Big Sioux Saddlery

What I'd like to know is, why in the world is there not a 180 needle made?? 160 is pretty small for a heavy stitcher, and a machine has to be super tight to use them successfully. I would occasionally use a 180, but a 160, almost never. I guess I should be grateful there are any leather point needles at available for the Paearson and #1.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The reason the Pearson is considered a superior machine to the Landis is just as Matt S states above. Both machines, when they were new, were designed to do a wide range of harness work from sewing heavy traces to the finest carriage harness. But in order to do super fine work, the machines have to be TIGHT, the operator must be knowledgeable of the adjustment and operation of the machine, and the correct needles and thread must be used. Given that all of those things are lacking today, people try to produce fine work on them and get poor results, giving the machines a bad rap. There have been improvements to the modern machines, to be sure. But in doing so, some things that made the old machines great machines have been omitted. Which machine will do the best job for any given person depends largely on the type of work they will be doing the most, and their ability and willingness to spend the time learning the machine and setting it up to do that work. I will admit, overall the modern 441 type machines will be the most user friendly and versatile machines for most users. But I will never say that they have the best looking or best quality stitch. There's a reason Shanahan's of show harness fame still use a Pearson, and it isn't because they can't afford to buy new machinery.

Catskin, do you have pictures and let us be the judge? . While I have never even seen a Pearson, I do believe they would be capable of doing some types of work that are not possible or would be a struggle with a 441 clone. To my knowledge, there are no set-up feet available for the 441's. Also, due to the feed system and feet on a 441, doing fine raised work is a compromise at best. You can't channel traces on a 441, nor does stitching rounds leave the user with a decent result. I know all those things are very possible on a Landis #1, and I'm assuming a Pearson as well, since the two are somewhat similar in design, if not method of feed. Also, I can often cheat down a needle size on my #1, and seldom can I ever do that on my Cowboy 4500. We are limited now by the modern needles that are available for our vintage machines. The original needles were far superior in design, and produced a finer stitch than is possible with the modern needles. Speaking for myself, I'm certainly not ticked off at your opinion, and I'll even admit there are things I can do on my Cowboy that I can't do on my #1, and you wouldn't be able to do on your Pearson. I do believe that it is possible to get a tighter stitch with the vintage machines if they are right, than it is possible to get on a new 441 type machine. But the fact is, no machine will do everything, and there is still something cool about the machines that were made 100 years ago and still do a good job of sewing.

https://www.steelstampsinc.com/custom-leather-stamps. Years ago I had a couple stamps made by Harper Mfg. A search took me to the site in my link. Somewhere it said something about them merging with Steel Stamps Inc. . . I think it's a different company than the link listed elsewhere in this thread. Anyway, the quality is superb. I would not hesitate to go back. They weren't cheap, but he depth and clarity is better than any of the Delrin stamps I see everyone selling these days. I need a new saddle stamp (name change otherwise my existing would last forever), and when I can afford it, that's where I'm going. The thought of having to have a new stamp made was the ONE thing that made me think twice about taking my maiden name back when I got divorced. I have a strap end stamp made by them also, which I still use, as it's just the shop name.

The next one is going to have to go in my house, because my shop is full, my garage is full, and a building on my dad's place has more machines in it than he would like. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time I've had a heavy stitcher in my living room. I even had one in my bedroom for a couple years!

Is there actually remnants of red paint on that machine?! I heard one time that the last of these machines made were red, but I've never seen any with red paint, so I thought I'd either misunderstood, dreamed it, or the guy who told me that didn't know what he was talking about. If it is indeed true, and this machine does have some of the original red paint left, then it is a real late model machine, and if I was anywhere near it I'd probably snatch it up in a heartbeat. I'd like to know the serial number on it.

Looks like it's for a half size saddle. I have a ralide tree that might work. I'm busy tomorrow, but if you are interested, I can get tree measurements on Saturday. It is a model that isn't available anymore.

Having it all beforehand doesn't always mean too much. I started my business years before I knew my ex-husband, and he still tried to take it when we split. It cost me a pile of money to keep it. Dirty lawyers are the only winners in a deal like that.

Regarding your problem lining up the basket stamp, I have used basket (and other geometric) stamps that are not perfectly symmetrical, and no matter how hard I tried or what I did, they left an imperfect design. The type of basket stamp also makes a difference; flared end stamps are more difficult to line up, and keep the same angle throughout the piece. Also, a bigger stamp is easier than a very small one.

What is your location?

Ummm, yeah, I had that part figured out. What I was wondering, was what the OP does during processing those greasy hides to end up with a nice hide for braiding. I don't like working greasy hides. Old range cows that get poor and die before they can be put in the feedlot to get some flesh on them so we can get them to the sale barn have nicer hides to work, no grease. There aren't many dairy cows that are allowed to get old anymore. I'm told they freshen twice and then they're on the truck when production starts to drop after the second calf. That's a 4 year old cow. A 4 year old dairy cow might very well have a nice hide, but I don't know because I've never tried one for rawhide.

That's interesting. The few I've gotten from the local locker when I've taken steers in for processing have been extremely greasy. Would you care to share your process?

Well DAMN! Here I had you all figured for a frilly underwear guy! Now I gotta redo that whole mental picture of what you look like

I gotta say, nothing I ever learned in Home Ec . . . 4 years of it if I remember right. . . prepared me for sewing leather, or much else in life for that matter. I'd have been a whole lot better off taking shop class, and wanted to, except back then I'd have been the only girl in shop class. Of course, the stuff I sew, and the machines I use bear virtually no resemblance to anything in Home Ec, except the machines both use some type of thread.

