Handstitched

This is my very first attempt at air brushing, this bag was just a test. Nowhere near as nice as the card case you've made, that looks really nice. . All I used was ' whisky antique ' as the base colour, and black air brushing around the edge. I sprayed the sealer on using a ' touch up gun'. Looks more black/ brown than 'sunburst. ' I have used a few coats of yellow as my base colour, as well as thinned out saddle tan, and black air brushing before. I'm still learning HS

@Klara Thats exactly what I did, made my own, 2 different jaw sizes . I bought my first one,a bit ex$y I thought, but then soon realised how simple they are to make out of a few off cuts of wood in my shed and a few screws with wing nuts. I put some pieces of leather on the tips to protect the projects. For larger items, I use a saddlers clamp....that I got S/H from a clearing sale. @mike02130 Good quality S/H leather tools etc. can be found , markets, antique shops etc. on-line , if people are prepared too put in some effort...and are patient It also helps to keep costs down if budget is tight . HS

G'Day, You could also consider second hand, books, tools etc. For tooling & stamping, I started with a ' basic 7piece set' , that helped me learn. I then looked out for good S/H tools. I ended up with some quality S/H ' Craftool USA ' brand tools without blowing my budget , and it went from there, the more I learnt, the more engaged I became...and the better I got , only then, I decided to invest in some new quality tools.....16 years later....... You could spend a small fortune on quality tools but then later decide that leather work is not your preferred vocation, just a thought HS

G'Day, I'd be going with a Cowboy 4500 or Techsew 5100 , or other 441 variant. 277 M10 is what I and many others on here use for the heavy stuff . Have a chat with 'Wizcrafts' . HS

@Northmount I had a look, thats incredible . $460 US would equate to around $600- Australian . Perhaps I should tell the vendor how much the book that he sold for $10 is actually worth....now .....mmmmnah !!! I would never sell it anyway . I'm just in awe of the beauty of the saddles Ed Bohlin created. But they must be so heavy on the poor ol' horses back . I've had a few experiences like that in the past, sellers not actually knowing what items are really worth. HS

@fredk What ??? Holy boot patcher Batman !!!!! Are you serious?? I only paid $10 for mine at a local market. It 's also signed by the author James Nottage on the inside. I wonder what thats worth now?? Edit: Holy Moly , you're right, I just checked, I wonder if mine is considered ' collectable'? HS

@fredk I found a book you might like , if you can find it on Amazon: https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/86967-edward-h-bohlin/?tab=comments#comment-592783 ' Saddle Maker to the Stars' Ed Bohlin , by James Nottage. I have a great appreciation for all of the books I have collected over the years, they have taught me so much, patterns, ' how to ' etc. but this book blew my mind , one of my prized books. HS

@tsunkasapa I think its in reference to ' not shiny' , dull. HS

A'h yes, red dye....yikes !! Mine is water based. Thats the one particular colour I have issues with too. It bleeds in all the wrong places, and like you said, no matter how much sealer I put on, it still bleeds, other colours are fine. It must be the way red is made I guess. So I decided to think outside the square. HS

Never had to do that before, except on swimming pool molds , I had arms like Arnie . Have you tried using a hand held buffer like you would use on a car? You may wish to experiment first . Perhaps make a buffing pad using a piece of canvas? Just a thought. Some of the more experienced leather workers on here may have a better idea. HS

Thanks Theres no 3ph power in my street . Just waiting for my lottery numbers to come up, and I'll buy a beefy generator, that could run the whole workshop , including the clicker. Good luck with yours HS

I have tried oil based dyes in the past, but I had no end of issues with dye rubbing off, that why I now use water based dyes. @fredk I might try that. We have slate tiles in our house and they need sealing periodically, might try that sealer in place of Neatlac . The Neatlac variants can't be shipped from the east by air here in Oz and freight by road is ex$$$y . So instead, I've been using a water based varnish on some specific jobs, works fine . We learn something new every day on here eh? HS

These guys have already answered this,, but not knowing your location, here in Oz , we have ' Glen 20' disinfectant spray. HS

