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That's a nice looking case! I like the shape and the blue edges. As far as price, I'm happy charging materials cost plus $40/hr shop rate to cover time spent on the project, maintaining tools and machines, etc. I figure some waste into my materials cost. I aim to distinguish my work from what is commercially available in order to set a price point that I'm happy with. Since I don't tool leather that means quality materials, unique construction, and/or or decorations that personalize the item. Most of the horse tack that I make is made to measure and I'll do free adjustments/alterations to satisfy the client. So they're paying for a high level of customer service, which gives me satsifaction and generates repeat business and recommendations.

Unusual in nice sort of way Are you going to form a Wizzard tribute band now?

Some people hate AI but for things like this it's pretty awesome. I told ChatGPT5 what I was looking for and attached your image and it came up with a few things. Some were nothing close but a couple hit directly to what you need. The first close match was the entire belt with that buckle out of Germany. https://www.guertel-nach-mass.de/belt-with-matt-silver-coloured-3-part-buckle-set-4cm-wide.html Another was a wholesale company in Spain. You can probably call or email them to see if they have some one in your area to buy from. https://zamakcerdan.com/gb/home/1907-hebilla-senora-pase-40.html

Damn nice job. You will certainly stand out at the pub with that hat. kgg

As a inlay it looks really good and is standing the test of time. How thick is the salmon leather? 1, 2, 3mm? kgg

Looks in perfect condition 👌

Beats me but I do like the looks of it!

It came out really well. As far as cost you need to consider cost of each material. In your case 400cm for outer materal + 400cm of inner material, + thread, glue, dyes/paint, hardware, etc. You should also consider your overhead costs. What does it cost for rent, power, shipping costs (items you ship and items shipped to you), etc. And you need to consider man hours. What do you need to get paid hourly. So you need; Materials cost + Overhead cost + Time The biggest issue people have is figuring out what their time is worth. What you charge per hour should depend on on your level of ability. A person just starting out can't charge what a person doing this for 20 years could charge. So, If it took you one hour to make this then, with what you charged, your time is worth 9.50 an hour. If it took you 2hrs then you valued your time at 4.75/hr. You also have to figure out what people would be willing to pay for the item. For that same item if you were to charge $40/hr USD and it took 2hr to make, most people wouldn't buy it. You would have to market it to select few that have the money to spend. It's a delicate balance you have to find.

I've never used a patcher. But I've read that these are fed only by the presser foot. Here are some questions for troubleshooting: How much pressure is the presser foot exerting on the fabric? (If it's not pressing hard enough it won't advance the fabric) With the needle removed and the presser foot up, how smooth is the throat plate? (Must be smooth in order for fabric to slide across it) Is there anything the fabric is catching on? You should be able to slide material across it easily with the presser foot up. What texture exists on the bottom of the presser foot? (Must have some texture to grab the fabric I think) Is the needle coming all the way out of the fabric before the presser foot moves? Good luck!

Hey everyone, I've made this belt probably around 5-6 years ago, but I completely forgot, where I got these buckle packs from - buckle, the ring and the strap end. On the back side it's written MADE IN SPAIN and i also have it in vintage brass color, but can't figure it out, where I got it from. The dimension is metric (40mm) and not imperial. Tandy doesn't have it on site nor I have found it in bills from Tandy I've got. LePrevo from UK neither has them, so it's gotta be someone else selling them.

Hey that's pretty cool! What materials do you use? Do you have a wire in the brim? what did you do for the lining?

Thanks. I tend to be nick picky with the things I make. I'm always looking to improve, not only what I do but how I do things. The suede I used for the sweatband is too soft and tends get floppy, so when I take the hat off the band turns inside out. next hat I make I may buy the correct sweatband already made.

