Sheilajeanne

Best joke I've come across in quite some time! A punter was at the horse races playing the ponies. He noticed a Priest step out onto the track and blessed the forehead of one of the horses lining up for the 4th race. Lo and behold, that horse - a very long shot - won the race. Next race, as the horses lined up, the Priest stepped onto the track. Sure enough, he blessed one of the horses. The punter made a beeline for a betting window and placed a small bet on the horse. Again, even though it was another long shot, the horse won the race. He collected his winnings, and anxiously waited to see which horse the Priest would bless next. He bet big on it, and it won. As the races continued the Priest kept blessing long shots, and each one ended up winning. The punter was elated. He made a quick dash to the ATM, withdrew all his savings, and awaited for the Priest's blessing that would tell him which horse to bet on. True to his pattern, the Priest stepped onto the track for the last race and blessed the forehead of an old nag that was the longest shot of the day. This time the priest blessed the eyes, ears, and hooves of the old nag. The punter knew he had a winner and bet every cent he owned on the old nag. He watched dumbfounded as the old nag came in last. In a state of shock, he went to the track area where the Priest was. Confronting Him, he demanded, 'Father! What happened? All day long you blessed horses and they all won. Then in the last race, the horse blessed lost by a mile. Now, thanks to you I've lost every cent of my savings!'. The Priest nodded, wisely and with sympathy. 'Son,' he said, 'that's the problem with you Protestants. You can't tell the difference between a simple blessing and Last Rites.'

That's a very good question! I remember watching a program about matadors in Spain. They mentioned that matadors most often get gored on the upper thighs. They even showed a picture of an older matador's numerous scars in that area... I imagine wearing a jock strap wouldn't work for bull riding [ouch!] but you'd think they could provide something to protect the area below the belt. My cousin wears special pants with - I think - some sort of Kevlar woven fabric in them when cutting trees with a chainsaw. I suppose a bull rider could do the same

Okay, of course I had to look it up: Edit: Click on jfdavis58's name to ge to the post. If you click on the topic, it will take you to the beginning of the thread instead. Some good stuff in this thread...

LOL, Chuck! Not such a bad idea! I still remember that story on here (forget who it was that posted) The guy's friend picked up his head knife, and tested the blade by running his thumb along the edge... Much blood, a trip to the hospital and quite a few stitches followed... We need another thread for the dumbest thing anyone's ever done with a very sharp leather tool! Billybop, yes the Leather Gods must be appeased! When younger, I did a fair bit of woodworking. Quite a few bandaids happened, especially when I was whittling! Haven't done anything too serious yet with cutting leather. Okay, that's probably tempting fate...

I used to break up boxes for recycling in the dumpster when I worked for a retail nursery. Great way to work out frustrations, and I kept my Swiss Army knife handy for slicing the tape! Had it down to a fine art and never cut myself.

People wear thimbles when hand sewing - have you thought of that? This thimble designed for quilting might work for leather too: https://www.amazon.ca/AIEX-Thimble-Protector-Quilting-Knitting/dp/B088BJYCB2/ref=asc_df_B088BJYCB2/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=320347773323&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10864780862965643511&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9104883&hvtargid=pla-914884391695&psc=1

Those pictures aren't detailed enough to give us a good idea of what you have for sale. And Kijiji doesn't allow you to search by ad number. However, by narrowing down the search area to New Brunswick, I did find your ad, though it wasn't listed under 'crafts and hobbies - leather tools', which would be the logical place for it! Here's the link: https://www.kijiji.ca/v-art-collectibles/bathurst/leather-tool/1657125176?undefined A couple of suggestions: Move the ad to 'crafts and hobbies' List what is available by category, with better pictures. E.g. for the leather kits - say you have 2 Roper wallet kits, 3 Tom Thumb purse kits, etc. For Craftaids, same thing - give the title and number of the Craftaid. Same thing for books - titles and better pictures. Your pictures aren't centered very well, so parts of the items are cut off, like the 4th picture especially. I would really like a better look at exactly what's in the black box on the left of the photo! (See below.) Unless all this stuff has to go NOW you will likely get a better response if you price it by lot - so much for all the Craftaids, so much for the books, etc. Do you know a leatherworker your father-in-law was friends with who could help you with the ads, and give you a better idea of what it's all worth?

You can resize the pictures. Here's one of the most recent links on doing this: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/15122-how-to-post-pictures-on-lw/page/2/ And here's the method I use. If your computer is a Microsoft product, you should have some version of Microsoft Paint installed on it. Open the picture in Paint. You should see a 'resize picture' option in the top menu bar. Click on it. I always resize by reducing the number of pixels rather than by percentage. 600 pixels should give a nice sharp picture that's not too large. When you resize one dimension of the photo, the other resizes automatically to keep it in the correct proportions.

