H.s. Lebman

[5050ranch]

Hello,

I recently bought an old H.S. Lebman saddle. It's in pretty good condition but I have a question for any saddle historians out there. The saddle appears to have a ralide type tree. The styling of the saddle is late 40's to 50's look, it weighs a ton but for sure it's got a poly injected tree. The tree is cracked in a few places towards the back edges but this saddle is for display purpose only.

My question is, did H.S. Lebman ever use ralide trees ? I can't tell if the saddle has been re-treed although I suspect a rebuild only because the leather looks reconditioned. The serial number on the saddle is 4662475 48. I know he made boots and saddles but he is mostly know as the gun maker to the 1930's era gangsters. I cannot find out just how long he was in production. Anybody got any answers ? Thanks ahead of time.

Edited July 30, 2012 by 5050ranch

[5050ranch]

Got part of an answer from a friend from Yoakum, Texas who has worked for Circle Y and TexTan for 40+ years. The saddle is a late 40's model but it has been re-treed and reconditioned. He said the cracks on the edge of the "new" tree are stress cracks where the screws go and its mostly likely an early production poly injected tree which were prone to such, thus the bad reputation they got. Too bad, it's a real nice saddle, great condition, seats like a glove but it's not worth another rebuild so it'll sit on a stand in the den. Thanks for so many views even though I got no answers.

Edited August 23, 2012 by 5050ranch

[Saddlebag]

I'm curious, is the name Lebman or Lehman? as I've heard of Lehman saddles. A saddle with a Ralide tree came into my shop as it was cracking from the slot across the seat. The cantle screw had been place too close. I'm thinkng it was the manufacturer's fault.

[Saddlebag]

I've heard of saddlemakers using auto body putty to strengthen that type of tree. I may experiment with doing just that.

[thenrie]

By auto putty, I'm guessing you are referring to auto body filler. You can use it for smoothing, but it will not add strength. There are fillers that have fiberglass fibers in them, but the strength they add is minimal, and certainly not enough to do a saddle tree any good. You'd be better off going with fiberglass, but I'm not sure it would stick to the Ralide tree. You might have some luck with something like PC-7 epoxy. There's not much it won't stick to.

[joe59]

I would not waste my time trying to fix a ralide tree. You can buy a new one cheap enough and not have to worry about it. The next best thing would be to tear it down and send the ralide tree off to be duplicated.