Jump to content

MikeCahill

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    117

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by MikeCahill

  1. Posted · Report reply

    thanks,,,i have several live oaks stump sections that i saved for whatever when neighbor cleared lots in 07,,will debark and debug and set on bench for a try(providing better half doesn't mind),,might shop

    walmart for end grain cutting blocks also,,great site for learning,thanks again

    I use the end grain of a slice of an Elm log, it works fine, doesn't damage the tool, and when it gets chewed up run over it with an electric planer, as good as new! Other people I know use a block of lead, again when it gets too chewed up you can hammer it back flat, or melt It and recast it, I don't like it because it is a) toxic, and B) it oxidises, and the oxide dirty's your hands, and the job. I like the idea of fixing it to the bench so it can be rotated, but I would be sure to hit the screw, perhaps I would fix a wooden dowel in the bench top, and let it rotate around that

  3. Posted · Report reply

    I look at the superb hand stitching on this site, and then at my own sorry examples, how do you keep stitching clean? I wash my hands, use beeswax to seal and lubricate the thread but after two or three inches the thread is starting to get grubby, after 5 inches it looks like I've been kicking it around the shop any suggestions ?

  4. Posted · Report reply

    About a month ago, I started developing really small but painful blisters on the pads of my hands. Just a couple at a time,

    Last year ARGOS ( a large UK catalogue company) along with several other large furniture companies settled a class action out of court because customers who bought leather furniture from them developed blisters from contact with the leather. This tallies with what you have suffered, a anti-histamine cream as soon as you feel the reaction coming on might help, but anti-histamine thins the skin so not something you want to be doing on a regular basis

    Cheers

    Mike

  5. Posted · Report reply

    Hi Mike,

    That makes sense. The recipe is pretty similar to how I made code for hand stitching but I don't use lampblack. I use black pine pitch if I need black code.

    No real worry about the sword getting glued in place. The mix doesn't soak all the way through to the grain side of the leather. If it did your feet would get stuck in the boots too :)

    I can't use the stuff, I have an allergy to rosin, for my 50th I got a fiddle, something I had always wanted to have a go at, after sawing away at it for a week or so I developed a strange rash, and what I and my Dr thought was a chest infection, so with a two week sick note, I had more time to practice, the chest got worse and worse I ended up on a Ventalin inhalor, eventually discovered after patch testing that I am allergic to rosin, I still play (badly) but use a synthetic rosin called "Clarity" it still bothers me but I can live with it!

    It always fascinates me that you can swop information and tips with someone half a world away and get a feel for their way of living and working. we're not that different after all! Never heard the word Code, but the bit about mixing it where there is no danger of fire rings true, that mixture doesn't take much setting alight, (the voice of experience)

  6. Posted · Report reply

    Hi Ray,

    Is there enough of the surface left to figure out whether they were originally made grain-in or grain-out? I'm curious now. If they're grain-in then I'd put money on them being jacked. If they're grain out it's still a possibility, but I wouldn't put so much money on it.

    Heh, I've just read the thread on spit-polishing and the descriptions of bulling boots in there. When I first read this question I didn't understand what the phrase meant :)

    It's not the same, no. I can't remember where I originally got the term 'jacking' from, possibly Baker's Black Jacks and Leather Bottels, possibly Garsault (quoted below), possibly elsewhere but I understand it as a process of impregnating leather with hard, black, resin/wax mixtures to render it hard and water resistant.

    It's worth noting that while this process involves heat, the process as I understand (and practice) it relies on the resins impregnating the leather to impart the stiffness not a wet heating as in cour bouille. As far as I can tell the waxes are added to cut the brittleness of the rosin and help carry the mixture into the leather. It's really an impregnation process, not just a surface conditioning. It has the advantage of being restoreable too. If the finish cracks or the scabbard gets bent some heat and more jacking should fix it. Even applied to the flesh surface of leather it's possible to get a very high finish.

