Big Sioux Saddlery

I took some pictures of a few patterns to give you a general idea of the shape, but I forgot to measure them! But like I said, I make a new pattern or modify an existing one anyway for nearly every set I make. I really dislike the metal clips and dees; many of them are just nickel plated and they will rust. I've seen many dozens of that style tear out of the skirt, which brings me some repair work, so I guess I shouldn't complain about that! As far as my patterns go, I like the ones that are wide on both ends better. I think the ones where the underside just ends in a strap were some of the first ones I made. I decided widening out the underside would give more stability to the whole thing. For the wider patterns, I cut the end that folds under just a little smaller than the top side, and skive the edges down to reduce bulk. I put a copper rivet with a burr next to the dee to hold it solid. Hope this helps.

Lots of good advice from oltoot, especially "What's a happy wife worth?" Lmao! Seriously though, I would also go with the inskirt. I would choose a BWBR over a Little Wonder, however, simply because I don't like the looks of a LW. Not a fan of Bowden trees, but again that's personal preference. On leather weight, I know some guys using 10 oz strap for cutting saddles. Now that's pretty light, so you'd have to make sure you got pretty firm leather. Half leathers in 2-1/2" width, or even 2", will also reduce weight. Smaller skirts, and like oltoot said, the rigging pieces serving as the jockeys will also trim the weight. Harder to fit, though. I'll be interested to see what you come up with.

The length of the chape depends on how much skirt is in front of the bar and how much front jockey covers the skirt. I rarely ever use the same pattern twice, especially on the repairs. I'll take an existing pattern and modify it most of the time, because the fit around the swells is different from one style to the next, as is the amount of skirt in front of the bar. I'll measure some of my patterns when I get to the shop and get back to you on the general dimensions. Here are a couple pics. They don't show the shape of the whole chape, but do show the general position of installation.

Modad take this for what it cost ya, but I would not spend a dime on new Osborne edgers or creasers. The punches are one thing, I've gotten some bad ones, but most of them that I've gotten have been ok. Nothing to compare to the good older tools, but usable. The new Osborne edgers and creasers are another story; they are absolute pure garbage. The few I bought, I stuck in a box and took to a consignment sale. The little I got for them was well worth it to get them off my bench and out of my sight. Find a guy that deals in old tools and buy the good stuff. You won't regret it.

Normally I cut a chape from a piece of fairly solid, but not overly heavy leather to butt up against the swells underneath the front jockey. An inch and a quarter dee works well. I cut the leather piece 1-1/4" wide where it goes through the dee, but then wider where it attaches to the bar. It is set lower than the front concho, but higher than your rig dee, and a little higher also than a BC dee set in the skirt would normally be. I use a couple screws and either staples or nails to secure it to the bar. This works well when the existing dees have torn out of the skirts on a factory saddle, but I also install it the same way on my new ones. Some guys incorporate this into their latigo catcher and that does reduce bulk a little in that area. However, I've seen that type sagging away from the front jockey because it wasn't attached well enough for the pull a breast collar can create, and there isn't a lot of room up thee for nails and screws, especially if you drill your string holes. Unless you have a die for the breastcollar dee/ latigo catcher piece, it can also be kind of a son-of-a-gun to cut. I had a die for a regular catcher made quite a few years ago, and didn't want to have another made when I saw this style start to show up on new saddles. It is easier for my old, arthritic hands to cut the chape first mentioned, than the one with the catcher, if that makes any sense at all! I can find a picture somewhere if you aren't following me.

I should have clarified why I hate purses---they are a pain in my ass to carry around. It has nothing to do with design or workmanship. I just don't like having to tote the damn thing around everywhere I go, particularly when people who DON"T carry purses--usually men--want me to carry their stuff in it. A $5 purse or a $5000 purse, I still have to lug the thing around. On the other hand, the cheapskates I'm talking about drive up in a $50,000 pickup, brag about their expensive horses, and are shocked that I can't work for $5.00 an hour on a Sunday afternoon, while they wait. Why don't I design a handbag that incorporates the best of my thinking and workmanship and appeals to other women who share my dislikes and preferences? That would be difficult if not impossible since it is the fact that circumstances require a woman to carry a purse that annoys me, not the design or workmanship of an individual bag. When at all possible, I use my clothing pockets to stuff my "stuff" in, but women's clothing generally have fewer and smaller pockets than men's, and sometimes there's more "stuff" than pockets.

