Mulesaw

@PrePro One day late (I hope you don't consider me a complete untrustworthy fraud) :-) I was so tired when I finally made it home, that I fell asleep on after eating supper. But here's some information on the thread: I used Gütermann extra stark M782, colour 327 Over here in Denmark it is available in most regular sewing machine/fabric/embroidery shops. So I guess it should also be available in the USA. If it is possible, I would bring the bag that you want to repair into a physical shop to check if the colour is a good match. I have no idea of the age of the bag that I repaired, so in theory the colour could be faded a bit. But if you don't have a Gütermann shop near you, the colour I used was 327. I have used the same line of thread (the extra stark M782) for other projects as well. Occasionally I get a pair of riding boots in light brown or dark brown. And instead of buying a large spool of 2000 m in a cpecial colour, the M782 gives me 100 m of any imaginable colour for around 5$. Good luck with the project, and please let me know if you need any more help :-) Brgds Jonas

Hi PrePro I can't remember the thread colour/brand, but I'll sign off the ship tomorrow and go home, so if you can wait one more day, I can tell you the brand/colour. Regarding the pig skin, it was something that came from my dads collection after he dies, so I have no idea whatsoever of the brand. I would look for a colour in the whiskey/cognac range (depending on what the store will call it) Like this: https://www.laederiet.dk/shop/81-foerskind/4030-svineskind/?variantId=20968 I used some double sided tape to hold the edge in place during sewing. It is not messy like contact glue can be, and it is plenty strong to hold the pieces in place while you sew, and if you mess up a bit when placing it in the first attempt, it can be removed without making a mark etc. Brgds Jonas (who will be back with more info tomorrow)

Nice find and great job so far. What method did you use to remove the rust? Brgds Jonas

Hi Tom Beautiful looking bridle! We had a Micklem bridle for my wifes horse, and that had the same system, I was always of the impression that it was made purely to protect the horse from having a buckle gnawing directly to the skin under the jaw (where as you know there isn't a lot of meat to add natual padding). Also having the buckle directly on the skin has the potential of gripping some hair from the horse, especially in the winter time where the hair s long (It might be a bigger problem in Scandinavian winters than in e.g. Florida) I have never heard anyone complaining or bad mouthing the system, but I am not on FB, and that might filter some of the most enthusiastic voices 🙂 As I see it, you can still overtighten a cavesson noseband, but if you are a skilled rider - you make sure that your equipment is fitted correct anyway, and then it won't matter if your system allows for tightening more or less. Brgds Jonas

@dikman Ah, yes, that is a mistake from my side 🙂 In my head it was for powder, not the lead shots. I have never seen one of those before, so I thought it was for simultaneously filling powder in a double barrel muzzle loaded shotgun. But is the idea that you carry 2 sizes of shots? Or is it for a double barrel shotgun ? Brgds Jonas

That is really a specialty item! Looking really good I must say. My best suggestion would be to use a cow horn. In Europe it was the standard thing for holding black powder, so it won't be damaged by the chemicals in the powder. Cow horn can be shaped if you heat it up first. I am unsure about what temperature, but I think 325-350 degrees Fahrenheit seems to be the spot as far as I can see on the Net. You heat it up in some hot oil, and then you shape it. I'd make a tapered piece of wood with a broom stick as a handle. The tapered piece should look like a small cartoon christmas tree, with the brrom stick out the wide end. Cut a cow horn to a length a bit longer than the tapered piece. Heat up the horn, and press the tapered piece into the horn, and when it cools down it should retain its shape. An alternative route is to take the wide part of a cow horn, cut a piece off, slit it open and heat it up. Then you flatten the piece. WIth the flat piece you mark out to form a tapered pipe. THen heat it again and shape it over a prefabricated piece of wood. I have never tried working with horn this way, I just know the theory behind it. But I guess it might be a heckuvalot of work to make something like that when no one is ever going to see it. A second option would be to form a small cone using some sheet metal brass. Brass is easy to solder and if you get something fairly thin, it is easy to shape as well. Brgds Jonas

Hi John G Welcome to the forum. To me the most important points are: Strength/solidity Size Design/style Finish to me is part of the style, and I normally prefer just a regular brass finish like the one in your picture, alternatively it could be silver coloured, but I prefer no "bling" on my buckles. Price is not especially important since I don't make 1000 belts, and compared to the time invested in making a nice belt, the price for a buckle is only of secondary importance. But I guess that if you run a regular production of belts, it is of more importance. I like the small "dip" where the prong of the buckle nests. That is a nice touch in my opinion. Depending on what type of product I am making, I use either "normal buckles" like the one in your picture, or "roller buckles" or "center bar buckles" For belts I prefer sizes 1.25" and 1.5" (30mm and 38-40mm). Brgds Jonas

Welcome, nice looking products on your website. Brgds Jonas

Welcome to the forum, Really nice looking tooling! Brgds Jonas

@friquant Looks pretty good to me. I have never tried using a thinner bobbin thread, but I guess it is the only option if someone wants to use a very thick thread for sewing. Did you have to loosen the top thread tension a lot to make it sew so neat? Brgds Jonas

That makes more sense, but again, my French skills are virtually non existing, so I just saw some numbers. But it could easily be the person who had written the article had gotten it wrong in the first place 🙂 Brgds Jonas

