oldtimer

Frank Sinatra is one of my favorite old singers !

I have used oxalic acid and it has worked on "fresh" blood stains. / Knut

I have had a machine, a spitting image of your machine, and it was labeled "Universal Majestic". Also I have seen your machine labeled Sackmann and Husqvarna here in Sweden. I think they were made i Germany? Fwiw/ Knut

Bruce Thank´s for posting, a great display! / Knut

One thing I have discovered about the Boss, is that you must be polite and say "Good morning, how are you today" and talk to it with a calm, low voice, to keep it working flawless! / Knut

I am happy with Schmetz needles. / Knut

I might be wrong, but my gut tells me ...;-) / Knut

Tha back of the cantle has two seams, that´s not the traditional way to make an english saddle, it is the easy way. I have no idea if it is a cheap saddle or not, but it is my first gut feeling. Also I don´t think it would be an easy repair, as the whole seat leather would have to be removed and a new center piece made. A cobbler would patch it, but the final result ........ My two cents / Knut

How can you tell from the pic that it is an expensive saddle? I would put it in the cheapie section, from the way the cantle back is constructed! / Knut

It looks to me that someone has made a repair with an arc welder, and "forgot" to grind off the surplus metal from the weld. A nice auction find! / Knut

Kevin, OK, I understand now. I have never faced that problem as I use "S" point needles when sewing leather. I am sure you can find needles twisted your way , look for "794 LL" point. / Knut

Kevin Can you explain? Sorry, I don´t understand. (I have an 205-374) / Knut

On the first one, two needle feet broke, the lever that pushes on the uptake lever rotated on its shaft , you name it ..... On the second one the gear rack broke, plus a needle foot. This machine sounded like it was full of gravel right out of the shipping box. Quality control?? The operating parts inside an alum. Boss are made of presscast zink, a non durable (but cheap) solution, as opposed to the cast iron Boss parts which are made of steel. You can figure out yourself the difference between cast zink and steel parts. On the iron Boss you can do a simple modification that makes it even better, by adding a spring to the uptake lever that keeps the top thread in tension during the whole sewing cycle. My advice, go for a cast iron Boss if you plan to buy one, or even better, save up some money and buy a used motorized leather sewing machine, Juki 441 clone or Adler 205 my 2 cents/ Knut

I have had two aluminum Boss sewing machines. Both broke down. Then I found a used Iron Boss and it has worked without problems. Would this info be of any help ? / Knut

Contact Dave Carrico at Carrico leatherworks and see what he has got / Knut

I need a source for solid brass upholstery tacks ( not the brass plated ones) with the head shaped like brass spots, 3/8" size or close. / Knut

Is it a normal practice not to use any glass resin on fiber glass covered factory made saddle trees? Without resin is the fiber glass covering worthless! I have peeped under the side jockey of many production saddles and as far as I can remember I have not noticed any covering that was glassed to the tree. / Knut

Rope ladder tied to the horn ??

Vegtan cowhide ~ 1,5 mm would be fine.

I have made many rucksacks of upholstery leather and it works fine! Also reindeer leather is fine but may be a bit hard for you to find in your part of the world. / Knut

Hahahaha, got me o good laugh! / Knut

Never thought of my sewing machine in those terms, but I guess it is the same as with cars. These days all cars look the same, and can´t compare with a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from the seventies in beauty. Anyway, I love my old warhorse Adler 205-374, she ( it is a she) may be ugly but she is faithful! / Knut

I don´t even think the steel is laminated, I think the "Damascus" pattern is etched. Buy an old knife, Gomph or Osborne, from Bruce Johnson, top quality. "The older the fiddle, the sweeter the music"

Must ask, since many projects are checkbooks: Do you still use checks as payment in the US? I haven´t seen a check here in Sweden for the last 20 years or so. / Knut

I have found such a drawer 10-12 years ago. A surplus store owner called and asked if I was intersted in leather related tools. He told me he had bought a leather bag full of tools, originally owned by a saddlemaker who closed his shop in the late sixties, The old man had kept his tools in his basemant, and when he died his relatives had sold the bag to the surplus store owner. I rushed over to see what it was, and there were 80 different tools, frowm awl hafts to a plough gauge. He asked 20 SEK/ tool ( 3$) so there wasn´t much to think about. Last year I found 53 Gomph tools here in Sweden, so I think my luck is over from now on. I´ll have to make a trip to Oslo! / Knut