Mulesaw

This time at home, a customer asked if I could have a look at her Louis Vuitton bag where the upper folded leather edge had almost completely deteriorated. I had some light beige pig skin that looked like it was the same that was used originally, and I googled to see if LV used pigskin, and the page I found confirmed this. A trip to the local sewing shop to find a matching colour of yellow and then it was just a matter of carefully removing the old one and sewing on a new edge. The customer had at one point renewed the closure strap with some fairly thin leather strap. She asked if I could see if I could find something a bit beefier. After some Googling I found a picture of the same model of bag, and it looked as it was originally made with a sewn closure strap matching the upper edge. End result: A happy customer and a bag that can be used for a couple of years more.

Looks great. I especially like the padded belt. That is a nice touch!

looking good. And a super nice gesture. It is a great way of saying thanks to someone.

I often find myself thinking that no matter what trade a person have, watching someone who can do that trade really efficiently is always amazing. There is just something about those who are able to make it look so easy and getting a good result that catches your attention.

Thanks Tom. That is an amazing video! blacksmithing is fascinating to watch, and especially when it is someone that really know their stuff! Brgds Jonas

Thanks Klara, I like to challenge myself once in a while, and it was made while I was at sea anyway, so it served as a nice fun play project to me. I have to say that I think my heart and the bone look a bit "flat", compared to how other people are able to carve and stamp. I am not really good at organic shapes. but then on the other hand - I never really practices anyway. So that might be an explanation. I would love to be able to make a rounded heart that doesn't look like a drawing made of a 7 year old :-) But I guess I'll have to be content that I can make a buckle instead Brgds Jonas

Thanks Northmount, I'm glad you like the results :-) At first I had chosen a bunch of files related to the build, but then I decided that I would split the project into the actual leatherwork and then the fabrication, so I only pressed the + on the leather pictures (I think they say "insert into post". And then I pressed submit post or whatever the button is called. I am 90% sure that was how I did it, so without looking much into it I started the post on the hardware Brgds Jonas

Thanks Toxo, it is really appreciated Brgds Jonas

Yes, the problem with the stock is that I only have some 3 mm brass thread (welding rod) and that looked to thin and flimsy. After all it is a fairly large dog that it should be used on. Also I didn't want to make a jig for just a single buckle like I did for the stainless D-rings I made for the stallion halter. I have helped a couple of our trainees making a belt buckle every now and then, and it is worth all the trouble when I see how proud they are because they have made it themselves. That feeling when they discover that they can actually make something like that is incredible to watch. I don't know how I managed to mess up my posting. I didn't think that I had attached all those production pictures in the collar post. Because I decided that they were a bit off-topic for that post. So now I look like some click hungry jerk who double post When my daughter sailed with us, we made a belt buckle out of a stainless steel rod that came from the large industrial mixer form the galley (like a giant kitchen-aid). She liked the idea of using a part of some old equipment and she was employed in the galley department anyway. It is funny but to me and probably you as well, it is just simple thrift to use something like that instead of throwing it away, but for many young people it is called upcycling

I'd love to go, but it is a bit to far sadly. I hope you'll have a great time there Brgds Jonas (a bit envious )

Thanks, I don't know what happened to this post. I thought that I hadn't put in the pictures of the fabrication of the hardware.. Now I am afraid that I have double posted

