Handstitched

Is a 'cart buckle' the same as a bridle or swage buckle ? HS

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas Just doing lots of nothing atm because its so damn hot outside. No relief until Saturday. But the beer is nice All the best, HS

I can empathise with that. Some years back, I knocked my tin of contact adhesive over....onto my leg . My right leg was covered in a sticky 'gloop' . A few 'choice words' were said, and although I tried to clean the mess up, cloths , solvents etc. my jeans still remain a little stiff to this day . Whats just as frustrating with the 'dropsies' , is when you keep dropping the same thing over and over again . Thats when its time to walk away before I throw something . HS

G'Day from a very hot Australia . Just wishing everyone a very safe, prosperous and Happy Christmas and may all of your creative ideas come to fruition in the New Year. May all of your machines run smooth and your businesses profitable Look forward to seeing some 'newbies' enter the world of leather crafting. Right now here in Oz ,its our Summer, we're experiencing some extreme high temps atm , weird weather, bush fires and cyclones, its 'cyclone season' for us. We'll be having 45+ degs for Christmas Day in my part of the world, about 112-114 for you? I love beer Peace & God Bless to those that haven't had a good year . Its good to see humanity showing its true colours, neighbors helping neighbors, and strangers helping strangers during a time of crisis , thats how the world should turn IMO . Take Care HS

G'Day, When I'm making knife cases for leathermans for example, put both pieces on the bench sander to smooth the edges before gluing, and I make sure the contact adhesive is covering the very edges and then use paper clamps all the way around ( briefly) . Then sew , sand, and burnish. I have used some old hard boot polish to fill in any minor gaps, burnishes quite nicely too.

Elements of filigree perhaps? Its all one piece . HS

Thats done it . I have all their early stuff on (original vinyl) & CD , and post Peter Gabriel , ' And Then There Were Three ' onwards. They played here in West Oz, great show, but the pig failed to 'fly' , it flopped...oops! No alcohol was allowed in, but there was a LOT of " I can't believe its not tobacco" being smoked. One bloke behind me had at least 3....the smoke kept wafting under my nose.....so I enjoyed them too . HS

Thats a tough one. Had a quick look , but nothing came close . Looks like a custom made wad type die/ punch / punches? Its a lot of effort, but is it possible to make them yourself? HS

from the album ' Brain Salad Surgery' ? I have it on vinyl, plus one other ( triple album) with full version of Fanfare on it ...somewhere. I also have a pair of ' 8 tracks' with a live performance of ELP on them. Remember them? You do realise you've just pressed the ' nostalgia' button ? My first concert was Gene Pitney ....with my parents.....I was a wee lad . So un-rock'n'roll !!! HS

For me, its ' Triple J ' . ( ABC ) . They play stuff the commercial stations haven't got the balls to play and......No Ad's woo hoo !! HS

Yes, they can cause fires . They can generate their own heat if air is not circulating around them. I guess even more so on a hot day. Never had a issue with ink coming off. Its mostly for veg tanned leathers, like belts etc. HS

G'Day, this is what I have. For applying dyes, and sealers , I have some sheep skin off cuts, cut and trimmed into 2-3" squares. I thoroughly brush off all the fluffy/ furry bits before use . Some I can re-use 2-3 times before they go a bit stiff and unusable. I use sheep skin off cuts for applying oils etc. I use old newspapers to cover my dying bench , gets changed every week or depending on how 'dyed' it gets. Someone gave me a box load of (pink) sheep skin off cuts a long time ago, and sometimes my leather supplier will give me off cuts for nothing . For cleaning my hands , my benches , machines etc. and cleaning metal components, I go through a heap of paper towel . For polishing, I re-use our old bed sheets, old T shirts, etc. Apart from paper towel, I've never bought cloths . I also re-use old T towels, bath towels etc. Some cover my machines, some I use to wipe my hands on. I try to re-use as much as I can HS

Is there a particular reason why the back isn't dyed? Unless I intend to add lining, I always dye and seal the back of my belts and collars and various other items. I would think it was quicker to dye the backs than fiddle about taping, and using markers and edge paints. @chuck123wapati You make a good point about the carpenter. I do sometimes see wood workers selling their hand made wares at markets etc. When I see the backs of items unpainted, unvarnished etc. they look unfinished. But thats just me. HS

When I first started, I went to a stone mason , asked for a ' small' piece or an off-cut of granite or marble. " Theres a piece of granite outside you can have for about $20" "You Beauty !!!" WTF ??? It was 13-14" square ....and over 4" thick ......I could barely lift it . Not to be defeated, and no help from stone mason, it was cheap after all, it took me 3 - 4 attempts to get it in the car , huffing and puffing and nearly dropping it between attempts. Damn thing nearly gave me a hernia!!! I now have a nice ( much smaller) piece of marble. HS

@Warhauk this is the stuff I use: https://maclaceleather.com.au/product/seal-shine-1-litre/ It has a nice glossy look and feel to the finished product. I use it on pretty much all dyed products. HS

I have been asked if I make boots, but I would need space twice the size of the workshop I have now to consider it. I have cutting dies for the soles, and shoe lasts, but thats about it. HS

It is a matter of preference. I've always dyed the flesh side of everything , belts and collars. I use a ' seal 'n' shine. I sometimes use a water based lacquer on some projects as neat lac is no longer available , although it did take some testing. HS

I have an 'olde' Malvern Star' with a three speed.It has ' racing' type handle bars' and the gear changer is the hand grip. Its twists , like turning a screw driver. Theres 4 bikes here. I say that as I look down at my belly .....and after eating some brand name fried chicken at the weekend I really should make an effort. In the east and some here in the west, there are ' tip shops' ( dump shops) . Selling all the re-usable stuff that would normally get thrown out smashed up and buried in landfill . Quite often the money, and some of the goods go to charity . Mother Nature can be unkind to so many , floods , fires, storms etc. this is where 'tips shops' can help, to help rebuild peoples lives and give them hope. Hope all goes well with your bike , it may even inspire me to get on mine HS

@chuck123wapati I hear ya on the O/P . My beef is with printer inks. Its cheaper to buy a whole new printer than it is to buy the inks. What is wrong with that picture? I could go on another whinge, but you get the idea. Thats a good find too BTW, and the mud guards are in near perfect condition too. Normally they're all bent and bingled It sucks about not being able to have a bit of a scrounge at tips ( you call em dumps) . I would have thought the operators would appreciate the recycling aspect and be happy for you to ' do your bit for the planet' . But instead, they prefer to have everything smashed up and buried . That ain't right . I prefer to re-use and recycle where ever I can . We have ' kerbside collections' run by the local councils once or twice a tear. Locals can have a good 'ol scrounge with those. HS

Looks quite good, same as my old Seiko and goes through canvas, horse rugs, medium leathers and upholstery quite happily. $500 is cheap....in Oz . I'd buy it HS

Yep, any so called ' savings' are lost on the exchange rate , and at .71 cents....yes, it is a lot !! HS

O'h dear....what have I done??? ' O'h sh*t...its Mr Creosote!! ' Must dash....byeeee HS

Tandy no longer have a presence in Oz . That sucks. We do have suppliers, but theres some things we just can't get. HS

It was a ' Monty Python' reference, and way off topic, well....sort of ........I was just being a bit of a smarty pants I'm a self confessed Monty Python freak , can't you tell? Have a look at my quote. HS

....and they were the " Peoples Front of Judea sewerage workers on the way to a conference" . Sorry , off topic, couldn't help myself.