Handstitched

G'Day and thank you so much for your replies @RockyAussie I take it thats the same thinners you use for spray painting? @hwinbermuda I might try that,thanks I use either ' Selleys' Kwik Grip or ' Parfix ' ' . I have found they both do the job quite well. Now, this bit may seem odd, but, the remaining adhesive in the Parfix tin was going off, so, I poured a little bit of the 'good' ' Kwik Grip' into the Parfix tin and sealed it well and left it for a few days . , that seemed to have softened it up a bit. I didn't know that there are specific thinners for adhesives,( we learn something new every day eh ) so you've all been very helpful. This I will look into further. Thanks HS

G'Day, Out of some of the challenges in leather work, one is just an annoyance .Contact adhesives going off in the tin before its all used. Doesn't matter what brand. This is due the frequent opening and closing of the tin, and while I ensure the tops and edges of the tins are clean and tap the lid down firmly after each use , over time they go off with still some left. ( summer is a real *&^%tch for adhesives ) I only buy 500ml tins ( the smallest available here) because of this. I was buying 1litre tins, but I was wasting too much and it was costly. Is there any way of thinning / rejuvenating/ softening contact adhesives using a particular ( and available) chemical ?( not acetone, I've tried it) Alternatively, I could contact the manufacturer/s for advice. Thank for any help. HS

An answer to your first question, I'd been doing leather work for many years before I decided on buying a sewing machine, to help speed up the process, and because my ' hobby' turned into a registered business. But the process of choosing a machine took months before I finally decided on a machine that suited my needs . The machine I bought was the one pictured. Its a ' Q Stitch Colt' , from Queensland, Australia , a Juki clone , very powerful, sews everything I want it to. I chose it because it can sew a multitude of materials , leather, canvas, webbing etc. , with the right dogs and feet, but leather mostly. And yes, I'm very happy with it. For business / taxation purposes ( Australia) I declared it as an asset , depreciation etc. But like myself, most leather workers have more than one machine for different applications . I have 4 machines. Some have more. As for your second question, cutting stuff out , pricking irons etc. I do all that by hand, including hand stitching. No presses , just me . No noise, ......except when I injure myself , ha ha HS

I think we all have our own way of doing things when it comes to making belts ( or anything else for that matter ) . But purely from observation, I have seen waist lines increase over the years. I used to make 34" - 36" belts, but these days, they're too short.While I still make the ' shorties' , most of my belts now range anywhere from 37" upwards . Some are even 50" ++ . I now put 6 holes on my belts, have done for yonks, because, with 5 holes, I can bet a dollar that the customer would ask me to add an extra hole, so I now put 6 holes. 6 holes = 6 sizes. my measurements go from the 3rd hole back from the tip. For example, a 37" belt ( 3rd hole) would extend to 39" , and going the other way ,down to 34" . You can see my template in the pic. Hope all this info helps HS

@chrisash I agree entirely , but it doesn't answer the question I'd like to know too, as I have never worked with snake skins, mainly because they're so expensive here in Oz, and not always east to find. I do have some fish skins that I will one day try working with. HS

G'Day, when I saw those pics, ' Seiko' came to mind. Yours may be different , but the stitch length adjustment on mine is in the centre of the bed (see pic ) You can see the button , top right of the square piece of leather ( that stops the bobbin cover from vibrating) . Also , looking inside the top hole to the right, I can see the stitch length numbers. For me to adjust the length, I push the button down while turning the flywheel clockwise or anti clockwise . I will hear a ' clunk' when it clicks in. But its set just right , haven't touched it in years . This machine is 53 years old now. HS

G'Day, this thread certainly has turned into a hot topic. @Big Sioux Saddlery God bless you, I love my bacon & eggs too You're right. I just don't like the hypocrisy of these so called ' vegan activists' that we have here in Oz . They say they'e trying to 'save the animals', but what they don't realise is that they break every bio security rule in the book when trespassing farms etc. potentially putting the very animals they're trying to save, at risk. HS

Looks very confusing, just like our GST ( ' good & services tax ' ) here in Oz HS

G'Day , I've been waiting for this topic to come up. This is not the platform to air our views about social media, however, this thread certainly has opened up a can of worms ( organically sourced ) but my 2 cents worth? @noobleather I'm with you . I simply don't like or use social media period ( or the person that owns most of it) Never have been on it never will be on it . I've survived this long without it . @kiwican Well, I have had people come to my stall having a whinge about me using leather etc. even Cane Toad leather for goodness sake ( Cane Toads , that are the biggest environmental disaster here in Oz) . But then I notice these people wearing expensive *brand name* clothing and shoes made in a sweat shop over seas . I could get down to the ' nitty gritty' and point out to them some subtle points of logic, ' how much environmental damage has the production of your clothing caused? "How much are the employees paid? How many animals were killed during construction of the factory " how many animals lost their habitat & how many people were displaced ? " etc etc. I could go on!! And you're right, animals also help so many people in a positive way . They also keep our borders safe at airports etc. @mikesc do vegies feel pain ? Does an onion cry when I cut it ? ....gawd !! Geez , where does it stop ? HS

G'Day Jeffro2058 Thanks for the update I ticked/ clicked all the boxes and the order went through OK, no messages saying they don't ship to Oz or the order has been cancelled ? I'll be patient . I just want to see how long it takes to ship stuff from the US to Oz to see if its going to be viable for me to order from Tandy again. Also, the 15% discount for businesses or any other savings may be eaten up by shipping costs to Australia . However, I have ordered stuff from a wholesaler in Pennsylvania in the past and its arrived quicker from the US than our own postal service could deliver . Go figure ? HS