I originally started the broholmer collar project out here on the ship. I had some leather but I didn't have any hardware. So I did what any other seafaring leatherworking engineer would do - I set out to make some hardware from scratch. I found some 4 mm brass plate (5/32") and made some strips using a hacksaw. The strips were about 6.3 mm wide (1/4"). The D-ring was made by heating the brass and bending it around a pipe to give it an inner width of 1". One of the ends were heated and bent at a right angle. A hacksaw and a bit of filing gave it a good fit, and I could gently tap it flat and silver solder the parts together. Cleaning up with a file and sanding with some emery cloth made it look nice. The buckle was made by starting to heat and bend the ends at a right angle. Then the middle was heated and bent over a pipe to form a round front. The two bent pieces were maneuvered to lie on top of each other to form the bar. A hacksaw cut of the bar in the middle, and it was silver soldered together. Now it looked just like a long D-ring. the middle of the bar was filed round to accommodate the prong and the rest of the buckle had its sides rounded slightly to look and feel nice. The prong was rounded and shaped roughly. The end that would go around the bar was heated and bent around a screwdriver that had a matching thickness, so the back of the prong now had a hook shape. This was placed on the rounded piece of the bar and I used a pliers to tighten the hook shape around the bar so the it could not fall off. The end of the prong was adjusted to have a pleasing overhang and the completed buckle was cleaned up using emery cloth. It took me about two and a half hours to complete the D-ring and the buckle, so financially it isn't questionable to make hardware like this yourself, but there a no hardware shops on the ocean, and doing a bit of metalwork helps to keep the mind and body occupied :-) Plus I feels kind of good to make stuff from scratch every once in a while. Brass plate. Two strips sawed off. Silver soldered the D-ring. The body of the buckle bent over a pipe. The pieces forming the bar still needs a bit of adjustment. Silver soldering the bar of the buckle. Finished D-ring. Finished buckle. Buckle from the underside.

@chuck123wapati Thanks Chuck. I've got a bunch of pictures showing the actual making process of the buckle and the D-ring, but I decided to not include them in this forum. I'll make an entry in the hardware section for those instead in a cup of tea's time :-) Sadly I haven't got any pictures of the dog wearing the collar, but my daughter got a thank you video from the mother featuring the dog proudly strutting down the main street wearing it. Your friend Jonas

The mother of my daughters best friend has got a broholmer (an old Danish breed) Her collar was damaged and held together wit a simple cable strip, and I felt compelled to make a new collar for her. I measured the circumference of her neck using a paper napkin (I met the dog at a horse competition, so I didn't have a measuring tape with me) The hardware was made on board the ship out of heavy brass plate. The lining is made out of some old thin leather that was originally the upholstery of the couches on board. The real name of the dog is Isolde, but she is always called Solle, and I checked with the friend of my daughter and that was what she'd like on the collar. In order to make a bit of decoration and practicing my carving and stamping, I carved a heart, a bone , SOLLE, a bone and a heart. It helps that the dog is large. The circumference of the neck is 26", the width of the collar is 2". The sewing was done on my old Singer class 7, save for the start and stop near the buckle and the D-ring. That was hand sewn. Homemade D-ring and buckle, 1" inside measurement. Showing the underside of the buckle I opted to use the D-ring as belt keeper. Carving and backgrounding. Bone and a heart, very simply done.

I have been looking a bit more on your picture. The bearing for the main shaft looks as though it is seated just a smidge deeper than the casting. If you put a ruler across you would be able to see if the ruler touches the main casting instead of touching the bearing. If that is the case, then whenever you mount the flywheel, it will bind on those edges and make it difficult to turn. If any washers accompanied the machine, you could try to put one on the shaft. It would probably need to have a "keyhole" shape, so that it could slide over the protruding part of the shaft. Please let us know if you manage to sort it out :-) Good luck Brgds Jonas

Thanks Chuck, it sure is sturdy, it is a copy of a stallion halter that I borrowed from one of my customers. In the beginning of the thread I hadn't tested it on a horse, so I actually hadn't any idea how well it would fit. But it fits quite well. Off course it will most likely feel better once broken in a bit, it is fairly stiff as it is now. Brgds Jonas

Thanks Tom He already has a leather halter, and I think this type will be overkill for a gentle and calm gelding :-) Brgds Jonas

