celticleather

Just to add to the earlier posts . . . the toggles are definitely leather and not wood. Here's a couple of ways that I make leather toggles. They may need a bit of practice, but I find both methods work well. Method 1 - Start with a piece of leather roughly the shape as in Pic 1. Note the parallel slit, which is cut just beyond the point where the leather starts to swell back to full width. Roll the leather very tightly, grain side out, until it reaches the slit. Stuff the rolled toggle half-way through the slit (Pic 2) - it has to be a very tight fit! Method 2 - Start with a piece of leather roughly the shape as in Pic 3. Roll the leather very tightly, grain side out, until it reaches the point where the leather reduces in width. Cut a slit right through the rolled-up toggle (Pic 4). Thread the narrow end of the leather through the slit and pull tight (Pic 5).

I followed the instructions to the letter . . . and finished up with a leather helicopter!

Here's another way of dealing with your loose ends! After you've tied off the two back-stitches with an internal knot (see my earlier post), drive a fine awl at an angle from the last stitch - where you tied the knot - through to the edge of the piece. Do this from both sides. Pull the threads through and cut off flush to the edge. Add a dab of dye to the point where the threads have been cut off. When boned and polished, the thread ends will disappear without trace! If you have used nylon thread (heaven forfend!!) you may need to use a Sharpie to colour the thread ends, because the dye may not colour the thread.

Give this a try . . . it's the way I was taught by an old-time saddler. Go back two stitches, as previously suggested, but on the last stitch wrap the loop thread once around the needle before pulling it tight (see pic). This effectively ties a knot inside the hole, and it will never come loose. Trim the ends flush in the usual way.

Microsoft have now issued a patch to fix this security flaw: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/...200812_oob.mspx

Karl Sounds good to me - although it's a bit of a puzzle knowing what we in the UK should give thanks for! Perhaps we'd have to come up with another name for it . . . any suggestions? I really must stop being so cynical! All the best to everyone! Terry

Oh Noooo!! Dare I say it? Our local newsagent has a whole display of Cadbury's Creme Eggs just inside the front door! And B & Q are starting their Boxing Day Sale on Christmas Eve! Must be something to do with the shortest day! Perhaps time has gone into reverse??

I believe this vinyl-coated leather was originally produced for the automobile industry, in order to give a high-end look and feel to the upholstery of low-end cars. Its purpose was to give greater wear resistance and easier cleaning, but it also meant that poor quality (cheaper) leather could be used to achieve a high-quality appearance. I'm not surprised that it found its way into domestic upholstery, although I think its use is banned in the UK and Europe, because it produces toxic gases when burned, and unlike leather, it is not self-extinguishing.

You do need to strop down to the finest possible abrasive - jeweller's rouge would be best if you have it - and then rub very vigorousy on some coarse canvas or saddle-cloth. The aim is to get a very shiny surface where the antler will come into contact with the leather. Any lumps or bumps will leave corresponding striations on the leather. If it's as smooth as a baby's bum, then all should be well!

Beautiful stitching, Darc! I'm glad I'm not alone in preferring the old-fashioned methods! Pricking irons are fairly easy to obtain in the UK - a couple of suppliers who come to mind are Abbey Saddlery (http://www.abbeysaddlery.co.uk/product_listing.cfm?page=3) and Le Prevo (http://www.leprevo.co.uk/sewing.html). While the British Pound is at a low against the dollar, perhaps you should import some and make an overnight killing! Terry

Only one word for that . . . exquisite!

For what it's worth, I'm a great fan of what I dare to call the 'classic' stitch! I believe that when hand-stitching, this can only be achieved by using the tried and tested traditional tools - the pricking iron and the diamond awl. I really like to see the gently angled stitch that is formed when the thread pulls into each end of the diamond-shaped hole, but it is important that the awl should follow the angle formed by the teeth of the pricking iron. I have occasionally used a 0.5mm drill when stitching stiff and dry harness-work, but before stitching I always follow up by pushing a diamond awl through the holes at 45º to the stitch line. It's a bit time-consuming, but I think it helps to maintain the 'hand-sewn' look. I've posted the pic just to illustrate what I call a 'classic' stitch . . . but not everyone might agree!