G'Day, Well, as we no longer have a Tandy in Australia, I've conducted a bit of a ' test'. I've just ordered a free Tandy catalogue to see how long it takes for it to arrive in Australia from the US . I'm guessing around 4 - 6 weeks. I've just checked their website here in Oz ( no shipping info) , makes a change to see one price instead of three, and they do seem to be a bit cheaper. And depending on how long the delivery takes,( and shipping costs) I may consider ordering from Tandy again . We'll see HS

G'Day, I've just seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yixZ0i003I8 Tandy Leather in the UK are closing. And as mentioned already on here, they seem to doing away with the ' club membership' . I've had no further notifications here in Australia . They closed at the beginning of the year , but they do occasionally send promo stuff' Are they in trouble ? Hope not. I never was all that happy with their pricing ( in Australia) , but they also had their ( many) good points. HS

I have a piece of marble that I use. Approx 2" thick .It was given to me in amongst some leather tools etc. It was originally too big for my work bench, so I got a diamond cutting wheel and cut it in half. So now I have 2 pieces . The piece I use on my bench , sits on a piece of foam carpet underlay off-cut to cushion it to reduce any noise. The other half was once used for leather crafting demo's carried in a old but handy size lap-top bag. I also have a piece of granite that I paid about $20- for from a stone mason. Approx 4 " thick, and over 12" square....but its so heavy I can barely lift it, and its way too heavy for my bench. I'm sure I'll find a use for it one day HS

This is off topic.... almost . Speaking of bad beer habits, '2 can trips.... 3 can trips etc. ', where car trips were measured in how many cans we could drink in a distance ( mainly in the bush where there were no cops ) .They're rarely seen even today out my way. An absolute very naughty no no ....but it was fun ! A'h.... the ' good old days' Thank you very much for the invite . I would think it will be quite a long chat about leather over some coldies HS

Geez, talk about 'jumping in feet first ' ( < note the obvious pun !! ) My first leather project was a belt that I made an assortment of mistakes on. I sold it to a local customer...and it came back . The press studs fell off. How embarrassing . But they are awesome , well done HS

Is it just California or are there other states that have this ' Proposition 65 ? ' I'm from ' down under' , we don't get anything on our products, leather or otherwise that have these cancer warnings ( other than smokes ) . I did have ' Slailess Steel Made in China' on one of my stainless steel rulers once , that was funny , Ha Ha HS

No offence intended Those Croc stubby holders are really good. Um....we have some pretty bad ( beer) habits here in Oz , mainly in the bush . We do actually drink directly from the ' King Browns' ( 750ml bottles) . HS

Now that I've seen it, ( thanks for the pic) , we all now have our own set of ideas on this ...heres mine. If it was me, I'd dye it black, then using leather paints, paint the roses & leaves . The black will make those red roses & green leaves stand right out . Roses are one of my fave patterns . Highlight the lettering with a silver or white paint perhaps ? But thats just me . HS

Theres obviously some pretty subtle differences in bottle sizes and descriptions. In Oz, most common cans and stubbies are 375 ml . Others like imports are around 330- 345 ml . Then theres ' longnecks ' , 750 ml bottles , aka ' King Browns' ( thats what I call them...and enjoy ) because of the brown glass. Forgive me for dropping names, but in Western Australia , the most common beer is ' Emu Export' aka to us as ' Bush Chook ' . But the one thing we all have in common is, we love our beer no matter what we put it in I quite like the shoulder strap on your ' growler' . I have done that on wine glass holders but not on stubbie holders. Nice . Stubbie holders here are sometimes called ' coldie holders' . The foam inserts I use are sometimes refered to as ' foamies' . Then theres those awful foam rubber stubbie holders ( wet suit material ) , they're just plain boring and mass produced. HS

And heres me thinking that I was the only one that used pliers, boy was I so wrong. But I second the comment by ' snubbyfan' , wiggle the needle about bit if they get a bit stuck. I also have a similar issue with the waxed mox thread. After a short while , my fingers are ' greasy' and don't grip the needle. I always have a roll of paper towel handy , dampen my hands with water, and wipe dry with paper towel , grip returns . HS

May we have a look ? What you call a ' mistake' may be rectified without covering it in snake skin (as nice as that sounds) . I've made some monumental stuff ups. It gets thrown across the workshop, then into the bin....and once I've calmed down, it gets fished out again ...into the reject box ....and then back onto the bench for me to figure out how to fix it If all else fails, dye it black , black dye hides everything , and maybe dress it up a bit with some conchos or spots etc. HS

G'Day, Thats beautiful Here in Australia , we call them ' stubby holders' . I make them with a foam insert...it gets pretty hot down here I have also made some with belt loops . As for the initials, the first thing I thought of is a place here in Oz called ' Kalgoorlie Boulder'. Its a mining town in the Goldfields here in Oz. Lovely work , well done. Great colour too . HS

G'Day, I always dye the backs on every belt I make, they look unfinished otherwise. I also use the same sealer I use on the top. I have never had any issues whatsoever . However, , I don't put any oils , dressings etc. on the back ( only on the top) as this may cause any residue to come out onto clothing. My dyes are water based, with a little bit of spirit added to aid drying. In my very early days I tried Raven Oil dyes, I had no end of trouble with residue coming out, no matter how many coats of sealer I used. Thats when I discovered water based dyes, no trouble ever since. HS

I'm starting to think I've put this in the wrong thread. It should be in ' How Do I Do That' ....OOPS ! HS