Handstitched

What size are the off cuts? I have made belts with off cuts of belt leather , make a billet & buckle end, attach each piece in between with ' D rings' to make a full length belt , some skiving may be invoked to fold the ends over. Perhaps decorate with concho's, spots , spikes, etc ? Ladies sometimes like the thin belts, blokes sometimes like the wider ones. Another idea, I have made one piece knife cases with belt off cuts too, with some thin leather on both sides to make an ' expandable' gusset. Machine sew or by hand. Sold heaps. I'll have to take a pic. HS

Aaaaaaanyway...... Back to the OP........again. @fredk You took me on a trip down memory lane. I also used a ( non retractable) ' Stanley' knife from my old fibreglass pool days ( still covered in f/glass) ) still have it, and use it. For my leather sewing awl....( don't laugh) I used a large hand sewing needle, but covered the 'eye' end with padded leather to help push it through leather , and not my fingers, but, it worked. Still have it. I too bought thread on those ' wee cards' ....still have those too, geez In one of my old leather books from the 70's , you can make stamping tools with old large nails. Carefully grind a pattern of choice on the head,cut the point off, and hey presto, stamping tool . Get an old flat head screw driver , modify it, sharpen it to use a carving knife. Very 70's 'retro' , but, it works. For the newbies that are budget conscious, its not necessary to buy brand new tools. HS

What a laborious looking piece, but so well done . I still have trouble doing eyes on horses, but you've got it just perfect HS

Thats quite a good looking job, nice grain too . It must be heaps more comfy, surely? I keep wanting to ' upgrade' the appearance of my boring ol' 70's - 80's office chair. Its got daggy worn out looking fabric atm , after seeing that, might have a crack at my ol' seat. HS

I agree, my ol' Pfaff 60 does sew thin leather quite well, I also make Kangaroo leather wallets on it. I do have a ' Necchi Supernova' machine in one of my sheds, all complete, with full box of accessories and cam...thingys for different and fancy stitches, but I haven't tried sewing thin leather on it, guess I should, its quite a nice machine. I bought it for about $10 at a charity shop, and found another next to a skip bin, mostly complete. HS

G'Day, I have done this, but on a knife /leatherman case. Once molded , let dry*, but before I take the wood template out, I tool / stamp the pattern as you normally would, but when the wood is in , then take the wood template out after tooling and continue making the other parts, the back piece, a belt loop etc. With the knife case, I tool the flap as well . * I have tried tooling straight after molding while its still wet, but its a bit messy. Hope this helps HS

Meanwhile.....going back to OP....in regards to affordability... get the violins out... When I first started leather, the majority of my tools were S/H , scouring the classifieds...the 'antiquated' paper ones, some the tools I bought were from ex- leather crafters etc. Many came with books and heaps of other stuff. A leather shop in Perth had S/H tools, as well as leather off cuts. I also looked around in hardware shops to see what tools can be utilised for use with leather . It kept costs way down . I still use them today . Only a few tools I threw out in the early days, a rotary punch, it bent after a few uses, and rotary cutter that couldn't cut the skin on a custard. But I learnt from that. Only after I became more interested in leather & gained a lot of experience I bought new tools. The most lethal tool I have ever bought was a thumb strander It strands thumbs , not leather Its in a box, at the back of a shelf, .......where it stays . HS

G'Day, The 60 uses standard needles, mainly for fabric etc. but I use ' Schmetz 100' leather needles. The bobbin case is sometimes called a ' pig tail' bobbin case or ' tipmatic' bobbin case .The bobbins are easy to find in any haberdashery Not sure if I can help you with the manual, as mine is probably no better that the ones you've seen . I have also noticed that these Pfaff 60 machines are sometimes advertised as ' industrial' or heavy duty industrial' sewing machines, ......no they're not. They're just a good strong domestic machine, like the domestic Necchi's , Singers etc. . Some come in a sewing table, and some are 'portable' in a sewing box with a box lid like mine.Some came with a plastic ( baker lite?) foot pedal, but mine has a metal foot pedal. Apart from the occasional belt or needle , it has never failed me. Mum bought it brand new , before I was even born , she made and repaired all of our clothes on it, and ....its all complete , except the wood slide lid thingy for the accessories box Good 'ol Mum HS

I worked at a newspaper once , saw a bloke lose his fingers in a guillotine making the colour TV guides. Off topic, ..........and totally gross....and I went a funny colour and didn't feel very well HS

"brewers pitch" Is that a fancy way of saying" you'll be too damn drunk to know what you're doing?" Like, .... keep missing the end of the stamping tool with your mallet and hitting your thumb instead? 'If you value your fingers, 'Don't sew drunk ' Sorry Frodo, off topic I wonder if a gourd can be covered in leather?...hmmm I'd like to see that HS

My Mother did just that once,, straight through the left index finger, nail and all, just missed the bone, nearly made me pass out. They're quite a basic simple machine, good for thin leathers, good for wallets too. I have a full set of original feet and manual etc. HS

Can we have some pics ? Someone on here may know what it is and give you some advice. HS

Whisky or bourbon ? Never made one before. Love the examples shown HS

@jcuk I guess the weekend edition works better.

