Handstitched

Looks aged , and well worn .

Yeh, thats what drew me to them, they were well looked after, and going by the tops and cutting edges , hardly used. With care, these will outlast me . There was so much stuff I could have bought , but had to watch the $$$. Theres many more punches, when the $$ are healthy, might get a few more. Can't help but keep thinking about the blacksmith bellows tho, they're in a bad way. . It would be one helluva ( long term) restore project. Good to learn about them too. As for the blow torch, there was about a dozen of these, different makes etc. but the way I choose these, I check the pumps & seals, most are loose, dry and hold no pressure, but this one pumped and held pressure just fine. Otherwise I would have to source parts etc. that are hard to find here in Oz and that costs extra . When I collect stuff, I prefer that it works and /or it can be restored , if possible History should be saved IMHO HS

No matter how much solvent I used, my jeans still would not come clean . They came out kinda stiff with adhesive . HS

Got these ' toys ' today. One is a Wynn & Timmins England 1-5/8" punch, and the other is a ' Footprint England' 2" punch . Barely used, and in good condition. I know new ones can be bought, but I'm not paying up to $190 for a 2" . The 2" was $65 au at an antique/rustic/junk shop/yard thingy And besides, I prefer vintage stuff as they are built to last .Could have spent hours in there, and spent a lot of $$$ too. They also have some blacksmith bellows that I've had my eye on for a while now, but it was out of my price range.....for now Have to save my pennies. In the background of one of the pics, is a ' Tilley Parafin' iron ( mainly for display) , and a ' Companion Australia ' blow torch in working order , just 'ripe' for restoration, I already got one, and restored that . HS

The major spill I did was a 500ml tin of contact adhesive...all over my right leg . So I don't what would be worse, dye or adhesive ? HS

Sadly, this is something my Mother experienced back in 78' . Very little was known about breast cancer back then, and there was very little support or awareness . But thankfully these days there is so much awareness and support . The fact it was discovered early , the chances of recovery are high. It will be a difficult journey, but you have all of our support on here . I wish you and your wife and family all the very best HS

Ha !!! Quite like that ' Two old ladies having a chat over a cuppa at a cafe' , one says to the other " did you come on the bus? Yeh, but I made it look like an asthma attack " HS

Yeh, I know what you're thinking . Frodo has gone a bit quiet too I noticed HS

@Frodo you have a lot of sucking up to do my friend, and not just the mess . Flowers, chocolates, an expensive dinner and wine at a fancy restaurant ... a new car perhaps ?? ......or maybe put those cooking skills to good use as you'll be living outdoors for a while... LOL !!!! I think I can safely say on behalf of all of us on here, ' we're thinking of you ' HS

The aromas from the Pork & fish wafting around the bush would have been totally awesome , sure wish I was there Is that a 'secret recipe ' rub on the Pork ? My lil' bit of Pork for Mothers Day looks like a Pork ' Mcnugget' compared to that pig . Tastes great all the same . Well done HS

Done, I gave her a big hug for Mothers Day as well Thanks Frodo, sounds like you had fun as well HS

@Frodo Hope all is well, haven't heard from ya , unless you're on holiday . Mum loved the fridge magnets, thanks for the inspiration If theres a ' Mothers Day' & 'Fathers Day', why isn't there Sons & Daughters Day ? LOL @chuck123wapati the Pork was awesome btw, and so was the crackling , bellies are full now , plenty left over for a stir fry during the week . HS

Because I'm good looking on a ' regular ' basis ? I really dunno The mods will know . Perhaps it has to do with the amount of contributions to this site and how often members come on the site...maybe. HS

" Two old ladies sitting on a park bench, when a naked man ran past. One had a stroke, the other couldn't quite reach " HS

