A little fun here. Ever named a favorite creative machine?

[Tallbald]

Throughout the decades I've met folks that have affectionate names for some of the machines and tools that allow them to create and express their artistic sides. I'm no different. Back in 2014 I sprang for a beautiful saddle sewing machine. I'd always wanted to learn leather crafting and having arthritis I was limited in my ability to do much more hand stitching. "Bertha Jo" is 300 pounds of sexy iron and steel. She's my Corvette Stingray. Powerful enough to stitch through 7/8 inch of stacked leather, Bertha Jo has allowed me to put to leather my scores of personal designs in laminated gun belts, gun and knife holsters, belt packs, cell phone holsters and such. 

 My Cowboy 3500 will always be to me and my family "Bertha Jo". I suspect that a scroll saw, given the machine's creative potential, would soon be named in my wife's and my little shop too.

Don

[Scrappile]

What a monster!  Hope you show is some of the items you have made with it.

[OCtoolguy]

By all means, show off your stuff. We all love handicrafts and that sure qualifies.

[Scrappile]

1 hour ago, OCtoolguy said:

By all means, show off your stuff. We all love handicrafts and that sure qualifies.

Hummm, first read of this with my silly eyes, I thought it read, "we all love handcuffs"... I thought the man is quirky!

[Tallbald]

I'll try to locate some photos to share. Most of what I made went to new owners or were gifted. I always used Hermann Oak vegetable tanned leather.  Craftsman grade. 7-8 ounce hides are my preferred thickness, and my belts are laminated  two layer with smooth sides outward. Cemented and double edge stitched, they are heavy duty purpose built garment foundations. Because of arthritic problems I designed and modified an inexpensive arbor press to do linear border stamping, and designed and built a belt edge sanding vise to help me deal with the illness.  I can post a few Youtube links here if that's OK but I don't want to break any forum rules.

Don

Don

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, Scrappile said:

Hummm, first read of this with my silly eyes, I thought it read, "we all love handcuffs"... I thought the man is quirky!

Your sordid mind at work Paul.

 

[barb.j.enders]

I haven't named my tools, but I did name my cars.  Rusty - a Datsun B210, Piglet was my beige Pontiac Acadian.

[Tallbald]

Grin. One of my other sewing machines is "Dottie" , who's a 1934 Singer 209(?) with factory hand crank power source. A beautiful old girl, I put a walking foot attachment on her and have done a little quilting. Just a simple 9 patch my beloved wife Penny helped me design and cut, I love Dottie. Wow what a stitch she makes! She came to us from a Shop Goodwill auction site for only $50. Her wooden lid was stuck and nobody knew for sure what was under the top from the photos...

Penny's 01 Ford Escape was "Chile Pepper" because of her hot performance and bright red color. Growing up, our little fishing boat was "The Green Grunt" because of her 9.9 HP Johnson and our need to grunt to get her through waves LOL.

So is posting a Youtube link OK here? One video references my modified stamping arbor press and shows one simple belt I make, and another video showing my design and execution of a belt edge sanding vise made from bed frame rails, scrap plywood and bolts. Since posting the arbor press video 7 years ago I see there's a number of folks that have sort of added to my design.

Don

Edited December 1, 2022 by Tallbald

[Scrappile]

I guess I named my old Hegner "Ah shoot" (only a stronger version).   That is what I say to it while scrolling most the time..  Not the machines fault.  but i do yell that at it a lot!

[Chiloquinruss]

I know we have forum guidelines here so I really can't share what I call two of my machines . . . .   Russ  

[Tallbald]

Grin. I understand the feeling.

Don