    The URL I posted in my original reply has pretty good descriptions of the process, one of which I'll paste in below:

    "Having one pair of boots... over their boot trees and previously wet, but now dry, take a coarse wood rasp, which is rubbed over the whole boot-leg to remove the fluff which stands up on the flesh; after this you proceed with the jacking/waxing... The place for jacking/waxing must be a room with a chimney, paved or tiled [NB-- "...where there is no fear of fire" in one edition]; near the top of the chimney, outside, is attached an iron chain which dangles to within six inches of the floor or there-abouts. You ready yourself for jacking/waxing by putting a small portable stove or lit brazier on a table to your left, on which you place a kettle containing the following recipe: One pound of yellow wax, two pounds of colophony, which is pine rosin, and lampblack to suit. You also furnish yourself with a swab, this is the name of a large dauber formed from a bundle of linen rags bound together, and have on your right, on the ground, some loose straw... Begin your task by lighting a little straw, which you wave under the bootleg to singe it, in other words to burn the rest of the fluff from the leaher that the rasp did not remove; afterward dip the swab in the BOILING [NB -- emphasis added] jacking/wax with which you coat the entire bootleg. Then continually rotate the boot-tree with your hands over a steady straw fire so that the heat makes the jacking/wax penetrate. You put on six sucessive coats in the space of an hour, being very careful to occasionally moisten the bootleg so it will not scorch, and so it takes two hours time to jack/wax one pair of boots. The bootleg now jacked/waxed, leave it to cool... When the bootleg has been jacked/waxed, and once more is thouroughly cold, it is full of lumps caused by the boiling jacking/wax with which it was coated and saturated; to remove them take an old knife, and using the blade as a scraper, scrape off all these lumps, then rub with a piece of cold wax that you spread very evenly with a stiff brush or burnishing stick, etc., and you finish-off by polishing and shining with the palm of your hand". -- M. de Garsault, 'l'Art du Cordonnier' [Paris, 1767]

    Now this is a full century later than you're after, but I think what we're reading there is a plausible explanation for the preparation of 'Black Jacks' and other hardened black, waxed leather goods that go back well before the 17th Century and is at least a reasonable starting point for a plausibly accurate technique to treat your scabbard leather.

    I'd love to see pictures of some of the ones you've made.

    As an aside, since I've quoted from it here, Al Saguto of the Colonial Williamsburg foundation released his translation and interpretation of Garsault's work this year. It is a pretty deep read but is utterly invaluable for anyone with an interest in historic footwear and leatherwork and I recommend it highly. It's not a stretch to say Al is the worlds foremost living expert on this period of shoemaking and the book reflects that deep knowledge.

    If you add pure turpintine to that recipe you have what I would call Cobblers heel Ball which was used for burnishing heels and soles, (and by small boys making brass rubbings of gravestones). the turpintine makes it more flexable, and tacky for easier application the turpintine evaporates off during the burnishing process leaving a high gloss finish. It would work but I would worry about the sword getting "glued" into the scabbard if it was exposed to a a hot sun, perhaps "dusting" the inside with fine sand would help

    Cheers

    Mike

  7. Posted · Report reply

    I completely agree that the modern drum tanning process does produce a softer leather, Mike, but I am using pit tanned (oak bark) leather from Collyton in Devon which is about as authentic as it gets - and I still can't crack the problem. Beeswax (even well soaked beeswax) almost works as long as the scabbard is kept cool although it is still very flexible but put it in the sun and it goes floppy again. I'm actually looking for a hard, rigid structure, not a flexible one.

    I'm not sure what you mean by a 'former the shape of the scabbard' as I'm reasonably confident the originals weren't made with a former. Can you explain a little more please?

    Ray

    of course I meant to say "former the shape of the sword!!" perhaps the sword its self well covered with clingfilm to protect it and then a couple of layers of gaffa tape to give a clearance fit

    Mike

  9. Posted · Report reply

    not quite on topic, but interesting, this is a link to a clip on youtube, I think you copy and paste the link into your browser. It is a bit of film about building a coracle (irish name "Currach") in the 1930's, they use an ox hide as the "skin" they don't discus waterproofing the hide, but they were a hardy breed in those days, and just put up with wet feet

    <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="

    name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="
    type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

    well the link didn't work for me type "Boyne Currach" into the youtube search box

    cheers

    Mike

  10. Posted · Report reply

    A friend of mine would like to build a leather canoe. He asked me what he could use to waterproof the leather. I've been doing leather work for several years and couldn't answer his question. Any ideas?

