Guys, a couple of @why doe we do that@ questions 1/ I was taught to run the fuller all the way round on the fronts, but to bump the toe and 3/4 fuller the hinds. Why? 2/ I notice you guys in the states bump the toe and 3/4 fuller the fronts as well. Why? Why not fuller all the way round or why 3/4 fuller? 3/ Why is the medial branch sweetened? I'm sure there are other question I'll think of as we go along.
Easy, that's how the guy that taught you was taught. That's how the guys that taught us were taught and so that's what we were taught. Ask any clinician about fullering and they'll tell you that it adds traction. But I've never heard a clinician cite a controlled study to measure the difference in traction between a plain stamped and a fullered shoe.
Bumping the toe just adds a little steel to help with wear. Fullering through the toe adds a little more traction when needed, we fuller the toe if we need to. Sweetening the medial branch is for safety.
Thanks guys. OK just thinking this through. Re traction: The theory is that dirt fills the fullering and provides a non slip bearing surface. It would only apply to a horse stepping off dirt and onto, say concrete. But what about the nail heads? The traction must be nominal at best. Good for pulling nails though. Re wear: When bumping, I was taught that the idea is the add width to the stock and we want to get the thickness back to where it started, the goal being to match the width with the fullered branches. A fullered toe adds that width anyway. Seeing it is the leading edge at the toe that wears, does the extra width, sans fuller wear better? So what Tom is saying it come back to tradition mainly? Re sweetening: By safety I guess you mean the ability to fit the medial branch less full, but the keggers I use mostly don't have a sweetened medial branch and I fit them less full and safed off anyway. But is it possible that on certain surfaces the medial branch will sink into the ground more that the lateral, creating an imbalance? Which brings me to the caulk and wedge. I heard someone state once that the wedge is intended to penetrate the ground more so the horse tracks wider. Is this correct? Why do American C & W have a longer lateral branch, whereas most English C & W have branches more or less equal in length. (I think I know Toms answer to this one 0
Sort of where I'm going with this, particularly re fullering: I want to start doing a lot more hand mades from now on. I'm about to move to a new area where I can get paid for it and hand making adds to mystique and reputation IMO. But in the field with a gas forge, it is quicker and easier to just run the fuller around the toes rather than bumping. It's one less step. I just wanted to make sure I didn't get struck down by the shoeing Gods or something
When you turn a toe it gets narrower. So you can bump the toe to bring it to original dimensions after the your is turned. So on a hind toe you would need a little more bump than a front. The wedge is saved, as a horse tires he is more likely to interfere. You can fit the caulk a little fuller to prevent the interference also. You should be able to draw a straight line across flat stock on the foot surface on a caulk & wedge. The caulk sticks out a little more but anything sticking out is boxed. Eric Russell
A C&W takes a lot of with and length on the lat. side to fit, Make some up and put them on it is the easiest way of figuring out what I mean ,We just came back from the WHC in KY after putting them on horses I have alot better understanding of the fit you need , Roadster and C&W with concave are to different fits.
Also you loose some material when cliping and thats why you bump the toe so the toe does not look week
If I am doing a rolled toe I don't bump the toe because the stock is going to spread out when I roll the toe anyway. Otherwise, fullered or plan stamped I'll bump enough stock into the toe to make up for what's going to be thinned down in stretching to make the bend. Occasionally I've cheated and deep seated the foot surface in the toe to bring the width back - or stretch the stock when I was a little short. Agree with Smitty, toe clips deserve a toe bump and it just looks more substantial when the shoe has a consistent dimension from heel to heel. Never fullered through the toe for anything I've made in the field. Personally I don't like the way it looks unless it's concave or swaged - my aesthetic preference.
It all comes down to doing what you want to do and being able to do what you want to do. Sometimes you might want to bump the toe and blow your creasing out to match and sometimes you will want to crease and maintain stock dimensions.
Haven't made many HMs in the last few years but was taught many, many years ago to "bump the fronts" and "really bump up the rears". The calk and wedge was waining on show hunters/gran prix jumpers when I started out; the advent of joint injections.