Hi Clément I can see that they say that a class 45 will be able to handle 3 mm, I had no idea that they could go that high up in diameter. (Mostly guessing from the numbers since I don't speak French 🙂 ) Do you have any pictures of the yarn / linen thread that you intend to use? I am just curious if you are thinking something that is a bit flexible and pliable, or if it is very hard rolled and compact. Depending on what you want to make, and how many of the same thing you will make, hand sewing is definitely an option. If there are some difficult shapes, machine sewing can be really difficult in my experince. But hand sewing can take a lot of time, and if you are planning on making wool ponchos for sale, I guess machine sewing will be the best for the business. I am at work right now (at a ship), but I'll go home in about a week, and I can try to see how much I can wrangle through my class 7 Singer, just as an experiment. I have some heavy 6 strand linen thread, that I could double or triple to test. I just googled for some macrame yarn, and one type was available in 4 mm, but the most types were 2 mm in thickness. https://rito.dk/jutesnor/32859-infinity-hearts-snor-jutesnor-hvid-2mm-100-meter-5713410015773.html This one is jute, so not linen, but still a nature material. Some of theothers were cotton blended with 20% polyester. I don't think that a heavy duty household machine will have a needle system that will be able to handle a 1.2 mm thread. So you will probably have to find some heavy industrial type sewing machine. Now I am by no means an expert in sewing machines, but please remember that just becasue the machine is an industrial type it might not be designed for large needles. Many of the industrial machines are for sewing fast in regular and heavy fabric like denim, but not with very thick threads. Brgds Jonas

@Ferreol Helle Clément, and welcome to the forum I think the biggest challenge will be finding a machine and a needle that will accept a 3 mm thread. I have an old Singer class 7, but I don't even think that that machine is able to manage a 3 mm thread. A problem is that the bobbin won't really be able to accommodate much, and I doubt that such a heavy thread will be able to go around the bobbin itself without getting stuck. I just checked Gross Beckerts needle sizes for system 794 (the one that a Singer class 7 and others use), and they did have a needle called size 300, but it was incredibly expensive - around 20 times the price of a regular large size e.g. size 200. They wanted something like 420 $ for a 10-pack of needles. My best suggestion would be to use a thinner thread (linen or cotton) and sew through the 3 or 4 mm diameter linen and through the wool fabric. This might not be what you are looking for, but it would enable you to fasten a 3 or 4 mm thread to your project. Wool fabric of that wight, I think that you should technically be able to sew on a regular machine. But not with such a heavy thread. As an alternative to linen, perhaps you could use silk? I think it is available in qualities that you can use on a sewing machine. Best regards Jonas

The disappointment and annoyance of suddenly having to deal with producing a product that doesn't live up to your own quality goals is exactly what is so hard to accept. Knowing that suddenly instead of a flawless product out there representing your skills, there is something completely different that you know ytou could have made better. The only good thing is that usually those who see it will still think it looks amazing, They don't know how it looked from the start, but it is still not much of a comfort to me.

While browsing Youtube for videos of English saddle construction, for some very strange reason this suggestion popped up. I speak very limited Spanish, so I can't make out what kind of straw that they use, and I think the saddle might be for the horse mounted person in a bullfight arena, but I am not sure. The interesting thing is that the saddle is built without a traditional tree. All the stiffness comes from straw. There is also some interesting decorations, that I guess are traditional. Definitely worth watching.

Ouch, having incomplete (or false) information to start out with is so frustrating. And I thjinbk you made a nice save! I promised my son to make a set of chaps for Christmas for his good friend (a farrier who does western riding). I was told that they should just be exactly like those that I had made for my son the year before, I asked if he really was the same size etc, and yup, just make them the same. Turns out that he would have liked his legs 4" longer.. I had to improvise to make it look decent, and I was pretty fed up with the project since redoing it was much more trouble than just making them correct the first time. But lesson learned 🙂

WOW!! That top is SO elegant. Did you drill the holes or use an awl to get through all those layers? Brgds Jonas

It's looking really good! I have been toying with the idea of making a die (just for a key fob), I got a used blade for a band saw that I plan on using. I am going to silver solder the ends together, but the sharpening I haven't quite figured out yet. It might be the easiest to do before bending I guess. But anyway, thanks for a lot of fine inspiration:-) Brgds Jonas

Welcome to the forum from Denmark. The Singer patchers are fantastic machines. Have fun restoring yours. Brgds Jonas

Like those above said, as long as you don't sell it or actively market it I think you are OK. And I still think you'll be OK if you sell it together with the car some day. Brgds Jonas

A Singer 45K might do the trick for you, and be available within your budget. https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/85098-singer-45k-89-experiences/ Good luck, brgds Jonas

Its a shame that Michigan is such a long way from Denmark. Someone just made a heckuvadeal as far as I can see. Glad to learn that the collection went to a good family.

Great looking belt, and fabulous photographic skills!! Taking a decent picture generally is hard for me, and if it is a picture of a belt.. I am lost from the start. Brgds Jonas

Maybe a strap saying: Daytona beach 2025. Just a small strip of leather with either stamped or branded onto it. Make a hole and a cut in one end, so it can be attached to a regular button on a vest or a denim jacket. You could make the same strap as a keyfob. But like @chuck123wapati said, what are your own ideas? You could make custom chaps, or belts or leatherwrapped locking chains (for keeping your motorcycle locked and still looking good), but it is easier to give hints/help if we know sort of what you'd like to bring yourself. Brgds Jonas

@speedybri Sounds like a great idea, I'd try to get a small bandsaw, and use a meat cutting blade for it. If you haven't got a band saw yourself, perhaps a friend has got one? Changing a blade on one is really easy, so you could eventually just buy a blade that fit his/her saw and then use it whenever you need to cut the straps. https://kasco.com/collections/boneless-poultry-processed-meat-band-saw-blades A blade like this is what I had in mind. You'd have to draw a line to cut along, but a regular straightedge or a long ruler would do the trick. I'd love to see a post with artillery harness 🙂 Brgds Jonas