Handstitched

G'Day, I had to make x2 M/C tool bags this week( you know, front fork jobs) , straight forward, laced, plain black, nothing fancy....but, the customer wanted a wire core to go through the attaching straps ( to the bike) to prevent some 'undesirable' stealing his tool bags ( all the good that will do ) . This is what I call a PITA job, a ( ' Pain In The A.....' ) job . I couldn't find woven wire ribbon, so, I improvised. I got some 2mm galvanised wire rope ...stuff . The straps are 4mm veg tan 20mm wide and I used a groover on the inside glued the wire in, then covered with layer of 1.2mm glued on , dyed, and machine stitched...albeit precariously , as you can see, there wasn't much room for the needle to go between the edge and the wire. It took me yonks just to cut the *&^%# wire, my wire cutters went blunt in the process. There must be a better way, but then again, , I hope I don't get another job like it I'll post a the finished product later. HS

G'Day, About a year ago, I got this totally mind blowing book from one of the many markets I attend. I bought it for just $10- . Its got a little bit of wear but otherwise in great condition. The quality, precision, and saddles that are just o'h so beautiful , and with soooo much history . But , when I opened it up for the first time I noticed something quite special . It was autographed by ' James Nottage' . The inscription inside reads: " For Tom, I'm glad you are keeping leather work alive in Australia , Best Wishes from your friend the author, James Nottage" I'm guessing its worth a bit more than $10 bucks now? I don't know who Tom is , and the bloke I bought it off wasn't a leather worker. I don't buy books too often , but this is the best book I have every bought 'But wait, theres more', inside the book was a photo, which is a total mystery.On the back it reads: Roar ( Roa ?) Parade L.A. I've brightened it up a bit. Anyone know what & where this is, and perhaps what year? Or recognise the location or building in the background ? The horses seemed to be elegantly decorated. I can't quite see what the street sign says in the background . It looks around 1970's as the photo is on a very early format. Thanks for any help on that one HS

Bingo !!!! HS

Count me in too kgg & fredk . The moment you start having a crack at the very people that are trying to help, you've totally lost the..." inquiry" . HS

...or cutting the very tips of your fingers off...like I did No blood, but the tips of my fingers were nice and square, you could call it the 'leathermans manicure' @Vinito Welcome to the world of leather I didn't know a thing about leather when I started...me and just about everyone else on here.I just dabbled and doodled with tools on scraps etc. When it came to dying leather ... I used boot polish . Looked great ...but then I found this stuff called........dye HS

Yeh, I did that on my mallet with a bit of 4mm veg tan when it got a bit worn , but my mallet is a rubber mallet . And believe it or not, its childs size, I found it in the toy section of a 'red dot' years ago, but its just the right size and weight . HS

G'Day, I'm only going to echo what has already been said. You can't just suddenly pick up a few tools with the expectation of making money , thats not how it goes. It can take years to accumulate knowledge, .........and years of making mistakes too! I've spent the last 15 years with my head buried in ' Al Stohlman ' and various leather books , and the last 6 or 7 years on here, and I still have my " L " plates on. I am not just a leather worker, I also have to be a wood worker to make my own moulds ( for wet moulding) , I also have to be good at drawing & designing to make templates and patterns . As for " smart phones" , all I can say is, good luck with that. By the time you've made a pattern or a mould, the phone you're making it for is obsolete, or the size or shape has changed , or..... some damn thing on it has changed ! So you could potentially end up with a heap of leather cases for ' smart phones' that are obsolete Thats why I make phone cases to order to avoid having ' obsolete' stock . HS

G'Day, I use antiques on veg tanned all the time. Works best on tooled leather. I've used antiques on ' untooled ( plain) leather' before but the effect I want is much harder to achieve . I oil the leather first, let soak in, and then coat tooled leather in antique dye, and using a damp cloth, I wipe off the excess, leaving dye in all the right places .I learnt that from this site The example of the stitching in that pic looks great, but each to their own I guess, it looks just fine to me . And basket weave........" mmmmbasket weave" , says Homer . And those holes for the belt look so neat too. They look pressed out. I would have put a small seeder where each cammo point joins...but thats just me Lovely colour too btw HS

