Big Sioux Saddlery

Call Standard Rivet. . . they are THE spotter people. They have a website also. You are going to want a full automatic if you have lots of spots to set. You'll never look back.

Side cutters, end nippers, needle nose pliers, regular pliers, vise grips, assorted screwdrivers, just basic regular tools. Use them all nearly every day. Of course it will depend on what type of work you're doing.

Randy--staying warm in SD right now is something we can only dream about. Seven below this morning, which if it's calm out, isn't all that bad. But there's a northeast breeze that makes it feel damn cold. Forgot to plug the diesel pickup in overnight, so it balked at starting. Chores took longer than normal due to having to come in and restore circulation and feeling to my hands--twice. When it's -7 outside, the pitchfork handle is -7 also! I have friends in Canada where it gets -40 for 2 weeks at a time. I don't know how they do it. And their chores take all day. Have a good one!

You have to remember that the different grades at any tannery are based on what they have; the hides are graded on a curve. Their best , whether it's "Standard" or "A" or "#1" or "B for Best" like the old Muir McDonald tannery use to have, is the best of what they have at any given time. They may have guidelines that a specific grade is supposed to meet, but generally, their best hides at the time will receive their highest grade. There is no such thing as a perfect hide, of which I'm sure you're well aware, but personally, I don't look for the quality to improve all that much in the future.

I've seen an overall decline in the leather I've been getting no matter where it comes from and some of it's Hermann Oak, some of it's W & C, the worst has been Weaver's Chahin sides. Just a lot of unusable material in a side. I generally figure about 30-35% waste in any given side, and rarely if ever do I buy backs, because I feel the backs I have received are not trimmed enough to justify the higher price. Essentially, you're giving them the belly for free. The leather I've gotten from Wickett in the past, while good enough in quality, has often been poor yielding stuff due to exactly the reasons you described. I doubt the hide quality has anything to do with the drought. While many cow herds were sold on the slaughter market due to drought, cattle numbers are down now, and more replacements being kept instead of marketed for slaughter, so there may be fewer good hides on the market overall. That is speculation on my part, I don't know what the numbers actually say. Frankly, I don't think the vegetable tanners get the cream of the crop. I think most of the hides processed, and the best hides, go to the upholstery, automotive, footwear, garment, handbag, etc. industries. About ten years ago I heard that all of the hides processed by the vegetable tanners such as W &C and Hermann for the equine industries represent only 2% of the total number of hides processed. So they just don't have the buying power that the other big players do. I don't have an answer for you, only that I feel your frustration and I don't look for things to improve. Really the only thing for us to do is adjust our prices accordingly and tell the customer exactly why it is that they have to pay more, and then hope that they still keep buying leather goods from us!

Cantle binding and welts both look good for only your second saddle. I've seen guys who have made 50 or more saddles and STILL can't get the welts right. There is so much more information out there now than when I started building. Good job. One of the most apparent things to me at first look is your skirt pattern. It needs a little cleaning up. But I know all too well that sometimes that pattern looks ok and then when you look at it from a distance after everything's finished you say to yourself "What the hell???" It looks not quite balanced. I would shorten it up just a bit in front. The saddle has a relatively small seat size and small and shallow skirt pattern, and I just think shortening it up in front would balance it out. Also, there is a "point" on the rear of the skirt where the transition or curve from vertical to horizontal was not evened out. I'll spend a lot of time looking at the skirt from half way across the shop and from different angles before I cut a stitch groove, because once you do that, you're committed. Have the skirt on the tree when you do this. Keep us up to date on the Will James. I have one on the way.

Hey I like that! Nice job of edge braiding and carving. What did you use for the interior? Very cool! A few years ago my son was really, really into pirates and would have loved this.

