Handstitched

@OlivesNLimes Firstly, welcome to the world of leather. Look forward to seeing your work. Zuludog is correct. They are quality mauls/ mallets . When choosing a maul, just try in your hand. Is it heavy or light enough ? But if you're on a budget, this is what I use. They're just rubber mallets, well used. . The one on the left, is about 9 oz, I use that for heavy stamps, 3D etc. one on the right, about 6 oz , I use that for everything else. Its actually from the toy section in a discount shop, but works fine. HS

@Bert51 or the good ol' ' Glen 20 ' Must be similar products in Denmark no doubt. HS

@Bert51 Theres a saying, " poverty is owning a horse" . My Mum wants a donkey....God knows why, ....she has Dad Aw geeeez !!!!!!!! HS

Ha ha !! Thats funny It'll cost the owner an even bigger fortune !! Now now, be nice Um, tastes a bit sweeter that a regular steak......apparently ......sshh !! Not always. Depending on the repair. The smallest repair starts at $10 au. @chrisash . Winter rugs new, around the $100- $120 up to the $300+ mark, Australian $$ depending on brand.Summer rugs around half that . But after repairing countless rugs over the years, they're all pretty much made the same....... they certainly get destroyed just the same . I don't think a horse can tell the difference between a $120 rug or a $300 rug I don't wash these. I don't have the facilities. If they are really dirty, I give them a good scrub down with a heavy brush. My machine is cleaned & serviced frequently .I can pick up and deliver , within my town,or make arrangements further out ( I haven't done so yet , but its there) , but people know me quite well, they know where to find me, they phone or text me ahead and drop them off. And because I know them quite well, I try to come up with a fair price. I now have repeat customers . Thats the goodwill I've developed and maintained . Things have gone a bit quiet because of covid, but otherwise I've earnt a good wage doing just rugs. HS

How about a laundry or bathroom grade disinfectant ? Either liquid or spray. May not ( all ) have alcohol, but I would think that theres enough chemicals in them that would do the job ? Using a leather conditioner/ spray straight after , won't do any harm either. HS

@ivan7342 Looks like it was airbrushed ? A base dye on the bottom including the logo , say , yellow, gold, or something light, and a dark colour around the edge.Not sure how he's done the logo, looks very ' neat' unless he's got a stamp made up. Got to be careful about using logo's . You could always ask , theres a link to the web, what harm can it do to ask ? HS

G'Day, wow, its been two years since I posted that, time flies when you're having fun eh? The next examples aren't the worst I've ever done, but the top one ' Rugz', came full circle. I sold it brand new less than a month ago, it came back in a bit of a mess . I'm curious as to how they get so badly damaged. I wonder what goes through a horses mind?? " I don't care how much my owner paid for this rug........I'm gonna destroy it anyway....' roll roll roll...catch it on a fence.... ker-ping!! ..rrrrrip......there goes the belly strap !!! .....this is wonderful...I'm costing my owner a fortune and I don't care ....woo hoo !!!' " Not complaining, keeps me in business HS

well, this topic changed pretty quick eh ?

@Spyros I have a full time business, and the fact its a ' hobby turned business' doesn't take away the joy of the craft, turning a blank piece of leather onto something beautiful and practical , and I don't call myself a 'pro' , not by any stretch, but the machines do come in handy . They help speed things up...and help achieve the picture in my head .......that I've seen somewhere on the web no doubt. But I still practice the traditional way of doing things. Molding leather by hand, cutting , crafting, shaping, assembling and stitching all by hand . Al Stohlman taught me that HS