That was indeed an amusing article. Even though I am a woman, I hate purses, always have, and I carry them out of necessity only. The one I have now (leather) I paid $5 for on a rummage sale, and I've had it at least three years and it shows no signs of falling apart. The one before that (also leather), I paid a dollar for on a rummage sale and I think I used it nearly ten years. The only thing wrong with it when I quit using it was the zipper was shot. Neither one had a famous name on them. Even though my opinion of women who MUST have expensive handbags is that they tend to be rather shallow, (my generalization--that's all. Don't jump all over my ass for it) I agree with #2 in the article. We do all have our expensive obsessions. One of mine happens to be leather machinery and I'm just lucky enough to be able to justify it (kind of) because leatherworking is my profession. I do wish I could come up with something to sell within a (wealthy) niche market rather than constantly battle the nickel-and-dime-ya-to-death cheapskates that make up a majority of the local horse owning clientele.

Diane, both the barbed spots and setting machines are available from Standard Rivet Company. They have a website. I've only used a "spot setting tool" enough to know that I never want to use one again, and enough to decide that if I was gong to set more than a handful of spots, I was going to get a machine. I have 2 automatics and 3 single feeds, wouldn't give any of them up for love nor money. Well, maybe enough money would change my mind. . .

Nice work

Some of my Osborne punches I've used for years with no problems, some roll right away with little use. I'd send it back where you got it and ask for another. (Do as I say, not as I do, as my ruined ones are in a box as a reminder that the new ones are mostly junk.)

Wow, I'd never seen that string cutter before. I checked out the link and it looks so simple it's silly. Going to make myself several. Cutting string that way looks like something my 14 year old son would have fun doing. Knothead, what did you use for the plastic piece?

The belt looks good. It seems like myself and my family are always the last ones to get anything made from leather (the cobbler's kids go barefoot). As far as your makers stamp, what really sucks is when you put it on a saddle part upside down. Yep, I know from experience.

What weight do you need? I may have some.

Spots come with a 5/16" prongs, so sometimes a premade, doubled and stitched item is too thick for the legs to clinch on the back side. If not clinched, they will come out. You can buy barbed spots, for exactly that purpose, (setting in material that is too thick for the spot to go through and clinch). As far as the back side being uncomfortable for the horse without a lining, most of the straps that are spotted on a horse harness are of single thickness, and the only time horse comfort is ever an issue is if the spots are not properly clinched to start with. Use a spot setting machine so that the prongs are curled around and clinched into the back side of the leather. Poking 2 holes with an awl and bending the prongs over with a needle nose pliers is a piss poor way to set spots on horse tack, not to mention it is nearly impossible to space and set them to appear perfect and consistent. Standard Rivet's #2 machine is a good one to start with.

Upside down on the first pics, sideways on the second ones on my laptop. Anyways, have fun using it and you will always think of your dad when using it many years from now. My brother built me one maybe 25-30 years ago based on the Stohlman plans. It has seen regular use in a working shop and is still holding up. Jaws are still tight where they were glued up at the top, not carved as your dad did on yours. We thought carving looked like too big of a hassle! Enjoy!

I don't know how many more times it's going to take someone to tell you, but dude, listen to what these guys are saying. I took the same journey Wiz did when first looking for a machine. WASTED hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars trying to buy an "affordable" machine to sew things that they weren't designed to sew. In the end, I probably had more money tied up in junk than if I'd just gone out and bought a brand new Adler 205. These videos that make a home sewing machine look like a stitcher are bogus. Of course they say the machine can sew leather; they want to sell you the machine! Save yourself a lot of money and headaches and do like Wiz and Constabulary tell you. You'll be way, way ahead in the long run. If the machine you need isn't in your price bracket, either save longer for it or borrow the damn money. DO NOT compromise and get a machine that isn't made for what you want to do, unless you don't care what your finished products look like.

Do you have a brand new, sharp needle in your machine? That makes a big difference. Also, it could just be the leather you're using. Some leather, (usually the less expensive kinds) look sloppy on the back side. Having a little moisture in the leather can help. It seems like most of the time, no matter what you do, the back side of a piece sewn on a threaded needle machine will never look as good as one that was sewn on a hook and awl machine. But everything's a compromise.

I believe Weavers has a modern version of this. I want one REALLY bad but I don't have a couple grand lying around begging to be spent. I bid on one at a sale a few years ago; I let it go because I thought it was too high. At the time I didn't realize Weavers had jacked the price several hundred dollars in a year's time.

Ron I will address your questions either tomorrow or Monday. I will try to get a couple pics of what I am talking about on both the fender and fork cover. I don't have time today; have other stuff going on that I can't possibly wiggle out of:) Have a great weekend!

