Members rdl123 Posted May 13, 2019 Members Report Posted May 13, 2019 I have a friend who gave me this well used and well made older wade saddle to repair. A horse reared up in a trailer on him and the horn caught on one of the ribs of the trailer ceiling - Bust the horn off as you can see. This saddle is old and well used - However goal here was to get it back to a functional rig that could still be ridden and used for light roping (ie: brandings). Here is my solution to the repair - I would like the thoughts of others...What would you have done and do you think this repair will be solid? Quote
Members Smartee Posted May 13, 2019 Members Report Posted May 13, 2019 I'm sure it'll be fine for looks but I don't know that I'd rope off of it. Quote
Members rdl123 Posted May 13, 2019 Author Members Report Posted May 13, 2019 Fair enough! Bad break and we didn't just want to garbage such a nice saddle. Got the epoxy idea from structural engineers who use it to hold heavy loads in concrete. https://www.westsystem.com/instruction-2/epoxy-basics/bonding-fasteners-hardware/ Here are some pics before I cover with leather again... Quote
mikesc Posted May 13, 2019 Report Posted May 13, 2019 Just a thought from a non saddle maker..epoxy has very good "wont pull apart" strength..But no so good "shear strength"..one bolt wont counteract shearing..two other bolts ( can be smaller diametre than the main one ) placed forward and either side ( like at 10 to 2 position and epoxied along their length ) would give it that anti-shear strength..stop any possibility of "twist" or "pivoting" around the main bolt..Two quarter inch bolts epoxied into holes drilled in at an angle that follows ( approximately ) the front of the horn and down into the base should do the job.. Quote "Don't you know that women are the only works of Art" .. ( Don Henley and "some French painter in a field" )
Members rdl123 Posted May 13, 2019 Author Members Report Posted May 13, 2019 mikesc - I think I will do that - Maybe tonight when I'm done work! Thanks for the advice! R Quote
Members JHayek Posted May 13, 2019 Members Report Posted May 13, 2019 Looks like a good idea. I would personally rope baby calves at most off it. (Tagging) anything bigger than 4 to 6 weeks old might give me some pause though. Should make a good colt saddle though. Just my opinion Quote
Members rdl123 Posted November 21, 2019 Author Members Report Posted November 21, 2019 Update: This saddle was used all summer and I had told client to be pretty careful with it - Ie: rope only calves... Well long story short, they roped calves out of it, it worked fine, so they roped a few cows, it still was ok and now they tell me the've roped a few bulls out off this thing now. Scares me to say the least! Pics just before I dyed and oiled it: Quote
Members Smartee Posted November 21, 2019 Members Report Posted November 21, 2019 It looks great! Glad it held up for them! Quote
Members Ken Nelson Posted November 25, 2019 Members Report Posted November 25, 2019 I would imagine the tree maker that built the tree in the first place would repair it properly and professionally but it would cost to have it done. From a liability stand point, according to my insurance agent, "you are stomping very hard on very thin ice"! It may holdup but I would call it a cobble Job and I would not ride it from the stand point of a cowboy that did that for nearly 40 years and a guy that has built saddles for over 20 years but it looks like you got away with it for now anyways. Professional repairs are part of being a professional saddle maker. Quote
Members rdl123 Posted November 25, 2019 Author Members Report Posted November 25, 2019 30 minutes ago, Ken Nelson said: I would imagine the tree maker that built the tree in the first place would repair it properly and professionally but it would cost to have it done. From a liability stand point, according to my insurance agent, "you are stomping very hard on very thin ice"! It may holdup but I would call it a cobble Job and I would not ride it from the stand point of a cowboy that did that for nearly 40 years and a guy that has built saddles for over 20 years but it looks like you got away with it for now anyways. Professional repairs are part of being a professional saddle maker. Hello Ken, I agree that this is not an ideal repair. In this situation it was for a friend...I would never offer this for someone I didn't know well and even then, in retrospect, I will not do this type of repair again. I had a wreck this year with a colt and went through two surgeries and then spent three months in a wheelchair. It gave me a new perspective on taking risks and is just not worth it. Biggest issue here is I have no control on how this saddle is used. If it was used for riding only / roping smaller calves I would be comfortable. For roping anything larger I do believe that the bolt could put enough pressure on the swell that it will split vertically. I have warned my friend that roping out of this thing is dangerous. I did chat to some tree makers and we concluded that the only way to have repaired this saddle 100% was to replace the entire tree. Appreciate your comments & time! Regards, RDL Quote
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