Handstitched

Yep , thats airbrushed, and looks lovely I took me a while to figure out how that was achieved after seeing some holsters, rifle cases etc on display with a similar effect in a leather shop in Perth , WA one day. Then ' the penny dropped ' and then invested in an air brush. It does take a bit of setting up ( for me anyway) , but the end results are very effective. I also learned to put a sealer through a ( different) spray gun on a light setting , giving it its nice sheen. @VYO I have a colour like that called ' dark tan' or Ox blood. HS

We all love a great bargain eh ? Well done. HS

I second that with bells on I have learnt from machine sewing simple knife pouches, sheathes , leatherman type cases etc. if I get too close to the edge , my machine makes a totally different sound. We all know the sound of our own machines, so Instead of the nice virtually smooth noiseless sewing, it will make a ' clack clack clack ' sound ( along with a sudden drop in blood pressure and a bead of sweat) . I know I got too close to the edge. So now , I sew first, trim/ grind / burnish and polish and make pretty after. HS P.S. As for the foot marks, a technique I use, depending on the job, I sometimes use a large thick ' D' ring and rub it along the mark. With a bit of ' elbow grease' using different parts of the ' D' , and perhaps a bit of polishing, it does help eliminate it. HS

Although I'm in Western Australia, I did make inquiries into the Leather Workers Guild of N.S.W. in the very early days, ( in the east of Australia) thinking it may be beneficial . There are none in WA .( just one club to my knowledge) I know I couldn't attend meetings , workshops etc. in person being so far away, but we could still share ideas patterns, techniques etc. as well as being in contact with and support fellow leather crafters.....well, so I thought. After 3 -4 emails or more ....and patiently waiting and thinking " I can finally be part of something I really enjoy, " ...I got no reply , not one single reply. So I just figured that joining a guild was not a good idea after all. I also once held a ' medieval view' that guilds were closed to ' outsiders', because thats how it was once upon a time. That was the impression I got from LWGNSW. ( sorry) I haven't bothered since. But CelticDragon, good luck in your search HS

G'Day, I have found, just from my own experience, that the smell of the dyes , sealers , adhesives etc. do go away after a while, with just the lovely aroma of the leather remaining. But that doesn't last long either. But I have also noticed, that when customers come to my workshop or stall, the first thing they say is, "*sniiiiiif* mmmmm....a'hhhh... I love the smell of leather" ( sure wish I had a dollar for every time they said that) ....but I can't smell it. I've become so use to it , with the brief exception of perhaps the first thing in morning when I open my workshop door. HS

Thats actually quite good Over time, that will develop a lovely patina . HS

Keep it away from sunlight, in a dark or shady place and away from any heat sources . Keep it covered too if you can. HS

@alexitbe & @councilman24 here, I've found a parts list , its in an assortment of languages but I hope its helps https://www.universalsewing.com/images2/parts_lists/all/9pf23e73.pdf I found it on here: https://www.universalsewing.com/tek9.asp?pg=parts_pfaff HS

Ye Gods, Thats some serious damage. It must have received one almighty ' wallop ' to snap the shaft. I thinks its safe to say that everyone on here is feeling your hurt . Well, if it was mine I'd be considering three options A total rebuild/ restoration Replace just the shaft and/or obtaining a donor machine I think the third option maybe good idea if you wish to speed things up to get into making shoes ? Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best , HS

To all leather crafters from ' Down Under' to ' Up Over', young & old, newbies and the experienced , have a Merry Leathercrafting Christmas and a very Creative & Happy New Year . May all your leather ideas, plans and patterns come to fruition in the New Year. Stay Safe....as in don't injure yourself with a needle or a blade HA !! HS

I do something similar to chrisash . I use brown paper, news paper etc. using pins , paper clips/clamps UHU glue or what ever to make a gusset /pattern . Once I'm happy with the size shape etc. then I cut out the leather pieces. It my take a lot fiddling around as you're forever making adjustments to the paper template. But the upside to it , you may only have to do it once and can use it to make many projects . If I know I'm going to make a run of the same thing, then a MDF, or hard template may be considered. HS

It was very common to cut cardboard like that, a bit like hanging a piece of wood off the side of a bench to cut it, an action that I probably did 1000's of times over the years making pools, ...but it only took just that 1 time .... it was a new blade as well, which is probably why I didn't feel a thing....4 stitches later......or was it 5 ? Back on topic: Each & every time I use my big saddle machine, I remind myself of the time my Mother put a needle through her finger, reminding me to keep my hands and fingers WELL CLEAR . Her machine was a domestic machine....the saddle machine is not, ......its a domestic machine that has overdosed on steroids HA HA HS

If it makes you feel any better, in my early days, I had my fingers a bit too far over the edge of the ruler, happily cutting away......I took the minutest bits of skin off the very tips of my fingers, no blood, but the tips of my fingers were nice and straight I've also put needles and awls into my fingers too many times to count. Off topic: I manufactured fibreglass pools in another life,and while making cardboard form work , I often used my leg as a ' work bench' . Come lunch time, I couldn't work out why blood was pouring out onto my boot..........there was a 2" long hole in my leg ....I got a bit too close with my blade....OOPS!! My Mother put a sewing machine needle right through her finger once, makes my needles and awls into my fingers look like mozzie bites . We all make the silliest of mistakes using tools ....do we learn from it? mmmmmm.....maybe HS

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