Preparing the Shoe Plate:
The Sigafoos Series ™ can be cold worked, shaped, formed, drilled and tapped with conventional farrier tools and techniques. Note: Do not heat the Sigafoos Series ™ except as specifically directed for assembly. Do not remove the release paper from the plate or cuff until directed in the instructions.
- Place the release paper side of the plate against the trimmed hoof and draw an outline of the hoof picking up the marks for the toe midline and front of the frog.
- Draw the shoe configuration you desire (heartbar is shown here).
- Using a hand-held jig saw (we recommend a jig saw with orbital action and general purpose blades with 8-10 teeth per inch [Milwaukee blade # 48-42-5300 or Bosch blade # TI27DF], cut out the desired shoe shape. The shoe can be drilled and tapped for traction studs if desired.
Prepare the Cuff:
- The fabric cuff must be cut away from the heel at approximately a 45 angle toward the toe to avoid getting adhesive on the heels.
- The fabric cuff should be cut to split the 2 loops into 4 separate layers. It should be further cut to set the fabric height so it does not reach the coronary band. Note: the outer layer of fabric is a very tough polyethylene braid designed for abrasion resistance and will resist cutting with all but the sharpest tools.
- Check the fit of the cuff to the Series II plate ….. trim the braid and cut the cuff urethane to fit
Attaching the Cuff to the Series II Plate:
- The fabric cuff must be protected from high heat as the outer material is polyethylene which will melt at 330 F. We suggest wrapping a insulating material around the cuff before heating the urethane.
- Remove the release paper from the cuff. Do not touch the urethane surface as your fingers will contaminate the heat activated thermoplastic urethane adhesive.
- Remove the release paper from the shaped plate again taking care not to touch the urethane surface.
- Place in a toaster oven at the broil setting (top element heating down) for ~ 90 seconds. If you are not using an oven, you can use heat guns to heat the cuff and plate.
- Remove cuff and plate from oven and carefully assemble. Note: the hot adhesive is like a super-tacky contact cement and will quickly grab the surface it is attached to. Carefully assemble while hot
- Fold the fabric cuff inward and place in a press and load the assembly while it cools to room temperature. The Sound Horse Technologies press shown here utilizes a commercial 2 ton hydraulic jack.