Looks really good. So you use it kind of like a head knife or half moon knife? I mean you push it through rather than pulling it? I like the shape of the handle with the small protrusions that you can rest you thumb against. One of the awls that I use for saddle work at home (curved round awl) I turned a handle for a couple of years ago, and I used it extensively this time and I was amazed at how much extra control and force it gives to be able to push something with the thumb. I never really thought of it when I made the handle, I think I was inspired by some awl haft that I saw, but it really makes a big positive difference in my opinion. Brgds Jonas

@TomE @Sheilajeanne @jcuk @Grey Drakkon Sorry it took so long, but here is a picture of the stallion halter mounted on my wife's horse (a Danish Warmblood gelding). Bent (the horse) wasn't particularly cooperative, so I didn't want to fuss around and try to adjust chin straps of the halter. But I must say that the halter actually fits better than I had anticipated. Still I believe that the noseband could be a bit shorter so it isn't as loose on the horse. But I guess it all depends on how massive head the stallion has got that will need to use the halter. Brgds Jonas

OK, I am pretty sure that those Chinese patchers are more or less the same, so the manual you have found should be good. Brgds Jonas

@Annikita I think that the two bolts/nuts on the left of the sliding bar are for adjusting the timing of the shuttle. So I wouldn't start moving those around yet. My guess is that the machine is set at some coarse adjustment so that it should be possible to sew with it. But you could make small adjustments with the timing later. To me it seems as the inner bearing is in the correct place. It is supporting the shaft and it is held in the main casting, so that looks good. as @Wepster says, the two smaller bearings should most likely go into a groove on the backside of the wheel. Did the machine come with an installation manual or some sort of assembly instructions? Brgds Jonas

@MonteS325 Fascinating piece of measuring equipment. I am a bit tempted to give it a go, but I have a lot of jobs at the moment, so I wouldn't be able to do it straight away. Plus I am located kind of far from Texas (Denmark), so there'd be some shipping involved etc. My best suggestion would be to contact the local vocational technical college and ask if they have a sheet metal class. They should be able to solder the metal part for you. Then it would be down to finding someone near by who could sew the leather on it. Good luck brgds Jonas

No matter what you decide, I think you should try to wet mould your leather to the seat. If you do like you suggest yourself, cut the leather before the bend, and try to skive the cut so that there will be a gradual decrease in thickness. Then take a new piece of leather that is larger than it needs to be. Cut it to a rough shape. Make some holes all along the edges. Soak it in water for an hour or two, put it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight. Drape it over the seat and use some string or shoelace to hold the shape using the holes you made along the edges. Smooth out the top and help pulling etc with your fingers, retighten the string/shoelace To this till you are happy with the shape and how it flows around the seat. Leave the leather on until it is dry. Remove the string/lace Remove the new seat cover Let the inner part of the saddle dry out (it probably took a bit of moisture from the wet leather) Cut the former seat cover to the correct size (maybe 3/4" from the bend). Attach the seat cover using staples or whatever method you prefer :-) I did this 30 years ago on a motorcycle seat, and it worked really well. Just be careful to not tighten the string/shoelace too much, so you end up tearing out a hole. The purpose of the string is to hold the leather in the shape, not to pull it into shape. That needs to be done with your hands. Brgds Jonas

@panchoskywalker It looks like it is some sort of suede that you have used. You could try to soak it all in water for a day or so. Depending on how well the glue has bonded to the leather, you might get lucky in that it will separate. But it could also be like Northmount says: that part of the foam will come off too. Or you can try to gently lift up the edges of the leather and try to "skin" the saddle. Keep lifting the leather and carefully slice with a sharp knife between the foam and the leather. Good luck. Brgds Jonas

Maybe some parents don't really understand that while a pony is smaller than a horse and it looks nice and behaves nicely, it is still 350 kg of muscle that can do some serious damage to youngsters and grown-ups alike. So far I have only had stable rugs that I have had to say I couldn't repair. But that was also for Katrinelund, and they are totally cool about it, I could technically repair them, but if I estimate that the work involved would exceed the value of the rug, then I just lay it aside and use the hardware as spare parts for their other rugs. Brgds Jonas