Handstitched

I'm one of those that have two pairs of ( script) specs, one for general purpose, and the other for reading, close up work etc. I only got them because they were cheap and eye testing was free . I was using those ' magnifier' type glasses that I got cheap from any discount shop, and if I wanted to see even closer, get a stronger pair or I place another pair over the other ( an optometrists worse nightmare I'm guessing ?) , but it worked .Good lighting is a must. But I took breaks after lengthy tooling periods, the same with ' carvers cramp' . HS

That very same paper clip is $2500 in Oz https://www.tiffany.com.au/accessories/desk/everyday-objects-18k-gold-paper-clip-bookmark-35917179 . I'm guessing that its not a good idea to bend it out to use it to unblock my spray gun ? HS

Thats OK Scooby, but something tells me its the beginning of the end for Tandy Australia . But surely Tandy must have done some research before opening down under ? If they did, they would have realised that there are already some established leather outlets / suppliers etc in Oz? Theres two in NSW , (not far from Tandy) , NSW Leather Company ( my wholesaler, has an agent in Perth WA ) and Birdsall Leather, I have an account with them. No doubt they'll learn from this. HS

G'Day, I got an email this morning from Tandy: https://www.tandyleather.com.au/en/australia-web-order-transition.html It would be interesting to know why, but I have a bit of an idea....too expensive ? Not sure how this will go ( not too well I'm guessing ) , and , even though they say that invoices will be in Aussie dollars, I wonder how our credit card providers will see it ? Exchange rate ? Right now, the Aussie dollar is hovering around . 72 . 73 cents, making it financially unviable to order anything from the US. Orders I have made in the past from the US , take at least 4 - 6 weeks instead of the usual two ( sometimes less) . Too bad if we want something in a hurry eh? HS

I love it !!!!!!!! It looks absolutely stunning . I have ' The God Of Wine ( an cement version) hanging on my front fence post . Nowhere near as beautiful as that though. what sort of plug did you use to make the face look 3 D ? Are we to know how it was done? I have a brother thats right into Greek mythology & all sorts of Roman, & medieval history etc. . ( he made the cement version) My desk top even has a Rubens ' Calming The Tempest' with Neptune , so I can sorta relate to this. ( and I'm also a fan of Ray Harryhausen .... but thats off topic ) . Well done HS

Ta Rocko Now I've had a crack at doing one of these, I'd like to do another one. HS

@immiketoo have a look at this : http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/83353-upholstered-motorcycle-seat/ Never in my wildest leather dreams would I do this....but I did. This is a good example of a customer having a bit of faith in me , *sobsniff* He was one very happy chappy ....and so was I . I did do some research prior to taking on the job. So now, he may show that to his friends & pass this info onto someone else, so if I get to do another one, I'll approach it with confidence , instead of uncertainty . HS

G'Day, Here's a pic of my very first real attempt at re-upholstering a seat for a vintage motor cycle that I did sometime last year . It was for 1981 Honda. The restoration of the bike took 5 years. This thing called ' life ' gets in the way sometimes I guess. I have done the odd small upholstery job here & there, but nothing like this. The leather is an automotive upholstery leather, with fabric backed upholstery foam. The seat has a plastic molded base. I did say to the customer that I have no real experience in this type of work, but he was happy for me to give a go anyway, what a gentleman eh? ....and he wanted it pleated....yikes !!! My elderly Father was an upholsterer by trade in his early days , but I wanted to do this on my own ( on the quiet, and without him knowing) because has a habit of ' taking over' ...and he never shuts up with " back in my day " stories, I would spat the dummy and the job would have taken twice as long So when I finally showed him the finished product he was thoroughly impressed , .....and surprised . My sincere apologies for the poor images, so zooming in could be messy . The client came to see me at my market stall this arvo, and all I had on me was my ol' flip top mobile phone and not my camera . And naturally, the customer was very happy with how it looked. I but I thought it ( the seat) looked quite good on his nice ' new ' bike But I'm sure he said the bike was going to be light blue last year. O'h well, blokes prerogative, he can change his mind any time he wants ...with his wifes permission HS

.....and I'm still a learner......... and loving it And don't be afraid to go outside your comfort zone, , " venture into the unknown" , as the saying goes, sure , you might make a few mistakes, but you could also find a hidden talent and surprise yourself I'm even excelling with horse rug repairs these days too. Some rugs that come in are absolutely and totally destroyed , but,..... I still manage to repair them, and the customers are happy . Thats down to much practice . Perhaps some other repairers would probably refuse them in such poor condition. HS

Thats what I thought too. So I did. I had to diversify where I live, and not just in leather. When a customer asks me " have you ever made one of these?.... No, but I'm happy to learn " would be my first response . Or " I've never made one before, but I like to find out" etc. So , thanks to the faith that some customers have had in me over the years , as well as my own yearn to learn , I've been able to learn all sorts of leather related jobs, harness repairs, hand bag repair, custom jobs and/or repairs etc. These jobs I would have refused in my early days. But, I have also done so many things in leather purely for my own edification ....and, purely for the fun of it . Its a case of, " Stuff it, I'm gonna make one , and I don't care if anyone likes it or not " Just like a leather hat I'm ( slowly) making , theres no market for them here....but I wanna make one anyway Its also good advertising . But now, I also do horse rug repairs, and canvas repairs etc. If I was to be a ' one trick pony' I never would have survived as long as I have. HS

I started this thread back in March this year, I have just only completed a pattern . I've had so many interruptions.....sheesh!!! Its a ' work in progress' <<< this mad banana can dance better than I ever will HS

That is beautiful . The colour is deep , rich and so damn good . Any concerns about the weave lining up are gone Well done HS

