Big Sioux Saddlery

Omg, I want to come visit you! All this talk of the Pearson #6 is making me want one. And I need another machine like a hole in the head.

Glad I could help!

There are blades for different thicknesses of leather. I have the blades for the thickest leather, because that's what most of my work is. I don't like how much the heavier blades take off a light strap. Ideally, I would have another machine with the blades for lighter work. The springs simply hold the work down, you really can't adjust for how much the blades take off, unless I'm missing something. Otherwise, I would have to take the heavy blades off, put the lighter blades on, and then switch back when going back to heavy work.

I have not sent mine in yet Andy. I think I'm on the third position. In all honesty, I wish I had another one set up with a set of blades for a little lighter weight leather. I hate changing machines over and changing settings. I want to be able to set one up, whether it's a sewing machine or a spotter or whatever, and leave it set to do that one thing.

I have 2-1/4 (don't use it much, it came with a bunch of other stuff), 2", 1-3/4, 1-3/4 with a cutout, 1-1/2, 1-1/4, and 1". The 2" and 1-3/4 are the ones I use the most. The 1-1/4 is a new CS Osborne I bought less than a couple years ago and I was pleasantly surprised on how nice it was. The 2" came from Big Sky, back when they were in business, and it is the best of the bunch. The 1-3/4 with a cutout came recently from Texas Dies, but I have a sneaking suspicion it may actually be a Weaver die. Texas paints all their dies black, and this one is the Weaver burgundy. I've never had a Douglas, but I don't doubt they're better. If you were going to order just two and use them for saddles, I guess I agree with Bruce, get the 1-3/4 and 1-1/2. I use the 2" if I'm going to spot the scallops and use a concho.

Yes, and I guess Mark answered that one for you. I think I got it for around $600 when it came on sale. And I agree with him, one of the best bench machines I ever spent money on. You couldn't pry it away from me now.

Is there room and openings to stick a heavy piece of strap iron through it and then put both ends of the strap iron on something solid? I use my loop irons often for things like that. Otherwise, a block of steel inside of it and then put something under the case, between the leather and the surface of your anvil or whatever you are using to rivet on, to protect the leather?

The same buckle number from one order to the next from the same supplier can be different. Seems like there is less consistency than ever before. I would wait.

This is a good question, and I have struggled with it myself. On the last one I did, I assembled the collar (buckle and dee ring) before I did any stamping, and then buckled it into the hole that the measurement indicated it would be. Then I let the collar hang loosely from my hand and shook it around, so that gravity would hopefully center it like it would when on the dog. Then I went from there. As it turned out, the owner tightened it up one hole from where I figured it would be adjusted (owner had also done the measuring), so it wasn't quite right anyway. But owner and dog were delighted regardless. And you are so very right, very little room to work with on a dog collar, and the smaller the dog, the worse it is! I'd like to know if there is a formula as well, but in any case, the measurement has to be spot on or the formula will be off.

I bought the more expensive one a couple years ago when they came on sale at Weaver. The first day I used it, I wished I'd bought it twenty years ago. My hands would be in better shape and the time saved pays for the machine in short order if doing lots of strap goods, plus it does such a nice job. For myself, I wouldn't even consider the one that only does two corners. Time is money.

No problem

They have what you are looking for. I might as well say this though: I've ordered twice from them now, some stuff was on backorder both times. The second time, they didn't get the order right. They substituted some buckles (cheaper) than the buckles I had ordered and didn't credit me the difference in price. I have no use for the buckles they sent me. I called them on it, still no credit. Got another buckle number wrong entirely. I also wanted some brass plates, was told the brass was backordered and they have no idea when they would get them. Wasn't all that pleased with the customer service, but at this point, I don't know where else to get the hardware I want. I hope you have better luck.

Did you download the Bulk Hardware catalog from Walsalls?

Walsalls has the hardware Sheridan was selling. I was buying from SL also, started looking around, found out they were getting them from Walsalls. I have to say though, I liked dealing with Sheridan better:-)

My thoughts EXACTLY! This fad is sweeping the nation, and I can't understand why. They really aren't all that much fun to ride. Sorry, this has nothing to do with the original question. Just made me smile that someone else finally agrees with me!