I like Tan Kote

This is an old thread, but since it has been revived, I would like to contribute. I have worked on maybe a half dozen Corriente saddles in the past 10 years. For the money, if buying new, I don't believe you can buy more saddle. The ones I've had apart have been really solidly built. Very rough, but solid. Now folks, we're talking about a $700 saddle. Like BondoBob said above, for the average one man shop to build a saddle, materials run at least $1200, and you can easily spend more if you go with a premium custom tree builder. HOWEVER Corriente doesn't buy their leather 2 sides at a time. You can bet they get a pretty good price on their leather, trees, and all the rest of their materials, no matter who they buy them from. When asked about the quality of a Corriente saddle (no I don't sell them) I reply that for the money, they are ok. Craftsmanship leaves quite a bit to be desired. Lumpy seats, big lumps where the stirrup leathers come over the bars, horns and cantles pop stitched with stiches about 3/8th" long, leather so hard that it has to be about half worn out before it breaks in, and just overall sloppy craftsmanship looking at it from a saddlemaker's perspective. But most riders do not look at a saddle from a saddlemaker's perspective. They want the most saddle they can buy for the least amount of money that will be safe to ride and hang together and the Corrientes I've seen can meet that need. I've seen poorer trees in better name saddles than Corriente. Riggings seemed put in solid. There is a semi custom maker that I swear uses the same leather as Corriente, hard as a rock, takes forever to break in, and costs 2-3 times as much. Unfortunately, the majority of folks looking to buy a saddle just can't swing 3-4000 on a custom saddle. We can justify all we want about why custom is a better value than a cheap made saddle but it doesn't change the facts. I agree that most people on the $700 saddle budget would be better off buying a good used higher-end saddle. That doesn't mean they'll listen to our advice. I'd sure rather see someone riding a Corriente than one of the $400 saddles with a hollow fiberglass tree that have flooded the market in the last few years. Those things are absolutely unsafe the second they put the last nail in. People bring them in for repair and there is just no fix to them. They are truly a throwaway saddle and $400 is $400 too much for them.

For years I clicked parts on a $250 shop press. Mine stands on the floor and I would no way want one that sits on the bench. My bench gets cluttered enough the way it is without one more thing taking up space. But your situation may be entirely different. Even after I got my clicker, I still use the old press regularly for different things. Sometimes I only have one item to click, and it doesn't make sense to start up the clicker (and clean off the bed) for one item if I can do it about as quick with the press. I'd say even with the clicker, the press still gets as much or more use than ever. It was a cheap investment and I would never give it up. When my middle boy was between 10 and 14 years old, he spent a lot of time in the shop with me, and clicking parts with the press was a job he could do, liked to do, and was relatively safe. I paid him a couple bucks an hour and we were both happy!

Ingrid H you nailed it. That's exactly what I do, between 5 and 10 items at the same time. And often times if I make a custom item, I might make another or two or three similar if I think it's something that will sell. And I do like one-offs, and go through phases of creativity where I have some great ideas. Other times, I couldn't come up with a new idea to save my life. Through the years, I've learned to go with my gut; if I hit a creative phase and feel a need to make something different, I do it because more often than not, it doesn't sit around very long before it either sells or generates an order of a like item. If I try to come up with these creative ideas, it don't happen. They have to come on their own, and when they do, I better go with it. Sounds kind of hoaky, but it's true.

A rein rounder is just one tool used in the fairly detailed process of making rounds. It does not cut off the corners nor does it fold the leather. It simply trues up the round by pulling the round back and forth through the holes AFTER it has been sewn, the filler trimmed off, and the corners taken off with a heavy edger. It is about the last step in the process. All styles of rounds can be made round by pulling through the rounder, whether they are "true" rounds, "false" rounds (really is a term, not being a smart-ass), stitches-exposed rounds, or a single piece of round belting made into a dog leash. Braiders also use them to true up their work. Usually the work is cased up before it is pulled through the rounder, and I often use a little saddle soap to act as a lubricant and aid in burnishing the exposed edges. There is lots of work that goes into making a round before it ever sees the rounder.

Thanks Unicorn. I do my best.

I use a strip of leather inside my rounds. I cut it wider than what it will finish out to, and then trim after sewing. The outer piece of the round is sent through a "round breaker" which is an attachment on the end of my creasing machine. This gives the strap a perfect "U" shape much faster and easier than can be done by hand. The filler is sandwiched inside the "U". After everything is sewn up and trimmed, I pull the round through a rounder, which has a series of different sized holes and is made for this purpose. That is a very overly simplified explanation of how I make my rounds, and in using machinery, I guess not entirely traditional in the way I do it. I believe Bruce Johnson did a great tutorial on this subject awhile back. If I get time sometime, maybe I'll take a series of pictures at different stages of the process. I enjoy making them, but as I said in my precious post, it's tough to find anyone who wants to pay for the time it takes to make them. The picture attached is a throatlatch on a halter I made earlier this fall. No visible stitches in the rolled area, just the stitches to attach it to the hardware.

