lot of those old saddles out there with that useless cheese cloth covering on the tree that could have their life greatly extended by simply doing a quality “glass” job. Good fiberglassed trees just don't break. Ask the steer trippers and calf ropers down in Texas. Troy West has a great story concerning glass trees, I hope he will post it someday for all to read.

Jon

[SaddleQuestion]

Hi , Im one of those customers that wants to replace a tree in an old saddle. We have Spanish Mustangs so the older saddles fit and when we find one that fits its golden.  I bought it at a sale and I think its from the 1930's, probably an old Sears saddle.  Trying to attach photos , but  it doesnt like my JPEG apparently. Its not a wooden tree. We had it reconditioned a few years back and they told us the tree needed to be treated with care. Between my son and the young mare that was a fail.  Two pieces have broken off on one side. It looks rawhide wrapped , but almost like it might have been resin or bone? Lots of air holes inside which makes me think of bone. Just looking for options besides waiting until 3d printers become cheaper. 

 

Juerg

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

I just replaced one for a customer, total was over $900, so it's not cheap. You need to carefully evaluate the rest of the saddle when putting a new tree in. If the other parts have a lot of wear and will soon need replacing or repair, it's easy to get a lot more in in than it's worth.  I would like to see photos of your old saddle.  Sounds a little like a ralide tree that at some point might have been reinforced with rawhide, but ralide wasn't making trees in the '30's. I will say one good thing about a ralide tree, it does not cost nearly as much to replace. They are about a quarter of the cost of a good rawhide covered wood tree, but I see lots of broken ones.  I see a lot of older narrower saddles around that just don't fit horses very well today. They are usually pretty reasonably priced. Even if a person has to stick several hundred into it in other repairs, if the tree is sound, it may be a better option than replacing a broken tree. Just depends on what you're willing to spend and what you're willing to live with.

[Ropinkountz]

Was wondering if that Kevlar epoxy can fix a crack in a saddle then fiberglass it for extra strength.