SteveOz

That's a nice really fun piece!

That's amazing work!

@DonInReno Thanks for your suggestion here. I'm actually blown away by all of the support I've received from everyone here on the forum. I have to go and do some tinkering in the shed to try some things out. Thanks again everyone for taking the time to help me!

@Handstitched Sadly, I'm in the East and they're in the West.

@Handstitched Thanks for that image. I'm based in suburban Melbourne.

@dikman Thanks for pointing that out Mate. I had completely missed it.

@Handstitched Thanks

@Handstitched Could you please post a pic of your holster plate?

@Handstitched Thank you once again for your suggestions. I'll definitely be dusting off my Singer very soon then. And the tape tip is a great!

@Handstitched Hey thanks for the tip there. I'll have to find some leather needles at my local haberdashery. I'm wondering if you've filed the feed dogs down on your machine or lowered them to stop them marking up the leather...?

@fredk Hey Fred, thanks for your tip there. I've got a Singer Heavy Duty 4411 machine. It's a domestic model and thought it would not be happy with leather going through it. I thought the feed dogs (just like the four legged variety) would chew up the leather. I'll have to give this a try too for making holes as I really enjoy doing saddle stitching.

@RockyAussie Hey Brian, That's a really good idea to use a drill press that way. If my little hobby turns into something a little bigger I'll definitely invest. Thanks again for your input here!

@Wepster Hey Wepster, thanks for that suggestion. That looks like just the thing and reasonably very reasonably priced too.

@chrisash Thanks for your suggestions. I've been toying with idea of getting some French pricking irons. I do like the look of the slots they make. But, I also like the way my Japanese stitching chisels are pointed and make it easy to align with the stitching line I make. They just drop into the groove.

@dikman Thanks for your suggestions. I do have an arbor press that I use as a die clicker. I'm doing watch straps so they're 2- 2.5 mm at the most.

I've been searching for a way to speed up punching holes for stitching. I'm not at the stage yet where I can justify the purchase of a sewing machine, but it's not far off. I currently mark a stitching line on both sides of my work and then I punch half way through from one side with a diamond chisel. I then push all the way through with a needle to the other side. Then on the other side, I line the chisel points up with the pin holes on the second stitching line. And then I punch half way through again from the second side. You're probably thinking what I already know... Yes, this is rather insane. But, I like to make neat stitching holes, what can I say. Long story short, has anyone ever made a light weight press with a toggle clamp for making stitching holes? Please the attached photos. I think with an added guide fence, something like this could be very useful for light weight work...?

@Fraulein Nice work, I'm sure your mum loved it!

@MtlBiker Hey Mate, that sounds like you're doing some really cool stuff! Can post some links here to where they are in the forum?

@MtlBiker I was pulling your leg regarding the distance. And thanks again for the compliment on my work. The website was easy using a simple wysiwyg builder, ECWID is its name. And a bit of baking paper wrapped loosely over a cheap LED lamp will give you a nice soft diffused light source. I must invest in a decent lighting setup some day... Sadly, I'm never 100% happy with whatever I make. So, the quest must go on to make the best strap I can. What types of things do you like to make out of leather? I imagine you must have some stuff up in the forum. I'll have to wander around to see what I can find of yours. I see you mentioned industrial sewing in your bio. Do you have a machine or two? @Hags Hi Hags, thanks for the welcome Mate. How's things in your neck of the woods?

Beautiful work! I love the strap detail on the double EDC sleeve.

Thanks for the tip @MtlBiker about the @. I was wondering how people were getting that to work. You're not alone in the "flow on" effect of dealing with a hook turn for the first time. I was close doing the same the first time I did one. All of my straps will fit an Apple watch. I must admit I've had a bit of trouble finding good quality hardware at a good price. I've purchased them from BuckleGuy in the past and they were ok quality. I'm always open to trying a new supplier, do you know of one? I think OA Leather near you might have them? I purchased some Horween from OA recently and it was a good experience. I have to give then feedback.

Hey MtlBiker, Thank you for your warm welcome! All of my stitching is done by hand with diamond pricking irons from both sides at the moment. I'm exploring some other options to make the holes faster, but I still want to keep stitching by hand. You truly have spent time in Melbourne by your reference to "the right hand turn from the left lane business". The "hook turn" as it's known locally. It's instilled fear, frustration, and confusion in many a young driver and tourist alike. It's been made easier now as they now have installed lights controlling your hook turn. In the past you had to check to see if something was coming, say a prayer and floor it!

Hi Bruce, Thank you for that. I've replied to your email.

Hello there! I absentmindedly blundered right past this area and just started commenting willy-nilly and asking questions. So, please excuse my rudeness. I started making leather watch straps as a hobby a few years ago. My friends admired the straps that I had made for myself. So I started giving them away as gifts. They soon encouraged me to start selling them online. After honing my skills for a while longer I was ready. I started with Horween CXL as that's what I'd seen online. I love CXL. But, I've gradually moved to veg. tan cow and kangaroo. I love the colours of CXL and its temper, but I love how accurate I can be with veg. tan. and how it holds the details. I like how it stays put. I'm especially enjoying kangaroo leather as it doesn't stretch when I run it through my small splitter. It's an interesting material, I love how hardy it is. I was enquiring about some machinery a while ago and was introduced to Rocky Aussie. He helped me a lot and encouraged me to join here. So, here I am and I've received many warm welcomes already. So, thank you. My little online venture is here- https://stevowatchstraps.company.site/ And my Instagram is here https://www.instagram.com/stevowatchstraps/ I look forward to getting to know you. Kind regards, Steve

I like to make watch straps, so my scraps are tiny. I tend to be as frugal as I can with leather so I end up with some small but useful pieces for practicing on. These can be really useful for testing edge finishes, sharpened tool tests, stitching and padding trials as well. Unlike Bruce's late wife I'm not making money from it directly, but I am in a way saving some money from not ruining a sellable product by testing something on it that may go very wrong.