barra

This is an old washer cutter. You might try and look for a gasket cutter. Others may know where to find them. All I can think of is auto stores or home depot type stores. It wouldn't be hard to knock up something home made to do the same job. Barra

That first tree has me intrigued too. Barra.

I think your after wool engineering felt. Barra

This Vid gives a small visual glimps into hot creasing. Go to the bridle production segment. I just use a small gas camping stove. You can use a jam jar with a hole in the lid for a wick. Pour a small amount of Kero, lamp oil or metho in the jar. Barra

Most of my tools are old Joseph Dixon. They outlasted one 94 year old saddler and They will outlast me. I have had to replace a few over the years, mainly due to them being misplaced during moves. The moderns are absolutely fine but there is just something special about the quality of the old. You may find others have similar experience with old verses new Osbornes etc. Don't expect to pay Tandy prices. Barra

I tend to use my round knives like they were a head knife. Well that didn't work. http://www.leffler.com.au/ Click online saddlery catalogue/tools Dixon 3rd pic from the bottom. Barra dixsinheakni.htm dixsinheakni.htm

I'm getting my updates from KCAL 9

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/na...23810.htmlstory Heres the one I'm a tad worried about. Click the up arrow once and Newhall is a bit close for comfort. Barra

Looks to be about 3 stitches per inch. Barra

Yes the Tim Tam slam is true. You take a Tim Tam and a good cup of coffee. Bite a corner off from each end and drink the coffee thru the Tim tam like it is a straw. You get one or two sips before the Tim Tam melts. There is no alternative but to eat the Tim Tam and get another. Barra

Noooooo. They call their sheep Marty. Come Marty, come Marty. Barra

Gotta love the Kiwi Haka. It is very impressive to watch. Q. What do NZ'ers call their sheep. Barra

Ok. lets see how this goes. the gear part number - 91-141 536-90. The 2 interconnecting cogs appear to be under the same part number. The schematic of the gears also has a small box with 40/4 with arrows pointing to both of the gears (the horizontal and vertical ones). Not sure what this 40/4 refers to. Barra

Artie. I have my Pfaff 1245 manual in front of me with part numbers. I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to but near as I can tell the part number you are after is 11-330-964-15 (X4) This is the part number for QTY 4 grub screws that are on the spindle under the bobbin race. Again not sure if this is what your actually after. I have the complete parts list here so If I can be of any other assistence please don't hesitate. Barra

Tim Tams on the way Denise. Barra

Beetlejuice. Just a quick one to get started. The basic seams you will most likely use are 1. plain seam. This is simply where 2 peices of material are laid together face to face. In the case of leather this is grain faces grain. 2. Top seam (sometimes called french seam). This is a plain seam that is further folded over and another row of stitching added (like you might see on clothing seams. In the case of an item that may be exposed to the elements. The fold should be laid so as to allow water to run off and not form a little water pooling channel on the seam. 3. boot seam. Again it is started with a plain seam and then it sort of has a top seam added either side of the initial plain seam. 4. You probably won't need this one but another seam is called a balloon seam. Let me see if I can find pics for you. Barra

They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them. Lest we forget. Barra

I like the rotary cutters for soft garment weight leathers. I worked briefly in a shop making leather clothing and we used lead shot bags to anchor the hide down. All cutting was done with a surgical scalpel. Barra

If anything you have made a nice batch of edge stain. It should burnish up to a rich colour. Here are two batches I made last night. I collect bark. In this case eucalypt and boil it up to extract the tannins. The milk carton with jumbo on the side is just the straight boiled up bark solution. In the zip lock bag contains a hard sap that the eucalypt oozes out. I 3/4 fill the soft drink bottle with the straight solution and boil up the sap in about 600ml (pint) of water and then add this to the dark stain. I use this on my edges to dampen them and then burnish with either a canvas rub rag or a burnishing stick. It comes up smooth as glass. Barra

Hilly. There is an old saying. Your not a sewing machinist until you have put a needle thru your finger. Not done it yet but i've come close. On the non guarded take up arm. Most old Singer 132K6's I have used have no guards. When doing intricate work, I have a tendancy to lean in real close. You get whacked in the forehead about 20 times before you realise your being sconed. When using my K6, I now wear my safety ball cap (hits the brim first). Barra

Thanks one and all for the well wishes. Essentially I had a fantastic day, although it was nearly my last Birthday. We just had a rather large and significant Parade on Base, Battle honour flags (colours), brass bands and drums a beating, State Govenors and members of parliament etc. Because of my drill instructor past I tend to have a get out of jail free card when it comes to participating in parades as I always assist in the training/reheasals etc. On the morning of the Parade (my birthday) I was detailed to organise the final set up of the parade ground and pack up after. There were 2 sets of ceremonial drums. I had to move one set from the Parade ground to the Base chapel for the final laying up of the old SQN colours. Long story short, after all the pomp and ceremony I kinda forgot about the very expensive set of drums in the back of the ute (pick up) and went home. I had a few phone calls at home that were not birthday well wishes I can tell you. Very best part tho, I caught up with an old mate who I have not seen in years so that was great. Barra

I have to admit I have been known to work in bare feet. When an idea hits there is no time to dress properly. Also been known to hit the workshop in the middle of the night in my jim jams. Barra

Thanks heaps Matey. I'm thinking I might have to start lacing my coffee with formaldyhide in the future. Barra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the British Parliament. This occured on Nov 05, so this date has a certain amount of affinity for me as It is my birthday. As a kid in Australia Nov 05 was Guy Fawkes night or more commonly known as cracker night. This is where we kids would hoard all our pocket money and purchase a vast arsonal of fireworks. Traditionally this night was coupled with a bon fire where an effigy of Guy was burned. Having the bonfire in Australia depended on the weather at the time. Looking back there were countless way's feral 10 yr old boys could find to blow things up. Of course the PC tree huggers came along and no more cracker night. Who remembers penny bungers. They were like a small stick of dynamite. Barra