    Randy

    not quite on topic, but interesting, this is a link to a clip on youtube, I think you copy and paste the link into your browser. It is a bit of film about building a coracle in the 1930's, they use an ox hide as the "skin" they don't discus waterproofing the hide, but they were a hardy breed in those days, and just put up with wet feet

    <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="

    name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="
    type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

  11. Posted · Report reply

    hello, this is my first post on this forum. i did a search for "leather canoe" on Google because i thought it would be intresting to try to make one, and figured id be able to find an Inuit technique or something online but the only site that came up that was actually talking about building a leather canoe was this one. so i signed up just to ask if your friend ever ended up making the canoe?

    im curious to the best method of waterproofing the leather. i see that they used Lanolin in that book, but would that work with thinner leather(i guess the leather they used was 1" thick)?

    im not much of a leathercrafter but i thought Lanolin softened leather? before searching online i figured i would be using wax or something, i just thought the leather would need to be hard.

    I would have thought lanolin wouldn't work as well in a warm place like illinois as it would in artic waters, it would disperse into the skin, and become less effective over time. as would tallow or neetsfoot oil my next favorite options. they would both have to have repeated application as they are absorbed. Parafin wax, applied warm and then made to soak into the leather with a hair dryer, or hot air gun wouldn't migrate, but all of these treatments are quite heavy, and would add significantly to the weight of the canoe, but at least parafin wax wouldn't be attractive to bears a plus in wilderness areas. You would also need to be able to re tension the skins, as a lot of dressing would make the leather stretchy,

    mike

  12. Posted · Report reply

    Our basement is finished into several rooms, including a bathroom, our den/son's playroom, and my workshop/laundry room. The workshop has its own entrance, stairs that enter down from the side of the house, under a covered awning that comes out the side of the house. When one enters the shop from within the basement itself, one immediately passes the washer/dryer and progresses to the shop area. It's kind of an "L" shape overall, so while it is narrow entering, the shop extends back after you get in.

    ANYHOW, I'm having a huge problem right now with creepy crawlies. Let me say up front that I have a phobia of spiders. I have gotten to where I will let them live if they are outside, but if they are in the house: they're dead. Same goes for other insects (yes, I know a spider is not an insect). I've had crickets, which I generally let go, earwigs/pincher bugs, etc etc.

    Is there a way to easily remedy this situation? Our house in PA had a plug in thingy that I guess emitted a sound bugs didn't like? (Left behind by former homeowners). I don't really want to spray, since that'd involve moving alot of furniture. Maybe just spray around the door and window/dryer vent?

    I killed 5 spiders (two very big ones) in one day, and today killed 3 and some bugs.

    I regularly get mice, mainly in autumn, and put traps and used to poison down for them, but it can be smelly if they go behind something and die. I have a pair of wrens that nest in my shop every year,( I move out,and I do other things while they are sitting), and then put up with the droppings all over things. one year I caught (and killed) one of the babies in a mouse trap, I was devastated! I now make sure to remove all traps while they are breeding. spiders I don't mind, but I can't stand Slugs and woodlice (pill bugs?)

    Cheers

    Mike

  13. Posted · Report reply

    The reason for this post is that I am having a hard time trying to figure out how to interpret the response from Bob Tippman regarding my email to him. Mainly, I now feel guilty that I was given a refund. Should I? Are any of you detecting some irritation/sarcasm in Bob's response? Sometimes I read it and think that he was 100% honest/kind and then sometimes I read and feel that he is pissed off? Have any of you experienced any issues with the "single screw" shuttle?

    Should I have complained about this shuttle? Do I have a leg to stand on here? I was told in a 10 minute phone conversation that I would not be getting a refund do to the fact that 1000's of single screw shuttle are out there and that they seem to be working fine for most. I accepted this and figured...oh well, can't win em all. Then unexpectedly Bob Tippman emailed me back....

    In the end I guess no matter what I consider the Tippman company to be top notch. Number one they listened and second they were not obligated to do a thing for me as I was not the original purchaser and the machine is 5+ years old. I kind of wish now I could give the money back...

    I did already bring this up with a service guy and apparently he is looking into my situation.

    Last night I broke a piece off of my shuttle. I was trying my darndest to adjust the tension arm on the shuttle because I simply was not getting any kind of tension on the bobbin string. I figured tweaking it a bit was my only alternative.

