Mulesaw

@battlemunky Thanks, I just need to find out where to put it :-) @tsunkasapa Thanks, the plans in that little gem of a book are great, I especially like that the nice shape of the seat.

@YinTx Thanks for the nice words :-) @fredk Thanks, you are much too kind :-) @chuck123wapati Thanks, I can't compete with you in making of nice looking awls, so I had to think of something else :-)

After thinking about building a stitching horse from the old Farm Woodwork book for about half a year, I found the time this home period. I had made the hardware while I was on the ship last time, so there was only the fun woodwork part left. The stitching horse follows the plans according to measurements, but I have made a sturdier frame by substituting the screwed connections for the stretchers with drawbored mortises and tenons. Likewise for the legs which are now taken through the seat and wedged in place. The seat is made out of discoloured beechwood which I think ads a bit character to an otherwise fairly dull wood. The legs and stretchers are made from ash, the clamp is made from elm and the foot operated lever is made from sycamore. Now I just need to come up with a project that will give me an excuse for using the darn thing :-)

@Constabulary Thanks a lot. This is perfect. I can see now that all my previous attempts were wrong :-) Best regards Jonas

@Constabulary Sorry, I forgot to post some pictures in the heat of the battle :-) I was frustrated that I couldn't figure it out. The machine seems to be a bit older than the 7-33 that I was able to find a threading instruction for. There is a regular tension device with two discs at the upper part of the machine, at the bottom of the end there is something that looks like a tension device, but it is just a pulley that is held in place by the spring. The hairpin spring is what puzzles me, I am not quite sure when the thread should go through that one. I messed around a bit and made it sew, but it jumped off the lower pulley after sewing for a bit (It did make a nice stitch with even tension on the upper and lower thread) I also tried another routing of the thread, and that gave a lot of tension on the upper thread compared to the lower thread. I suppose that I could also tighten the lower thread, but I figured that it was best to make sure that I had the other things correct before starting with that. Brgds Jonas

I managed to buy a Singer class 7 machine last week. The machine is a 7H501 built in 1905 according to the serial number. The machine is in good condition, being stored in a heated shop for the last 20 years or so. I have cleaned all the bearing points and the sliding surfaces and given it a good oiling. It runs very smooth and I have made it sew, but the upper thread pulls too hard on the lower thread , and I am not sure that I have threaded it correctly. Does anyone have a manual or a similar machine that they can take a picture of so I can see the routing of the upper thread through the tension devices? Thanks in advance

Great build! And a great use of an old sewing machine too. Brgds Jonas

Welcome I wish I had my dog near me now, but I am at the job, so no soft ears to touch.

Hi, is the book still for sale?

Nice job.

Beautiful work! The double edge stamping (or whatever it is called) looks fantastic, well it all looks fantastic actually.

I think it sounds like a very good "bad habit" And I will be the first to agree that it looks great when the mare and the foal have matching gear on. https://katrinelund.dk/GB.aspx This is the local stallion central where we live. Our son takes some jumping lessons there once a week, and I have managed to get the job of repairing the stable sheets for them, I am always impressed and amazed with how efficiently young stallions can destroy a nice new blanket.

Really nice work! I just checked the rules regarding foal inspections for Danish Warmblood (In Denmark). Those rules state that the mare shall be presented in a regular bridle. But the foal should be in a halter. Now those rules may easily differ for the different registers, so I think you should talk to some of the local breeders and ask them if there are any specific rules. Brgds Jonas

@Sheilajeanne My sincerest condolences. Loosing a family member is always devastating. I have found that reading the poem "Epitaph to a dog" by Lord Byron helps, so I hope that this poem can be a bit of a comfort to you (though it is originally about a Newfoundland dog) Near this Spot are deposited the Remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferosity, and all the virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery if inscribed over human Ashes, is but a just tribute to the Memory of Boatswain, a Dog who was born in Newfoundland May 1803 and died at Newstead November 18th 1808.[4] When some proud Son of Man returns to Earth, Unknown to Glory but upheld by Birth, The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of woe, And storied urns record who rests below. When all is done, upon the Tomb is seen Not what he was, but what he should have been. But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend, The first to welcome, foremost to defend, Whose honest heart is still his Masters own, Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone, Unhonour'd falls, unnotic'd all his worth, Deny'd in heaven the Soul he held on earth. While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven, And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven. Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour, Debas'd by slavery, or corrupt by power, Who knows thee well, must quit thee with disgust, Degraded mass of animated dust! Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat, Thy tongue hypocrisy, thy heart deceit, By nature vile, ennobled but by name, Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame. Ye! who behold perchance this simple urn, Pass on, it honours none you wish to mourn. To mark a friend's remains these stones arise; I never knew but one — and here he lies.[5]

Great information I looked at the drawings, and got to think about if the waterproof cover would have been made a bit longer than the first opening flap, so that when the pack was all closed up, this piece would extend over the top of the entire pack to prevent rain from getting in where the top hinges are? Brgds Jonas

Interesting question. If a car is handmade, nobody will expect it to be made by one single person, but more skillfully put together by a dedicated team, and the engine and transmission etc. can be sourced from a regular street model (example:Lotus 7 or Caterham 7) If a tool or a bag or another smaller item is called handmade I think the general notion is that it is constructed by one person from start till end product. My best guess it derives from when automation began, and handmade was a way of signaling that the stuff was made in a traditional way.

