# Saddle / Tack Caddy



## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

*Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*

My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.

Knowing that, the email contained a picture of an example of what she was talking about from "for the barn". I found another one or two examples online to compare.

This looked like a good project for me - it's not real fine woodwooking and the product will have a useful purpose! I REALLY like projects that produce something that can be used a lot as compared to the toy airplane I'm in the middle of now (and procrastinating on because I can't figure out how to attach the wings).

So, I started thinking about it and discussing features that she'd like to see different than the ones she found online. Today, Saturday 3/26/2011, I spent (I'm embarrassed to say) about 8 hours drawing up a design in SketchUp. Here's what I came up with (the dimensions were turned when I exported these pics):



















I just have a hard time with SketchUp, but I think I figured out one issue. I could NOT figure out how to move the mouse in the "orbit" mode to get predictable movement of the image. Then I found out I had started with the axis in the wrong orientation. Once I got the axis in the "normal" orientation the "orbit" mode seems more natural. By "normal" orientation I mean with the red axis running horizontal and from left to right, the green axis also horizontal running from front to back, and the blue axis running vertical.

SketchUp still hung up though. It got to where I could select things but not delete them. Finally it froze and sent an error report to Google.

But, on with the caddy…

As for the design, we changed a number of things based on what we see as things we'd like different without having actually used the "for the barn" or other units. We may end up finding out their design is better but for now, since we have a blank slate, we changed some things.

First, starting from the bottom, we didn't like the idea of the casters and changed the design so that we only have 2 large wheels to more easily run over the gravel that's typical in the Phoenix area. We also decided to do the same thing I did on my sander stand I recently made and lengthen 2 of the supports so that they'll serve as legs. This should make it pretty stable without having to worry about locking wheels or casters.

My wife likes the idea of a removable tote, so we kept that idea but modified it a bit. The tote can only be removed from one of the narrow sides, same as the example. I decided to not put a solid bottom under the tote since it wouldn't really be used (the tote will provide the full bottom). Instead we decided we'll put slats across it to let debris fall through but still provide some rigidity. I lowered the side where the tote can be pulled out. The tote will actually have a cut out for a hand hold but I couldn't figure out how to do that in SketchUp.

Above that I'm putting in 2 sliding drawers that pull out from each of the narrow sides. They'll probably use full extension sliding hardware. I'm having them go out each side so that when a saddle is on top you can pull them out without interference from the stirups.

After I drew the drawers in I realized that things could bounce out of there as the caddy is being moved so that led me to put a top over the drawers to fully enclose them. Once I did that, it looked like there was another surface for storage so I added another layer of sides around the drawer top.

The little pieces on the legs above the drawers will support some sort of catch mechanism to lock the drawers closed when transporting. That could change, and we may end up adding actual locks or something to the drawers.

The push handle is kind of a guess at this point. It could be that we'll want it lower and it could be made part of the sides around the drawer top instead of up at the top rail.

The final big change is that we'll make the actual saddle rest hinged so that it lifts up and there'll be an additional storage area there.

The final dimensions as drawn are 44-1/2" tall by 24" wide (not counting the wheels) and 16-1/6" deep. I plan to make it out of 3/4" material, at least the first one.

I think we'll make a prototype out of pine to test and refine the plan. If it works we can give it to someone (wifey has some ideas about that). She'd like one in nicer wood and I'm trying to figure out the best for this purpose. I don't think oak is a great choice for this, and I'm leaning more towards a poplar or ash.

And, my wife explicitly said she wanted box joints so I had to order a box joint jig today! Dang the bad luck! I decided to get the Woodhaven unit. It seems like a good solution, working on either the table saw or router, it has a big sturdy aluminum fence and key. It costs half of the Rockler system. It'll be more accurate than one I could make.

My only concern about it (besides learning how to use it well) is how good of a cut I'll get from my Freud dado set at the bottom of the cut. I haven't used the dado set for a while and I think it's pretty good and may just require a little bit of cleaning with a chisel. Guess I'll find out!


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## lumberhack (Mar 20, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


What a great project! My wife has been after me for years to build her one. What are your thoughts on incense cedar?
Cheers! Mark


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## C_PLUS_Woodworker (Jun 10, 2010)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


I have 8 saddle racks in the tack room, but none as nice as the one you are planning.

Looks good and keep us posted.


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## jusfine (May 22, 2010)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


Randy, that is a great looking saddle rack. None of mine look as nice either….


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


Wow! Thanks guys! I just hope drawing wasn't the easy part!


