Handstitched

I made a few of these this arvo from off cuts. Just simple square trays about 6" , dyed, dried sealed and riveted. No need for a pic. I'll 'test ' them out this weekend. But I went to check on how much these go for ...it was a case of I saw one for $945 . WTF ??????????? https://www.hermes.com/au/en/product/mises-et-relances-change-tray-H400060Mv18/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4Ja8_pfX9wIVFRvnCh3uxAk5EAQYASABEgILUPD_BwE Was the cow fed champagne & caviar while having a facial and a pedicure while being serenaded holidaying along the French riviera ?? Sh*t a brick !!! HS

For shearers, its ' silicosis ' . Not very well known and not talked about enough in the sheep shearing industry . I was part of it for a time. Glad I left it. Any relation to ' Captain Morgan' , as in rum ?? Just .....thought I'd ask.... At the end of the day, well all have something in common . We love friendship, fellowship , leather, food, drink, Mother Nature & the great outdoors. And who knows, we may even be related somewhere along the long looooooong line HS

I agree. I attended an event about 2 weeks ago, in the Central Wheatbelt , a bit further n/e from where I am. I make fly swats from scrap leather. The flies were horrendous in that part of the wheatbelt, as a result , I sold mostly fly swats, the occasional belt....but mostly fly swats. If it wasn't for the fly swats, the day would have been... average . We have flies here, but nowhere near as bad as out there. The fly swats I make are cheap enough for kids to buy with their pocket money. HS

I've never given what I am much thought. I know I have a some Welsh in me, from my Fathers side ....somewhere, can't speak word of Welsh, may explain why I eat leaks, theres definitely some pommy ( english) in me . I was born in Suffolk. But a part of me has a bit of Greek in me...I think, going by my last name . I eat a lot of cheese , pickles, & salami's and small goods But I love a pint of brown ale & fish 'n' chips . Or it could be that fact ......I'm just a glutton <<<<< HS

@dans79 If you want it any more perfect than that, use a machine . But from what I can see, it looks great Hear hear !! I've lost count the amount of times my hand stitching has gone a bit off course on the back . I call them ' humanity stitches' . Lets me know I am not a machine, or a robot . It also lets the customer know that its actually hand made . To keep (over) analysing your work will only drive you crazy HS

$35 bucks for that ??? Some idiot will pay that too . Sh*t !!! I'd be a millionaire with the amount of scraps I have !! Might give those a go , but I won't be charging as much as that though, even with a little bit of stamping. . HS

The only Irish lingo I know is Guinness @fredk I made a few ' dingle dangles' ....or 'gewgaws' . A simple round 1" cut out and some belt off cuts cut into 1" pieces from veg scraps, a simple stamp pic, a hole , dyed, some antiques, and some bright colours , red ( red attracts) , blue etc. with a 15mm split ring. I'll sell them @ $2- ea. pocket money, loose change. I'll see how they go this weekend as a test, can only try eh. HS

Pretty much the same here. I use a plastic kitchen chopping board for cutting belt tips etc.. Its a fairly decent one only about $20. Some chopping boards have a hard plastic, no good for cutting tools, let alone kitchen knives.. The one I have is a soft-ish plastic. About 6 months old, so far so good and kind to my tools. HS

@Spyros These are my off cuts, some of them at least from my 'small island' Easy to make . The gussets are 1.5 mm veg . You can use any thin leather for the gussets. Had to search that, ' gewgaws' . Never heard it before. Fancy word for 'useless s/crap', aka ' dingle dangles' , thats what I call them HS

I second that . I make simple ' one piece ' knife cases from belt off cuts and scraps , suitable for 'leatherman' type folding knives with ' expandable' gussets to fit an assortment of knives etc. (I 'll post a pic later, happy to share. ) I make belts mostly, and custom h/d molded knife cases thats my ' bread & butter' . The off cuts are too short for a dog collar , a bit too heavy for cat collars, and over kill for a book mark, they sometimes get cut up for belt keepers or used for repairs etc. , but I always end up with assorted off-cut lengths, not much good for anything else. But I don't line any of my knife cases or phone cases. Only my hand bags. HS

@chiefjason This is from another thread: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/100306-lets-talk-about-sales-or-lack-thereof/page/3/#comments scroll down to my last post. HS

I do what @fredk said, but I also cut off a small 'corner', about an inch on the inside, so you'll end up with a bit of a point to get it started. Hope that helps HS

Just did one of those, but it was a metal inside and I covered it in Kangaroo hide. And yes, Al Stohlman vol 2 is recommended . HS

I am so impressed with the progress you've made on this project. We had our doubts, but you've done so well HS

Its also known as a ' head f**k . A late friend of mine taught me that one. Had me in stitches. It does make sense . When I make m/c tank covers that are laced,the lace on both sides has to 'point' in the same direction. I lace from both left to right, and right to left ....hope that makes sense ? HS

Wow, what a beauty. Whats the age of it? An electrician may have a better idea, but the first thing that I thought of , is an ' momentary isolation switch/s' of some kind , positioned somewhere so that its easy to use, and hands are out the way . I have a later model USM press that has buttons on both handles that have to be pressed simultaneously for it to operate. HS

This blog may be of interest. http://blacktulipsewing.blogspot.com/2013/01/left-handed-sewing.html The only thing I have that is left handed ( in stock) is a few left hand knife sheaths. Mounted on the left side on the belt . So , I was wondering if these left hand machines come with left hand screw drivers & spanners ? HS

I agree. Its a big decision . But some basic market research is a good idea. Before I bought my clone, I just simply had a good look around town , and asked questions etc. over a number of weeks or more, and thought, ' what does this town need that it hasn't got' ? ( theres only around 1800 people here in my town) There was nowhere to buy a decent belt or leather case or anything what people are likely to use, mainly farmers & tradies etc.. and there was nowhere to buy any souvenirs for tourists, visitors . The horse ownership around town was also increasing. I bought my machine in 2005. Best decision I made. Its paid itself off. The Seiko machine came later for the horse rugs. That too well and truly paid itself off HS

And what if it doesn't ?? Unless you can sell them, you're stuck with an expensive " investment" . Just a thought. HS

I just use the tried & tested Al Stohlman method. The length of both arms for belts, long projects etc. HS

I had to google that name. I just use ordinary paper to make a pattern to begin with, a 'prototype' perhaps. Once the pattern seems to work and I'm happy with it , thats when I use heavier card to make a ' permanent' template. Quite often my leather comes wrapped in brown paper, I re-use that for pattern making. I try to re-use & recycle where I can. HS

@hickok55 Have a word with @RockyAussie He's used quite a bit of Croc. @Garyak I can see Cane Toad leather in that pic, spotted it straight away HS

@JayEhl I had another, perhaps 'ye olde' method of removing smells. Bi Carbonate of Soda. It was once used inside fridges to get rid of unpleasant smells, like mold, musty smells from left overs etc. I'm not suggesting put the leather inside the fridge, but perhaps inside a sealable 20-40ltr tub with some bi carb. It may take a while, but it might just work . We used it inside cupboards to freshen them up . A bit of bi carb and lemon juice ( or for the Aussies) some eucalyptus oil in the bi carb. Makes a change from moth balls. HS

The cigarette smell is maybe why there was an estate sale in the first place ? Would making something, like belts for eg. remove the smell? HS