    This morning I called and spoke to someone about ordering a new part. The gentlemen I spoke to indicated that the "one screw" shuttle set up (the type I have) was faulty and that for some reason it was loosing tension over time. He also explained that they were hoping to have everyone call in to order the new two screw shuttle to replace the one screw shuttles.

    This sounds very much to me like a recall. For a machine that is supposed to be virtually indestructible I would certainly not expect the shuttle to loose tension over a short period of time. The individual I purchased this machine from told me that he had only used it a limited number of times. I am guessing he had been having issues with tension also...hence the reason for selling it to me?

    In my small holster business if a customer informed me that a snap or rivet had gone bad on their holster I certainly would not be charging them for replacement. I would view this as a faulty part and send them a replacement free of charge. When this has happened to me in the past I even covered the customers shipping both ways.

    In closing, I am having a hard time trying figure out why I am being charged for what appears to be a defective part.

    I did already place an order and pay for the part. I am however looking for reimbursement.

    Thank you very much for hearing me out.

    Sincerely,

    Tim Ostrander

    Holland Holster Co. (A one man operation) :)

    P.S. At some point I am looking into purchasing one of your embossers. Tired of doing it by hand.

    Timothy-

    The machine comes with a one year warranty. There are other major brands selling their sewing machines with the exact same shuttle that you have. 5 years ago, I found a new source for the shuttles and have been very happy with them. However, I understand your frustration, and will replace the 5+ year old shuttle at no cost to you and it will ship out tomorrow. Please accept this as my way of saying welcome to the Tippmann family. I hope that you enjoy many good years of our service and make lots of money off our machinery. Have a great day!

    Thanks <br clear="all"> Bob Tippmann

    Tippmann Industrial Products

    Cell: (260) 409-1936

    Toll Free: (866) 286-8046

    bob@tippmannindustrial.com

    The tensioning mechanism, is a wearing part, they all wear a groove where the thread is pinched and you should expect to replace the shuttle over time. Bob's e-mail is service above and beyond any obligation he has to a customer. Shame more companies don't work the same way, and it's because it's such a good response that you think there has to be a catch. I know it's hard to believe sometimes, there are still nice people out there, Nice one Tippmann

    Mike

  14. Posted · Report reply

    I visited your website ~ COOL. The camo kilt & leather ones are my favorite. I like the style, very practical. I never realized how many things a kilt could hold. I make leather "War Kilts", here's one of my favorites.

    ELAD

    I have to ask!

    is anything worn under that kilt?

    and given the number of rivets I think the answer would be:-

    PROBABLY

    ( a reworking of an old Scottish joke)

  15. Posted · Report reply

    <snip>: I regularly have to re-make old sword scabbards for museums and collectors and although I can make a perfectly adequate 'display piece' replica from modern leather I am still not absolutely certain what sort of leather they were made from originally. An educated guess suggests 1.5 to 2mm thick veg tan / oak bark tan of some kind but was this a special tannage? Anyone got any thoughts on where authentic material might be obtained or where I might find anyone who may be doing the same job as me now?

    Next question: I'm at a loss to decide how to treat my leather to get the same level of rigidity the 'old guys' achieved. I have tried many types of leather and haven't found a solution to what I call 'scabbard droop' - any ideas?

    <snip>

    Modern veg tan leather is I believe drum tanned which continually flexes the skin giving a softer finished product, (a much quicker process). I think I might try soaking an oversized piece of leather in water with tanning solution such as s shredded oak bark for a couple of months and hopefully when dried it will make a stiffer leather I would then work warmed or even melted beeswax into the leather (use friction, a hairdryer or hot air gun to get it deep into the structure from both sides) I think you will find this gives a much stiffer leather to shape it you may need to use a heated iron with the leather on a former the shape of the scabard

  16. Posted · Report reply

    First prize goes to the man in clogs.

    According to the man who sold it to me, it is indeed a Victorian glue spreader. I don't fancy connecting it up to a gas bottle and trying it, but it certainly looks as though it would work well.

    Nice one Mike!

    Ray

    It will be made to work at mains pressure and it would have been town gas in those days, so butane would work, you can get adjustable pressure regulators or just "crack" the valve, but why risk it

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Purchased in a job lot of Victorian leather working tools - one end looks like it might fit some kind of hose pipe... The other end looks like it might be a back scratcher - but what are those holes for?

