raysouth

This topic was very interesting to read and feel that everyone has provided good information for all to read. I believe that every situation is different and will require different tactics/methods for a small business, based on nature of items produced, market desired, and how your promotion of products are handled. Opening a small business can be a costly venture, for anyone, as most have learned that have made the attempt but again, each situation is unique. Some may have to invest large amounts of capitol, while others may eke by with a very small investment. I have experienced both spectrums and am aware of the difficulty of each but some constants always remain the same, to be a success. Customer treatment, quality of product produced, and fairness of price. Many other factors come into play but if you produce a quality product at a fair price and take care of your customers, they will return and bring new business your way. The picture you see is what was once a very busy small business and is located away from view of any traffic but yet it worked and was a success. To build this business a unique plan was developed, implemented and soon became more than I could handle. It now has fallen to become my leather shop, where I no longer expect to become a revolving door business but word of mouth keeps me fairly busy with small projects. I could go on and on, boring all of you with my endeavors but just wanted to inject a bit of my own feelings about making small business something to put food on the table, and more, hopefully. Be prepared to work hard at what you do, develop a unique plan of attack, take care of your customers, produce quality products and expect a return for your efforts. As time marches on and age takes its toll, we look back and wonder what we could have done to make things better. Take pride in what you have done and now is the time to do it. I have a saying/cliche that I remind myself and others of, as follows. Remember, there is one thing in your life that you cannot replace, your time. Use it wisely and have fun. God Bless you all. Ray

Hello Andy, and welcome to the site. God Bless. Ray Welcome George. Hope you enjoy the site and meet plenty of good folks here. God Bless. Ray

Hello Lee. Happy to have you aboard and hope you enjoy the experience. Plenty of very helpful members here. God Bless. Ray

Hello Ski, and WELCOME to the greatest site for leather folks. I think that any information needed for leathercrafting, can be found here and if not, one or more of the members will certainly help you find what you need. Enjoy your time here and God Bless. Ray

I attempted to reply yesterday but will give it another shot today. I have used the Tippmann and Tandy machines and they both seem to function the same. The embosser from Bunkhouse Tools has a foot operated tensioner which can be set up in many different ways and it will accept the rolls that they make. Neither the Tippmann or the Tandy will accept the larger rolls, as Nick mentioned. I have obtained an embosser built by Amish and it operates as I wanted one to operate and happy to have located. It is a few bucks more than the Tandy. Wonder what the new Tandy machine will be like. Hope they have made one that will accept the larger rolls and that will give a level/even impression. God Bless. Ray

I have had better luck achieving good yellow color with the Angelus spirit dye on light leather. If paint is something that can be used, I would take a look at the various colors offered by Angelus. David, at www.turtlrfeather.com has color chart of all the paints on site, covering both the dye and paints. As cyber stated above, a dark leather will not show yellow very well unless paint is used. Tina, your map of Sweden is great!!!!!!!! God Bless. Ray

ANYONE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH POSTING REPLIES???????? NO RESPONSE FROM ANYONE YET, AS TO WHAT MAY NOT BE ALLOWING SOME OF THE POSTS TO BE SAVED.

If you are looking for tape for leather, try www.wawak.com and browse through their site. They will send you a catalog and have a good variety of items for sewing, etc. God Bless. Ray

From previous small business ventures, I developed a refund, no-refund policy and made sure that customers were aware of the policy. It did not, initially, have to do with leather products, but I continue to use the same policy. If it is special order or custom fabrication, it must be paid in full when placing the order and there will be no refunds. Years ago, many, I had customers that operated older machinery that required special order parts. The suppliers/manufacturers had remaining stock of older parts but they would not refund when any of them were ordered. You buy it, you own it, was the policy. Having been stuck for a rather large order by a customer who found some used parts before his special order arrived, decided to cancel but did not tell me until his parts arrived and I placed a call to tell him they were here. Thus my policy became the same policy used by the suppliers. I lost the money I paid for the antique parts and decided that any special or custom order was a fixed deal for future sales. Most customers were very understanding but there is always those around that will give you fits. I found that I lost no business and still use the same policy with custom leather items. If it is something I can easily resell, that has no personalization, I may make an adjustment but rarely happens. I think that everyone has to develop a policy when dealing with special orders, or simply be willing to eat the cake, if customer refuses the order and wants a refund.

