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I would really like a copy as well.

Looks like an interlock topstitch on a shuttle stitch seam. Common on old jersey sportswear, but in that application you have a spreader thread on top If you look closely it looks as if there are loops on the wrong side typical of chainsewing machines. Union special made feed up the arm machines for top stitching seams like this, i.e. needle plates, feed dogs and presser feet for shaping the seam allowance like this. Never seen it in leather though but the machines are more than capable of garment weight leather.

In those small concentrations (i.e. 5%) it is not harmful. It is harmful to some chrometanned. Not veg tan.

Its for wax container on machine. I do't like nears foot oil. Or any oil on leather.

Hi. I tried buying wax solution to no avail (without ordering from the US). I would like to avoid solvents so I did a 5 minute google "research". It turned out borax can emulsify beeswax. Since I have no impulse control whatsoever I made some emulsion. I'm gonna test it in my machine later. A bit thicker than water, like cream. What I did was: -one part bees wax -one part 10% (by weight) borax solution. I used tap water, probably better with distilled. Heat both, until the wax has melted in a water bath. Recipe said to 70 degrees centigrade (no idea what that is in freedom units™️) but my wax melted at 78 degrees. In a third likewise heated container mix the two under vigorous stirring. Keep stirring until 40 degrees centigrade. Obviously it's an emulsion, just gotta test if it's good as a wax. Please try and see if it works for you.

Yes, needle feed. Also has a little extra guide bar below the needle plate which pushes on the needle. The bobins are like a small thread spool. Two discs on a hollow axle. I can make a video when I get the time. Max. Stitch length is rather short, about 6-7 mm. Foot lift is good tho.

Yes, excellent. Thanks to the manual I managed to get mine up and running. Or, maybe more like I prioritised it. Now I need a supply of needles. I'm running low on 45 degree cutting point needles. Attached a photo of my machine. (Annoying file size limit, we're not living in the age of fax modems anymore). Not my fudgy looking weld on the cracked base! I can do it better than that!

@samadlingtonleather Yes please do that. Sent you a pm with my mail

Wizcrafts, all your positive response in virtually EVERY thread on needle and awl machine is about to hurt my economy, my relation and my peace of mind.

Bumping this

Thank you for answers. I will try. I have an australian stock saddle with a attachment thingy for a crupper. I think it will help my saddle from creeping forward during steep descents. Yes, I also need to awl it and restuff it.

Hello, I'm looking for patterns for a crupper. Does anyone have one?

I'm still trying to find a manual for BUSM pilot sewing machine. Anyone?

Heinke or Martin/Price. Hasluck I have.

Singer industrial has most manuals and part lists online.

I operate and manage a knitting mill as my 'day job', we use a lot of binders for various seaming operations on knitted apparel. From my experience, there is no field where the old saying 'you get what you pay for' is more true than binders. The amount of time I've spent desperately trying to file, bend and braze bad binders is something I would like not to Think off. We only buy suisei (japan) or rimoldi (italy) these days. Make sure you buy the right 'gauge' for what you're gonna sew. Otherwise the tape will cause a drag, and you will get a really bad finish. On Machines for knits there is almost Always a differential that you can adjust to somewhat counter the drag from the tape, but it can't rectify even modest faults caused by bad binders. We buy some from college sewing machine parts as mentioned above. They're a real gem for sure. We also deal a bit with local machine dealers, not really good prices, but we get binders that do exactly what we want them to do, and they can be used 12+ hours a day without moving around, causing drags, or even worse, production stops. We also want to have local machine businesses around, so by buying locally we're voting with our wallets. Long time ago when I started out I bought a few cheap binders without really knowing what I was gonna use them for, they're all scrapped now. No use. If you're sewing as a hobby, by all means, go ahead and buy a few cheap ones to figure out your needs, but if you're serious and wanna do it as a business, I can't see any other way than forking out for professional Tools. We have made a few ourselves, but to be honest, it's cheaper to have them custom made than to make them ourselves, at least for us. (My browser keeps capitalising random Words, sorry for that)

Wow. Where is this beast located?

