Big Sioux Saddlery

Nice look. Like Plowboy said, I would only tan-kote the tooled portions. The chap leather looks like what they call an "oil tan", having an oily finish from the tannery. You wouldn't have to do a thing to it, but if they are going to be exposed to lots of moisture, you could use something like "Ray Holes Chap Wax". I have never used that specific product, but I've heard good things about it. I know some guys use mink oil or similar dressings, anything that leaves a waxy water-resistant coating. Have fun packing!

Great idea Johnv474! I can't believe I have never thought of that before. Makes me feel really stupid! Been doing leatherwork since I was 10 or 11 years old and I'm going to be 48 in August. I was helping my son make a knife handle today out of stacked leather pieces and some of my holes weren't perfectly centered. We are never too old or to experienced to learn. Have a great day!

I'm curious what everyone else thinks of this one. It is an old Fred Mueller saddle with 17" swells, 2-1/4" undercut, and an inch backswell with just a slight leg cut. There are NO welts! Most of the slack was worked around to the back. There was very little slack worked down ahead of center. Of course part of the bottom of the swell cover goes over the top of the front jockey so that takes up a bit. I don't know if I'd have the guts to try this, although I'm tempted. None of these old swell fork saddles have welts, but this is the widest swell I've worked on. It has a 6" cantle and 6" gullet width, which is wider than many of the old ones. Tree is only fair condition, with a lot of the rawhide splitting at seams and stirrup leather cuts. I have another apart right now that may be a little older. The swells aren't as extreme, but the tree on that one is in amazing condition for it's age. Tight and solid, no splitting, and a beautiful job of rawhiding. It could safely be ridden if a horse could be found that it would fit. Man I love working on these old saddles.

The leather shop is my profession--build custom saddles and harness (my favorite) and repair of the same. Twenty three years in business. People who don't know me tell me "Your husband must have a good job." Guess what, ain't no husband. I couldn't afford him! I'm poor most of the time, but I work for me. I support myself and my 14 year old son. Trade a horse now and then for a little extra money when I see the opportunity. Used to train horses for a living, and later just an occasional one for a little extra money. My body don't hold up to that too well anymore. Always on the lookout for a deal to make a little extra, doesn't have to be horses. Could be bottle calves (last years project, I'm still smiling), horse drawn equipment, leather machinery, you name it. But the one thing you have to have to do this is TIME. You can't be enslaved by an 8, 10, or 12 hr a day job working somewhere that gives you a week off a year and still have time to run across the deals and opportunities. I did the town job for 2-1/2 years (and still worked 20 hrs in the shop) while I went through my divorce and it was the worst 2 years of my life. Walked out the door at 4:00 one afternoon when the boss was on a rampage and didn't look back. I work as many hours a day as anyone, but I'm working for ME. and love it! I know so many people who hate their job, but they don't have the courage to make the jump, nor the skills, opportunity, or resources to do anything other than what they're doing. I do feel for these folks. I have been fortunate.

Through the years I've made patterns of items that clients have brought in for repair, especially if it was something that they really liked the fit or design of. And sometimes they'd bring in an old item that was no longer useable, wanting it duplicated. If you're starting from scratch on a prototype, about the only thing you can do is go out and measure up your horse. I've done lots and lots of that. For years I had horses and ponies of about every size around the place, for making patterns as much as anything! I made a "measuring jig" of sorts back when I started in business, for sizing a horse for a driving bridle. Dimensions for those can be pretty critical. I have boxes, totes and folders full of patterns, from over 30 years of making horse equipment, but no amount of money would buy them:)

Dry silicone spray works good on my clicker dies that aren't as sharp as they should be. I imagine it would help on your punches too. The stuff is hard to find. The last time I got some, I had to special order so I got 2 cans. Beeswax works too. take your punch and push it into a cake of beeswax. I use that a lot on my drive punches. The new punches sure aren't the same quality as the old ones. Old punches that are sharp and polished are a pleasure to use.

JAM do you use a wider cinch on these saddles? The old McClellans were basically centerfire, and the original horse hair cinches were very wide. I'm just picturing in my mind what a 3/4 rigged saddle looks like on a modern horse, with a long shoulder and withers set way back. The cinch ends up way back on their belly. If a horse has a bit of a pot belly, that cinch is going to slide forward. Granted, it may be loose then, and if the tree fits the horse well, the saddle won't turn, but if you cinch tight and put that cinch ahead where it wants to be, there is quite a forward angle to the latigos and cinch. That is what wants to pull the saddle ahead. Personally, I've never built a 3/4 rigged saddle, but I've had dozens of people bring older 3/4 rigged saddles in and tell me they just can't get it to stay put on a horse. On most of these, it's not the tree, it's the rigging. If it works for you, more power to you. Maybe I'll build one, get a real wide cinch, and see how I like it.