This is really a nice job for a first saddle. It looks way better than my first one. Back when I started, there were very few books, and damn poor ones at that, and no videos. Most of my education has been (and still is) seeing what was wrong with stuff that came in for repair, knowing what I liked personally and what irked me about equipment I used, and lots of trial and error. I'd pick up a little here and there from asking lots of questions of the guys whose work I liked. I'm still learning every day and I've been working on saddles for about 35 years. For the critique, and I by no means consider myself any kind of an expert, besides the things already mentioned by others, there are several things that you could work on when you build your next one. First of all, the Blevins sleeve is on backwards. The plate is made to fit into the recessed area of the slide, and the printing on that recessed area should be right side up. Try it and you will notice the difference. The Nevada twist could be better. You have only twisted the fender leg, and I like to build some twist into the whole fender. Notice how the end of the fender leg, where the Blevins plate is riveted in, looks like it is starting to un-twist. The stirrup leather is affected by this, and would not lay flat against a horse. I would also work on finishing your edges a little more. I see little fuzzies, and it's not a real slick burnished edge. There are slight imperfections made by both your knife when you cut the parts, and your edger. These are all picky little things, but if improved, would add to the overall finished look of your work. I would bevel the sheepskin back a little more. There are places it looks a bit ragged. I use an electric sheep shearer as well as a mane roaching scissors., and spend a lot of time on this step. One other thing that can be tougher to get right is the front of the fork cover. I would bring the edge of it a bit further forward so there is no lip showing in front of it. It took me several saddles before I was satisfied with the front of my fork covers. And since there are several different ways to finish the front, it takes that many more to become proficient at all of them. I have a drawer that is specifically reserved for saddle parts that I have messed up, and there are 2 fork covers in it. They can be a challenge. I like the tooling on the rear housing also. Tooling is not my strong suit, and I don't enjoy doing it as much as the other steps in a saddle project. Plus my hands are full of arthritis so it hurts! Nice job and let us know how it rides.

NVleatherworx I couldn't have said it any better! That is exactly how I feel about FB and the like. I joined a few FB groups, upon a friend's advice to boost exposure/sales, and all it did was take a lot of my time to correspond with a bunch of what a horse trader friend of mine calls "stall pissers". At one point I was spending up to two hours a day with these FB junkies, and seeing no return. I did not try what the OP is asking about, and I probably won't. I hate doing business through a keyboard, or just as bad, via texting on a cell phone. It seems to have become the communication method of choice today. I trade a few horses, and I am seeing that same thing there. How in the hell is a person supposed to do business that way? Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I want to pick up the phone, talk to a real live person on the other end, and then if I'm still interested, go meet that person in real time, not virtual. I have started referring to these social media addicts as "keyboard cowboys" and it is pretty easy for them to be a "serious buyer" as long as they can hide behind a keyboard. When it gets down to the meat and potatoes of doing business, actually committing to a purchase and shelling out the dough, they vanish like a balloon when you let the air out of it and it flies around the room. Idk. . .maybe the FB thing helps more than I think, but it's the customer who picks up the phone, makes an appt, and drives to my shop that is going to spend the money 99 times out of 100. Sorry for the rant:)

I did not know that Weavers is not owned by Weavers anymore! Guess I've been living under a rock. I did not like the plastic wrapping either. I like it wrapped in brown paper, so I can use it for patterns. I see your specialty is English tack; I would imagine there is a lot of that kind of work out east. It is virtually non-existent here. I doubt if I get more than $500 worth of English work in a year, and that's all repair work. Absolutely nobody around here would pay big bucks for quality custom English tack. Of course, there are fewer all the time who will pay it for western tack! Do you like HO English bridle? I've only used W & C and some of Weavers through the years, whatever they were handling at the time. All of it left a lot to be desired. If the English bridle that you say got too soft was Chahin's, I know their harness leather tends to be kind of mushy.

And if you want hardware at a decent price, you STILL have to buy a hundred pieces! Weavers has the highest prices in the industry and I'm buying less from than ever before. Don't get me wrong. . . I'm glad they're there and customer service is pretty good. I call them, place my order, and they ship the next day. With one of my other suppliers, It's taken nearly two weeks to get an order. They're Amish and don't take cc and don't have a phone in the shop. You either have to mail the order or leave a message and they call you back. And they have a much more limited selection than Weavers. But if I need only harness hardware and I don't need it within a few days, I'll order from them. If I need fill-in leather or saddlery hardware, I do order from Weavers. I know we're all in business to make a profit, but I feel Weavers really raised their prices after they bought Mast's. Not to turn this into a Weaver's bashing, because they've done the industry a lot of good, but to stay profitable I buy wherever is cheapest, if the quality is equal.

"Mast Harness Shop had Heritage Tools and when their business got too big Weaver's stepped in and bought them out." I remember the day I heard about that. I wanted to cry. I loved Masts and bought most of my harness hardware from them. They were constantly working to reproduce old patterns of both hardware and harness making equipment that hadn't been available for years. It was a sad day when Weavers bought them out.

Now THAT is nice work! Just beautiful. I used to do some braiding, so I know the time involved. I never got fast enough or good enough to do it for money. Do you make your own rawhide and cut your own strings? I tried making some rawhide, once form a newborn calf that died, one from a deer hide, and one from a fat steer we had butchered. None of them turned out very well. When cut into strings and worked, the grain would crack really easily. That was many years ago, so I don't even remember for sure how I did it.