Hello. Following a conversation I had with the proprietor, australian publishing house the rams skull press has recently released a small book/booklet on collar making, called "Collar making the traditional way" by Ron Edwards. The information therein had previously been available in some other book, but is now available in a single little volume. I got it yesterday in the mail. The literature on collar making is very scarce, Haslucks book harness making being the only one I know of in English. And as correct as it might have been it does lack a lot both in information and how it is presented. Looking thru Haslucks bibliography it is quite evident that he either was a dilettant or just an editor. I mean seriously, motor cycle building, plumbing, electroplating and harness making, the feller must have been a jack of all trades.. Anyway, the Edwards book is good, albeit very thin. But it does cover tools, materials, patterns for various parts (only for one size horse), techniques, general tips and a few recipes for leather treatment goos (the latter seems to be taken from hasluck). I sort of researched the subject myself by Reading thru hasluck, looking at photos and videos, pestering collar makers with stupid questions, and of course making one. This book answered a lot of the questions I had, and confirmed some of my thoughts on how to do things. So for me it was a very good read. The illustrations are fantastic. Note, this book is about making collars built up with long straw, not the chaff filled, seamed up jobs that is common in the US. Overall I would give the book a solid 5 out of 5. If you're worried about postage from oz, have a look at the stock saddle book and how to make a saddle tree (which is the only written account i have found on how to make a english-ish tree), lower postage per book if you order a few... No affiliation with the rams skull press, just a happy customer.

Also, a photo might help. Unstained on the top. Stained below.

Hi, a bit late maybe but I'd like to share an experience with wood stain on leather. I live rurally and always try to support local businesses. I very seldom buy stuff over the net. Mostly books though (abebooks or amazon). I can't get leather dye/stain locally so I thought I'd give wood stain a try. My local paint shop (very old school, they sell all the good stuff and are very friendly and will get most things others do not carry at all, like borax and shellac flakes) had a wood stain which comes in powder form in small satchels. I had a look at the msds and it turns out to be sodium chloride (table salt) and azo dyes. Which can be used for leather. The instructions said the powder should be dissolved in boiling water, or for stubborn woods, 50% water and 50% ethanol. Had a look at the fieblings dye msds and it's mostly alcohols plus a mixture of azo and methine dyes. Hmm worth a shot. Turns out it works fine. The leather sucks it up fine. That the dye can rub off might be an issue, so it needs sealing with wax/oil but otherwise it works ok. Works well on edges to. Conclusion, try to find as pure dye as possible, without any additives. Azo dyes works.

The second Picture shows an English cart harness, made for single axle carts. I kind of like the idea of the shaft loop strap on the saddle, I have a lot of hilly terrain. Funny thing about that dee, I didn't know they were made, but they ought to be made again. It can't be that hard to weld together. Thank you very much for the information on traces. Hopefully I can find some photos. Also, I found the book you were talking about, the one I linked to above was the English version. I found the american one at a much better price. Cheers

I will write a longer answer when I'm in front of the computer. But had a look at the book. A bit expensive, eh?

Whoa! Long post. Will try to answer. Ok, breeching dees I can get from Aaron martin or Abbey England. Or forge myself. Not sure which route to go. I'd like to have a separate dee on the topside of the big dee for the hipstrap. Like a two strap halter ring. That would be awesome. I'm not really sure how you put the layers and ramps, could you provide a photo or drawing please? Ok, 4" was a bit reactionary, it's just that the local ones maxes out at about 1 1/8". Let's say 3". So you have the base, and then layer folds over to hold the D-ring? How well do you fasten the side strap billets? Or do you have smaller dees for them? Also while I have you on the thread, how do you make your traces? I'm not sure I can get all the length for one trace from a hide. Should I cut traces as long as possible and then use chain for the rest of the length or is it even remotely possible to piece them together? Is it only one single ply of leather in a trace? What's the breaking limit of that? I until now only used tarrep hemp ropes (1" diameter) that attaches to the pull rings in the short traces from the wooden hames. (see attached photos of typical Scandinavian harness and rope traces). But it's clumsy, and I now need longer ones as the traces attaches directly to the hames. And I can't figure out a way to attach the ropes to the trace attachment thingy.

Hi, yes. I can't really decide if I want the side and hip straps to meet at Point (in a pad or in a welded ring) or if I want them to cross over on the back strap (the one going to the crupper). The thing is, the breechings made and sold locally are all very weak, and usually comes from breast strap harnesses.

Hello. Is there any good instructions on how to make breechings available? I know haslucks book, but it's a bit odd. I plan to make the 4" wide in 5mm leather (sorry for two measurement systems in the same sentence). And I defo want a big sturdy Dee in the end, not weird hooks as hasluck talks about. It's for a working draft horse (18.2 HH) so it's a bit on the big side. Suggestions, experience, ideas? Just shoot.