I have forever said that instead of trying to peddle leather goods at the trade shows, we ought to have a food booth! Or beer, at the shows that offer that!

No confuzzlement, true story!

Yes it is, but everyone has their poison, right?! I will not apologize for mine to anyone!

The 7x3 will have a very sharp point, but will make a round hole, not at all an attractive stitch for leather. The S point needle cuts more of a slit in the leather, which makes a better looking stitch in leather. The S points are not recommended for nylon, because they are more apt to cut the fibers than a sharp round point needle.

The 794S denotes "S" point, or spear point, and is for leather. I believe the 7x3 is a round point for nylon and other textiles. You COULD use it for leather, but it would produce an unattractive-looking stitch.

Here is my theory, and even though I don't have a Pearson, I do have quite a few vintage heavy stitchers. There was a period of time when these heavy vintage machines weren't worth much. The harness and saddlery trade all but died when the automobile and later the tractor replaced horses as a means of transportation and power. While some of the machinery got weighed up for scrap, what remained sat idle for years, sometimes decades. Generations came and went, and while its not so easy to just pick up a Pearson #6 and throw it in the trash, a bobbin winder is easily handled by one person and it would be all too easy for someone "cleaning up the shed" to discard something that was taking up space and not being used. I believe that with the passing of generations, people did not realize what the bobbin winders were anymore, and they got discarded. I have personally bought, at an auction where the auctioneers should have known better, a bobbin winder for a Landis One, sold as an "apple peeler". Not only was it in perfect condition, it also had the original wax pot fastened to the board. I paid $40 for it. I didn't tell them that it wasn't an apple peeler! At a different 2-day auction, I know for a fact some of the accessories for machinery that sold on the second day, got sold on the first day, due to lack of knowledge of the organizers. Bobbin winders are also easily damaged in transporting, and some likely got damaged beyond repair and tossed. This is speculation on my part, based on facts of what happened to the industry over the past 80 years.

Have you tried tightening up the tension on the bobbin case? There is a point in (over)tightening it that it actually starts to get looser. You'll never get as tight a stitch as the old stitchers, but you may be able to improve it a little more. You'll have to match any increased bottom tension by adjusting top of course.

That in and of itself is impressive! Are you getting hides from local slaughterhouses, or from ranchers?

The supplier I'm referring to is Beiler's Mfg and Supply in PA. They will not have a website, as they are Amish. They do have a telephone though, and take credit cards over the phone as well. I believe they are wholesale only, so you will need a tax ID number to set up an account with them. They handle mostly equine-related hardware and supplies. Their number is 717-656-2179. I think the strength of the #104 would be fine for your application, as long as the straps are stitched also. In that case, the rivets mostly keep the ends from lifting and coming unstitched. There are many places in harness construction where a simple #104 rivet is used for the same purpose. I am thinking however, a larger head and larger area of contact on the back side would be better if used for fastening the straps to a bag, even if used just for reinforcement along with stitching. I have two heavy tool bags that came in the shop just yesterday for the very reason that the rivets pulled through the material, due to the "splashed" part of the rivet not covering enough area. I would not put two rivets side by side on a one inch strap. I feel that is taking too much material out of the width of the piece, weakening it considerably. Sometimes I will use two #104 rivets side by side on a 1-1/8" strap, when turned back around a buckle and riveted, but rarely if ever on a 1" strap. The way you have been doing it, with the #9 solid copper rivets, may be the best option. It provides the larger head size, and the strength. Weaver does offer a solid brass #9 rivet with burrs, that would match your hardware. Solid brass is more difficult to set than copper though. They have them in both #9 and #12. The #12 is a nice in-between size, and I use a fair number of them in copper.

I would like to know the answer to this as well. I have gotten some from a couple different sources, and all that was different was the heads were larger; the diameter of the shank was the same as the #104 rivets. Weaver's #103 rivets don't come longer than 1/2", and I'd like some at least 3/4". I see a lot of the type of rivets you are looking for on older horse collars, which is also the application I need them for. While I can get the smaller diameter rivets in a length that is long enough, they usually bend when trying to set them, because the shank diameter is too small for the length. Getting a setter is a whole separate problem. I ordered one from Weaver a couple years ago. When it came, the driver was nowhere near long enough to work. They sent me a new driver, and I still had to put a chunk of cut-off bolt up in the head of the press to make it work. I am using the MT900, and the setter was supposed to be made to fit the machine. The whole ordeal was frustrating beyond belief. Beilers lists a #2 rivet with a 3/8" head and 3/16" diam shank, 5/8" length in SB. While that is not long enough for my application, it may work for you. They also offer the newer shallow-drilled rivets in a variety of lengths and sizes, but only in SS. These rivets take a special setter, which they also sell. I have not used these yet, although I am seeing them on some new manufactured harness.

Twenty four feet of pegboard, because I had it. Excess or less frequently used hardware stored on the top shelves. It isn't visible in the picture, but there are boxes full of hardware on a bottom shelf for about half of the length of the pegboard. I filled the pegboard before I ran out of hardware. Each vertical column contains a style of buckle (or snap, or ring, etc) with the smallest sizes on top, largest toward bottom. . . except the rigging hardware. I'm not sure why, but I put the largest on top there. Buckles that I commonly use more than one finish get two columns. I like being able to see, at a glance, which items are running low. I like Mark's bolt rack type of arrangement also.