G'Day, Heres what I do from start to finish. Cut the project / job out , for eg, a belt, cut it out, holes etc. Bevel it , tool it, or carve it oil it etc. Then I do all the dying after, apply sealers and then fit hardware etc. With a plain belt, once again, cut it out, bevel it etc. apply oils, ...and then dye it. I dye at the end. But everyone is different . You do whatever suits you. Whats important is the end result. HS

@JLSleather Yeh , I noticed that. They are nice belts, but I'm wondering about the belt at the top of the pic. Is that meant to say ' Satans Saddler, Satan Saddler, or Satan's Adler ' ? I read that as the latter Does Satan own an Adler sewing machine ? I didn't quite see him as a Janome type of guy Does piece work in his spare time eh ? HS

G'Day G'Day, from ' upside down land' aka Australia and Welkom van een Australische leerbewerker . Hope I got that right ( God bless Google ) I think I can safely say on behalf of all of us on here that we all look forward to seeing some of your work . HS

Just a quick update. The 'competitor ' wasn't at the regular market today, why? I don't know & I don't care , suits me fine. However, I am still going ahead with leather demo's in the next month or so. I got the go- ahead from the organiser today He seemed quite supportive of it actually , it is a ' craft market' after all . I just need to get my demo stuff together . But this entire subject has been a good learning experience for me . Its helped me to look at my business from a different perspective, and perhaps help me to lift my game in some areas. Thanks to all HS

For us leather workers in ' upside down land' . @Rockoboy You may already know about this company, https://www.sewingmachinesaustralia.com.au/shop/buy-accessories/sewing-threads I have ordered parts and needles from them before and seem quite good to deal with, online and over the phone . They seem to have increased their selection of threads since the last time I dealt with them . I've been looking for 277 M10 in red & blue ( in Oz) for a while , without success, but they have them in stock now I find their web site is easy to use as well with an extensive range of machines & parts . I have also asked for a quote on some threads from https://www.paskal.com.au/ . Just waiting for a reply. I also do business with http://www.adelaideleather.com.au/ . I've get a lot of my supplies from AL . Apart from leather supplies, they also sell threads, and sometimes clearance & discontinued lines. HS

Yes they can . I have an old, but albeit strong Seiko STW 28B walking foot machine that I repair horse rugs with ( as well as sew medium leathers, wallets, upholstery etc.) , and the threads I use are a #40 bonded poly UV . Its an industrial thread, very strong, it can also go through a domestic machine . Serafil threads are really good too , another thread I use. HS

@Sangrati You may also find that many of us, myself included, have more than one machine for different applications, assembly processes and leather thicknesses . Perhaps find a machine thats suits your needs in the immediate sense, what it is you want to sew now? , and maybe later, if another machine comes up in the future , you may wish to get another one. BTW, hate to scare ya, but it literally took me months to finally settle on a machine,but this forum may help to speed things up, .......I now have 4 machines...choices choices Good luck in your search , 'all good things come to those who wait' . I think thats how it goes HS

@RockyAussie Theres about 40mm in the the veg tan, with backing, ( out of view) you can only just see it in the first pic, after a bit of ' jiggery pokery ' , sanding etc. I would love a few more of those, , but, croc is so ex$Y ( ' one powerball ' ) . Even those cost me a bit , so I didn't waste too much. The supplier gave me the off cuts as well , so I turned them into key rings etc. HS

Well, thats quite interesting, thanks for sharing I got some Croc back straps from Cairns QLD some years ago , however, the straps were a tad short,so, I put my thinking cap on , voila, <Uncle Fester 2.0 . I made them into Ranger belts with veg tan ' embellishments' . HS

