fredk

If you are making lasts for boots you need to make the last come apart at the ankle otherwise it wont come out of the constructed boot (ask me how I know) A solid last is alright for shoes and boots that only go slightly above the ankle

Buy Blue guns, for fitting

Optivisor - I couldn't remember the name earlier This is the type I have. But my wee light is broken and I'll have to cobble up a new one

I have and use different powers of reading glasses for my close-up work. General use is 2 diopter, with 2.5, 3, 3.5 and for very close work 4. But the main thing are to have plenty of strong light and don't work in your own shadow I find using a jewelers loup awkward as it used with one eye only I also have, but rarely use a head band with changeable magnifying lenses

Thanks, and a good tip there

That was a method advocated in my medieval circles for making shoes. Not resin nor plaster of Paris but using cement, as in concrete. I used that way to make some lasts

Resurrecting a dead thread; I've not really forgotten this, but nor have I attempted a flask I want to ask about using corn for packing it out - does the leather stretch enuf that there are no wee bumps caused by the corn kernels ? Is the stretched leather smooth at the finish?

Buy Tandy. They're fine. They very good as a starter set. If you can go into a Tandy and inspect the tools. Make sure the shaft is straight. Check the design, make sure there is no flaw on it.

use the extra holes as often as they align, or nearly align with the fewer holes

Thanks chaps for sharing all this information. I don't make such belts but its interesting to larn not to use fired cartridges cos they've expanded

Boys-o, that some job in 3 hours I have several item on the go and I should do a '3 hour' on them cos these jobs wont take near that time

@mous3 you should get together with @machineage He's got a Wimsew W-0618-1 Walking Foot Sewing Machine for sale in Staffordshire and its within your budget

You can use wood-workers rifflers to roughen up the leather

An idea. Not fully formulated yet. A work around Government tariffs? I know that most of you in the US really prefer to buy in the US but some may buy from overseas producers Have the item sent to me in UK which has no tariffs. Then I'll repackage it and send it on to you. Still working on this idea but I need to go out now

More basic than that. My intention is to replicate what my friend had and did. A medium sized draw-string bag of thin veg tan and a leather lace The chicken fat/grease was taken from a cooked chicken. The cold fat was liberally applied to the bag and excess wiped off The bag was kept in with his other kit, so it was warm and dry I'm not sure how long between applying the fat/grease and it started to go rancid and how long until he brought it to me My friend did this as the 'expert', who taught him to make the bag, told him to as it would water-proof it and 'thats what they would have used' (in medieval times)

I'm actually having difficulty getting chicken fat/grease. All our chicken is extra lean and don't provide as much as a couple of grams

3000 beeves suddenly stampeded Near the back one beeve asked another 'What are we running for?" The second beeve says 'Well, I don't know about you but I'm running for Cancer Research'

Cows never listen to instructions You tell them to do something and it goes in one ear and out the udder

Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd raiding an off licence Daffy - Is this Whiskey? Elmer - Yeth, but not ath whiskey ath wobbing a bank.....

An old Belfast joke 4 new convicted criminals sat down to lunch together The first says "I got 3 years for robbing a post office What did you others do and what sentence did you get? The second man says "I got 2 years for stealing a car" The third man says "8 years for armed robbery of a bank" The fourth man was quiet for a while then he says "20 years" "Well? What for?" asks the others "Shoplifting" "Shoplifting?!?" the others say in astonishment "Well the bomb did lift the shop about fifty feet in the air"

I would like to see more imaginative designs to compliment the 3D stamps already available. And some more modern designs, 21st century style eg. a surfer on waves, a swimming sea diver (with waving seaweeds), a sunken ship, (for the diver), a pick-up truck. On cowboy types; a (stampede) of cattle which can be repeatedly stamped along a belt, with mounted drovers placed/stamped at intervals ( I've been watching Rawhide on youtube! ) Some of your samples are already available from Tandy and Ivan For my own use I'm looking for decent Viking and Medieval style stamps I have these in a large size and will get them cut to a smaller size, probably 1 inch This is a Viking style "Eagle". The one on the left heads a line-up of the one on the right

I haven't 'pasted' the back side but I do rub in a bees wax & carnauba wax mix. I rub in plenty and buff it up real good. Belts have kept that smooth finish

Usually, unless the pattern supplier says 'No' then a modest number of items may be sold. If its a Tandy pattern they actually encourage you to sell items

Mummy, is Daddy dead? No darling, he's in his leather room doing some basket-weave stamping

I assumed the OP was intending to use a buckled belt as that was what he showed For information; these are some of the closures I've used; On a concho ed repurposed belt; a buckle with a large keeper Lacing, which went through the antler tips to hold them on, then criss-crossed. Enuf lacing so the band can fit on a larger hat This one uses elastic cord glued to the band. Enuf elasticity to expand to fit a larger hat