Big Sioux Saddlery

Usually the worst part, especially on the higher end type harness. Just curious if you still have your Landis #1, or if you stitched this on a different machine. It doesn't look like a set-up foot was used.

That style of harness is a lot of fiddly, time consuming work. I've known people who have been "building harness" for decades and still can't do that level of work. Very nice job.

This is pure speculation on my part, but maybe the reason HO has never produced double shoulders is that they didn't have a market for the double culatta. HO has started out as, and has primarily been, a Tanner of leather for the harness and saddlery industry. I would have no use for a side of harness leather with the shoulder chopped off. There isn't enough length. While much of my waste IS neck and shoulder, there are still enough straps that need that 7-1/2 to 8 ft length to be useful. As the equine industry declines and uses less leather, the craft industry is increasing, and I can see where now there could be a market for HO in processing their leather as culattas and shoulders. Again, just speculation on my part, based on what I've seen happen in the harness trade over the last 20 years.

Thank you Tom. That definitely would makes a difference!

Yes this can definitely be done. The binding will need to be replaced for sure, and depending on how it's constructed, maybe some other parts. I can't speak for shops in your area, but there's no way it should cost $1000 to do. I'd give an estimate of between $200-400. It might not even end up at $200, if everything comes apart easily and only the binding needs to be put on new. But if a lot of contact cement was used when the saddle was made, it will take longer plus there's a chance the person doing the repair could ruin some parts getting it tore down, and need to make new and carefully splice in to existing. Where do you live?

Thank you very much for the details! I do a fair amount of strap work, so it will come in handy.

Can you show us exactly how you fasten down the far end of the strap iron please? I've been on the verge of putting together something like this, and if I don't have to "reinvent the wheel", so much the better. Thank you for sharing with us.

They aren't very easy to find, at least around my part of the country. The only ones I've ever seen have been in someone else's shop, and only a couple of them at that. I've seen a couple for sale on the internet, but they're usually priced like they're made of gold.

I had a heck of a time even finding a picture. This is a Randall obviously; C.S. Osborne made them also. They were both referred to as a Dixon patent. I found the patent info once but could not find it again now when searching. I believe it was a David Dixon who secured the patent, so not the "Dixon" commonly thought of in reference to leather tools.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention, but this is a different type than I was referring to. The kind I want has a cam mechanism that makes a long tapered skive as the strap is pulled through, without having to use a handle.

Yes!

Yep, the harness business is quite a bit different today than in the 1990's, and not for the better!

If they are marked 180, they aren't NOS.

Yes I would like to know also. I've never seen any.

Exactly, I guess I never actually said that. Lol. Although the amount of harness work the shop is doing now is a fraction of what they once did

Both I believe. They have a website and the needles will be listed under the machine parts for a Pearson #6, since both machines take the same needles. They list a #160 Wich I feel is too small for all but the very tightest of these machines, and then I think the sizes jump to a #200. It's unfortunate that there are no #180 needles left for these machines, because I think a lot of them could get along with that size and do pretty decent work. I suppose it was a popular size and that's why there are none. It takes something like an order of 10k needles to get anyone to make them. That's a substantial cash outlay for just one size of a needle for machines that are becoming more obsolete with every Chinese machine sold. Unfortunate.

Do you have pictures of your machine? I am thinking it I probably a Landis #1, originally referred to as a Regular Landis Lockstitch Machine. The number on the needle refers to the size of the needle, and is an original Landis needle. Needles for these machines are more difficult to get than in bygone days. I believe Aaron Martin in Canada has needles. You will want a size 200 to use with a 277 or 346 thread. It is also important to have a needle guide bushing that fits the needle correctly, or you will not be able to do nice work. Owing to the length of the needle, there is a lot of opportunity for deflection, and the guide bushing helps reduce that. Make sure to oil all movie parts very well before attempting to use the machine. More damage is done by careless and unknowledgeable operation than is done by proper use. Also, try to get a manual for your machine. Do a search for Regular Landis Lockstitch Machine or Landis #1, and it should turn up something. Shop Talk may have manuals. I have some I could copy if you aren't in a hurry.

The owners of Smuckers Harness were Amish and many of them use air motors on their machines. I've see Amish shops that have a gas or diesel powered compressor outside or in a different area of the building, and run air lines to all the machines in the shop Even though this young man may not be Amish, judging from his clothing, if the machine came from the family's harness shop, that would explain why it has an air motor on it. Not so much a matter of power or torque as it is their beliefs.

Pretty darn nice work!

That's exactly what I said when I opened them. I have a Landis 12 and an American curve needle, both on pallets in storage, both are "someday" projects. Not that I want to resole boots, but they are mechanical wonders and I feel a need to make both of them sew. These manuals could be invaluable. Thank you LW Novice!

I've had. Juki LU-563 for about 25 years. It is a good machine, and will do what you want it to. However, I've heard say, and mine holds true to this, that they prefer to sew fast and tend to get a birds nest easier than some other machines, especially if sewing slow. I used to take mine in to the dealer I bought it from every year or two for a clean up and adjustment/ tune up. He passed away some years back, and I don't trust anyone else to work on these machines around here. Anyway, my point was it always sewed great when it came back, but it seems to need more regular maintenance than my other machines.

Man that would ruin my day if UPS lost something as important and difficult to replace as that! Did they offer any compensation?

If you can get $40 work of glue in one of those pots, you're buying your glue at the wrong place. I get a whole gallon for around $40. Those glue pots are for people that use a lot of glue on a regular basis. I did like JLS and ditched the pot but still is the brush. I keep the brush stuck in the top of a gallon can. By the time the can is empty, the top is a mess, but I can throw it away and start with a new can. I'll add thinner occasionally to keep the glue workable. I also keep an old quart can around, the kind with the brush applicator on the lid, and fill it about a third full and regularly add thinner to it. I use that for applications where the bigger brush is too big. I also use cheap little disposable paint brushes for really small glueing jobs. For years I wanted one of those glue pots, and then once I got one I decided they were way over rated.

That size needle/thread/stitch length combination would be more for higher end carriage, show harness. Most common grades and even the better end of the work harness gets 5 to 7 spi, and a 200 needle with 277 thread or a 346 thread with a 230 needle. Oftentimes on lighter harness I can cheat down to a #200 needle with a 346 thread. I have gone as small as a 207 thread and an original #6 needle at 9 spi on my Landis #1, and oh what beauty to behold.

You of all people know how strongly I feel about the subject!