No , no magnets. The client requested a few small holes on the parts that goes under the instrument panel, (closest to the front) to secure it. And I guess that its a firm enough fit under the instrument panel, and the seat, to hold it in place. The pic doesn't do it justice , as its nice an shiny, the client is really happy with it HS

G'Day , This is a simple ' tank bib' for a Harley.(Not sure of the model) . Its not too wild, flash or fancy just neat , subtle as per clients request. . The client wanted a diamond theme in the pattern . It has 3mm lace on both sides*. Its skived slightly just where the bib goes under the instrument panel, and where it goes under the seat. I used 3 coats of ' seal 'n' shine' to weather proof it , and also went over the lacing ( once finished) with the same . * I usually lace left to right, but I also laced from right to left on the opposite side , so the lacing on both sides is 'pointing' the same direction. HS

@Klara Two words, ....'it works' . @jcuk We all love you !!!!! Nearly peed my undies !! The simplicity in the design is outstanding . Are you going to copyright the design? @Frodo A ' before and after' ?? I do make and sell fly swats using leather, but I'll be keeping my simple affordable design a tad quiet ...sorry . @billybopp that chart missed out the ' reddies' , red back spiders. The female makes you sick when bitten, but the male just makes you sting ....and curse .... like billy'o !!!!!! @fredk What do you call a fly with no wings? A walk . I've had flies on a leash. True . Funniest thing I've ever seen I'll explain how its done later HS

G'Day, My recent purchase from a 'vintage tool preservation' club' at a recent event, love these guys In amongst all the other countless vintage tools , some just for display, and many for sale , was this interesting piece. Its a ' saddlers palm' , or a 'saddlers collar palm', or as I call it, a 'saddlers thimble' . Its 'dimpled' on the inside , and at the end , theres a small 'hollowed' out bit for the needle to sit in. It sits comfortably in the palm of my hand , hence the name. Theres an ' 87' on the back ?? Not sure what that means ? a year, size ? Theres no makers mark, or anything else. I only paid $12 au . I could have spent a small fortune and browsed for yonks at their stall, but I had my own stall to tend. Any further info is appreciated . HS

G'Day @Oceanstreetleatherco I use sheep skin offcuts, cut into 2-3" square pieces . While I have no problem applying dyes, I sometimes have occasional fibres appear when I'm applying sealer, one of which is a bit ' stickier' than the dyes I use. When I trim the square pieces , I trim the excess wool off and cut down to around 1/2" and give them a good ' brush off' with my hand to remove as many loose fibres as I can , but I still get a few appear . Just wondering if off-cuts of shearling would be better? HS

Yep, thats what we're given. I've been trying to find an image of a pneumatic clicker press, not much luck. Mostly out of curiosity. The air compressor would have to be massive? HS

G'Day, I have an old Seiko STW 28, it has never let me down ( touchwood) . Just gave it its ' gazillion stitch service' today If another one came up, I'd buy it, or even its variants, like a consew, or Singer 111 etc. HS

G'Day mate, They're hard to find. Try ' Steves Industrial Sewing Machines' in Qld. I think theres a No.6 on ' Aussie Traders.com.au' HS

@Matt S & @mrwatch Thanks for that. I feel like I've just hijacked the thread/ OP....so my apologies to @stsears The voltage here in Oz is 240 volts, house hold power, and 3 phase is 400-415v My workshop, which is only a short distance away, the power is coming out of our house( my Mothers sewing room to be precise) with a loooong modified 30mtr H/D extension power cord , which is 240v 10 amp, the converters are 15amp. All of the power coming into the house from the street is single phase, 10 amp*. HS (*I'm in the regional area of Western Australia, a bit ' ye olde ' in places, and while technology is 21st century, phone, internet etc. ....the power infrastructure is not. It hasn't changed in the nearly 40 years we've had the property. )

@stsears I also have a USM press, a 20 ton hytronic press. They weigh no more than two ton . Mine is sitting on a wood pallet, as this made it easier to move into place using a pallet trolley, I managed with 1 ton pallet trolley....with help . No room in my workshop for a forklift. I'd be curious to know a bit more about these running on air, as you would need power to operate the cutting depth adjustment ? I'd be guessing that a pneumatic conversion would be extensive...and expensive. Mine is a 3phase, haven't used it since I bought it many years ago as theres no 3ph power anywhere ,not even in my street, and single to 3ph. conversion isn't an option either. It was cheap. Original new price was $8500 au, but I bought it for $500 au. The only option left is to buy a whopping great 3ph generator. I have the cutting dies, but no power. HS

Oxalic acid was once made from rhubarb , quite toxic, not so much when cooked , a bit of useless info. ( hate rhubarb & custard ) In the extreme, perhaps a re-colour of the saddle that matches the stain? Its otherwise a nice saddle. HS