Interesting thread. Years ago when I was still a kid and before I started in business, I used Lexol because everyone said oil was bad for your leather. My tack never had that good soft broken in feel. It just always felt dry and a little hard. I bought a horse from a gal after I got out of high school and her tack felt like nothing I'd ever had my hands on. I asked her what her secret was. Neatsfoot oil. I started using it and soon had tack that felt like hers. That was over 30 years ago. I've used Sheps harness oil almost exclusively on my products since I started in business. Now, it depends on what type of leather goods we're talking about. Lighter weight leathers and personal leather goods, oil may not be the best choice. Lexol might be fine for those. As far as oil types, I had a client that brought a saddle in for repair and reconditioning. He'd been bragging on olive oil. His saddle was dried out to the point that it sucked up oil like a sponge, once I got the gummy grime off the surface of the leather that had been left there by the olive oil. IMO olive oil isn't worth a damn. I've also found that the better leathers darken less than cheaper leathers, and the color the better leathers turn after oiling is more attractive than the less expensive brands. Old leather, such as that of vintage saddles, also usually darkens more than something that is 5, 10 or even 20 years old. Since I do lots of vintage saddle restorations, where it's not necessarily desirable for the leather to darken considerably, about 6 months ago I thought I'd try some Lexol again. Actually, I bought some to try the casing solution mentioned on this forum. Well, I've used the Lexol on quite a few saddles since then, and honestly, my opinion of it hasn't changed. It just does not do the job. Much of the stuff I make and repair gets used hard. Tack that I made over 20 years ago, and went in the dip tank before it left the shop, is in way better shape than the stuff that never got oiled. I tell my clients that the most important time to get oil in their equipment is before it ever touches a horse, and that means neatsfoot oil (I use Sheps blend actually to keep the rodents off--it does work!), not Lexol. I base my theories and beliefs on my personal experiences, so if something else works for someone else, then more power to them.

I am curious how one gets a 3/4 rigged saddle to stay in place on today's horses? You can have a pretty good tree fit, but that saddle is going to creep ahead on most of the horses in my part of the country (Midwest) if it's got a 3/4 rig in it. I rode one when I was a kid. Loved the saddle, hated the rigging. I also personally like an inskirt, but agree that repair and relining is a pain in the butt. Put in correctly, it can be used on a saddle that will receive very hard use, and will stay put better than a standard dee ring rig. However, used long enough and hard enough, repair will be more expensive than any other type. I always thought the standard dee ring rig was the easiest to repair, not the most difficult. Personally, not a fan of flat plates at all. I think it was Verlane Desgrange that said "A flat plate is anything but flat." The first one I built for myself, I finally tore it out and put a regular dee in it.

W & C by nature is soft leather that mars more easily than other brands. On the rub off issue, if I work with black leather all day, my hands and clothes are going to have some black on them. I've never had the problem to the extent that it sounds you are having, but there will usually be some rub off. Now, granted, I've never used W & C's black English bridle, but I've used a ton of their black harness and other colors of bridle. It's not a problem specific to them; black veg tan leather is usually going to have some rub off. I build horse equipment so it's not as serious an issue as it would be for handbags or other personal leather goods. I dye edges with Fiebings Dye, either their oil dye or regular spirit dye, and finish either with gum tragacanth or harness dressing, depending on what I'm making and how much I'm getting paid to make it. I'm thinking that to get a really top end piece of English bridle, you are going to have to spend a lot more, as mentioned above. Best of luck to you.

My first slab was Tandy's 12" x 12" x 1". I broke it into many tiny little pieces through average use in just a short time. So I went to a place that makes tombstones. They gave me about a 14" x 28" x 4" or 5" thick piece for free that they had made a mistake on the lettering. It is heavy and on a good day, I can barely lift it myself. I've had it for over 20 years. I skive on a piece of window glass out of a tractor cab, as the granite tombstone isn't polished on the side without the lettering.

Two-foot square pieces does not qualify as scrap in my shop. The only thing larger than a rosette- or wear-leather sized piece that gets discarded or sold or given away as scrap would be something too flanky for me to use, or maybe something with damaged grain, and lots and lots of stuff out of the splitters and skiver. I separate my scrap into boxes, label them and stack them by my clicker. They are sorted by size, color and type of leather. Still have more than I'll ever use, but I just can't bear to give away good solid scrap if I'm able to click a rosette or a latigo catcher out of it. And I always need a little scrap for sewing machine set-up and testing knives and other tools on. That doesn't have to be top quality stuff, just not baggy and flanky.