Looking good.

WOW Congratulations. I think that sound like the deal of the year! I don't know anything specific about the machines, but I would keep them all until at least I am sure of that I won't need this or that machine. It is frustrating to discover that half the projects/customers needed something done with that one machine that you didn't think you needed anyway.

Thanks for all the nice comments. @ JohnnyLongpants, I'll let you know if I make another one :-) I am glad that you like it. I think that I might need to work a bit on not making the awl too thin at the tip. But after testing it in a piece of scrap leather out here, it sure cuts easily. @Chuck123wapati, thanks a lot. I really like your antler handle. and the ferrule looks really cool. Your awl marks look much more diamond shaped than mine. So I think I'll have to work a bit on the shape of my blade (or whatever it is called on an awl). Brgds Jonas

In order to celebrate that it is finally weekend, I decided to spend the evening on board making a diamond awl from bit and pieces I could find. The steel is from an old needle gun (rust picking gun) The ferrule is a small piece of copper pipe. The handle is turned from an old lignum vitae cringle from the rigging. First I filed the diamond shape in the needle. It is steel that is just annealed so much that I can work it. I didn't want to harden it anymore, because I have earlier tried that with the result that it became too brittle, and I haven't really got any good ways of annealing it properly out here (I don't want to get into bad standing by the galley department by using their oven). If it will become a problem in the future, I'll just try to harden it while it is mounted on the handle. The handle was turned in the lathe, and the ferrule was hand formed over a small die that I had turned for the same purpose. Now I just need to get home and see if it works as I imagined. Old cringle made out of lignum vitae. Turning the basic shape of the handle. Getting ready to mount the steel and the ferrule. The finished awl. The awl itself is 3 mm thick (approximately 1/8") The ferrule should have been a bit closer to the handle, but it was my first experiment with this type of formed ferrule. The little imperfection on the handle is left on purpose to acknowledge that it is made out of an old worn piece of equipment.

That looks like a good setup. I haven't thought about using an old PC power supply, but I think that I'll copy your idea on that one instead of using the large battery charger at home. As I have understood it, using sodium carbonate and regular steel/iron as a cathode, will be the safest method. the gas emitted is CO2, and the end solution will be something that you can use to spread on your lawn, and it will help against moss growing, I think you can buy iron vitriol (might not be the correct name in English), in gardening centers, and that is what will eventually be in the tank. Some people use stainless steel as a cathode, but then you'll get a bit of chromium in the solution which supposedly isn't quite as good for the environment.

looking good!

If you are going to do the electrolysis, I think you need to be careful not to let the brass part of the handle touch the water/soda solution. I think it might damage the brass before removing any rust.

If you want to do the electrolysis rust removing, here's what I have tried with success: Mix water and soda (natrium carbonate) in a bucket Put a piece of metal in the bottom of the container where you will be doing the electrolysis. I use an old piece of steel netting. Connect the positive terminal from a car battery or a battery charger to the metal in the bottom of the container. Pour in the water/soda mixture Suspend the rusted item in the mixture, it must not touch the metal in the bottom. Connect the negative terminal from the battery or the charger to the rusted item. After a bit of time (depending on voltage, concentration of the system etc), you will see bubbles and something like a layer forming on the surface above the rusted item. I let it sit for a day or so. Then remove the electrical connections and take the de-rusted piece out of the solution. There will be a black layer on the surface that I normally remove with a scotch brite pad. Note that some electronic type battery chargers won't work, presumably because they can't see any voltage at all and hence won't start. (I bought a charger from Lidl that did just that). I have also de-rusted plane irons by immersing them in regular household vinegar over the night. Again the rust turns into a black powder that is removed with a scotch brite pad. For smaller items such as a knife blade, I'd go with the vinegar. I doubt that any of the epoxies such as Belzona or Wencon etc. will work for sharpening. I have used them for repairing worn shafts that would sit in a bearing, or pitted pump housings, but they are not metal, so I would leave the pittings and look at them as character of that particular knife. Bgrds Jonas

My saddle on my motorcycle is made of veg tan leather that has only been treated with neatsfoot oil. That has held up for the last 27 years so far. I have reapplied some oil to the saddle every now and then, but that is all. I think the colour of the sheath is dyed brown from the tannery, but I am pretty sure that it too has been given some oil over the years. Normally the leather stuff on our ship would get either tallow or something called lanopro wire oil. But that is just what we use here. Brgds Jonas