Wonder where it ended up? Don't think I would care to sit in that saddle. YUK! God Bless. Ray

Thanks Dustin. New sources always welcome around here. God Bless. Ray

Reading about spills of dye and having experienced myself, I made a small bottle holder which I will try to describe. Two pieces of 2x4 glued together, about 10" long. Traced around 4 oz. bottle, drilled hole in center, routed to the outline. Cleaned out to a depth of @ 2". Did this for two slots and then glued the holder inside a shallow tray, slightly larger and gives me @ 1/2" all around the block. Saved me many problems. I will attempt to take pic and get on later but having bit of difficulty getting pics on computer lately. Lack of know how, I suppose. God Bless. Ray

Addiction????? How can that be? lol. Decided to check on a few items yesterday and I think I now have more leather than the nearest Tandy. How did that happen?? Little bit of everything from more places than I can remember. May have to start using it soon. Tools are overflowing but I still want more, for some reason. Always have enjoyed having good tools around. A fetish, I suppose. I'm one of those that goes ape if I see someone using one of my tools in an improper manner, ie; screwdriver as a chisel or prybar. Drives me up a wall. lol. So easy to fall into a "gotta have it" trap when we enjoy what we do. Not a bad thing, at least on my end. Keep on "gathering" and one day you will wonder how it all got there. Have fun. God Bless. Ray

I have several different sizes which are used for different applications. Smallest 3/4" and largest 2". Ray

WHAT IS ALL THIS????

Well, I attempted to respond but system dumped my response. Sounds like a fun time and when you bring the show to Alabama, let me know. lol. I have always thought i would like to take a crack at a mask BUT, not one molded on my face. Save the world-------- God Bless. Ray

Hello Sawyer, Glendon gave you a good description of what the products will do. Very easy to understand. I use a lot of Angelus products, as well as others, and find them to be very good. The acrylic paints, when allowed to dry overnight, have held fast when covered with a finishing product such as balm, conditioners of other types, etc. I suppose they could be lifted if there was a lot of hard rubbing on them, as with just about any surface application not incorporated into the leather itself. Tried several paints and found that Cova paints are my least favorite. Some of the artist acrylics have held up well but still seem to favor Angelus and Tarrago. I use a couple of Tarrago colors, white and olive, as I am not one that enjoys mixing colors to obtain what I need. Hope this is of some use and gets you under way. God Bless. Ray

Hello Sporq, Laminating is a great idea. I use a laminator that will do sheets @ 10" wide by whatever length I have laminating pouches for but never thought of using it to make patterns. I usually cut mine from plastic sheets, if I intend to use more than once, or file folders for single use. Probably could do the same with the self laminating sheets from office supply stores. At times, we can be so close to a good idea that it slips past, unless we have the good fortune to find a site and folks as here, we may never discover a great process. Thanks again. God Bless. Ray

Great work and if you are ever in Opelika, Al., drop in and sit a spell. Perhaps you can show me how to braid. lol. God Bless. Ray

Hello Tex, I'm rather slow at response but do get it done, later than sooner, these days. Well, if ever near Opelika, Al., drop me a line before heading this way and drop into my hangout and sit a spell. Nothing fancy but plenty of chairs, soft drinks and down home conversation. Fort Payne is a bit north of me. Opelika is sister city to Auburn and @ 35 miles west of Columbus, Ga., @ 65 miles east of Montgomery, Al., @100 miles southwest of Atlanta, etc. Take care and God Bless. Ray raysouth1@hotmail.com or raisouth@gmail.com

Thanks Amigos. I will try without soaking first as they are backed by wood. Think it will be another fun project. God Bless. Ray

Welcome to both new members. Happy to have you here. God Bless. Ray

Hello Scott, You are the first to respond and it will be sent to you to give it a shot. Your pics are exactly what I have, but a bit nicer, I must say. I will leave the option of the type thread to you but appearance as close to original would be nice. Email via pm, your mailing address and we will get things moving on this end. I must rely on transportation of others to get me to the p.o. but tomorrow will be a day when I am headed for city. Looking forward to the completed project. God Bless. Ray

I,m sure that some folks on this site have experience with using printers block to stamp leather. My question is; What is the best way to clean used printers blocks? I have obtained several and they are still covered with the inks and need to be cleaned before I can use them on leather. Any assistance will be appreciated. God bless. Ray

Feraud, your statement is so true. Okay folks, I screw up the grammar a bit, often negelect to check my work, make errors that I wish I had not made, BUT, I am what I am. I know little about computing but places I can go, such as this site, are a fun thing for me. If I make a mistake, it is my fault, not the site or administrators. Most of us are capable of understanding what the person was attempting to say and just pass over any mistakes. Not a bad thing and none of us are perfect. I don't see spell checkers everwhere I go and wish they were automatically turned on when typing but not a complaint from me. Perhaps it is an age thing, on my part, but life goes on, and is so short that good times are in order, and perfection is something we would all like to achieve but is somewhat elusive. Be forgiving, don't worry about the small stuff and get something good out of what you have been invited to share. My only worry is about using the only non-replaceable item in life, TIME, and I strive to make the day a pleasant experience for myself and others. God Bless. Ray