This is off topic I know, but I used to use toluene during the making of fibreglass pools. ( in another life) . ' 'orrible stuff ' . Toluene makes rubber expand. A large size rubber glove would soon be an XXXL rubber glove ....it also burns skin ( and eyes) on contact....as I found out making pools. Never ran so fast in my life ...to the wash room. ( pre-' Worksafe ' days) . It was also used on the rubber rollers on the printing presses at a newspaper I once worked at....yet another life. It was never EVER good to use this s**t on a hot day either. I'd rather keep my distance from this stuff !!!! HS

I got a phone call from our local courier saying that my machine had arrived from Queensland at his depot ..." would I like to pick it up ? " " WTF ??? It weighs a ton and besides, I paid for delivery to my house, not your *&^%$ depot !!! " It finally arrived on the back of a ute to my house ( very Aussie) and took 3 of us ( including the unhappy courier) to off load it. But I had to work the rest out for myself. Opening the wooden crate was a challenge in itself The wood came in handy though to make some shelves I was on my own after that. But Computer Doctor, I do appreciate the anticipation and enjoyment of receiving a new toy, like Christmas I do hope it gives you many years of service and enjoyment HS

Here in Oz, some hardware shops keep their contact adhesives & acetones etc locked up. Sign of the times I guess. HS

There is also ' Oxalic Acid' ) ( *Rhubarb juice) , but could be a bit extreme....its also very toxic. Heres a bit of info: http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/25558-oxalic-acid-and-cleaning-leather/ I think I'd rather have the ' patina' HS (* I hate rhubarb & custard, still do ,my Mother tried feeding it to me as a kid ......she failed !!)

@battlemunky I have used a beveller on my tri-weave on occasion to make it look ......' normal' HS

G'day, I did get a reply regarding their 'pricing anomaly ' . Here is my email to them : " In your ad for the " Business & Manufacturer " Flyer code 1810BUS, the price for " Oak-Leaf Lightweight Veg-Tan Saddle Skirting 10 to 12 oz. (4.0 to 4.8 mm Item #9047-05 " is $185.99,however , in the current " Sale " ad on your web site, , you have "Oak-Leaf Lightweight Veg-Tan Saddle Skirting 10 to 12 oz. (4.0 to 4.8 mm) Item #9047-05 is at $168.99 for the exact same product.I know which one I'll be buying And their reply : " They are on sale at the moment for $168.99 plus gst .If you would like to order some. We only have 1 in store at the moment. We have more on order and should be instore early next week. If you order today we can hold them at that price for you . " No apologies, no acknowledgement or a " thank you for pointing this out" about their pricing difference . I wonder how many businesses unknowingly paid the higher price ? @canonitr We in the West of Australia , have to wait up to 2 weeks for anything to arrive from the east. I can only dream for stuff to arrive in 3 - 5 days I have in fact received parcels quicker from Pennsylvania to WA than from the east.....go figure ? It reminds me of a line from the movie " " O Brother, Where for Art Thou" " Well ain't this a geological oddity....two weeks from everywhere " . Welcome to Western Australia ....So funny Marino Leather in QLD ( @Rockoboy) are the best, they send express post, 3-5 days guaranteed. I have only bought from Packers on rare occasions over the years, but they seem pretty good to deal with. I had no problems with them . HS

Get a leather scrotum, kangaroo, deer , whatever...... ' human size' ,..... fill it out and set it up to make it look as ' human' as possible, hang it up , with an accompanying sign saying, " This is what happened to the last person that stole from me" That might work HS

Me and ' basket weave & tri weave' have this.... " love hate relationship " . I love doing it and the lovely pattern it creates, but hate it when it all goes wrong Unless someone knows leather, no-one would ever notice. What colour dye are you going to use ? It looks great HS

I'm still using XP.......don't laugh. Two words....' it works ' I use MS Office Picture Manager. At the top of the page is " Edit Pictures" . At the bottom of the selections is " Compress Pictures" . It reduces the size of the file suitable for emails, uploading etc. Also, I have set my camera to a small file setting, for just that. Luggage tags are good for using up off cuts, scraps etc. for sale or for practice, experimenting, doodling etc. . Key rings & book marks and similar small items are good for that too. Nice HS PS: Theres no such thing as a ' stupid question ' on here. You're amongst friends on here and we're here to help.

I've never had to remove ' Resolene' ,we don't get that here in Australia. Is that like Neatlac ? I have removed a sealer using alcohol spirit like acetone on an old handbag, ..... it wasn't pretty, but it worked. However, saying that , after cleaning up the mess I made and letting it dry, and re-applying an antique dye & sealer, it didn't turn out too bad. But it was a darker dye than the original . I too do markets, fairs, country shows etc. I do make sure my stock is out of direct sunlight, even if it means moving some stock around during the day as the sun moves around, or adding extra shade to my stall. HS

G'Day, I never really gave my sewing tables that much thought , but heres mine . The tables are the same ones that came with the machines . The only ' custom ' part of the table, is that daggy looking bit in the corner, just above the drawers. ( I'm not a woodworker, as you can see ) I did that because I do horse rug repairs, some canvas , & shade sail repairs, and the extra bit of space became helpful. I could do with more, so I will later add a bit more to it with an extra folding extension right at the end going the full width of both the machine table & bench , as space is a prime , so when I get a sizable job, I can fold it out. I will also make a flat piece to fill the gap to the right. I just need to get a " roundtoit" ,...... never seen one in the shops though The drawers on the right , is where I keep my threads. HS

Quite nice , well done . Perhaps finish off the edges a bit , but otherwise quite nice. The ' Gator' has a nice shine . HS