Ookay, so not such a crazy idea after all! Interesting to know it does work, if not for a hobbyist.

That would have to be one heck of a big tumbler, Bert! I could see maybe giving a try with a clothes dryer, but it would likely wreck the dryer, and the missus would have your head for it! I use some plastic balls with spikes on them to soften clothes in my dryer as I hate chemical softeners. They work just fine. You could be onto something, though you'd have to find an old dryer someone had thrown out and get it working. Maybe one that's got the heating coil burned out, but the tumbler still works?

Fredk, I have a book that gives in detail the traditional Native American way of tanning deer hides. And believe me, it's a LOT of work!! Given the much bigger size and thickness of a bison hide, I'm guessing it would be twice as much work. Doesn't hurt to ask, though. Some Native Americans have adopted more modern methods of doing things - the Tribal Spirit shop that I buy deer and moose hides from gets their hides from native hunters, and ships them to a tannery in Alberta. And I've heard most native craftspeople now use artificial sinew for sewing.

Oooh!! INSTRUCTIONS!! https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Make-a-Sewing-Machine-Tractor/ Still trying to find out if these things actually run under their own 'steam'! According to its maker, this one doesn't. The electric motor is only there for show, and he removed most of the insides of it to reduce the tractor's weight: Actually, as someone who has often visited the annual Georgian Bay steam show in Cookstown, Ontario, I realize steam WOULD be an option! One of my cousins had a miniature steam engine that actually worked when I was a kid! https://www.steamshow.ca/ Some of you will relate to that last line! Maybe I'll sell it and buy more old broken sewing machines. You can never have too many!

John Deere fan, I take it?? Actually, White brand tractors are most often red - or white! https://tractors.fandom.com/wiki/White_Farm_Equipment#Tractors

Thought this was pretty awesome! They even saved the light from the machine! But I'm not sure it will actually move on its own - maybe it's spring powered, like a windup toy?

Cool stories, Wiz and Don! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Wiz! I was in a hurry this morning, as I had a course to get to at 9:30, and didn't have time to research this.

If anyone is interested, the theatre is located in Cookstown, Ontario.

In a hurry, otherwise I'd research this myself. Could this machine do leatherwork, with a new motor to slow it down? FREE to a good home or business! Or even an okay home or business. Industrial sewing machine – brand JUKI, Model number “DOL” 555? (Some of the 5s might be 8s) The South Simcoe Theatre needs to free up some space so this heavy duty workhorse of a sewing machine needs to find a new place to call home. Some quotes from those in the know: “It would be fantastic for anything big or heavyweight...set pieces, upholstery, draperies...plus the general hems and construction or reconstruction…” “It will sew anything, but only straight stitch.” It needs a tune up with an estimated cost of $250.00. We were told that it should then “run like a charm and is a very good machine”. Message us or email info@TheSouthSimcoeTheatre.com if you’re interested. Pick up only. It’s very heavy so bring your muscles! https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=797589705054394&set=a.645397746940258

Yeah, may try that. Have a spare spool in my tackle box. And I think I still have my horse brushes lying around somewhere. The bristles from those might make good (free) whiskers. Though this will be a reluctant confession that I'm past the age where I'll ever ride again...

Unfortunately, none of the farmers in my family raise livestock any more. They're strictly crop farmers. And I think my cat and my dog wouldn't be willing contributors...

That is indeed awesome work! On the belts and other pieces with the black backgrounds, do you dye the background separately from the rest of the piece, using a fine brush?

Wow, yes, there are still used for that! How cool is that? But $55 is way too steep a price when I only need a very small amount: Genuine boar bristles I could buy a small brush like a shaving brush, though, for much less: https://www.fendrihan.ca/products/omega-boar-bristle-shaving-brush-beech-wood-handle

To get back to the topic of thread, I am making a mouse out of leather, and am struggling to find something to use for whiskers that won't droop. I had thought of using the fine wire from an old set of guitar strings, but that would be a hazard to a small child. I have some artificial sinew, and was thinking that might work, if I split it to make it finer, then waxed it heavily with beeswax. Any other suggestions? What about invisible thread? Can you buy that in a heavy enough gauge that it wouldn't droop?

My uncle was a mining engineer in Asbestos, Quebec. Fortunately, he knew enough to protect himself, and lived to a ripe old age. His breathing problems late in life were no doubt caused by smoking rather than asbestos. In Grade 4, we made models out of asbestos clay. The teacher who showed us how to do it did die of cancer, but I am unsure if it was due to asbestos or her smoking habit. SO many people smoked back in those days! Mesothelioma causes the space between the lungs and chest wall to fill up with fluid, which prevents the lungs from expanding.