impulse

Thanks for the fast reply. I appreciate your trying to help. However giving me a US supplier is not going to solve my problem as Australian customs laws will not allow me to bring it into the country! Lois

With the Australian dollar being so strong now, I have been sourcing lots of tools, stamps etc from the US as this is much cheaper than buying locally. However, because of anti-terrorism rules, I cannot bring in liquids. Can anyone please tell me what I can use as a substitute for Neat Lac? .. or a home recipe? I have also found it impossible to buy locally Rubber Cement, Resolene, Block Out Resist and Edge Kote. If anyone knows the ingredients of these, it would be much appreciated. BTW.. it is interesting that an Aussie Strander is available in the US for just $8.95, when the Australian price is $29.05!!!!!!!! Cheers Lois

I have just bought a tool which works very well as a lifter (propetal). It is actually a dental elevator for loosening teeth for extraction. It comes in 2 sizes - 4mm and 2mm tips, is made of stainless steel and fits comfortably in the hand. I found it thru ebay Austalia and costs $10 new! http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Dental-Elevator-4mm-Tip-Quality-Instrument-/110654539539?pt=AU_Business_Industrial_Medical_Scientific_Equipment2&hash=item19c3864713

ST Leather has 3/16" stainless steel lace , costing just $4.95 for 25' roll. They also stock 5/32" Mylar (VERY shiney) lace in gold or silver costing $2.95 for 4yd or $9.95 for 25yds. They seem to be cheaper than Tandy and stock a wide range of products. Worth checking out

Thankyou for your help and apologies for the delayed reply - I have had an extended hospital stay from the day I wrote this request to now. Hope to be back to my leather work soon and will report on any success with this problem. Regards Lois

I have an old Singer 132K6 industrial machine in good working order, except for stitch length adjustment. I have tried holding the lever in until it engages, but when I try to turn the flywheel it just jams. Is there another way to alter the stitch length? Any help would be much appreciated. BTW.......Merry Christmas all! Lois from Australia

Hi Skald Check out this store: http://stleather.com/ They have an on-line catalog showing the number and imprint of each stamp which gives you a good idea of the size. This company is also WAY cheaper than most for identical items. I live in Australia and, even allowing for extra freight charges, the goods are 50-70% less expensive that what I would pay locally. They communicate well and deliver promptly. Hope this may help.

Hi guys I am from Australia and have purchased a range of stamping tools and other 'bits and pieces' from S-T. They are of good quality and around 50 - 70% cheaper than I can get locally, even with the additional postage! Not only that, but the goods are delivered faster than from the eastern states of Australia. I was promptly supplied with a full catalog.....I am still waiting for Tandys to post theirs, which was requested 4 months ago! I will be ordering all my supplies from S-T in the future.

Apart from my trusty head knife, I find scalpel blades the most versatile cutting tools. At A$25 per 100 they are cheaper than Stanley knives and can be stropped numerous times to keep them ultra sharp. The sizes i use are nos 12, 24 and 25. Lois from downunder.

That's fine, Bob - have fun building! My idea behind this mechanism was to allow for bigger items to be stitched. The familiar strap-thru-the-jaws closure limits the depth of the work being held. Lois

Great job! I like the idea of bigger holes for other 'bits 'n' pieces'. That's a handy slab of granite/marble you have too. Lois

Sorry for the delayed reply Bob. I have added more detail of the closing mechanism. One side of the jaws is fixed, whilst the other is hinged. A spring across the bottoms of the jaws holds it open when the foot bar is released. The leather strap is fixed to the left leg, then over the roller and down to the foot bar. The bracket holding the roller acts as a fulcrum, thus downward pressure on the foot bar pulls the roller downwards and firmly shuts the jaws together and locks in the "teeth" on the right leg. I just used some angle iron and my trusty angle grinder to make the teeth. Hope this is clear. Lois

I make horse driving harness and when it comes to burnishing the edges of 20' long reins, I need something to do the job quickly and easily. So here's what I came up with: I cut 4" of scotia ( concave wood molding from any hardware store), then used contact glue to fasten two strips of plastic cement board joiner to the back. A 4" piece of V profile aluminium strip was then able to slide into the plastic. Heavyweight canvas, as my burnishing material, is wrapped around the alumin strip and slides firmly into the scotia handpiece. The thickness of the canvas makes the "v" of it's backing into a rounded shape which self adjusts to any thickness of leather. I have been using this now for about a month and it works more efficiently than anything that I have yet tried. Lois from downunder

I am continuing to add to my tools on a budget, so I made up a sewing palm. The palm body is 1.5mm semi stiff scrap leather, but I had to put on my thinking cap re the thimble - an offcut of 7mm rawhide looked promising. I used a 3/4'' hole punch to penetrate half it's thickness, then cut into this to form a flange for sewing onto the palm. After making the stitch holes, I then wet the rawhide to harden it. In addition I sandwiched a 3/4" metal washer (with a very small center hole) between the thimble and the palm. The stitching is a bit crap but the thimble works extremely well. I now wonder how I managed without it!

Thanks for all the encouraging comments! I am finding that the clamping mechanism holds very firmly and I am pleased with the outcome. Lois (impulse)

Since my husband died money has been tight. Rather than work to an existing plan, I had to build my stitching horse with materials from the scrapheap. I canibalized an old table for the legs, bracing and seat. The jaws were made from a length of rough-sawn Australian boxbrush. I would rather have bent and laminated strips of plywood for this, but being a Scrapheap Challenge, I had to do with what was available. My plan was to build a hybrid harness/ saddler's horse, ie wider opening than a stitching pony and with a saddler's horse closing mechanism. The seat I made shorter than standard as it is my preference to have the work clamped between my knees. The slightly "goose-necked" shape allows the jaws to be angled a little, with the height comfortable for my build. Because the shape narrows to 9cm (31/2" - the width between the jaws), I constructed a Y brace under the seat and neck. Rather than weaken the structure by carving the seat to allow for my thighs, I shaped the padding. The leather on the seat was rescued from the back of a throw-out lounge chair. In all I spent under A$10 on bolts and scews.

Can anyone help please with a manual for a Singer 132K6? I have searched the net and have only been able to find a Parts list, but what I really need is an instruction and service manual.