Handstitched

G'day, I'm not even sure if the link will work in this part of the planet, but here goes : https://www.tandyleather.com.au/en/eflyer/1809rt-au?utm_source=Tand-E-mail+from+Tandy+Leather&utm_campaign=cc18212abc-2018-08-31-WebSpecials-AU&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e267c11fde-cc18212abc-75657005 How do the prices compare to yours ? I find that even their " sale " prices are too expensive.However , they do on occasion have a few things worth while buying. I do have more than one supplier that are cheaper than their ' sale prices' ........and without having to join a club. HS

G'day, Thanks. Its taken 14 years to accumulate it ,well, thats how long I've been working with leather. The machines are : Seiko STW 28 B ( aka "Stewart") , Juki clone (aka "Brutus" ) , Pfaff 60, and a Singer 29K53. I also have a Necchi Supernova with all the bits on a shelf, but rarely used. The Consew 206 will be a good strong reliable machine. Mark, " Fred" is $$$$ to me. Theres so much I can do with " Fred" . I do have a press with knives , top left , 1st pic, (theres a fan sitting on it, amongst other junk ) Its 3ph , but I have no 3 ph power....yet . I bought it from a former leather worker for $500 aus. , .....he paid $7500 new . HS

I should have taken a pic a few weeks ago when I was knee high in horse rugs, I couldn't move for rugs. Now that was messy HS

G'Day, Well , I finally took a brave step this arvo and took some pics of my messy workshop, however, I did have a quick clean up before I took them. So here goes * deep breath* . This is my hobby room / workshop . Each pic is pretty much self explanatory , but feel free to ask what is what. All my hides are on shelves under the benches, that I got cheap. Its carpeted on one side , painted floor on the other. All insulated. TV & stereo in the far corner , and heated with a kero heater . ( the white box on the floor ) . It look a mess, and it is, but I know where everything is....most of the time. When I win lotto, I'd love to expand, as space is at a prime. HS

Same here, I pour dye from the big bottle into a smaller one. I refer it to " not putting all my eggs in one basket" I can't get any of the ' Neat-Lac' variants anywhere in my state. There is some in the east, but it can't be shipped by air...DOH !! 94 tins of Neat-lac ? Um...so....where do you live Mark ? I might try and be brave one day and take a few pic's of my workshop. HS

Mark 842 , WOW !!! you have a tin of Neat-Lac' ?? Quite an "antique" .......now I only have some Neat-Lac tins with some dried out Neat-lac in them . I've been tempted to show my workshop on here on occasion ...........but its too embarrassing But I know where everything is, well, ...almost. HS

G'day, this is very biased, but I have a Seiko STW-28B that I use for upholstery & medium leathers & horse rug repairs. Its sewn some pretty thick folds on the rugs. But any machine like this or the variants , singer, seiko, consew, adler etc. will do the job quite nicely, these are all good reliable machines Hope this helps HS

G'Day, I do something similar to wizcrafts , I use a large ' D' ring or ' O ' ring to rub out the foot marks. I could adjust the foot pressure more than I have, but I don't know how far I can adjust it, and I'm worried that the adjuster on the top of the machine will pop out and end up making a hole in my roof . I'll stick with the ' D' ring . ( my extra ' ad nauseum ' response ) HS

G'Day, Thats not a bad price. perhaps a little quick, but you can change the pulley on the motor if need be. From my own experience, they are a really good machine. ( mine is an older twin needle using a single needle) , and theres not a ' huge' amount of difference between the two. 400 pounds is roughly $700 Australian, so yep, I'd buy it http://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/81806-sewing-machine-reliability/ hope this helps, HS

G'Day, I wasn't sure where to post this, either on here, or on the ' Show Off ' thread. Due to a lot of personal interruptions, I got quite a bit behind on many jobs these past few months, especially my horse rug repairs, and being Winter here in Oz atm , everyone leaves their repairs to the last minute and they kept piling up . But I've finally been able to catch up. Apart from rugs, my 52 year old Seiko STW -28B does a lot of leather jobs, mainly repairs on leather jackets , belts etc. but its really earned some praise this week doing horse rug repairs. I know they're not leather, (well, some parts are) , but I just thought I'd share these pics. Apart from the occasional bent or broken needle, and the odd tangled thread here and there ( thats down to the operator) I thought it went really well. Love to hear your story about your ever reliable machine. Would it be safe to say ' love your machine and it will love you back ' ? thats just silly HS

G'Day, If they don't have a makers mark, how do you know they are genuine ' Craftool' stamps? The genuine Craftool stamps go for around $10 - $12 ea new ( Australian) see Tandy's . S/H around $7 -$8 ea Aust. I paid $4 - ea S/H for my CT stamps when I first started 14 years ago . I was lucky enough for many people to just give me their old stamps, some were the original Midas tools, and not the newies. God knows what their value is now. They've just started making them again: http://www.kellymidasclassics.co.nz/about_noel_kelly.php Hope this helps a bit, HS

WOW !!! The basket weave is...well.....its......awesome And I love the filigree , something I haven't tried...yet. It didn't you long to pick it up again I see. Like falling off a horse I guess , you never forget. HS

I do find photo copiers , ( and the ' ye olde' XP publisher ) very handy for changing the size of patterns. I've become very adept at modifying patterns to suit a project like changing, adding or 'omitting' bits of a pattern to make things fit without it looking obvious. That pattern looks a bit like " Celtic Knot" type pattern that I love doing. Nice bag btw HS

