badger

I don't, Ben. Steve, Never give up on the Pilot, I love it. Turns out I had a 26 in it already Your handy needle chart is pinned to my workroom wall now, though. Thank you. I really do want something with a reverse though, it'll make my workflow much smoother and totally cuts out the entire process of finishing stitching runs by hand. I also want something with a higher footlift. Badger

I'm in the market for a heavy duty sewing machine in the UK. It would be a cylinder arm machine, with a reverse function and adjustable stitch length. It should be really heavy duty, like a Pro 2000 or a Highlead GA2688 I need something capable of sewing thick and thin leather without complex adjustment and with a high footlift, capable of sewing 18 or 19mm leather at a push. It needs to be very, very reliable and a neat and tidy stitcher. You know, the moon on a stick Anybody have any suggestions? I don't have a whole lot of money and would probably need a used and/or reconditioned machine. Many thanks, Badger

Hi Chris, Welcome to the board. Plenty of nice folk here. Cheers, Badger

Beautiful work! Welcome. Badger

Rugby..... That's the one played by men with oddly shaped balls, isn't it? Nice job Terry, as always. Cheers, Badger

My suggestion would be either a Stirrup blank as suggested or a veg tan 'side'. If you're not familiar with the way things are cut, a side is one side of the whole skin cut from the other side down the length of the spine. This should easily be long enough. Badger

Many congratulations Josh! Badger

Brenda's work is excellent, fast and very reasonably priced. Badger

Many, many thanks to everyone for their wonderful help, advice and suggestions. I would have responded sooner but have been really sick since yesterday. I won't go into details, but suffice to say there are no longer any birds in the garden and cars speed up when they pass the house............ Ray flew instantly to my aid last night. It seems he had just the thing laying on his bench! The phone call went something like this: Ray: What size oval? Badger: 110mm wide. Ray: How many do you need? Badger: About 30. Ray: How thick? Badger: 3mm. Ray (accompanied by a shuffling noise): I'm just putting them in an envelope..... Seriously. Badger

Thank you everyone. Ray, I'll give you a ring. Love this place.................. Badger

Does anyone make pre-cut, veg tan oval shapes? I'm looking for an oval shape around 110 or 120mm measured on the long axis. I know it's a long shot and I'll probably need to have a press knife/tool made. Cheers, Badger

Thanks guys, But that's the guy I already tried, who has no stock. Cheers, Badger Dave, I like the products form Ostrich Market, but they are pricey compared to other sellers. I'm still chasing down a few leads here in the UK. Cheers, Badger

Thanks, I tried him. No stock of anything useful at the moment..... Cheers, Badger

Guys, I'm in the market for some cheap Ostrich leg/shin leather. I'm after browns, tans and a black. Does anyone have a cheap source or have any they want to sell? Cheers, Badger

Terry, The Maplin thing is crap, sadly. Most of the new Dremels are as well. They don't seem to hold up to any sort of work for long. The motors are weak and will choke under pressure and the bearings wear really fast. Troll the flea markets and boot fairs for an old Dremel. You can buy new motor brushes for them and they are much better made. Cheers, Badger

I use a coarse belt and almost no pressure on the work at all. Cheers, Badger

I would expect there to be more care and attention paid at that price. Personally, I would return them for a refund. Cheers, Badger

Ray, You should have spotted mine in the workroom when you visited (good to see you!). Having said that, it was behind you and we were in the room at the same.........you may have noticed that there isn't room to turn around with two in there In case you didn't see it; 4 inch by 36 inch belt in the horizontal position, dust extracted. Badger

Welcome. Only a proper Luddite spells it two different ways Cheers, Badger

Yep, glue both pieces all the way to the edge, let it touch-dry, join carefully and then hammer down. I will sometimes hammer a glued seam using a scrap of leather, grain side down, between the work and the hammer to prevent marring. Badger

I have a habit of buying beautiful, expensive guitars and being a truly awful player. Having thought about it though, I feel a bit better. I used to be appalling, now I'm simply bad. That's an improvement, right? Badger

Hi and welcome! Actually, 1% is a really good place to be. The very next thing you make will double your knowledge. I'm jelous! Cheers, Badger

Chuck's work is amazing. Badger

Was it my Mare's Leg holster from 'Firefly'? Badger

Buy a set of french curves used by draftsmen. I bought a set of 'Ship Curves' which are bigger. Both types are pretty cheap on Ebay. You can make almost any shape with them. Cheers, Badger