For anyone who's not already aware of this . . . a warning from Microsoft http://news.uk.msn.com/science/article.asp...mentid=11949433

I don't know anything at all about BUSM sewing machines, but most machines have a small screw on the bobbin-holder that adjusts the pressure of a small leaf-spring which grips the thread at the point where it emerges from the shuttle, and gives the bobbin tension. If it exists, perhaps it was the fact that this was too tight which prevented the thicker thread experiment from working. I may be talking out of the top of my head, but I've no doubt there's someone who knows!

Well done, Ray - another excellent topic! I get quite a bit of traffic from http://www.craft-fair.co.uk/ - which is pretty big in the UK, but I'm not sure whether it has much relevance in the US or elsewhere. At least it makes another link, and I'm pretty sure that Google uses it as a source.

I s'pose if you have a smash, you just lace on a new wing . . ?

Many moons ago, when I was a printer, we measured everything in points and picas. There were - and probably still are - twelve points to a pica, and six picas to an inch. But not an English inch; that would be too easy! The system was based on the American inch, which was, at the time, slightly different from the English inch (I've never quite understood this, because Caxton was printing in England before Columbus stumbled across America!). When I became an archaeologist, everything was metric, but we still dig trenches that are one foot or two feet deep, and take off soil an inch at a time! In the UK we now buy petrol (gasoline) in litres, and use it to drive miles (not kilometres), so we have fuel consumption expressed as 'miles per litre'. When I buy leather, the thickness (weight) is usually specified in millimetres. For example 3.6 - 4.0mm is 9 - 10oz, but it's sold by the square foot, except when buying soling leather when it's very often sold by the kilogram. It's now illegal to sell stuff in the UK in imperial measures, so I don't know how the tanneries get away with it! (http://www.metricmartyrs.co.uk/) Our money became 'metricated' in 1971, and this was a godsend! The old pounds, shillings and pence were every schoolchild's nightmare! As for time, Johanna - they're working on it! (http://zapatopi.net/metrictime/) I still think in imperial measures (I don't believe that's illegal yet), and I guess I always will, but I am just thankful that, for the purposes of mixing cement, a bucket of sand will continue to be a bucket of sand!

From the purveyor of useless information: Clams, clems and clamps are all from the same root - the Anglo-Saxon clæmman, meaning 'press'. Its first recorded use in the sense of saddlery tools was in 1399. There's a similar word - clæmnes - which means 'torture' . . . hmmm

The Online Dictionary says: Diddly-squat Noun 1. a small worthless amount; "you don't know jack" (synonym) jack, diddlysquat, diddly-s**t, diddlys**t, diddly, diddley, squat, s**t (hypernym) small indefinite quantity, small indefinite amount Pay your money and take your pick!

Looks like someone else who thought it was a herb-chopper! Nice find!

What a brilliant thing to do! I look forward to seeing some pics! In the 17th century, through to the 19th century, people would hold Frost Fairs on the River Thames in London. Climate change has put a stop to all that! The pic below is 1677.

When I use a steel straight-edge (1ft or 2ft) to cut against, I have a strip of masking tape stuck to the underside of the steel. The matt surface of the tape helps to 'grip' the leather - especially thin leathers - and prevents it from slipping.

Lining the jaws with leather is a good idea. I use a sueded split leather, about 1mm thick, glued on with the sueded side outermost. I find that this prevents the leather in the clam from slipping.

Black for brass: 2oo gm copper carbonate 1 lit ammonia / 25%/ Cold immersion! Brown for brass: 5 gm copper sulphate 5o gm potassium permanganate 1 lit water Hot immersion(9o C)! 2-5 min. Yellowish brown to orange/red for brass 100 gm cooper sulphate 5o gm sodium chlorate 1 lit water Hot immersion (9oC)! or acetic acid will also work.

I reckon Bruce has cracked it, but it looks like the angle of the slits is what gives it the true rope-like effect. They appear to have been made at about 45 degrees to the edge of the leather, rather like using a pricking iron for stitching.