I'm Andrea Binatti and I wanted to introduce my hobby: create Saddle Trees. The secrets of this rare work that today in Italy has completely disappeared, I was handed over to my father who, in the 1960s, produced for the Italian market and then for the French market, high quality beech wood.
My saddle trees are all produced with laminated beech wood of the highest quality. The laminate is produced in my laboratory using special adhesives with hot pressing using CNC machines. This technique ensures a very strong union in guaranteed time. Unlike many saddle trees today in commerce, the two bands and the vane of my saddle trees are constituted by an only piece, folded and stabilized with a special technique that combined with the flexibility and strength of beech creates a product able to support without difficulty also the strongest promptness of the use.
The tree is strengthened from particular in steel. All the details are cut with a laser machine of last generation guaranteeing the respect of the quotes and a perfect cut. For the gullet plate we use a special steel for molding with least thickness of 3 mm, with a strong mechanical resistance that is folded up and hemmed in a particular stamp with 80 tons of press. The superior plate is always made out of steel with least thickness of 2mm. For springs employ a particular harmonic steel with exceptional elasticity and durability. The edges are rounded and rough , to avoid damage to the cover of the drum causing dangerous accidental cuts to the saddler.
The whole steel is united to the stem through rivets in high strength steel too tall resistance beaten to hand and checked one by one. This is very important because only a correct and controlled union makes that steel and wood contemporarily works, creating so an unique body. Once you have finished saddle-tree is tested in a special clime to control the flexibility, the equilibrium and respect of the tolerances (+ - 2mm) that we have set ourselves. Overcome the test is immersed in a special transparent varnish that thanks to its special characteristics seeps into the fibers of lamellar, it creates a film on all the components in steel protecting everything from the damp for varied time. Besides it gives a natural effect to the wood and exalting the color and underlining the absence of knots or barks synonymous of cheap quality of the wood.