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## peterrum (Jan 24, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


Nice design, have you given any thought to uploading it to the Google 3D Warehouse.


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## peterrum (Jan 24, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


Just noticed one thing in the design and I think your handle needs to be on the opposite end.


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


Hi peterrum -

I'll look into uploading the drawing. If the handle was on the opposite end I don't think it'd work. As it is it functions similar to a hand truck. You can grab the handle and pull it back a bit to get all of the weight on the wheels. Am I missing something?


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## Robb (Aug 18, 2007)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


I, too, thought the handle should be on the other end, thinking that you'd just lift that end to move the cart, like a wheelbarrow, or a gas grill.

If you incline the unit like a hand truck, will the drawer on the handle side slide open? Also, I wonder if the handle projects out far enough to let you comfortably angle the cart like a hand truck, without hitting your arms on the saddle rest (not sure if that's the right term?). I'm just curious, not trying to be critical. Very nice drawing, btw!


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


Hi Robb,

The drawing doesn't show it but I added the little pieces on the legs above each drawer so that I could mount some sort of catch to prevent the drawers from sliding on their own. After adding the full tray above the drawers, though, we thought we may end up just putting a lock in each drawer that takes advantage of the top (originally I didn't even have a top over the drawers).

As for the saddle being in the way of the handle, I don't think that will happen. The bigger problem is on the sides of the saddle where the stirrups hang. But of course once we try it with the saddle, things may change! (My wife didn't have her main saddle at home so I couldn't measure it.)

And, we're really going by the pictures we found on line of the same sort of thing. We're building a prototype out of pine and if we find out that things like the handles don't work we'll change them before we do one out of a better wood.

Thanks for the thoughts and ideas!


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## Robb (Aug 18, 2007)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


Very cool! Looking forward to seeing your prototype when it's finished. From the comments above, you may have stumbled into a design niche .


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## peterrum (Jan 24, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


Randy, let us know how things work out on this project. I have to steal your idea for the wheels on the cart, all the ones I have ever seen have been stationary. Just got a new(used) saddle today so need to build a rack and like the idea of the mobility with your design.

Thanks


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Saddle / Tack Caddy Design*
> 
> My wife sent me an email at work on 3/25/2011, asking if I didn't think I should build her a saddle / tack caddy. Even though she's had a couple of horses in the almost 25 years we've been together, I had no idea what she was talking about.
> 
> ...


Hi Peterrum -

I had thought I'd be using some plastic wheels - Harbor Freight has some that seemed like they'd work, as well as Lowes. But looking at the specs, they only handle maybe 60 pounds. That's each, so total it should be over 100 pounds depending on the wheels. But I'm not sure what the saddle weighs or what the cart will weigh.

My wife doesn't want pneumatic wheels if possible - a friend of hers has them and one went flat where they needed/wanted to use the cart and had no way to pump it up. We were trying to stay with a solid wheel if possible.


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

*Prototype of the Tote Box*

*Progress as of 4/3/2011*

I got a Woodhaven 4555 Box Joint Jig a 2 days ago. I got it set up yesterday to where it makes good 3/8" fingers on a box joint. Today I got to work on the prototype of the tote box - the separate box on the lower left of the original drawing.










First I created a copy of the SketchUp for just the tote box and printed it out. Note that my drawing does NOT incude the finger joints. In the original drawing the length is 20-1/2". I decided to keep that same length and added a bit to the width for the finger joints. The original drawing has the 13" end pieces drawn inside the side pieces. I needed to add the 1-1/2" but the scrap piece I had was too short so I ended up only increasing the end pieces to 13-1/2".

I'm making the prototype mainly out of pine 3/4" wood from Home Depot. The box measures 20-1/2" L x 13-1/2" W x 5-1/2" H. It uses box joint construction with a 3/8" D dado up 1/4" from the bottom to hold a 1/4" plywood bottom. I think this bottom will be okay - my wife said it will just be used to hold horse brushes or similar light-weight items. I may go to a 3/8" thick bottom on the "real" version.










On this prototype I only jointed one edge of the material to use for the reference for routing the dado. The stock piece did have some minor twisting / cupping in it and the width isn't perfect but I thought all I needed was the bottom square in order to get the dado for the bottom to line up.

The other reason I didn't rip the pieces to a uniform width was because I already had the table saw set up with the dado for making the box joint and I didn't want to have to set it up again.

