dikman

I agree about the marketing ploy. It could be argued that crude oil, as it comes out of the ground, is a natural product but how many would want to treat their leather with that? The simple fact is that it's heavily processed to obtain the various products we get from it, at which point I wouldn't consider it "natural". Many of those hydraulic oils I looked up appear to be close to 99% CAS 64742-54-7, and those that didn't contain it were a cocktail of chemicals! I looked up the MSDS for a few neatsfoot compound products, Tom E, because you aroused my curiosity, and yes, some have the same CAS added, or close relatives of it. Feibings, for example, use two different CAS products, a heavy and a light paraffinic distillate. So if anyone says not to use neatsfoot compound because of the added petroleum product(s) I hope they're not using Skidmore's either. I've spent some time in the past trying to make beeswax into a soft paste, like the bought ones, using only real natural ingredients. The problem is that to do that you don't have much actual beeswax in the mix or it becomes too thick. The best results were using pure olive oil (similar to a product called Bore Butter, put out as a bore/patch lube for muzzleloading rifles), I also tried using pure gum turpentine but this left a black tar-like deposit in the tin after a while, so I'm not using that on leather. Lanolin also worked but again if you add too much beeswax it becomes too thick., likewise pure NFO. I have some ISO 68 Hydraulic oil (one that the MSDS indicates is about 99% CAS 64742-54-7, I'm tempted to try mixing a small amount with some beeswax just to see what I get. As Chuck said if you're using something that works and you're happy with it that's all that matters (I guess).

A bit more searching shows that CAS 64742-54-7 is the primary ingredient (often listed as greater than 90%) in many brands of hydraulic fluid.

I'll see if I can get something useful tomorrow.

I often see Skidmore's Leather Cream mentioned as THE stuff to use on leather so got curious about it. They advertise it as all-natural ingredients, but when I went looking for the MSDS it came up with this - beeswax and Heavy paraffinic distillate 64742-54-7, which is obviously the solvent. This is made from oil and is used in many motor oils so calling it natural is, to my way of thinking, stretching things just a bit. Many leatherworkers are fussy about not using petroleum-based products on their leather but I wonder how many realise what is in Skidmore's. Food for thought.

Looking at the stuff (and picking away at the edges) it appears to be one piece, BUT if you're right and the stuff is compressed together under high pressure with a glue I guess it could turn out like that. Certainly not what I consider to be quality stuff!

I bought a used set a few years ago (genuine Triumph), they needed a bit of repair work - stitching, rivet replacement etc - but they've served me well since then. I noticed at the time that the leather looked "funny" at some of the edges but didn't worry too much. In the meantime the leather has slowly cracked and torn at some of the folds and looks a bit like thick cardboard separating at the breaks. Hard to describe but nothing I've seen before. Anyone have any ideas what sort of leather it might have been? I've just pulled them apart to salvage any useable bits as they were past being repaired.

The mice are very well done, something that's a bit different.

Very nice indeed! Looks like a lot of work went into it.

A set of carved holsters and gunbelt would look impressive as a display (most people would recognize what they are but would rarely see them in real life).

Gosut, I admire your tenacity! Me, I just got a suitable container, poured in some vinegar from the supermarket and threw in some steel wool. I did wash the steel wool in petrol first, my token effort at a "scientific" approach!! End result was a useable vinegaroon. It's now a couple of years old (and brown) so I suppose I should try it again sometime and see if it still works.

A rather strange, and vague, question. It's a pretty simple matter to look up clothing on the internet.

The saddlebags are particularly well done. Takes a lot of leather to make them. HS, due to our overly restrictive firearms regulations here in Oz the demand for holsters, rifle scabbards etc is small. Not likely to be things you could sell easily at a market stall.

I had an old industrial frame that I was determined to use so made up a table for my Pfaff 335. Naturally, it's heavy and the only way to fit castors was to weld them to the bottom of the legs! This raises the whole thing up, including the foot pedal, and consequently I need a taller chair because the frame's not height adjustable, of course. I also had to add a piece of bungee cord to the back of the pedal for extra support due to its weight. This machine doesn't get used a lot but I'm not sure how comfortable the setup would be for extended use.

Ahhh, I forgot red things go faster! If you wait long enough, and keep looking, I'm sure one of the old cast iron frames will come up, but from a practical using perspective the setup you've got is probably better.

In their own way clutch motors are very nice motors, well-built and almost bullet-proof! Considering the machine only cost you $150, I reckon you should be able to treat it to a servo motor (best thing you can do for it).

Very good job on the rebuild. Yeah, the colour's a bit "in your face" but hey, as you said it's your machine to do with as you wish. Given the rust on it I'm surprised the table top hadn't suffered water damage.

I'd agree with it being a Singer 111. Trying to figure out exactly which model can be tricky as they tend to look alike! It looks like it might be fitted with a piping foot?

In answer to 2, because it was in the movie. At the end of the day it's simply a holster, functionally no different to many others out there. edit:LittleF beat me by a whisker!

If money isn't a problem then I guess it would be nice to own the Adler, but realistically there's nothing wrong with owning one of the brand-name clones and saving a bucket-load of money. There are many on here who own clones and in general have found them more than adequate.

I made a notebook cover but didn't want to dye it so gave it a coat of NFO and left in the sun for a couple of days. It darkened slightly to what I think is a lovely looking "natural" patina.

Well, I'll be the odd one out here - I don't particularly like the look, it doesn't appeal to me (guess I'm more of a "traditionalist" ). But I'm also not a fan of basketweave either, make of that what you will.

Viva la revolution! Gotta love the French! What about waiting to buy when you move to Spain? Have you looked into the prices/availability there?

I do as KGG suggested but if it's critical to start at a particular point I remove the thread from the needle and sew forward three holes, re-thread the needle and then sew back to the start. This way I'm at the starting point I want.

Looks nice. Hopefully KGG should be along, he is pretty knowledgeable about the various Juki models and should be able to help you.

In my case one was from a second-hand shop that had a lot of tools and stuff and the other was from a junked piece of equipment. I had to fit a sleeve to the spoked one as the shaft hole was too big. I keep my eyes open for used ones as they're pretty expensive to buy here.