@Handstitched how about wrist bracers with the leftovers, or this; Thats a 'leather' type covering held on by elastic or something. The 'spikes' or 'teeth' are curved to meet our police regulations, but I reckon you could do something similar with the pointy spikes. Also, if you use an old non-reusable helmet you could just drill though it to fit the spikes

Yesterday I finished my first order: a client of my partner asked if I could make her a leather case for putting her reading glasses in. They're some special kind of foldable ones, so I took the pattern from the case we made at school and adjusted it to fit her glasses. I gave her a choice of colours from what I have lying around: black, green or brown outside, combined with a black, blue, red or brown inside. I had no idea what to ask for it so a gave a price fork of between 10 and 20 euros. This is how it turned out and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I hope she'll be too. Afterwards I did some calculations for material costs: the surrounding rectangle of the pattern came down to 400cm² (rounded up), so that made for 3.55 euros of leather, salpa and suede. Added to that some guestimates of 20 ml of glue, a metre of thread, 5 ml edge paint and two small neodymium magnets I had lying around, I reached a material cost of around 5.5 euros, so I asked for 15. What would you guys have charged for something like this?

Hi GPD, how much does it weigh? Can the machine be removed from the table? What are the measurements for the whole thing? What thread will it take and what thickness will it sew (when it’s working) do you know? Can I come and take a look at it?

Thanks everyone for all the help so far and getting me in the right direction!!

Yes luckily I already had pretty good grip strength. Luckily tacking them together with rivets made it easier especially with relining the holes.

I was able to get ahold of a Singer 111w155 and a 31-15 both for $200 and they both work great!! Now I’m trying to slow the clutch motor down for the 111w155 and find proper needles and thread and lube for it!! Super excited.

@bvdv @kgg I don't make anything from them yet, but I am planning to start this winter. I have some locals who have seen the leathers and have asked if I can make wallets and rifle slings. Here is a wallet a guy I know made with some of the leather, wallets about 4 years old here:

@Sheilajeanne and @fredk When I put them on my stall, there's a 'not for sale strictly for display ' sign attached as they bring people into my stall, peeps take a lot of pics of them. I' ll try to up load another pic ,but the spikes along the back of the boots are around 3" long x just under an inch in thickness. The rest are around 1" to 2 " in length , some around 3/4 " . The hardest part was fitting the spikes on the toes, as getting my hands , being a bit arthritic , into a small space. I quite like them . I do have some spikes left over, I'm sure I can find a creative use for them try googling ' goth boots with spikes' , and omg, some designs are so wild and whacky. One design had a knife blade as the heel of the boot. So i came up with a design of my own. Love to do more HS

The banding steel isn't hardened but it had no problem punching into the white plastic board in the press so yes, I think the saw would work ok. I looked up those rolling thingies, unfortunately they're not cheap anymore.

I've got one of those sharpened hole saws somewhere. Don't think I've ever used it. That mini rolling mill makes it so easy to do circles. I would have thought that even the soft part of the hole saw would do the job if the edge wasn't so fine to make it fold over i.e a blunter edge. Even mild steel is much harder than leather.

I put the stitch length adjuster as you told me, so now it touches the top of the raised foot. I tried with the same two layers of leather and it still won't work. Then I tried with a piece of knit fabric way much lighter in weight and thickness and the machine transported the fabric very well. Then I tried with a piece of felt, the machine stitched me one stitch transporting the fabric but then it strarted sewing on the same spot as before and only if I applied a bit of pressure pushing the fabric the foot would take it back. I don't know if it just a problem of adjusting the pressure to the material at this point. I would really like to avoid taking apart the head of the machine as I am afraid I won't be able to put it back together. Thank you for the patience

There is one on eBay that's been there for a while. It's $200.00 but he temporarily lowered the price to $150.00. I offered $125.00 and got no response. But I think he'd take $150.00. Out of curiosity, what stamps do you have to trade? Dale

While on the subject here is another restoration . Its an Esto 3 in 1 . Similar to a Landis . When i got it it was seized from being outside for 20 years. I replace it with a new blade and had to make a crank handle for it . As a matter of interest to fellow Esto 3 in 1 owners . The rotary blade i replaced is a new Landis blade . Therefore an Esto round knife / blade and the Landis are interchangeable. I got my blade in Australia from Leffler and sons in Melbourne . The color choice this time was inspired by a Subaroo that drove by . Estos were originally and ugly green but i think i chose one a little more appealing to my eye . The green color of the 3 in 1 and the orange one in the previous post are both auto paints in a candy pearl . The auto paint shop down the road will mix any color i want and will put it in an aerosol can for so i don't have to clean a spray gun between coats . Both machines work perfectly and are in every day use . I believe the orange one is over 100 years old and the green one from the 1950's