barra

Must be a Tasmanian thing Tony (that's as far as I'm going with that). In Australia cordial is the flavoured syrup that is added to water and comes in various flavours. Red supposedly send kids round the twist. When I was a kid there didn't seem to be a huge range of commercial branded soft drink choices so just about everything got referred to as coke whether it was or not. we did however have little soft drink companies that would home deliver their particular variety of soft drink. Soda here usually refers to the clear carbonated water used as a mixer for spirits. I do adapt and change my vocabulary when in the US as I believe that when in Rome, so I call soft drinks Soda and then specify what sort. I am addicted to root beer which is uncommon in Australia. To me the root beer to die for was found in NJ and came from Stewarts root beer stand in Matawan. I'm not sure if Stewarts was a franchise or a one off but OMG was it good. Also in NJ they called Pizza "pie". I'm not sure if this was common or was an older generation thing. Barra

Barra.

http://www.nolans.com.au/PDF/Fasteners_Fit...Accessories.pdf Of course this is an Australian supplier but if you search for motor trimmer/upholsterer suppliers you should find some. As Hilly suggested, upholster.com is a good source for advice. Page 26. Pre covered seat vinyl cord. Barra

You can also get pre made piping (this is the ducks guts). This has the core and outer covering all, well pre made. It comes in every colour of the rainbow. Nothing wrong with making your own, just the pre made speeds up the job. It even has little notches every inch or so to assist you going around curves. If you do make your own piping just snick notches into the vinyl every inch or there abouts. I'm trying to find a pic.

Normally both top and bottom and piping are sewn in all together. This can be a bit tricky so some people do it as you describe. Have a go next time sewing everything in one hit.

Your on the right track. Just go around again a tad closer. Everything is anchored in place now and you don't have to worry about lining everything up. Just drop your needle a little closer in toward the piping. Barra

I would do what Roger said and use the old cover as a template. Before you take it apart, get a chinagraph pencil in a contrasting colour like white or yellow. Make marks on the seat that intersect the seat through the stitch line and into the gusset. Make as many marks as you like but all you really need are a few at strategic points on the seat. These marks are called location/progression marks (other similar names may be used). Now you can safely cut the seat aparts and use the old seat as a template. Transfer the chinagraph pencil marks onto your new material. When you reassemble the seat, line up the corresponding marks from the seat and gusset. When all done the chinagraph marks wash off. P.S. I should add that if you only make tiny marks that are just big enough for you to see. They should protrude onto the new material less than the distance of your seam allowance. Then there is no need to wash marks off. If using vinyl, who cares you can play noughts and crosses on the seat. The marks easily wash off. Barra

Celticleather. Your explanation of the rules of cricket is priceless. Funny thing though is I totally understood. Now for the intricacies of a googley and LBW. Let's not forget that in test cricket everything Celticleather said happens twice and there's the game Barra

That pic is crap isn,t it. My camera is playing up and I resorted to the webcam. I will try and post a better pic of it actually in operation. I have even had successful results by just sticking one of the bobbin pins (for want of a better term) in my drill chuck and I then place the pin on the other end in a hole drilled in a block of wood to stabilise the bobbin. I then just turn on the drill. Primitive but it works. Barra.

This is my home made bobbin winder. The pins of the bobbin sit inside the small notches and the plate at the back is screwed in to hold the bobbin in place. Once held in place the pins of the bobbin protrude just enough so that I can attach my dremel or rechargeable drill. Once the chuck is tightened, I hit the power button and wind the bobbin. I have an old singer 132K6 bobbin winder on the side of the machine table and use the tension disks of this. Sometimes I will just use the hold the thread between the fingers as I wind tensioning method. Hope this made sense

Grimley's Saddlery http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090119b.htm Frank Grimley http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/explore/A090119e.htm Barra

Pie = Rat's coffin, of course smothered in dead horse which is tomato sauce (ketchup). I forgot to add the Brit sitcom the vicar of dibley. Emma Chambers as Alice Tinker is pure genius. Barra

I learned to drive in a Morry 1000. Thanks for the Pic and the trip down memory lane Celticleather. Barra