Unfortunately I found out I should have had the pieces fully milled because I wanted to reference the box joint from the top of the pieces and that ended up not making the end of the joint perfect at the bottom which was actuall the reference. I should have just referenced the beginning of the box joint from the bottom edge.

The other problem the cupping causes, of course, is that there are slight gaps in the joint. None of them are much more than 1/32" though (by eyesight) and I'm all right with that for this prototype.










I learned another lesson too - the dado for the ply bottom needed to be a blind / stop cut instead of just running it the full length of the pieces. I ended up with notches exposed in the joint itself.

I'm glad I'm going through this prototype phase - on the first step I've learned a few lessons!

I haven't cut the ply for the bottom yet because of the table saw being set up for the box joints.


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

RandyMorter said:


> *Prototype of the Tote Box*
> 
> *Progress as of 4/3/2011*
> 
> ...


Looking very nice Randy. You will never notice a 32nd after glue up and finish. A quick way to check your dado's is with a mortising marking gauge.
How many horses do you have? We have 3 here on the home place.


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Prototype of the Tote Box*
> 
> *Progress as of 4/3/2011*
> 
> ...


superdav721 - thanks for the insight. I've been wondering about that. The joint I'm getting is pretty tight but not enough to where I really have to force the pieces together. They are tight enough that they hold together even if I hold the box on end. I haven't actually glued one together yet.

I'll look into the mortising marking gauge…

My wife has one horse. I couldn't tell you much about him. I know as much about horses as she does about table saws. You must be into horses quite a bit! Are they just for pleasure riding or do you show or work them?


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## itsmic (Nov 11, 2009)

RandyMorter said:


> *Prototype of the Tote Box*
> 
> *Progress as of 4/3/2011*
> 
> ...


Hi Randy, I am following Your progress, Your sketchup drawings are always impressive. For a prototype, this box is coming along, of course some lessons will be "par for the course". A useful box with a purpose is always a good project. Thanks for sharing


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

RandyMorter said:


> *Prototype of the Tote Box*
> 
> *Progress as of 4/3/2011*
> 
> ...


Randy my sister in law and her husband do what they call rendezvous. They take real tee pees and horses. Wear period clothes. 1700 and 1800 cowboy and Indian stuff. A little to rough for me. He is a real blacksmith by trade. He has worked at the Agricultural museum for over 15 years as a smith.


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Prototype of the Tote Box*
> 
> *Progress as of 4/3/2011*
> 
> ...


Wow superdav - that's pretty hard core! I think my wife wants to do something like that here in AZ. I rode a horse for about 30 minutes, perhaps 7 years ago. I got my fill of it then. So the 3 horses at your place belong to your sister in law?


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

RandyMorter said:


> *Prototype of the Tote Box*
> 
> *Progress as of 4/3/2011*
> 
> ...


We are on family land. Mother in law across the street. Sister in law next door. On and on. Its good for the kids though. We are out in the county but there is always a few adults close buy.


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## DavidSchnider (Feb 22, 2012)

RandyMorter said:


> *Prototype of the Tote Box*
> 
> *Progress as of 4/3/2011*
> 
> ...


tote boxes are great!


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

*Some lessons learned, 4/9/2011*

I was able to spend a good amount of time working on this project on 4/9/2011. I'd even got off work early the afternoon before and hoped to make some progress but ended up breaking a router bit so had to change my plans.

I've never broken a router bit before and it was strange. I probably lucked out. I was trying out a cut, just to get the measurements. I was cutting in pine with a 1/2" shank 1/4" straight cut, 2 flute, MLCS Carbide tipped bit. I don't know why but I got some kick back about a 1/2" into the cut. I restarted the cut and after about 2" the sound changed. I pulled the piece off and there was no cutter! I shut the router off and eventually found the bit laying on the floor by my feet.




























I decided to stop for the night…

On Saturday, 4/9/2011 I got started about 8AM, working on more of the unit.

I had thought that I'd use french dovetail joints for the box parts that mount to the frame. I ended up cutting all of the 6 box ends and 6 box sides. I cut the male dovetail sections of all of the ends. Then I started the female cuts on the bottom sides, using a test piece to get the position set. After getting the test cut done I was doing a test fit and all of the end grain just split off.

I realized then that the end grain of the side pieces wasn't going to be sufficient. There's going to be quite a bit of strain on those joints. I decided I'd probably be better off just using box joints for all of the box sections so switched back to that mode.

That meant all of the box ends I'd already cut were wasted - they were too short to use for much. I'm glad I was using pine and glad I was doing the prototype! It is a bit of money (I think we spent about $60 for the wood) to do a prototype but if I'd made these mistakes on more expensive material it would probably have cost the same or more anyway.

