My First Post.

[Duracuir1]

Hi from Ontario Canada. As a teenager in the mid 80s I worked in shoe repair. 
 

I would spend entire days patching hockey gloves with an Adler 30. 
 

About 15 years ago I started buying some equipment. 
 

I bought leather, machines and hand tools from the estate of an Italian shoe maker.  This became a fun hobby and I was a frequent visitor to this site. 
 

In 2022 I retired after 33 years as a police officer.  
 

I joined some time ago and tried to introduce myself before but my photos could not upload. 
 

About half of my selected photos for this post also failed, but you’ll see a few. 

My little shop is set up in an old Livery Stables building that we bought five years ago. I brought mostly old equipment but use pretty much all of it.

I do repairs, some custom work and make lots of belts. Prior to having my shop I catered mostly to watch collectors. I still do on occasion but have mostly moved on from making watch straps. Local work and repairs is much simpler. 
 

I have two old Singer 29s that handle a lot of my needs. One is usually threaded in black and the other in tan or brown. I keep it simple… I use Coats Extra Strong thread in small spools available at Michael’s or Fabricland. 

I have an Adler 30 and it’s at home.  Works so well.

I have an old stitching horse and enjoy hand stitching. It is very relaxing and my eyes still work.  The old horse works much better for me than the modern stitching pony with a wing nut that would capture my thread most of the time. 

For heavy work (holsters, sheaths, saddle bags and repairs) I have a Cowboy Outlaw. I considered an electric cylinder bed machine but my workload is minimal and I am trying to keep an old school look and experience for my guests. 
 

Here’s hoping some photos of my shop will appear in my post. 
 

You have a wonderful website with lots of experience. Thank you for this site. 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Duracuir1
Spelling.

[DieselTech]

Welcome to the group. Bunch of great people here. 

[Duracuir1]

A few more pics. I have tried to upload my stitching horse photo a few times without luck. Will take a different photo and try again soon. 

[wizard of tragacanth]

Fascinating shop! Love the atmosphere... thanks for the tour.

[Chipster99]

Very cool shop. Love the old baseball gloves too. I’d have trouble resisting the urge to “repurpose” some of them into other stuff, lol!

[Duracuir1]

Dear members, thanks for the replies. 
 

Chipster, you are correct. I began collecting the old baseball gloves because their leather was old, soft and supple. Some were turned into watch straps and cases. But those hanging in my current shop were a bit too nice, plus I have read that some were stuffed with asbestos. 
 

I still use newer gloves but the leather is not as nice, still, I made one for a friend’s Seiko years ago and it is still his favorite  (bottom photo).

 

 

[FrankHester]

Very Nice!  Thanks for the pics of the shop!