This is a fun topic. On the subject of British sitcoms. My all time Favourites are Dad,s Army,Allo Allo and Hyacinth Bouquet (Bucket) in keeping up appearences. As for the US version of Kath and Kim. Some regional sitcoms do not transfer to another culture and this is a prime example. The original Australian version is having a dig at Australian suburbia and doesn't work in a US context (or any other country for that matter). This one completely loses it in the attempt to make a US version. Let's chuck in the Aussie cultural differences. I have found that we can readily itentify with The British ways and we can easily work out their slang terms. Our language and spelling is more British because that is how the subject English was taught at school. We were wrapped over the knuckles if we recited the alphabet and ended Zee (ala sesame street) instead of Zed. Computers and spell check as well as popular music/movies has changed how Aussie kids think, dress, speak, spell and act. A distinctive Aussie culture is slowly being eroded away. Here a shrimp is a prawn and the idea of sticking one on a BBQ was cooked up by an advertising executive. We of course drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. My understanding of this goes back to the days of horse transport. If we rode on the left side of the road and mounted/dismounted on the near/left side of the horse we are mounting/dismounting onto the kerb and not into oncoming traffic. It also had a cavalry meaning. Most people were and still are right handed. the cavalry trooper held a sabre in the right hand. If two opposing troopers approached each other and both were on the left of the road, their sabres could be efficiently utilised. I was once told that Aussies/Brits/Americans actually eat differently, that is use their utensils differently. In my experience this is true but my experience with US culture is limited to California and NJ. We tend to hold the knife and fork in the hands for the duration of the meal. What I have witnessed in the US is people will chop the food with the fork and only pick up the knife to cut say a peice of steak and then place the knife down and go back to chopping away with the fork. Nothing wrong with this just a curious observation. In Australia McDonalds is Macca's. We have no Wally world but have similar smaller chain stores, Big W and KMART. As for sport. We have football in Winter and the code you follow depends on your state of birth. This subject could launch an Australian civil war. In summer we have cricket and their are different version of this game creeping in. Traditionally the game of cricket lasts 5 days but now we have the one day version and 20/20. In Australia if you ask for "A" pie it is going to be a meat filled pastry. You have to be specific if you want apple pie etc. Iced coffee is a cold coffee flavoured milk drink and ice tea is not real common. If you ask for tea it is going to be hot. I have also discovered in my travels that US kids are FAR more polite in general than Aussie kids. Manners here has been flushed down the dunny (toilet). US kids for the most part still say please/thankyou.Sir/Maam. And to me the ultimate best thing about US culture is when you go into a US restaurant the coffee comes in a bottomless cup. We don't tip (unless we want to). Having said that there seems to be a trend in places here for tipping. I personally have no problem with this if they drop the cost of their service by 15%. If you go into an Aussie restaurant the cost is on the menu and that is all you pay. The Wait staff get payed more per hour but this is because there is no gratuity. The dining experience tends to work out the same cost wise in the end in Aus/US (more up front and no gratuity as opposed to less up front +gratuity). Finally. NO Australian drinks Fosters. Barra

The Pearson uses the 331LR and they are fairly easy to come by from Schmetz dealers who stock Industrial sewing machine needles eg. http://www.aaronmartin.com/product.php?cat...amp;submit=View Barra

You can also try packing them tight with wet paper. Not newsprint because of the ink. Barra

Hilly. Whatever method you use to instal your zipper, eg making the gusset in 2 seperate halves or what is sometimes called letting it in, before you have totally enclosed the zipper there are 3 rules. 1. STOP 2. THINK 3. ZIP RUNNER I think most of us have made the oopsie of not attaching or moving the runner inside the stitches before we close it up. It's kinda not a zipper then but only some pretty cloth tape with teeth. Barra.

If you follow these links. http://leatherworker.net/ http://www.leatherworker.net/suppliers.htm http://proleptic.net/ You will find Shop talk. Barra

Aart. Seam turner http://www.abbeysaddlery.co.uk/product_detail.cfm?id=FD024 There is a groove and you place the seam in this groove and rub back and forth. It makes the seam lay correctly. Ball Pein hammer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball-peen_hammer

Aart. I forgot to add, it is a one needle job. When you seam your seat with your skirts you just go in the same holes you made when yoiu overtitched the welt. when your done, don't forget to turn the finished seam. There is a special tool for this but the same effect can be done with a few gentle taps on the seam with a ball pein hammer. It makes the seam "pop" and everything will sit nice. On a side note. If you need assistance when it comes to the cantle binding. Surf thru the posts here on cantle binding a western saddle. Again the principal is the same just on a miniature scale.

Aart. Now i get what you mean. I have added a link. It is an old book on making an English riding saddle. It is also a little dated however the principal for attaching your seat, skirts and welt is basically the same for a gig saddle. The overstitch is more or less a temporary stitch just to hold the welt in place to assist you when seaming in the seat. This is done because trying to line up the welt, skirt and seat all in one can be a bit tricky. I just go over the edge and move from one stitch/pricking mark to the next (no need to back stitch as again it is only just to attach the welt so as to make the job easier). I'll see what else I can dig up to assist you. Barra http://www.countryside.gov.uk/Images/Makin..._tcm2-18973.pdf

I concur with Art. The 7-33 is an awesome machine. We use them in the Military to stitch heavy webbing harnesses like Parachutes and pilot harnesses. They are affectionately called Thumpers and for good reason. They will thump their way thru just about anything you can fit under the foot. These things and cockroaches will be the only things to survive a nuclear holocaust. Having said all that, because it is a flat bed and has feed dogs, sewing shearling "may" be a bit tricky. Then again it may go next challenge please. If in good order and the price is right I'd snap it up. Barra http://www.industrialsewmachine.com/webdoc...ures/7class.htm

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...ic=4254&hl= Maybe this was what you were referring to. For some reson I can't view the Pics but it was posted by Arts. Barra

I don't make watch straps but as a general leather working rule of thumb if I want a temprary bond to hold things together while I stitch, then I use latex. I get mine in the flooring section of the large hardware chain stores ( think carpet layers use it. If I want a more permanent bond I use contact cement. Again there are plenty of choices for contacts. Everyone has their favourites. I again use whatever if available at the hardware stores. Barra