Mulesaw

Thanks, It is so satisfying to make something that you can use for a special task. I haven't spliced in many years, at least not in cable, but I still remember how to do it. I probably just isn't very fast at it :-) Brgds Jonas

Thanks :-) I think it came out OK as well. Brgds Jonas

@Gymnast Hi Viggo I ended up buying Serafil because it was what I could get easily. I am thinking about getting some braided thread instead of spun, though I am not sure if it would be better, I would just like to try it so see if there is any difference. Brgds Jonas

No problem, ;-) Being an engineer I really need to get my head into gear to compute anything that isn't just a diameter measurement. (Not that it would do any damage to once in a while challenge the brain) Cheers Jonas

Looks really good.

This time on board I decided to make a marlinspike for myself. And a sheath for it as well. The marlinspike is turned on the lathe from an old steel bolt for fastening the cylinder head to the main engine. It is just shy of 12". The ball end is 1.25" in diameter, and the body tapers from 19/32" to 1/4" right at the tip. In addition to being conical, the body gradually becomes oval nearing the tip of the marlinspike. A D-ring of bronze was silver soldered in place in the shaft, and I made a similar D-ring that could be mounted on the sheath so that the safety lanyard can attach directly to the sheath. There are different rules on different ship regarding the safety lanyard. Some ships require the lanyard to end around your belt only, but others will allow you to fasten it to such a D-ring. The sheath is made with a flat back. A wedge shaped piece of leather was sewn on it for two reasons. First it would move the marlinspike a bit outwards, which in my thinking will cause it to clear the hip of the wearer just a bit. Second - it would give a backing rabbet for the round outer part to register to. The outer part was cut wedge shaped, so that the sheath tapers in thickness as well as in width all the way. I sewed it on using diagonal through stitches (or whatever they are called). Entry on the side and out through the back. After sewing the sheath, I wanted to trim the little bit of surplus leather along the sides, but due to crappy weather and bad illumination of the workplace, one side messed up a bit. I had to redo a couple of stitches, and it doesn't look quite as nice as I had imagined. But with a bit of wear and tear it will look all right I think.

Really nice work!

@chrisash Thanks, It's just so overwhelming when I read another thread with some information that I could benefit from, and then it translates to pure gibberish in my head because I don't understand what is meant with the sizes mentioned. Brgds Jonas

Thanks, those are great links as well. Especially the one about the needle information. Whenever I tried to Google for some answers, mostly regular sewing machines turned up. Brgds Jonas

Thanks a lot :-) That was just what I was looking for. When I bought needles for my machines, I just sort of picked different sizes so I had some of both ends of the specter, not knowing if a size 80 needle was bigger or smaller than a size 110. The smaller bobbin thread thing I have never tried, I have just seen it mentioned here a couple of times and thought that I most likely missed out on something. But I think I'll just keep on using the same size thread for top and bottom. Again thanks for helping. Brgds Jonas

Like the title says, can anyone give some sort of explanation about the thread size used for sewing machines? I have tried searching the forum, but still haven't found an answer. I read about #504 and#207, #74 etc, and I have to admit that I don't understand any of it. Apparently someone uses a thinner thread for the bobbin than for the upper thread, but again without the knowledge I'm just using the same size in both which might not be the optimal solution. The thread that I buy doesn't even have those numbers put on them, so I just try to guess my way. So far I use the Serafil 10 on the old harness stitcher, and Serafil 40 for the patcher. But I would like to know if anyone has got a chart that would compare the European sizes with the # sizes. Or if someone can link to an old thread that will explain it :-)

Like the others said, please let us see it :-)

To me it looks like he is using a regular leather needle in the sewing machine. It does look like a big needle though. So you would probably need to go with something fairly beefy.

Really a nice piece. From a woodworking perspective, I like the chamfered drawer fronts, they give a touch of class. I don't remember having seen a bench like that for sale either. I think I have seen one in a museum though, but it is impressive that it has survived that long with all the tools etc.

Really impressive work!

Great looking saddle!