I remember seeing an article in The Leather Crafters Journal about how to make them, and I'm sure a pattern was included. I have no idea which year or which issue it was. Around the same time, every local farm and ranch store and mail order and online catalog started carrying them for about half of what I figured it would take me to make them, so I thought it was pointless to try a set. Not much help I'm afraid, but maybe it'll jog the memory of someone who has a better memory than I do or has time to look through the last 15 years of Leather Crafters Journals!! Short of finding a pattern, it just wouldn't be too difficult to make your own pattern. Figure out what you want to carry ( a couple 100 ml bottles, 500 ml bottle, syringe, extra needles) and get to work designing it.

What style and what finish, Lew? I usually stock them in both the 210 and 545 styles in SS, and have some SB also, might have some CB left too. Might even have some NP and BP around which would be cheaper. PM me if interested, and I'll check to make sure I have what you want, and get prices.

The thing is, THAT is exactly how insurance works. It spreads the risk and cost out over a large group, so that everyone ends up paying a little (well not always a little) so one guy doesn't end up paying it all. I would LOVE to have insurance that pays my loss but doesn't make me pay for anyone else's loss. Unfortunately, it's not possible. I'm not defending insurance, because I hate the fact that I have to have it, and have nearly zero respect for some of the folks involved: some of them are good people just trying to make a living, others are the bottom feeders of the bottom feeders. Every year when my policies renew, I feel like I just got bent over. A hundred years ago, nobody had insurance. If your house burned down, more often than not, the community would gather together to help rebuild your house. The Amish still live that way, they don't believe in commercial insurance. The church and the community IS their insurance. We would have to change a lot about our system and society to eliminate our current insurance system. But who wants to go first?

You have used a plated base metal for your hardware and the plating wore off and now the base metal shows through. Best bet is to use stainless steel, although it too will get dull with use. However, it won't wear off to show the base metal. There are varying grades of stainless, and I have seen stainless steel that rusts after extended extreme exposure. Before stainless steel became widely used in hardware for our trade, solid nickel was the choice for higher quality hardware that would not wear off to expose the base metal. It can be polished to almost a mirror finish, and easier than stainless. I don't know if solid nickel hardware is even available anymore. A lot of older, better quality harness had solid nickel hardware and spots.

While I have not used RTC over dyed leather, I have tried using it as a resist and final finish and not had good luck with either. Label says apply one coat to use as a resist, I got poor coverage and it caused uneven antiquing. Applied as a final finish, it lifted the antique. So overall, I was not impressed.

What finish are you looking for and what is the thickness of materials you are wanting to rivet? I have a bunch of NP and possibly BP #104 rivets in varying sizes that I'll never use and also some of what I call "odd-ball" rivets, that I also won't use. Some of them look similar to the Mil-spec rivets. I can dig them out of storage and see just what I have if you are interested. Prices would be below wholesale.

Definitely true! There are many great craftsmen that are not great businessmen. If you have to borrow the money, go through your bank. It will nearly always be a better deal than going through the company that is selling you the machine (or car or tractor or whatever).

The Stohlman Encyclopedias show how to cover swells with a welt in great detail. Actually, maybe a little too much detail. Harry Adams explains it also, but if you've never done one, you could get into trouble using just his book. I'm not very good at explaining things, but basically you have to gather the slack together on each side, pinch it together, cut out most of the excess, and either lace the split together or sew a welt in. Maybe someone will come along here that can explain it better and in more detail than I can. There is lots of opportunity for screwing up a cover for a swell fork. I think I have 2 covers in a drawer somewhere that I pulled off after I installed them because I didn't like how they turned out. Keith Seidel really has a knack for explaining and is also a master craftsman. Hopefully he'll comment. Edit: I fit up one side and then usually just transfer to the other, leaving a little extra if the second side is a little heavier or firmer leather. You can always trim if you leave too much. I also try to follow the natural curvature of the fork with my welts, and this is just me personally, but with a tree such as a Mod Asocciation or Arizona Roper, etc, I like my welts to come down the front side at an angle.

To me this is a no-brainer. $1322 in interest or $709. . . take the extra $600 and go buy more tools. I hate, HATE paying interest, although I've paid my share. As far as the LTO being better for tax purposes, if you're borrowing $3000 to buy a machine, you probably aren't going to need the write-off. It may be true that sometimes, leasing is more advantageous than buying, but in this case, they're just trying to sell you on the loan. JMO, some CPA or tax advisor will probably come and explain exactly why it's better to take the lease option.

You are not alone, Kyle. I hate brass rivets! I can do about as good a job with copper as anyone, but brass. . . I have the same issues you do. To make matters worse, the ones I've used have a round head. I just try to avoid them if at all possible,