@Antonella It does sound like theres an obstruction, but, maybe just double check your needle size. I have a similar machine and the needles should just ' slide' right in . BTW, theres no such thing as a 'stupid question' on here. The answer you'll get may save you a lot of frustration , and maybe $$ This forum has helped me and so many others on countless occasions. Welcome to the forum HS

@artigiano This brings back memories. I have a USM Hytronic 20 ton press. It weighs 1 ton . It had to be lifted off the back of a 8x4 trailer , onto the ground using a forklift, and then onto a pallet ( not me driving it) , and then into my workshop. . But...the forklift was too big to fit right inside my workshop, it could only be placed just inside the roller door...so....I knew someone with a 1 ton pallet lifter ( like supermarkets etc. use) . We then maneuvered the press , pallet and all into position into my workshop ( and without getting a hernia ) . I have put extra metal supports under the feet at the front to take the weight to be sure. It sits a little high, but thats fine with me. The thinking behind putting it on a pallet , was so it can be moved about the workshop in the future, and also forklifts don't fit inside my workshop We evenly spaced the forks directly under the machine, the forklift could only just lift it up, the rear wheels were starting to lift...oops !! HS

I have found that using contact glue is like having an extra pair of hands, especially during sewing, hand or machine. Also, I often use cotton buds/tips or ' Q ' tips instead of a brush so I can apply the glue precisely where I want it and to avoid any excess. They're so cheap & disposable . Brushes are great for large applications, but they do need to be kept in acetone, so the bristles don't go hard and they need to be cleaned every time. HS

@Rockoboy Thanks mate, I have heard of them, but didn't know they had an outlet in Bibra Lake, I'll look further. @mikesc I have a supplier here in the east in Adelaide Australia. http://www.adelaideleather.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;products_id=7522 I do use Serafil thread on horse rugs, its softer than the other 40 threads I use, but so strong and with a good range of colours. That too can go through domestic machines. I'm trying to encourage my ' good ol' Mum to use them on her crafts as the cheap & nasty threads she gets from large 'X ' haberdashery retailer keep breaking, and are just , well, crap ...and , like me , she swears when stuff goes wrong ......shes a bad influence on me HS

Well, good luck with that. I had a quick look around , none in your area that I could see . Although theres one or two in Oz I noticed. Too far for you though. I am also looking for Camel hides here in Oz , I'd be happy with just a few off-cuts. We have heaps of wild camels in Oz that are culled because they are a pest in some parts. They sell the meat & milk, but I can never find out where the hides go , O/S I guess and come back as ex$y handbags . The hides are quite soft..... apparently Good luck in your search . HS

I use 277 on my ' Brutus' machine , but colours outside natural colours , like blues, greens reds etc. are hard to get here in Oz . @Rockoboy This might be helpful to you. This is one wholesale company in Oz I get some of my threads from: https://mrecht.com.au/haberdashery/sewing-thread/ . I have used their T8 , 277/M10 equivalent on my machine , but, the thread is so tightly wound onto the spool, this does affect the tension on the machine.I have to unwind a few metres of thread by hand , and then re-wind it back on to loosen it up . But I also still buy Coats thread though. The T40 is what use I for horse rugs, a very strong thread and can also be used in domestic machines. HS

G'Day, type this in the search engine thingy: " fanny pack design template " Quite a few came up when I did a quick search . Making a separate bag & belt would be a good idea. The belt could be tooled/carved etc. so it could have two purposes, for fashion, and for support either with or without the bag . I have a bum bag that I use for markets etc. but my belly got big , I had difficulty seeing inside, so I made a shoulder strap for it and wear it on my side. Don't know why they call them ' bum bags' when they're used around the front ? Maybe theres a reason they're called fanny packs eh? HS

Theres a natural dye, its a bright orange-ish- yellow , I use it in cooking, Turmeric . It stains just about everything it comes in contact with , kitchen work benches, ......clothes. Theres no harm in experimenting with it or mixing it with other dyes to get the colour you want. HS