G'Day, Depending on the type of leather, with that width, you could make some really nice guitar straps, for yourself or for sale. If its not veg tan, and its already black, brown or whatever, then perhaps use studs, spots, concho's etc to jazz it up , finished off with with some nice hand stitching along the edge. If its black for example, perhaps a red or yellow or white thread? Re-enactment belts ? One piece utility cases, for phones, tools ...or....whatever Just a few ideas there. HS

G'Day Thom, and welcome to the forum . I had a quick search for the 151, and found this post, it may or may not be of interest : They look very similar to a Consew 226, or my Seiko STW-28B . The 7-33 is a thing of beauty . I wish I had one, not that I need one, I just want one I look forward to seeing your work in the future. HS

G'Day, From my own experience on occasion, I have experienced dye not soaking in, or not taking for some odd reason in one particular spot, leaving a noticeable, almost shiny " blotch" (?) Sometime the size of a match head or a 5 cent piece . Its either, something in the leather itself, or a stray bit of oil or sealer( from my messy bench no doubt) has somehow got onto somewhere where you don't want it. This is a very crude way I've dealt with it. I gently 'rough up' the spot with the very tip of my sharp knife, not too deep, but just enough to remove the ' shine' , and then using a cue tip ( ear bud) or a small brush, dab a little dye on the spot, and finish of with a bit of persuasive burnishing or polishing etc. . HS

G'Day, That looks ' noice ' A good quality belt that will last for ever. You mention an Aussie conditioner , does that mean you're an Aussie ? Don't worry about messing up a few stitches, I've messed up my fair share, and no doubt I'll mess up many more . I was told by a friend that made custom made quilts as I was showing her my sewing machine skills on a belt and I said to her that " a few stitches are a bit wonky " . She said, "Don't worry, they're called ' humanity stitches ' " Our individuality is in everything we make. HS

G'Day , I was considering buying a Tippman ( and a few others) before settling on my 441 clone, but after, reading that, I'm so glad I didn't. And you're right, these machines are so simple to use, easy to maintain, and I have never had to fiddle with the adjustments, I have got it adjusted just right . Needles are easy to get, however, accessories are harder to obtain in Australia . But so far theres nothing I need for it at this point. I got all the feet & feed dogs etc when I bought it. They are a great investment. HS

G'Day irish47 , This is my machine. Look familiar ? Its a ' Colt' by Qstitch Queensland Australia . I don't think they do them anymore. I've had this machine for 8-9 years, and with regular servicing, its been so reliable( touchwood) , and its paid for itself now. I've never had a job that required that thickness( perhaps half that) , but I was just curious if it could do what the ad said it could ..........sure as eggs, it can With all the advice from other leather workers, I do hope we're able to help. I fully understand about your hands. The 'age ' of my hands shows up after prolonged hand stitching. God bless sewing machines eh? But they certainly are a worthwhile investment , especially if you intend to do a lot of sewing for commercial purposes. HS

G'Day, @Riem , yes, my customer is ex Kimberley now living in Western Australia , her and her family have lovely SA accents . Occasionally she comes out with a word or sentence , that I don't understand, that I'm guessing is Afrikaans , as she's trying to describe a particular fabric or hardware etc I do eventually work out what she's saying and give her an English translation Lovely people and they've kept me busy for years. HS PS : I think the biltong posts are a bit off topic, however leather is a by-product of the meat industry after all. PPSS: I love biltong, so moreish << he's eating biltong , not popcorn

G'Day I feel like the odd one out being from Western Australia , however, since many of you are from South Africa, my ex was from Sydenham but she also spent time in Durban in the Natal Province as a kid. One of my customers is from Kimberley, small world eh ? , her family keeps me very busy with an assortment of work, horse rug repairs , tie down strap alterations for their truck and various horse gear repairs etc. . They do a lot of cross country comps. But anyway,back on topic, welcome 'emo chair ' . So 'yah man', look forward to seeing your work HS

I also like the raw edges and the lovely hand stitching.

G'Day, thank you so much for your reply. Unfortunately , I don't know anyone with a spool rewinder, so I'll just keep doing it by hand. I done enough research now to convince me to stick with polyester for its UV properties . I also use a M40 poly UV bonded thread on my Seiko, that I use on horse rug repairs, its super strong and just perfect for my needs.( I can even use it on my old Pfaff 60 machine) I thought about using a nylon thread because it can be a bit cheaper than poly, I have noticed. And while its strength is pretty much the same as poly, its UV property is not as good. HS

G'Day, I'm doing a bit of research on nylon thread and found this post. I have an issue with a brand of thread, not nylon, but polyester . While the quality of the thread is OK, its so tightly wound on the spool it causes tension issues on my saddle machine, almost as if its caught on something. So what I do before using it, is I manually unwind a few metres etc. of thread from the spool by hand , re-wind it back on , and then sew, and it sews fine after that. I'm wondering if theres a bit too much bonding agent on the thread. I only tried it because its a bit cheaper than my regular brand ,and every dollar counts when you're a small operator. HS

G'Day Raksha, Its just something I've picked up over the years from experience , probably somewhere on this site no doubt. I apply 'leatherphane oil' , let it soak in, before applying antiques , and black dyes ( it can darken the leather a bit) . For other colours like browns, tans and lighter colours etc. I use ' Laceol before dyeing. http://www.birdsall-leather.com.au/DLAw/Laceol/pd.php its a very light thin liquid and doesn't darken the leather like some oils do. It pretty much dries clear. Its a Birdsall Leathercraft brand here in Australia . It smells totally gross, like a mouldy fridge, but works great. (I ignore the directions on the bottles ) My method will no doubt be totally different to what other leather crafters do , but it works for me , and you can see the result. I have always believed that there are no " rules" when it comes to leatherwork, we all have our own techniques & methods, but its the end result that counts. HS