Solved: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mystery-solved-how-did-500-pounds-of-pasta-end-up-dumped-in-the-new-jersey-woods-180982135/ "Eventually, neighbors who live near the dump site solved the pasta puzzle themselves. After analyzing footage captured by a home security camera, they determined it came from a man who’d been cleaning out his mother’s home after she died" Sadly , his Mother 'pasta-way' , 'RIP' Rest in Pasta ( sorry ) HS

and @chuck123wapati We'll be having a ( $mall) roast pork . Thank you very much , quite enjoy carving roses . Some are better than others . Just like horses, I'll do one and it looks great, do another and it looks not as good as the first. Practice practice... Really like chucks roses too HS

Now, this is something I know nothing about. First time I've seen one of these, but it looks great @Frodo . Every day I learn HS

@Frodo While not coasters, these are fridge magnets. I have done a better job on carving roses before. Challenge fulfilled Mothers Day , Australia is May 14, this Sunday. So it will be either a roast, ( depending on the price of meat) or a pizza , washed down with champers with a fancy ice cream cake ........thingy .

Thats something really important, aside from good eyesight when doing close up work, good lighting Thank you y'all HS

@PastorBob & @chuck123wapati Thank you very much I modified a brush a long time ago so it only has a few bristles on it to get around lettering and small bits on stuff like this . I couldn't work without it now...or my extra glasses lol I have a sore back from being hunched over and close up doing the lettering on the belt. The sacrifice is worth it ...I think Shame we can't charge extra for physical pain . HS

The last time I made one of these was back in 2014. I don't do brand names like this one too often , out of respect. Leather is 4mm vt DB . Just a light pattern along the edge . The lettering and ' Live To Ride' 3D stamps is bevelled around each one, left natural, not painted (so it will darken in time) , but carefully dyed black around each letter. *Made my eyes go silly and just a few snaps and sturdy buckle. I made a HD tank cover for the same client a while back so I was happy to make a ' HD' keeper. *am I the only one that puts one pair of glasses on top of another? Yeh yeh , I know I need my eyes checked. HS

One of our high school excursions ' back in the day', was a tour of an abattoir, mostly sheep, fair dinkum. I don't know what was going through the minds of our teachers to do that, but anyway, while all the other kids were almost passing out, I was keenly fascinated. Nothing was wasted, every part was used. I loved how they got the brains out, a hand operated gizzmo like a giant nut cracker. I stood there for ages watching that thing , lol . We all had a BBQ that night, with lamb , tasted dam good too . Perhaps vegans need a lesson in reality. I think you have convinced me to keep giving my ol' barby some love. And I agree about the quality of newies. I doubt they would last anywhere near as long as mine. And, quite often they are the most common things to find on a kerbside rubbish collection , says a lot about " quality" Keep eating like a king HS

Good point, you can't fix stupid HS

@chuck123wapati Vegans ( veggo's ) have their place, God Bless them , but this p***es me off. https://au.news.yahoo.com/vegans-confront-aussie-neighbour-over-cooking-meat-makes-us-feel-sick-064558069.html I wasn't sure whether to post this on here, or on the ' jokes ' thread . If that ' vegan' was next to me, I'd be putting the barby on every night. I had BBQ satay Pork skewers recently , and tonight, rump steak, and lamb chops the week earlier...on the barby, the aromas were devine . And Chuck, I had a rare passing thought yesterday ...buy a new barby, God forbid .Not sure how much longer my 'ye olde ' cast iron 4 burner will last . It really is looking its age now . I got it around 1995-ish. All the newies these days have stainless steel burners. I'll make the oldie last a bit longer. HS

Good to hear you have got your truck finished , woo hoo I wish I could say the same about my poor ol' Grey Fergie tractor. It should have been finished ages ago and running by now , but when you have two parents that need my help daily, in between everything else I do it ain't easy . I got the head & manifolds back on. Water pump next. Its like a slow moving jigsaw puzzle, one piece at a time. Man, you have been eating well We're now into casseroles & curries and all the other yummo winter foods . Getting really cold now. A storm about a month ago gave us a few fallen branches etc. for me to cut up for wood. We have about 4-5 bottles of ' cheap' champagne , only 6 bucks a bottle, but it doesn't taste any different to the ex$y fancy stuff , we pop a cork on the odd occasion, yep life can be tough , lol Take care & eat well HS