BigSiouxSaddlery

The round rein attachments to fit machines were an available option to most of the stitchers manufacturered in the early 1900's. They usually consisted of a knife to cut a channel in the bottom side, a knife of some sort to cut the top channel (usually built into the foot) a special plate, and a left and right guide. Sometimes the knife attached to the machine itself, sometimes to the needle bar in the case of a hook and awl machine. As far as I know, no such package exists to fit the modern machines such as the Cobra, Cowboy, and other "clone" machines. I try to keep a vintage machine set up with a knife in it to sew rounds, so I do not have to spend time switching feet and resetting the knife every time I want to channel the bottom side, whether it be rounds or harness traces. A good machinist may be able to fabricate such a package for your Cobra. The stock needle plate doesn't work very well, because the opening for the feed dog is too wide, and when the dog drops, fine work drops down with it and doesn't feed correctly. Even with a proper set-up on an old machine, there is a significant learning curve to making rounds.

I am glad to see that you are taking some time and cleaning this machine well before attempting to stitch with it. So often, at an auction or even a private party offering, I see people turn these old beasts over completely dry, with dirt and grit grinding away at the moving parts. The longevity of all these machines depends on proper care, and liberal and frequent oiling of the moving parts. When everything is oiled and adjusted as it should be, these vintage machines run very smooth, and remind me of a well coordinated and conducted symphony. They are mechanical marvels that never cease to amaze me. You have to consider the fact that these heavy old vintage stitchers, in many cases, were developed before 1900, or shortly thereafter. They are nothing short of amazing.

Porcelain would definitely be a better choice. Brass will discolor natural leather, although not as quickly as steel.

This machine has had a number of modifications done. Whether they are good or bad modifications is impossible to tell from a picture. However, the Landis #1, although crude by today's standards, is a good machine if not worn out, and if set up correctly. They are very simple and very forgiving. I've paid as little as $50 and as much as $1000 for them. If the machine sews, it's worth $500 all day long. If there is a bobbin winder with it, consider it a $100-150 value.

Well you sure went from one extreme to the other! It is, of course, a very old machine. Shop Talk might have a manual. I've never owned nor run one, but I've seen work as good as any done on one. There will be a long learning curve, being a hook and awl machine, but I'd still take it ahead of a Chinese patcher.

It looks like metallic finish leather to me, which from my experience, is the least durable, least permanent finish you can get. I bought a side of silver metallic this winter for a pair of rodeo chaps, and the finish flaked off simply due to the stresses of the building process, no tape involved. Turning and bending the leather to get it through the sewing machine left silver glitter everywhere. While that is NOT normal, metallic is still not a very durable finish. Exercise caution when incorporating it into any project.

If it's just a plain fender, and it isn't important to the customer to keep the original to match the saddle, as in the case of a tooled saddle, I rarely repair a fender. It doesn't really cost any more to replace it with a new plain fender than it does to fiddle around patching it. It is difficult to get a patch completely bulk free and as flexible as a fender without a patch. The same goes for stirrup leathers. . . 999 times out of a thousand, I will not splice or patch a stirrup leather. It looks like half leathers were used on this saddle, which is exactly why I'm not a fan of them. All the strain is borne by the fender, and eventually most of them will fail.

I have some I'd sell. Medium flat rate box, stuffed as full as I can get it. PM me I'd interested.

The staples alone would be enough to make me send it back. Is it sewed with rawhide lace, or nylon thread? Either way, there are so many hours and so many $$$ worth of material in a handmade saddle, why waste the resources on a poor tree? There are many better ones out there.

Kangaroo is thin and tough. Some people use that for wallet interiors.

When I first heard of the concept, I scoffed at it. I just didn't see how it would make that much of a difference. As I got older, things that used to be a normal daily activity, started to cause pain. I was getting ready for a horse/camping trip a few years ago, and of course my personal saddles had been robbed of half their parts when customers needed any particular thing that I might be out of stock of at the moment. So I grabbed a pair of plain, uncovered stirrups out of inventory, and thought I'd just put a tread cover on for the camping trip. While I was getting ready to do that, I decided to try a wedge, since we would be riding in the mountains for a week, I figured it would be a good test. It blew my mind what a difference it made. My feet didn't fall asleep, my ankles didn't hurt. I twist and wrap the fender leg on all my personal saddles, and it is standard on my custom saddles as well. If a customer DOESN'T want it, I leave it off. But even with the twist and wrap, my feet would still go numb after a couple hours of riding. The stirrups made a huge difference there. I do offer them as an option on my new saddles, and have modified many existing stirrups as a repair. Once in awhile I get a customer who doesn't like them, but I'm a believer and put them on most. I use the wedge under the tread cover. It takes a little while to fit it up and get it right, but it's no more difficult than any other saddle making task.

Any dye problems I've had have been with Wickett's leather. Have you tried Hermann Oak? Just a thought.

