The Milkman's Cash Bag

   I have just completed a very satisfying refurbishment. A chap saw me at the Ashby show and asked if I could fettle his cash bag. Not a offer you get everyday but more often than you might think! As a milkman or roundsman they get given a cash bag for collecting money from the customers. It is a classic design. It is very like the ones my Dad had when he was a bus conductor.

   In this bag the dividers for the pockets had perished and some the stitching was freying. The centre of the turnbuckle, the part that come throught he base plate to holds the flap shut, had disappeared. The job was to replace the dividers and if possible replace the turn buckle.
 

The first jobs was to split the stitching and clean up the seam edges. With the gussets out it was easy to clean the inside of the bag. Next a pattern was made from what remained of the now free dividers. Then I cut two new dividers from the English bridle leather that was on hand. The next stage was to sew a divider in. The divider had a gusset on each side that formed the pocket which gave three plys of leather to stitch through. The holes in the gusset where already pierced from the sewing when the bag was originaly made bu the new divider was not pierced. The bag was originally machined stitched so the holes were close together. I went round the bag's gusset saddle stitching using the old machine holes as a guide. The stitch holes in the gusset where not too badly corroded so the finish was better than I had expected.


    With one divider/gusset sets complete I just had to run round the second set. One has to be careful not to pinch or stretch the old leather to ensure it that it starts and ends properly onthe bag. It took a couple of hours of careful stitching to complete the job. I then took a look at the freyed stitches. I ripped out what was poor and restitched the offending areas. The last job required a turn buckle to ordered. As you might expect the new item and old item where incompatible. I stripped out the old turn buckle plate and replaced with the new item. The new turn buckle required rivetting to the bag rather than the old one which just had turn out sprags. It probably why the old turn buckle was missing. It was not up to the job. To finish the job a rubbed in a generous dose of Neatsfoot oil. It brought the old leather of the carcass and belt up a treat