@fredk Geez Freddy, that almost had me in tears . How could anyone in their right mind do that???? A sewing machine for ' scrap value' ??? And I agree , they could have been given away to schools etc. We have ' Mens Sheds' here in Oz too, one in my town, seems to be quite phenomenon across the globe . I've never had anything to with them ...yet , as there were mumblings in the past of me teaching them ' how to do leather work' . Teaching some sweaty smelly old men with endless " back in my day stories" leather work is not my idea of fun . I've had my share of committees .....no more!!!!!!!!!! Ahem .... Is ' Tom Meyers' a troll ? Thats in reference to a saddler a few hours north west-ish of me. He was well known in his town, , well liked, highly skilled in saddle making, harness making etc. . When he was brought to my attention, I thought, ' this is one person I'd like to know , to teach me a thing or two about saddle making' etc. But he passed away. And his two sons weren't interested in carrying on the trade so they sold off all his tools machinery etc. at a 'clearing sale' . A life time's trade, a life time of learning ......gone....in one day!! Probably end up at a ' quaint little antique' shop ' somewhere . That sucks !! HS

People have in the past tried to copy notes, but that was years ago, technology has changed quite a bit since . But we've never had coin forgers . They got rid of 1 & 2 cent copper coins in ' 92 . There have been calls to get rid of the 5 cent coin, but people still use them . However, cans of beer is often used as a currency here HS

To go fully ' cashless' would disadvantage so many people, the elderly for example. Some don't even have a cash or credit card , and still use the ' ways of old' . The ' tap & go' or ' paywave' devices cost the user extra to use, here in Oz anyway. The ol' car boot sales and swat meets , markets etc. would be affected, as most of the transactions are cash . For my business, I use ' Square' payment system , eftpos, c/card , heaps cheaper than banks, but I still get quite a lot of cash transactions too. About 90% of my business just at the weekend was cash ** go figure? ** Western Australia has the lowest covid numbers anywhere in Australia , and almost no restrictions. HS

Isn't Xylene the same as Toluene? or pretty close . HS

Yep, same here in Oz . Mostly at the major chain bottle shops ( liquor stores ) @fredk Thats quite a mystery . Or, the other possibility , is that the buyer passed away So without a last name or any other info, it will remain a mystery . HS

The product I have used in the past, also has a ' Gel' version to avoid that stringy annoyance . Its not just for leather, but also for, wood , laminates, etc. Just wondering if theres a 'Gel' version of the product that you use? HS

So true. Here in Oz, and no doubt in the EU & UK , ' anti- forging technology' is getting better . Here they have even included braille tactile thingies on every note with holograms and lots of micro micro....stuff HS

I'm with fredk. I get the smaller tins of contact adhesive. I was buying the 1 ltr tins, but was going off quicker than I could use it. But I also remembered my ol' fibreglass pool days, and got some Toluene to keep it from drying out. But the jar with a tight seal should work OK . Heads up, not sure what you call it in your part of the universe, but Toluene expands rubber ...and wear gloves & *eye protection*, it burns on contact with skin. * I've done a few impressions of Hussein Bolt to the wash room HS

A'h yes, scammers don't just love them? NOT!! I can see this thread filling up quickly with so many stories. The latest for me? Business registration scams . I renew mine every 3 years through the proper channels, but yet , I've had two in the mail since March and very " official looking " too ,asking to pay 2-3 times the proper fee . Always rely on your gut I love cash, as in folding money. It doesn't need batteries, or a good signal or recharging, and can't be hacked into , and can still be used even when the power goes off.......AND it doesn't bounce . Cheques are being phased out here in Oz . HS

Got any examples, pics ?

That can be overcome, but with horse rugs being so big, a reverse ( Seiko STW ) is a must, .....for me anyway And yes, I too love vintage machines. I can credit this forum for that ' sobsniff' . The more I read , the more I learn , and the more I appreciate their history . If only these old machines could speak eh? the stories they could tell ? wow !! In fact, I love anything old , even better when it still works and continues to outlast their modern counterparts. HS

What they said The 101. I do horse rug repairs , and medium leathers with a similar machine ( Seiko STW) so it would be ideal for auto upholstery , I've done that too . HS

All the very best Fergie My Mother has one more to go too . At least you can hold a beer now HS

I was able to zoom in a bit and I could just make out the the letter " G" ...or it could be a " C " I think the peddle has ' Singer' on it , but doesn't make it a Singer machine . HS

O'h dear !!!!!!!!! Does that mean all that effort was for nothing? And he's destroyed the hex screw and tool for nothing as well ? Bugger !!! HS

I've cleaned it up a bit