@Spyros I just checked the English page of Laederiet, ans it isn't quite as logical as the Danish site of it. The size is in mm and is for the width of the strap that goes through the buckle. They have a great customer service, so I would just phone them and ask, but then again I also live in Denmark. I just tried to Google for some German distributors, and here are just from the top of the list: https://pferdesport.sprenger.de/shop/pferdesport_en/harness-fittings/Special-fittings.html https://shop.tom-buettner.de/sattlerei/material/?p=1 I think that I'll have to try ordering something from Sprenger. That stuff looks really good. They even have a retailer in the USA, so that should make things easier for all of you living on that side of the Atlantic. https://hermsprengerusa.com/ Please note that I am not affiliated with any of these companies etc..

I use Laederiet but they are not based in the US, so that might be a deal breaker. There is also Pethardware in Czechia. Laederiet have a bunch of weird specialty buckles for making harnesses for driving horses. https://laederiet.com/produkter/97-for-harness/

@TomE It is a great niche indeed :-) I buy my hardware for the blankets either at laederiet (a Danish shop) or at pethardware in Czechia. They have a huge selection of stainless hardware. Just enter "stainless" in the search field. For some of the stuff they are a bit cheaper that the local shop I use, but I like to support a local business and generally it is more or less the same price. I haven't had anyone asking me about making new stuff like bridles etc. But people like to have their equipment repaired. So that is mostly what I do. I once bought a large box filled with old worn out bridles of various sizes and shapes. It was dirt cheap, but all those little special buckles and other types of hardware have helped me often, so I'd definitely buy something old and worn out again just for the hardware. I recently repaired a set of reins from PS of Sweden. Their products are gorgeous, I'd love to be able to match their standard some day. brgds Jonas

@TomE Thanks for the nice comment :-) The hardest part was the repair job of the torn part in the middle of the covering. It is a full ox that covers the phantom, so it was a bit of a job negotiating it through the opening of the sewing machine, but it worked even without breaking a needle during the job. I can't say if the fender is original or a later modification, to me it looked most like it was original. I am pretty sure that they use Colorado style AV that is hand held. It is probably called something else in Denmark though. It is the model that you fill with some warm water (38 dgC maybe 100 dgF?) before the job. I would love to make a leather holding system for the mares legs, (don't know the English word for that one), but they don't do natural inseminations due to the risk of the studs getting a venerable disease. So I guess they would have little use for that holing system. I do repair a lot of horse blankets for the station, and also some tack and riding boots for the riders out there, but the phantom was a fun project. Actually I wouldn't mind making a phantom from scratch one day. But I doubt that I'll ever have the need to do so. Merry Christmas Jonas

last time I was home from the ship, the owner of the stallion station asked me if I could have a look at their phantom. One of the stallions had gotten a bit carried away and ended up biting and tearing a large hole in the side of the phantom. The owner wondered if I could repair it? I told him that I could and we agreed that I'd do it in my next home period. So this time while at home I fetched the upper part of the phantom in a trailer and towed it home. The first part of the project was to disassemble it and assess what needed to be done. The back end of is sealed with an inflatable fender that in turn is secured in the other end with a cargo lashing. The front end had been repaired earlier on, and in all honesty it didn't look all that good either. Regular cable zip ties held the leather on to the frame of the phantom, so after cutting those up, I could bring in the leather to the workshop. I glued a piece of veg tan to the backside of where the hole was torn, and then sewed alongside where it was ripped. Near the front end there were also 3 smaller holes that I patched the same way. The damaged front part was so far gone that I decided to replace it instead of trying to patch it all up. I had a piece of thin leather that I had bought at a sale that would fit the job perfectly. I doubled it and glued and sewed it onto the main body part. A bunch of grommets were installed and the repaired cover of the phantom was reinstalled on the frame. Finally I made a round cover that covered the lacing that closed the front end. This was hand sewn on in a way that it can be removed without much fuzz if there is going to be needed a new repair sometime in the future. I think the repair job came out all right, and the best thing was that I had a reason to do a lot of sewing with the old Singer class 7 sewing machine :-)

Looks very good.

Yes, I only discovered that the Opening Person was based in the US right after hitting the "submit" button I haven't checked how much the postage is though, so it could be quite reasonable (or prohibitive).

I buy all my needles from Nadel24 in Germany. https://www.nadel24.de/Schmetz-Rundkolbennadeln-System-794 So far they have had all the needles that I have been looking for. And the needles come in packages of 10. I also like their sewing machine oil.

Very nice work. I think the Sasquatch is a great looking feature. The sheer size of that package makes me wonder if anyone would apply for a concealed carry license for it