Of course, I'd thought I was done making the box joints and had removed the jig from the table saw. I still had the dado blade installed - I was using it to remove the tops of the dovetail on the end pieces. Someone commented on my review of the Woodhaven 4555 Box Joint Jig that it might not be easy to get the set up done when you remove and replace the jig, so this was going to be a test.

It was actually painless! The key is I didn't move the sub fence on the jig. The jig ended up fitting back into the same place it was on the miter. I adjusted the dado blade height and did a test corner (both pieces) and it was as if the jig had never been removed! Cool!

Another first for me was that I also had to cut the dovetail female slots with the router some how. I hadn't used a miter on the router table yet, and that was the only way I could see to do it (without doing it hand held).

I haven't used a miter in the Bosch table because the miter/T-slot has play with my little Grizzly miter (I didn't try the Craftsman miter - it just seemed too long.

I put 5 layers of masking tape around both ends of the miter bar to tighten it up in the slot.

I tried making some sort of stop to set the location of the cut from the end of the piece but had a number of issues. First, the table is fairly small so the fence won't work for more than about a 1-1/2" stop behind the bit. I had to remove the fence. But, the back of the table doesn't have enough lip to clamp to very well. I tried using a piece that I could get multiple clamps on but the piece still moved. I put some adhesive sand paper on the bottom of the piece to hopefully eliminate the movement but it wasn't enough. I now know why I was told it's an okay table for some stuff but as your projects get bigger you'll want a bigger table!

Then I realized that I could just use the markings on the insert. It has measurements marked, supposedly from the center of the bit and parallel to the miter. I marked the centerline of my cut on the workpiece, lined it up with the zero on the insert, and made the cut. It turned out great!.

The only other issue was stopping the cut at the proper place. I was able to just stop the cut when I saw the opening of the plastic insert appear.

Finally, I'd bought a new Freud LU88 60 tooth ATB Thin Kerf Crosscut blade (from Eagle America through Amazon, $49.73, free shipping) and hadn't tried it out yet. Once I was done with all the box cuts I installed the new blade to rip the slats for the caddy section. I had some prying to do to get the dado blade off - it was really tight on the arbor. I'd only been able to seat it by tightening the arbor bolt to force the blade up against the inside flange.

I got the new blade on and ripped the slats. It is almost a glue ready cut! I love it! I'd read of others using it for some ripping and I had great results too - although I was only ripping 3/4 pine so it's not really that much of a stress test. But, I enjoyed having a brand new blade.

Here's a pic of the results from the day:










It was a productive day and a lot of good lessons learned. Be careful of flying router bits. The box joint jig is easy to install multiple times if you're not changing the cut width. The Freud blade is great. The miter isn't too hard to use on the little router table. Oh - my wife picked up a replacement Freud router bit from Woodcraft for me (and I had her get a couple of Borla 6" quick grip clamps as well - they were on sale for $7.99 each!).


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

*Drawers & Drawer Case*

I worked on the drawers and drawer case on 4/9/2011.

The drawer case has to be the same width as the rest of the main frame boxes, which is 15", and the same length. I'd originally planned to do 24" but after getting the drawer slide hardware I decided to add a bit of a gap between the backs of the drawers so added another 1/4". The frame boxes will all be 24-1/4".

I chose some full extension 12" drawer slides (Shop Fox D3028, 100 lb. capacity side mount, $8.55 per pair, from Amazon, with free shipping since I bought 2 pair and a Arsenal 5700 shop apron the same purchase). They are 1/2" thick each, so the width of the drawers then comes to 12-1/2" (outside dimension).










Here's the exploded drawing of the drawers, and I even took time to do the box joints:










And here's the drawer parts:










I haven't built drawers before and I can see that the fit can be an issue. I may need some shims between the drawer slides and the pieces somewhere if things aren't accurate.

I used a box joint for the drawer backs. I'm not putting on a separate drawer face so I used a french dovetail joint to attach the sides to the drawer front. I think this should be pretty sturdy.










My original drawing separate pieces for the drawer case and the tray above the drawers but I had some 7" wide pine on hand so decided to use it for the sides. That gives me a single piece which should improve stability and rigidity in the frame.

I had decided to use box joints for all the frame boxes, this one included. This wasn't too bad to only put the box joint on the top part, 1/2 way down, for the tray above the drawers. I only screwed up one cut, doing the box joint cuts all the way down the edge. Another reason to do a prototype!










