Handstitched

I second chuck & dwight, belt/ disc sander. A bit noisy, but it works and I can still get the drive belts . I use a vintage vacuum cleaner as a dust extractor . And if I can't get the adhesive sanding discs, I make my own. HS

Man, thats so good, very impressive , great detail, I've worked in sheep shearing sheds, and the lines on those horns are spot on I won't go off topic, a discussion for another thread, but hear hear HS

@chuck123wapati thats quite informative Just been reading through the whole thread . Always learning HS

I get a good pair of wire ( side cutters) , carefully & gently get the tips of the blades under the rivet , flat part of the pliers against the leather , and hopefully, cut the rivet. Some on here may use a small drill to carefully drill them out HS

Thats some quality looking hides there, great colours . The things I could make with those . Is that your ' supervisor' giving them the once over ? I'm sure they'll get the 'stamp ' ( paw ) of approval . Get cracking lol HS

I've seen so many restores on this site, just proves nothing is impossible I can't help but notice the remains of what looks like a sump gasket sitting on the bed, and a tube of gasket sealer . Should look quite good when its finished HS

I quite like it too I did something similar with the dye like that on some knife cases , it was actually by mistake, but I liked it so much I kept intentionally making the ' mistake' . I also like the fact you had heart surgery and leather craft is part of your ' healing' . Good health to you HS

I have used Kangaroo leather for watch straps quite a few times Not sure if you have roo hides available where you are though. HS

The extreme cold can be very dangerous, so can heat stroke, as I found out ...again... this afternoon . All the usual symptoms...including almost passing out , disorientated , out of breath etc etc. Not much fun . If I had that beautiful snow in front of me...I would have dived right into it Stay safe HS

To me, and my nostrils, leather doesn't smell like mildew . It smells like...well , leather . I can smell the natural oils in the leather, they are neither strong or pungent .A new side of vt leather has a nice fresh clean smell to it, ( some hardly have a smell at all) there are also ' undertones' of the fact it has come from an animal. . But it gets to a point that I get so used to it, I can no longer smell it. If your leather smells like mildew, then perhaps theres a problem How is your leather stored? And where is it stored? HS

You've nailed it in one ...woo hoo thanks friend I preceded the words French Cleats with ' metal' . HS

G'Day, I'd like to make a custom detachable extension for my sewing machine table to accommodate large or long items . But for the life of me I can't seem to find the joiners I need, or what they're called. Forgive the very poor drawing , the bottom part is all wrong, I know , but the top part will give you an idea of what it is I'm looking for. Just two simple pieces that slot into each other . Some on here may have used them to make extensions to round arm sewing machines Thanks for your help HS *this may even go in the sewing machines thread

Man, that looks so much fun !! << pardon the pun HS

I've always favoured the threaded needle, but others may say the opposite HS

Howdy hope your New Year went well . I just put the barby on with a few snags ( sausages) and some steaks , and I made a nice ham , pineapple & pasta salad , quite tasty , all washed down with a nice sav blanc ...and some champers later HS

Yep, same here, ' double cordovan ' or double loop Try practicing the triple cordovan Quite a nice braid . HS

G'day G'Day G'day to one and all . Oz is about to celebrate the New Year 'down here' , the drinks snacks and nibblys are at the ready , including the champers I've already been busy getting my workshop tidied up and vacuumed for the new year , rearrange a few bits and bobs , put up some shelves.woo hoo ..etc Have a Safe and Happy and Brighter New Year Peace HS

A few eons ago, I was at a mates place enjoying a few drinks etc. His wife was having a little difficulty with their young child, about 1-2 yo, crying screaming etc. he was teething, poor 'lil mite, all parents have been there no doubt, all the usual remedies didn't work . So I dipped his dummy into my Guiness and stuck it in his mouth..... ....shut 'im up for hours So not relevant or on topic....just saying HS

I normally get my leather from a regular supplier 2-3 hrs away in Perth , ( Western Australia) but I keep seeing vt leather sides on ebay from a tannery in the east of Oz a lot cheaper than what I was paying.But had a gut feeling , like a ' too good to be true' feeling. So, my curiosity got the better of me. I bought some . It was crap !!!!!!!! Uneven thickness, wasn't tanned properly , the colour wasn't like the normal vt pinky, flesh colour, it was more like a light olive wouldn't tool properly , like tooling rubber, as for dying...well, I've never seen leather 'drink' so much dye . It was like dying a sponge . I didn't waste it, I used for odd jobs occasionally , but with a lot of oil, but once its gone, its gone ..never again! Lesson learnt. Go with your gut feeling HS

Really nice work When I do 'stuff' , gilt/brass & chrome/nic hardware go together , including the snaps , but thats just me . HS

Did a nice job on the case HS

Not knowing where you are or availability . you could try VT kangaroo leather , available in Australia . HS

I am very late to this chat, but I can say for certain that roo hides are around 0.8 - 1mm thickness. I have quite a lot of them . Not sure where you get roo hides where you are though I get mine from Queensland Australia . HS

I have a 441 clone , like the Cobra Class 4 . I use it mainly for heavy leather .For thinner leather items like wallets etc. I use a Pfaff 60 , I also use a Seiko STW mainly for horse rugs & canvas, but also medium leathers . I find it better to have more than one machine than to keep reconfiguring the ' big' machine each time.Saves a lot of down time . Each machine is ' set' , just turn on and use it Like KGG said, no machine will do everything , I wish . HS

I keep seeing in the news the extreme cold weather that parts of the US is experiencing . We too are experiencing some serious weather, extreme heat. Its a case of " one spark and we're f***ked ". Its a lot different to a few months ago . How quick it changes. Just stay safe eh over Christmas ??? My respects to Mother Nature @tsunkasapa Nice dog LOL HS