Saddle treemakers-sub topic

[gtwister09]

Here's some things to look at....I was looking around the site some more. All of these have to do with blast penetration. Interesting to say the least.

Line-X Blast Test

Line-X Air Force Blast Test

Installed at Pentagon

Army Protection

Soldier Line-X

National Geographic -Terrorists

Regards,

Ben

[bcurrier]

... I ONLY use the LINE-X covering...not any spray on bedliner..I've heard that they don't hold up as well...but I don't know for sure could just be rumor.

I can't speak to the differences in any detail, but I've had two different spray-in liners in my own trucks - Rhino and LineX. The LineX appears to be a little tougher. I managed over 10 years in my last truck to abrade and tear off bits and pieces of the Rhino, usually from either pushing pallets into the bed, or from the bottom of a loader contacting the side rails. The same things don't appear to phase the LineX nearly as much. (I do try to be careful with that loader, though.) Over the long term, the Rhino surface also chalked a bit, more like from weathering & exposure than age per se, though.

Bill

[Hidemechanic]

I don't think anyone is casting dispersions on the bed liner trees. I've always liked the idea just someone got to it before I did(as usual)

I personally think however that there just have not been any inclusive or conclusive testing to ultimately prove the actual charactoristics of the material. At this point, what we know about it is anecdotal at best.

And, I agree I haven't worked on any saddles that have been run over by trucks. But I have worked on saddles that have been stomped by a horse , hit from the front by runaway horses through trees, rolled on by horses, and fallen on by a horse that fell over backwards. Sometimes that damage or lack of, may be related to the type of cantle and horn( and swell).

Point being that to me we need to see more testing of limits on these saddles that relate more to the true abuse a saddle will recieve. Most any R/D of that sort would need to be with tree makers and saddle makers who can track the conditions under which these saddles are used. After a time, tare them down and docmet the effects. I also believe to make a true comarision we need to have the trees made to the same standard and compare rawhide over bed liner.

Also there would need to be a comparision of different bed liners and a standard of application of them.

If that ever happens it will be years before the stats are in. At this point I don't have a problem using bed liner trees for endurance and pleasure trees but I am not confident putting my name on a tree(bed liner) that will be used for heavy ranch work or arena work. That's just me.

I recall one tree mfg. using an apparatus for testing different stress tolerences on trees that more closely represented the abuse a saddle tree may encounter, I might go for that in place of a long term test.

I agree that the line-x is tough, I want to see the testing in saddle tree applications.

I saw the testing with fiberglass trees and encased trees and though they pass with high marks in most areas the one I don't like is the flex test. Too rigid for me, and as I mentioned earlier they still have a stigma to overcome that I don't want to take on by myself.

For the same reason I limit my intrest in using the bed liner trees for my saddles. Nothing personal toward anyone just my type of quality control. More sharing of ideas. GH

[bruce johnson]

Just to throw another duck into the puddle here, anybody ever used one of the poly trees the guys from LaPorte put out?

[oldgringo]

A good friend of mine, Pedro Pedrini (just voted into the TCAA, see Western Horseman Jan. '08) who maks a lot of saddles for Jeremiah Watt, has started using line-x covered trees. He believes they are every bit as good as the traditional rawhide covered wood tree with way increased longevity. Plus they cost less.

OG

[greg gomersall]

We need to keep in mind that wood over the long term never quits shrinking and that rawhide never quits shrinking . That is part of why they work so well together. I don't know if the line-x or the bedliner will do that. Time will tell. I realize eventually there will be a better mousetrap but till I can be convinced otherwise I will stay with the tried and true. Greg

[Doug Mclean]

In starting this I would like to say how much good this web site is for people in the leather industry. My hat is off to who ever it was that started the ball rolling. I have enjoyed everyone's ideas on this saddle tree issue as we go along there have been some good comments all the way around.

This is how I look at the whole thing. I like new things as well as the next guy (faster, better, cheaper, etc.) There are some real fine people out there making a living building rawhide covered saddle trees and hopefully that will keep going for some time to come. The rawhide comes from a cow that was raised here in the good old U.S.A. When you get to thinking about it maybe progress aint progress. I think the cowboy way of life is under enough stress. If it aint broke don't fix it!!!!

[Johanna]

Just curious, guys, how was it done in history? Have saddles always had rawhide covered trees since trees began to be used? Which horse culture thought this up, the Spanish Moors? Uh-oh, this might need to be a different thread. But you guys have me curious now.

Johanna

[mulefool]

I do have one of the LaPorte trees with the cable rigging. I haven't finished it yet since I was just going to build it on spec and I've got too many real orders to get to it. So far all I've done is cover the fork. It seems like it will be easy to work with and if you were making up a bunch you've got that consistency so it might work in a situation where you want to make up a bunch all the same. It's got the ground seat and the cable rigging so you save time on that. i rode one several years ago and really liked it. It was pretty much skeleton rigged and real light. My friend ropes off it all the time and it real happy with it. I've tried is on several QH with well defined withers and nice backs and looks like it fits that type horse well. They do have other sizes, though. When I ordered it I got it within a couple weeks so you don't have a long lead time.

[buffalo]

This is how I look at the whole thing. I like new things as well as the next guy (faster, better, cheaper, etc.) There are some real fine people out there making a living building rawhide covered saddle trees and hopefully that will keep going for some time to come. The rawhide comes from a cow that was raised here in the good old U.S.A. When you get to thinking about it maybe progress aint progress. I think the cowboy way of life is under enough stress. If it aint broke don't fix it!!!!

I concur. I'll stick with rawhide.

Regards Buff