The Old Folks Home

[sourland]

Well, all that aside, perhaps Al will share trip details with us upon his return.

Or 'Al' can share trip details upon her return.

 

[Bunnylady]

Well, since it is obvious that Al isn't travelling alone, "their return" is both comfortably ambiguous and correct English, too.

 

[drumstick diva]

Alaskan - be careful - be safe - be sober - we want you and goats in mint condition

 

[Latestarter]

So sorry about the "his/her" "he/she" use when discussing/mentioning Al... It's difficult to avoid, though I try... It just doesn't seem polite to refer to said individual as "it". HAH! I guess I CAN use "said individual" in those instances.. I'll try to remember that.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Alaskan - be careful - be safe - be sober - we want you and goats in mint condition

Mint condition goat?

I'll be driving "cross country" on Friday - heading down to NH. There are no major roads that go that way so I'll be on a similar path to Al. Although it's not where I'm headed on Friday, even our interstate (95) up here is only 2 lanes each way. Coming from the DC-Baltimore region, I find that to be nuts (but refreshing).

I broke my sewing machine last night. After a mild panic attack I had BF come look at it. He insisted that I was missing a nut on a screw, and I insisted that there's never ever a nut there and that THAT WAS NOT THE PROBLEM. After a mild fight about it it was determined that I will take the machine to the old guy down the road who repairs sewing machines after work today. His shop, which I think I've mentioned before, is like being plopped down into 1970. It is a ridiculous and fun experience. And he's got some super old sewing machines to ogle. I will do my best to avoid coming home with one.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I would love to have an old Leather machine. Something I could repair harness with. They make hand lever operated ones still They can go through a half inch of leather.

Last harness I rebuilt by hand stitching through the old stitch holes and when it needed some parts that didnt exist I had to get creative.

Normally a couple of copper rivets would have been used but I didnt have anything but Stainless steel screws and Nylon Lock nuts with washers. Worked perfectly didnt look too bad either.

But I would like to be able to do some top stitching... as well as make Halters and fly masks.

Katee goes through a fly mask every year.

deb

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I would love to have an old Leather machine. Something I could repair harness with. They make hand lever operated ones still They can go through a half inch of leather.

Last harness I rebuilt by hand stitching through the old stitch holes and when it needed some parts that didnt exist I had to get creative.

Normally a couple of copper rivets would have been used but I didnt have anything but Stainless steel screws and Nylon Lock nuts with washers. Worked perfectly didnt look too bad either.

But I would like to be able to do some top stitching... as well as make Halters and fly masks.

Katee goes through a fly mask every year.

deb

An old treadle (industrial if you can find it) would do the trick for you. If you can build a desk to mount it in, the machine itself would only set you back 20 to 30 bucks. If you can't a nice desk is about 200$. It takes about 8 hours of work to get a treadle up to working condition. My 1896 I could barely turn the handwheel on it when I bought it but it is so smooth after some TLC and a lot of oil.

 

[vehve]

Oil does wonders on old mechanical machines. I wish I still had my grandmother's old electric Singer from the sixties, it was a horrid green thing and a bit of a pain to sew on, but that thing bit through 8 layers of denim easily. The one we have at home can barely handle three. I haven't sewn anything in ages, but I like making stuff, like shotgun covers or quivers for arrows. By the way, if you're making some sort of gear out of nylon or cordura, and want to stiffen it without adding much weight, the plastic/rubber shelf liner stuff from Ikea is a good way to go.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
This one is a Tippman Boss.



This can go through harness leather for Heavy harness and Yes its a modern built off old style.

the only treadle I have seen is the one below

But I believe it would be only good for small stuff.

deb

 

[chickisoup]

The one up side of losing my sweet kitty is that the DH isn't giving me a hard time about the new chicks to arrive in May and all my "plans" for improvements to their living arrangements. I picked up 2 rolls of 5 ft fencing yesterday and he even asked if I should grab one more. I'm raising the lower parts of the fence after the attack on my flock last fall. He knows how sad I still am about my loss and I think he's afraid I will come home with a new kitty if I stop focusing on the chicks coming. (He came to really like our kitty but it took many years and shed a tear himself as we put her to sleep but as I rounded up her things and cleaned out her box, he loudly stated, "no more cats" hoping, I think, that I was actually listening

, silly boy ).