Different leathers case up differently. Have you tried a casing agent? Search the forum and it should come up with something. I've had leathers that had so much drag I had to strop my knife very often. Made a long process out of what should have been an easy job. Best of luck to you.

Amen to everything said in your post! I enjoy making rounds in the traditional manner; however, the problem lies in getting paid to do it. Most people don't recognize the difference, and furthermore, many don't care if it is explained to them. It is rewarding to find an occasional client who recognizes, or is willing to learn, the difference and willing to pay the extra. I do have machines that I can set up to make a hidden stitch, but after hand-sewing some rounds last summer, I much prefer the latter method for a custom piece. I would be quite interested to see more of your work. True craftsmanship lies in the type of work you are referring to and is performed by people such as yourself in your country. I am in awe of that type of work and also very envious:-)

Craftsman Made, those are very interesting. Did you make them or are they an old tool that you acquired? I assume that before the advent of the manufacturing age in the late 1800's, raised work was created by a means other than the creasing machine that I referred to earlier. That is just what I pictured in my mind to exist before the invention of a creaser.

Kidbeey, the washer popping off is caused by one of two problems; either you're using the wrong size washer (burr) for the rivet, or you're using the wrong size setter. When you set the burr on the post, before you pound it down, it should just set up on the tapered part and not slide all the way down the post of the rivet. If it slides down on it's own, the burr is too big. The hole in the setter should not be any larger than to just allow it to slip onto the rivet post. Any larger, and you'll get a sloppy job of riveting. On the splitting issue, I assume when you say "doming" you're referring to peening over the post. The splitting would be caused by not cutting off enough post before peening. I don't know what to tell you as far as how much to leave; an eighth of an inch would be too much. Cut too close and you won't have enough to peen over. The burr has to fit down tight before you cut off the excess. I have a little nipper that I use that leaves just enough when I put the jaws down on the burr. Practice and experience will teach you how much to leave. "Doming" usually refers to what we do to the head side of the rivet to give it an attractive appearance. There are varying opinions on whether this is a good thing to do, or not.

I've had this problem a lot. I think it comes from people applying conditioner, and in some cases, a saddle-lac type finish, over dirty leather. In other words, not bothering to properly clean the saddle before applying anything. There have been saddles I've had to go over entirely with a dental pick type tool, as mentioned above. This takes loads of extra time and should be charged for. Ordinarily I use a toothbrush and Lexol Leather Cleaner, along with plenty of water. There is just no way to do a decent job on really filthy horse equipment if you skimp on the water.

Actually yes I have been asked to do that by a customer who is friends with a guy who does some hobby work. My customer wanted my stuff but didn't want to piss off the hobby guy. He comes to me on the sly. Lmao. In your case, however, I also would suspect that the client might want to stamp the items as his work. I'm not sure I'd take the job.

I really like these Joe

I've only ever used harness or bridle leather in the creaser, but chrome tan just doesn't retain an impression very well. It may stretch the leather into the desired profile long enough to make it easier to fill and sew though. And depending on the leather, I don't even always wet the leather.

Joe, would you show a picture of the front side of the wallet in the first picture? I like it.

I don't know about dress belts, but in harness work, any raised work must be run through a raised roll creaser. This is a bench machine that has rolls that when a strap is run through it, gives it the raised profile. We then fill the raised section with a strip of leather to maintain the raise. Also, depending on the look we want, we might skive the edges of the strap, OR take some material out of the center of the strap running lengthwise, if that makes any sense. I believe it would be near impossible to do without the raising rolls. It's tricky enough to keep everything tacked up and in place until sewn when the work is properly prepared. I'm thinking the top layer on the belt may not be any heavier than the liner?

This is definitely a question for Rod and Denise to answer. I've seen the same issue. A lot of horses just have too short of a back for the saddles they're wearing. I have had the front of the bars "dubbed" and most of the tree makers I've dealt with will shorten the bars a bit if asked. It makes it not as nice to build on if dubbed in the front; there's less bar to nail and screw everything into.