In these pictures I haven't done the dado yet for the plywood drawer bottoms or the tray bottom / drawer cover, nor have I mounted the slides yet, but here are the parts all together now:










After getting these done and submitting them for my wife's review and approval (I tend to show her every thing at each step - proving I've done something with the tools and haven't inflicted any serious self injury), she wants deeper drawers in the "real" version.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

RandyMorter said:


> *Drawers & Drawer Case*
> 
> I worked on the drawers and drawer case on 4/9/2011.
> 
> ...


Might want to try these folks. Not free shipping but you can't beat the price, quality and service

http://www.cshardware.com/IWProducts.m4p.pvx?;productsno_tree?cat=403112


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Drawers & Drawer Case*
> 
> I worked on the drawers and drawer case on 4/9/2011.
> 
> ...


Thanks Lew - I'll look at them when I'm building the "real" unit.


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## itsmic (Nov 11, 2009)

RandyMorter said:


> *Drawers & Drawer Case*
> 
> I worked on the drawers and drawer case on 4/9/2011.
> 
> ...


Looks real good Randy, Your drawings, as usual, are very impressive, it would take me more time to do the sketches than the woodwork, lols. Seems You have addressed all the issues appropriately, strength and rigidity should not be a problem, This prototype is turning out very nice, can't wait to see more of Your work, thanks for sharing


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

*Caddy / Top*

I made some progress on the actual caddy portion, including it's base box, on 4/9/2011 (and on Sunday, 4/10/2011 I rested lol - my back and feet are needing some aspirin!).

This portion wasn't terribly difficult. For the actuall caddy portion I used a bit more of the 7" wide pine I had. I cut a couple of lenghts to the 15" width I needed. I used spray adhesive to stick them together, being mindful of orienting the cupping the same way.










I have NOT milled much of this material prior to use - and some of the joints show it. This is a conscious decision - this prototype MAY have some useful parts but I'm not counting on it other than to get the experience out of it and to try some design ideas.

I traced the circle using a lid from one of my wife's pans (I need to get some trammel points…). I cut it on the band saw, staying about 1/16" or so outside the line on the waste side. Then I used my Ridgid sander for the final shaping.

I'm glad and thankful I have those tools - I don't have to try to figure out how to do that sort of thing. It's such a change from when I made my Adirondack chair where I had to figure out how to do everything because I didn't have the tools I wanted to use.

I had decided to rip the slats from 3x pine - it was cheaper to buy the larger pine than to buy the pieces ripped to size. I got to try out my new Freud LU88R010 blade (yeah, I know it's not specifically for this purpose) and was really happy with the results.

I made a quick little stop / jig for my drill press to drill the clearance holes in the end of each slat. I happened to have exactly 20 appropriate wood screws on hand and attached the slats by starting with the bottom slats on each side. I held the slats in place, started the screw pilot hole with my hand held cordless drill, then pulled the slat away and finished drilling the pilot holes.

I attached each slat and then put a couple of spacers on the installed slat to set the position of the subsequent slats until I was done.










For the box under the caddy, the sides extend past the frame on one side for the handle. On the other end I used a box joint but for the cross piece by the handle I used another French dovetail joint. I had to use my Grizzly miter in my Bosch table to cut these but once I figured out how to do it they were pretty easy. I like the looks of these joints too - they're hidden from the top.










I still need to pick up the hinge to complete this portion. I know I have an unresolved issue at this point - how to use a hinge and have the necessary clearance for the slat on the hinge side. I may also need / want to add some sort of latch on the non-hinge side to keep the caddy from twisting or opening during transit. But, here it is so far:










I did do a test fit using my wife's saddles and it fits great. Both a western and english saddle (I think that's what they're called).


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

RandyMorter said:


> *Caddy / Top*
> 
> I made some progress on the actual caddy portion, including it's base box, on 4/9/2011 (and on Sunday, 4/10/2011 I rested lol - my back and feet are needing some aspirin!).
> 
> ...


Looking very nice Randy. She should get some very good use of your project.


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## Robsshop (Apr 3, 2010)

RandyMorter said:


> *Caddy / Top*
> 
> I made some progress on the actual caddy portion, including it's base box, on 4/9/2011 (and on Sunday, 4/10/2011 I rested lol - my back and feet are needing some aspirin!).
> 
> ...


Hey there Randy,came across Your saddle caddy blog and thought You might find this project I put together interesting ! A coworker who is into horses asked me if I would put something together for his saddles. It is in My projects page"saddle buck". Anyway it looks like Your caddy project is shaping up nicely,continued success !