I have gotten great leather from both tanneries, and I've gotten crap leather from both tanneries. Are you asking about the comparison of grading between the two, or the comparison of leather quality between the two? Regardless, the answers are going to be largely subjective. In my experience: if you like a dense, firm leather that requires a good bit of break-in time but will last longest with minimal care, HO is your go to. If you want a leather that is looser fibered which means initially softer leather and requires little to no break-in time, but under hard using conditions will not hold up as long, Wickett is your choice. Furthermore, your yield will generally be poorer with Wickett due to the belly getting soft higher in the side. It is initially a little higher in cost I believe, and the poorer yield drives the price even higher. I don't mean that it's bad leather because I still have a lot of customers request it, you just have to evaluate your needs. If you are asking about grading comparisons, it's a crapshoot. The last two shipments of Wickett I've gotten have been decently clean, and that even included several sides of their sale offerings, which are usually specials or C grade. On the other hand, the last skirting order I got from HO had a lot of waste due to blemishes, and those were A grade sides. The last black harness order I got direct from HO however, was some of the nicest leather I've ever gotten from anyone. So, in summary, I would advise basing your decision on what characteristics you desire from your leather, and regardless of which brand you go with, I advise getting more than you think you need. Two sides will build a saddle, IF you make no mistakes, IF you get nice clean sides, IF you are very careful placing and cutting your patterns, etc, etc. I never did seem to be able to order just two or even 3 sides and be able to cut to the best advantage. Sure as heck, none of them will be suitable for a seat for whatever reason. One thing I forgot to mention in regards to Wickett, it seems to me their weight/thickness grading trends toward the lighter end. In other words, the HO I get normally is AT LEAST as thick as I order, while Wickett is usually at best just barely the labeled thickness and often under. Best of luck to you.

I'm going to echo the others and say "I sure hope not!" If you used one of the many heavy leather stitchers still in use today that are a hundred years old, you'd think your new machines ARE high tech. The difference is these new machines, particularly the Chinese so-called clones, with the same amount of use as the vintage ones saw, will not be sewing a hundred years from now.

Occasionally I will box up and sell my scrap leftover from lining saddles. PM me if interested. I ship in either a flat rate medium or large box.

Latigo is notorious for color bleeding. Horses that have white in the area on their sides where the latigos rest always have stains from the leather.. . appropriately called. . ."latigo stains". As latigo by nature is waxy and sometimes a little oily, most products applied are not going to adhere well. It is the nature of the beast.

I think Silverd is directing his energies toward a more profitable area of leather working.

But I am female!! . I just hate being expected to and having to carry a bag.

I agree, that bag is something else! Beautiful job on it, and I'm not all that much of a "bag lady"!

That is exactly the same experience I had with Hide House's Hermann Oak strap. I think I ordered a 4/5 and got a 6/7. No matter because I did end up using it all anyway, and it was pretty good stuff. But I'd did need that 4/5! My main gripe with Hide House is that it takes forever to get my order. I know I'm a long way from Cali, but it's 2 or 3 days before they even ship after getting my order. It's easy a week or ten days from order to delivery with them. I tried Panhandle last week for the first time ever, because HH was out of silver metallic. I ordered from Panhandle on Friday, my leather showed up Tuesday morning. The guy sent me two or 3 sets of pictures on my cell phone because he really wanted to make sure he was sending what I needed. Pretty good service, I might go back.

I would avoid removing the head from the base. I've moved one several times, and I always removed the thread rack, took the needle, awl, and bobbin case out, and laid it down on it's back. You need to block it and tie it down because if you stop hard or take off fast, it can roll. I was told by legendary machinery guru Keith Pommer to never haul them upright because they are so top heavy that no matter how well you tie it down, it can still tip over. I would think if you had a flatbed pickup with a headache rack, you might be able to secure it upright to that well enough, but I usually listened to Keith, since he made his living for 40 years trading machinery. I split a Landis curved needle to transport, and I am regretting it.

You know, that's a machine I don't have yet. I've never even seen one, but I know a guy who runs more than one in his shop. I'm thinking they are pure mechanical genius, or mechanical insanity, depending on whether they work or not.

It could be past the point of no return. . .that does happen. Other possibility is that it was poor leather to start with. Both of those scenarios mean that no matter how much or what product you throw at it, it isn't going to change. I have the best luck with soaking the parts in water to clean them and allow me to take the curl out as they dry, and brush oil on when they are close to being dry. If this doesn't get them, in my experience, nothing will.

Understand that skirting is simply unsplit strap leather. The rep from W&C may have meant that full thickness, unsplit skirting MAY indeed be a little stiffer for belts than some people want. Their bridle doesn't have a lot of body. Some people even say it's mushy. Compared to real true English Bridle, it is mushy. If you want to tool your belts, skirting or strap is your best choice. Whether you buy skirting or strap (tooling leather) just depends on if you want to line it or not. You can split down the skirting yourself and have exactly the same leather as if you ordered their strap leather. Edit:. I'm going to add that you CAN stamp wickett's EB. If you want to carve it however, you will not get the depth nor the burnish that you get with skirting. The EB will take enough moisture to case up. Also, there is a little difference in their skirting. Their russet seems like an entirely different leather altogether than the other colors. It doesn't take dye consistently nor evenly. If you are wanting to dye your projects from their skirting, I'd start with their most natural, lightest color.

Yes I would. Their press is better than the newer #2 machines anyway, and several other attachments are available for Beiler's machine. SX is SX industries. They carry spots, conchos, and I think they have staples. They have ventured I to the machine manufacturing a bit, I believe. Actually, I would give him a call before Beilers and just pick his brain.