Looks pretty good to me, thats how my sewing looks You're going to get some marks at least. I don't dare touch the presser adjustment screw anymore than I have in case it goes through the roof , I really have no idea how much pressure there is on the spring, I'm not going to risk it. When my machines are working fine I leave them as they are . Nice work tho HS

Here in Oz, I use a water based polyurethane sealer on my belts etc. nearly no fumes , and no dye rub off with water based dyes. I also use a water based ' super shene' sealer , depends on the project/job. HS

@switchleatherco G'Day, I had a quick look around, and all I could find was this: https://vimeo.com/471566377 This was the info that goes with it: Pedersen 270M-460: - Used Hydraulic Clicker Press - 16 Ton - With Manual Die Height Adjustment - Polypropylene Cutting Pad - Cutting Area: 18” x 36” - Beam width: 18” With Manual Die Height Adjustment ?? There must be an adjustment somewhere? Whats are those adjusters at the front? One must be the cutting depth, and the one on the right? Try it and see, you may see the swing arm go up and down. . Hope this helps a bit. I have a USM 20 press, but nothing to power it with...yet. Its 3ph. HS

Its sometimes difficult to tell, Wallabies are sometimes brindled, depending on the breed, they are from the same family, but I'm leaning toward a small red kangaroo , they're mostly from up north . Fully grown, they're like the hulk, .... don't ever p.... them off !! We have western greys in our area. That skin looks like it got wet at some point @Rahere btw, I'm from Suffolk HS

Um..... forgive me for being a bit of a dunce,as I am a little confused, but ...if you have all the AS books you need , and no doubt many others, why would you need any more leatherwork books ? Unless the books you have stated have patterns you don't have? You wouldn't prefer a good mystery or a thriller ? or perhaps a fairytale? a sewing machine repair/ parts/ service manual would fall right into those categories " Once upon a time in ' Far Away Land' there was a lonely abandoned Singer 132K6 in need of TLC ..." HS

I would have thought that the ' Al Stohlman' books would fit into that category? While there are AS books for the beginners, but theres also books for the advanced leather worker. HS

Availability, Where to get supplies, tools etc. and info , and just some guidance, advice on what tools etc. I needed to get started,I had none, I was ' flying blind' mostly, with the exception of a ' lil ol' lady' in the one shop I frequented .... over 2hrs away and the only 1970's book on leather crafting from my local library. I started long before I had this inter web thing. . There were only 2 leather suppliers in Perth ( Western Australia, theres only 1 now in Perth ) , so it was the Yellow Pages . All of my ordering is online now. HS

That looks absolutely great !! Well done You did a great job on the colours . A lot of medieval clubs would love that. HS

G'Day, Out of curiosity, where did you get the Wallaby skin from? its an Aussie marsupial . I have hair on roo hides , ( same ' family') and even some hair on Possum skins from NZ , and they have no smell whatsoever . Curious HS

Perhaps an occupational therapist can help, or give you some ideas ? I have done repairs for OT's in the past for patients that have physical challenges . HS

G'Day, quite a good looking machine. It looks like a Consew 745R 30" arm or a Seiko JW- 28BL . One of the machines thats on my ' bucket list' . Hope this points you in the right direction. HS

G'Day, I have the STW 28B , the twin needle version of yours ( but only use single needle, rhs) . Silly thing to suggest, but make sure the thread doesn't go behind the tensioners , done that a few times...oops I have mine anti-clockwise on the top tensioner and clockwise on the larger tensioner underneath , but you have your thread going through the guide on the right a bit different to mine. You have yours coming out the top. I have my thread going ' down-up- down', then going anti clockwise on the top tensioner. ( hope that makes sense?) I also by-passed the 'U spring' altogether, some on here might tell me off for that I just went with what worked, it may not be the " correct " way of threading it, but it works . It did take a lot of fiddling about getting the tensions right when I first got the machine, have to admit, but now it works fine. They are a good strong machine , when they run right Good luck HS