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

RandyMorter said:


> *Caddy / Top*
> 
> I made some progress on the actual caddy portion, including it's base box, on 4/9/2011 (and on Sunday, 4/10/2011 I rested lol - my back and feet are needing some aspirin!).
> 
> ...


Thanks Super Dave! She probably won't use this one much since it's just the prototype (I'm not even sure if I'll bother gluing it up since the joints aren't that great). I'm getting anxious to make the "real" version with some milled wood. That may actually speed up the process.

Thanks Rob! Your saddle buck looks very nice. My wife uses a metal stand that looks like something from walmart (but I'll bet it didn't cost like it was from walmart). I sent her your picture - maybe she'll want one like yours too!


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## RandyMorter (Jan 13, 2011)

*Prototype Assembly - 4/17/2011*

On 4/17/2011 I got the prototype put together about as much as I'm going to.










It has served me well, pointing out some joinery and other design issues. As I mentioned in my previous blog, my wife wants deeper drawers so that will change the design a bit. Basically the drawer and the tray above the drawer may have to be separated in some respect or another. It's either that or the drawers just hang below the side pieces, which would be okay structurally if not asthetically.

I also think that at a minimum I need better plywood for the bottoms, and perhaps thicker material. I got a sheet of 1/4" ply from HD that was sanded on one side. It warped so badly by the time I cut it (after sitting for only 1 week) that I had problems cutting it. I've never seen plywood warp like that. I was able to cut it by pressing down on it as it went through the table saw but it wasn't easy or fun.

I've used some 1/4" birch ply that I got from Woodcraft that is still really flat after sitting in my garage for a few months. Granted, I just got a 2' x 2' piece from Woodcraft but the quality difference is amazing.

And, I'm not terribly upset since this was just a prototype, but that full sheet of crap from HD is next to worthless. And you can't really take it back I don't think.

I ended up getting a couple of threaded nipples to insert into the bottoms of the legs for the axle to run through. I think they'd be okay but I'd really like some better bushing inserts. I just couldn't find any locally (which seems weird being in Phoenix which is supposed to be the 6th largest city in the U.S.). I used a 1/2" steel rod for the axle. Currently I just have some hose clamps holding everything together but on the final version I'll get some actual cap nuts. It's been kind of fun figuring out that part.

I haven't mounted the handle yet but I think I probably will. I want to verify that it's okay as far as maneuvering the cart around. I think it'll be fine. I got a 1-1/4" dowel for the handle, which I had to buy a new Forstner bit for and I want to use it! (It's an Irwin that I got at Ace Hardware. Nothing fancy but I think it'll be fine for as often as I'll use it.)

As you can see in the picture, I haven't glued any of it up and may not. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't mill any of the material so the joints aren't great and the dados aren't very accurate since the pieces aren't the same height.

I did learn something about the drawers - I have French dovetails at the front. I cut blind dados into the fingers of the sides. During assembly I can slide the sides into the front and spread them enough to get the bottom in. Then the sides can be brought together and the back glued on and you can't see any of the dado for the bottom. Nor can the bottom be pulled out. Once those things get glued I think they'll be pretty solid.

The other thing I have left to try is mounting the actual saddle caddy part to the top using a hinge. The continuous hinge I got doesn't seem very strong. I may end up having to use a couple or 3 heavier hinges. And I think I'll need some kind of latch for the top so that both sides of the top are anchored. I didn't remember how heavy the saddles were until I did a test fit. I think the top needs to be anchored down well to prevent the unit from falling apart due to the stresses while it's being rolled around. If it wasn't on wheels I don't think you'd have to worry about it as much.


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## Schwieb (Dec 3, 2008)

RandyMorter said:


> *Prototype Assembly - 4/17/2011*
> 
> On 4/17/2011 I got the prototype put together about as much as I'm going to.
> 
> ...


Your project caught my eye because we have 9 horses and tack management is always an issue. I know the frustration of working with that crappy warpped plywood. It's all about humidity control from the plant to the store. The fir plywood they sell at HD and Lowes is underlayment grade material. I have no idea where to get cabinet grade fir plywood. I hate spending the extra money but I often use the birch plywood just because of flatness and quality of the plywood. I've been around woodworking all my life and I have always divided my time between working "on" the shop {fixtures, cabinets, storage, jigs, etc.} and "in" the shop making specific projects. The important thing is to have fun with it and keep learning.


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