Sheilajeanne

This is the photo that give the best view of the whole machine, and shows the wear and tear:

They have sent me more pictures. The flywheel is okay and there is no obvious rust on the machine. It appears in reasonably good shape, other than a lot of the paint being worn off in places. And she says everything goes up and down and round and round when she steps on the treadle. Have asked for the serial number, which is visible in one of the photos, but not large enough to read. I blew up the photo as best I could and the first two figures might be 78, which means it was manufactured in 1887!! Well, I knew it wasn't young!

Would you pay $550 for it without a motor, Ferg? I've asked her if everything seems to move the way it should. It's been in storage a long time so things could have seized up.

This ad came up on FB: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3004428886443934/?referralSurface=messenger_lightspeed_banner&referralCode=messenger_banner Trying to get an idea of what the machine is realistically worth (NOT paying $550!) Seller says it's been in storage for 12 years and came originally from a tailor's or cobbler's shop. Also wondering exactly what it would weigh with the stand - how much man or woman power would be needed to get it into the back of an SUV! No, it's not motorized...treadle only.

OMG, Frodo, that is funny! Nice bracelets!

Ordered Nigel's book shortly after I said I was going to put it on my birthday wish list on Tuesday of this week. It arrived today. Thank you, Amazon! It has already paid the price it cost me, just with the section on pattern making and cutting leather! Those are two of the things I've struggled with the most! Took me 2 hours last night to copy and cut out a pattern for a Tandy wallet I wanted to keep. I was thinking my knife wasn't sharp enough because it wouldn't go through the cardboard on the first cut. Turns out you can't expect that, because more pressure actually interferes with accuracy. This explains why I had to do a number of the pieces I was cutting a second time. Also, the information on finding the best angle for a cut was very helpful.

Klara, I couldn't get comfortable using the knife, and if I do that to the handle, I will likely ruin it for anyone else. Thought about it, and decided nope, not going there.

Klara, wait until you get into doing it properly - tooling the leather, skiving and burnishing the edges, and lining the flesh side! That takes time, a LOT of time, especially if you are hand sewing the lining! And yes, if you read the account of how the two-person stitching was done, it definitely must have been a saddle stitch. The guy teaching them was a master harness maker - what else would it have been?

Rannoch, it wasn't the stitching that made the boat waterproof so much as it was the lanolin the hides were dressed with. I looked it up, out of curiosity: http://www.leathersmithe.com/the-brendan-voyage-select.html The boat was made from 57 oak-tanned ox hides, tanned using traditional methods that take nearly a year to complete! The thread they used was hand-spun flax, treated with black wax. Hides were overlapped by an inch or more, and double stitched for strength. One of Ireland's top harness makers oversaw the stitching, and taught them how to do both the traditional saddle stitch and a back stitch. He was a hard taskmaster, and would ruthlessly rip out someone's whole day's work if it wasn't up to his standards. Because of the size of the hides, the saddle stitch required 2 people, one working inside the hull of the boat and the other outside! Strongly recommend the above link - it's not a long read, and it's FASCINATING!

Klara, fortunately craft knives aren't expensive! I blew big bucks on a good quality round knife, only to find it's not the right tool for me! It also doesn't fit my hand. ARgh. If anyone wants one, feel free to PM me!

Fred, that's a great idea! The main problem with Stohlman is a lot of the stamps he used are no longer available. However, most of us who have been doing this awhile know how to find substitutes, and could update his patterns.

Ooooh, going to put this on my birthday wish list!

Yes, Hidepounder did some amazing stuff. He hasn't been around in quite awhile, though. This is a 12 year old post!

You're welcome!

Yes, that's one of it's main uses! It should be diluted 50/50 with water first. Make sure any dye is completely dry first, or you may get streaking.

I've had this happen with my saddle. I had it professionally done, but it believe it was just a matter of undoing the stitching to the left of the pocket so you can get to the leather's underneath side. These saddles are made so you can open them up and adjust the amount of stuffing to help it fit the horse better. So, restitch the pocket from the inside, sew the saddle back up, and you're good to go!

Okay, I also posted this on the Canadian Leatherworker FB page, and one of the posters there decided it needed to be made into a stamp! Way to go, Darryl! Good job!

You're right, sbrownn, that's the upper thread. The lower thread is black

Wow! That's a very ambitious project for a first-timer! I'm in awe!

I know the person that originally wrote this can't be a leathercrafter, because there's no mention of 'blood'!

Found this on FB today...

If anyone is looking for some cheap practice leather to sharpen their tooling skills, Tandy currently has veg bellies on sale for $17.59 Canadian! Going to take advantage of this, and thought others might like to as well.

I am very jealous of that little skiving machine he has for doing the edges! I really can't imagine being able to skive leather that thin without something like that. Even then, he says 'guess how many times I did that?' (goofed up).

Hardrada, that is an EXCELLENT video! Thanks for posting! Maybe a short strap, like the wrist strap women have on clutch purses (only smaller) would help with taking it in and out of his pocket. Oops, Hardrada suggested that already...

Wow, that's HORRIBLE! Doesn't even look like leather!