Every side of W & C I've ever had has been softer than HO. The only exception might be their "work harness" leather, and that isn't any stiffer than Hermann's, just not as soft as the rest of Wickett's leather. Wickett's skirting is always softer and less dense than Hermann's.

I always buy my leather the color I need it. The only exception would be a saddle restoration where I'm trying to match the color perfectly with say a new horn cover or something. Then I MIGHT dye it. Sometimes I use dyed skirting as it comes from the supplier or tannery. Harness leather is a pain in the rear to dye evenly. If I'm building black harness, I buy black leather, then all I have to dye is the edges. Same with any other color. There are more color options now with harness leather than ever before. I stock between 30-40 sides of various weights and colors of harness leather at any given time. If I don't, I never have what I need, when I need it. I use my makers stamp all the time on harness leather. I buy direct from the tannery for larger orders, or from Weavers for odd sides or fill-ins.

I generate up to a couple hundred pounds a year. There's only so many rosettes and harness wear leathers you can use! I have bagged it up and taken it to a local monthly horse sale. Sometimes it pays the fuel and supper, less so now than it used to. I've clicked out key fobs and stamp them with my makers stamp; a business card of sorts. I burn a lot in my wood stove in the winter. Leather burns super hot if you have a half way decent fire started. I have advertised scrap on Craigslist, but mostly I get people that are more trouble than it's worth and people who are looking to get something for nothing and use the "Disabled" excuse or "church youth group" excuse. Nothing against those that are truly disabled or leaders of REAL church groups

I like the OLD metal draw gauges for heavy work, and the wooden Strap Cutter for light stuff like saddle strings. The Strap Cutter blades break on heavy harness and skirting. I have several metal draw gauges set at different widths so when I'm cutting harness I don't have to change widths, but I have one that I'm partial to (my first one) so more often than not, that's the one I use for 90% of my work. Draw gauge blades have to be sharp enough to shave with, and have the right bevel on the blade or you'll ruin work. Getting the blade right is an art in itself.

I've sewn light stuff on my LU563 for years and it is probably my most temperamental machine out of the 4 in regular use. I used to take it in once a year to have it cleaned and tuned, but my mechanic passed away a few years ago, so haven't had it in since then. I don't really have any good advice for you, but like most machines, needle/thread combination is critical, and keep it well oiled--it will run better. Also, pull your thread entirely out of the machine every once in awhile. unless it's on a rack that actually unrolls the thread off the spool like a roll of toilet paper, it will get twists and kinks in it after sewing for awhile. This will make a difference to nearly all machines that I've used, some more than others. I had a Randall that absolutely wouldn't sew after the thread got to a certain point of "kinkiness", for lack of a better word, and it didn't take all that long. Also, seems like my Juki likes to run fast; it is more likely to throw a tantrum if I'm poking along. This makes it NOT an ideal machine for small items. Not much help, I'm afraid, but simple things that are often overlooked.

Maybe I'm missing something, but honestly I'm wondering why you don't just buy black leather instead of messing around with dying it? Then you only have to black the edges. The tanneries do a much better job than anyone in a small shop can do regardless of what kind of dye you use. I hate dying leather about as bad as anything, so I stock as many colors/finishes as I need to.

Amen to Dirtclod's response above about rasping the rawhide! The less you disturb the rawhide, the better. Take apart a few 20 year old saddles and you'll see why. On the flex issue, I know I can manually get a little flex out of a hide covered tree, but not out of a fiberglass or Kevlar tree. Formal research and testing would be interesting. . . I do know which tree I'd rather build on, strength, durability and flexing aside. Fiberglass and Kevlar coverings aren't much fun. Gotta predrill most of the nail holes, can't staple into it (the mention of staples may start a feud, but I do believe there is a place for them in saddle making), and the stuff makes me itch like crazy.

I second everything stated in the above posts. One more tip- make absolutely sure your hole is at a 90* angle to the back side of the material, esp on thicker projects. If your hole is not square with the back side of the material, it will give you all sorts of trouble. This CAN easily happen on the heavier harness projects, like breeching ends and pad bridge layers near the square, where the top side may be at a different angle than the back. On projects like that I use a drill press.

Personally, I wouldn't waste my money on the Proleptic turners. I bought mine years ago when (I think) Troy West first started selling them. It worked great, but as soon as Proleptic got them, the grippers weren't worth a damn. I'm going to make my own after reading how to above. Thanks for that!