help removing cemented swell cover

[Squilchuck]

Someone asked me to recover the horn on a saddle.  I have made two saddles and recovered the horn on a used saddle, so know the process for replacing the cover.  The swell cover came off easily on the first saddle I repaired, but the swell cover on the one I am currently working on is firmly cemented with contact cement. I have tussled with it a bit on the edges, but before I get too far into muscling it off  I wonder if there is an alternative to simple muscle power and tools to separate the pieces?   Can I use a heat gun on low heat directed at the interface between cover and tree, or something else, to soften and loosen the bond between swell cover and tree?  Thanks.  --John

[Goldshot Ron]

John,

Don't remove the swell cover, it sounds like you'll make more work for yourself than necessary.  Just recover the horn, and add a horn wrap to cover the base of the horn at the swell.  When repairing saddles you always need to take into account of how much to charge and what the material costs will be.  Also, if something doesn't come off easily, chances are that you'll end up haven't to do more work than you first planned.

Ron

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

Ron's right. Most of the time I give my customers this choice; remove swell cover, more labor and therefore higher cost but it will look like it did when new, or re-cover horn w/out removing swell cover which means less cost but not "original" look, esp if it's a saddle that ordinarily wouldn't have a horn wrap such as a barrel saddle or cutter. Most production saddles have the horn cover installed before the swell cover, but many good handmade saddles the horn is covered after the swell cover is put on. You run a very high risk of tearing the swell cover if trying to force it off when contact cement was used to install it. That's one reason I like to use Dexterine when putting a swell cover down, as well as the fact that it gives me quite a bit of time to move it around and get it positioned perfectly.  I have never used heat to try to break the bond of cement, but it might work.

[bruce johnson]

heat works, but be careful no to get too hot. Getting the cover somewhat damp and "cased" a bit will help too.Work pretty slow and you can likely get all but a crispy worn out cover off. Figure the time involved and decide if it is worth the effort vs. what the customer expects (and expects to pay).

[Squilchuck]

Thanks for the advice - I greatly appreciate it. It is a steer wrestler's saddle, so a horn wrap won't work.  I took Bruce's advice and the swell cover came off without too much work.  I found the horn not wrapped in bull hide with the rest of the tree, and I had to rebuild the wood horn cap.  Learn something new all the time!  --John