    I have an idea but would love to hear what you guys think first!

    (Keep it clean, Luke! LOL)

    Ray

    I think it could be something to do with inlaying leather in a desk top or table, the flame keeps the rabbit glue or hide glue soft and flexible the rake spreads the glue as you roll out the leather, just a guess

    cheers

    Mike

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Not sure if this is true but it sure is funny !

    Animal Rights Activists protested Leather-Wearing at a BIKER rally…
    <snip>

    Well that has set me up for the day, I've already put it up on my facebook page, I'm going to print it off, and pin it up in my shed (workshop). I don't care if it's true, start the day with a smile

    Cheers

    Mike

  19. Posted · Report reply

    New to the forum and am trying to find some information for a poster on another forum. He has taken possession of some of his grandfather's belongings that were

    located in his grandfather's shop. The gentleman apparently had owned pack horses/mules and old saddlery. The family included farmers, metal workers and gunsmiths.

    He wants to keep this in the family and is very interested in finding out exactly what it's use was.

    At first sight I was reminded of a stitching horse. Is it possible this could be a rudimentary/homemade horse?

    I am including his description of the item along with pictures that he supplied. Also mentioned in another posting is the fact

    that there is the remains of a horse shoe painted on the seat. It is slightly visible in one of the pictures.

    Any information or direction is greatly appreciated.

    "There are no moving parts, and I suspect something is missing. The legs are strapped together with leather strips, as well as the beams on top.

    If you look at the front view of the angled beam and notice the hole where it meets the vertical piece, that hole goes all the way through and comes

    out under the smaller beam that points down. There is a channel under the beam on the back side of this thing that goes all the way to the ground.

    It looks like some type of string, cord, yarn is supposed to be pulled through from the back. My guess is that large quantities of string or whatever

    is supposed to come through the hole. I wish I had what is missing from under the longer beam. There are no holes under the seat itself indicating

    that anything goes there."

    I am not setting myself up as an expert, and I've never seen anything quite like it but the chamfered corners, the obviously machine routed channel, and 1970's style spray finish, I suspect you have a telephone table that used to have a light fitting probably in the shape of a lantern hanging from the arm. Just a guess!!

    Cheers

    Mike

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Really great site Mike,

    I wasted a good half hour already, found a few shoe making and soccer ball films like this one - http://www.britishpa...cord.php?id=552 - complete with clickers and hand stitching.

    The old guy stretching the pieces was obviously not in his usual working position, using the stretching pliers is hard work, especially for a 70 yr old. I had the chance of getting a lot of press knives etc. to do with football, rugby and other sports from an old sports shop and factory some years back the old guy was at the point of accepting that he would never use the stuff again, (he had just retailed stuff for years) and he would be better off selling it all to me! after leaving it a few weeks, I went back to finish haggling with him over a price, and found he had died, and his son had taken all his tools, the press, and press knives sewing machines, the lot to the scrap yard, I was gutted

    Mike

  21. Posted · Report reply

    You would not believe the spam the word "leather" attracts. That's why we have the new members on mod approval. I don't shock easily, but I have seen things that made me go:

    jawdropper.gif

    Don't ever do a Google search on "leather man" with small children in the room. Whew! No one wants to see all that!

    Johanna

    I must lead a sheltered life, all I got was a page of leatherman multi-tools

  22. Posted · Report reply

    I found this movie on the Tärnsjö Tannery website. Might be interesting ? ( english spoken!)

    / Knut

    http://tarnsjogarveri.se/eng click "our leather" look for: Movie about leather at left.

    / Knut

    This one is off topic, but worth a look, it's how they used to make scrubbing brushes

    http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=47193

    this site is a real time waster, you can drift for hours from one subject to another, I defy anybody to not find something interesting!

  23. Posted · Report reply

    I found this movie on the Tärnsjö Tannery website. Might be interesting ? ( english spoken!)

    / Knut

    http://tarnsjogarveri.se/eng click "our leather" look for: Movie about leather at left.

    / Knut

    and another about moleskins from 1941

    http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=37650

    British Pathe is a really good site, put any keyword in the search box (these 2 were from the word "tannery"), some of the films date back to pre WW1 a lot of the films are about british empire countries, and breakaway colonies

×
×
  • Create New...