CareyB

That's great. How might I obtain one of these mystical tomes?

That's it. Which book is it?

Is that the one that refers me to his book 'How to Make Holsters'? Dammit!

I've made a box wrapped around the bottom of a Smirnoff bottle, because I like the shape. It's not a regular shape, and here's the issue: There are long, regular curves, then tighter curved corners. Stitching this like a normal box, the awl comes in from the side, and up through the top, for example. Using this technique, which works great for round boxes, the stitches get closer together round the tighter corners, and spread out again on the longer curves. Is there a known technique to skip stitches, and spread out the corner stitches to make the stitches on the top all the same length?

Chuck, I hear you on the price point issue. I saw a friend of mine at league last Thursday, and he had just bought a full leather case, and it was horrible. I don't even think there was any kind of finish on it. Edges weren't finished properly, tooling was worse than mine, etc. I just noticed you're in Portland. I lived in Camas, across the river in Washington, when I was a kid. Cheers.

Very interesting, Chuck. And thanks for sharing. Another really nice case, too. I like this little one a lot. So you only use PVC for the tubes? There's no outer shell other than some nice stiff cowhide? Hasn't Mr. Kahuna gone the other way - rigid outer shell, but no rigid interior tubes? Just a machine stitched 'sock' with lots of pockets? Near where I live there's a felt manufacturer, and they make an all natural, Angora wool felt in 'olive green', which is almost exactly the traditional pool table cloth colour, and it's 1/4" thick. I'm thinking about making a case which looks like an antique naval telescope, or Victorian instrument case. I think it would look so nice, but material cost will be a bitch. This felt, in small quantities, is $155/yard (76" wide). That puts material cost over $200. This would also imply I have to stitch down a 30" tube, inside, and out. I looked at Nigel Armitage's video about a tubular, leather box. Perhaps my idea to hand stitch it all is a bit misguided.

Wonderful case.

Chuck, That's much the same conclusion I was coming to. I did do that case for $200, but was thinking it should be around $350, which, for a 1x1 case is pretty freakin' steep. Your case is fantastic, by the way, and certainly worth more than $700, based on what I've seen of the competition ;-) Unless you have a crew mass producing them, hand making a cue case does look like it might always be a losing proposition without some time-saving 'shortcuts'. BTW - do you use a rigid insert? I've been hunting for the right material, and the best thing I can find is oval PVC conduit, but I can only find it in the U.K., and I don't fancy paying shipping on a case of eight foot pipes. @shtoink, vacuum forming would speed it up, but wouldn't it leave marks on the wet leather? And how much does a vacuum former cost? I'm loathe to use a sewing machine. It would not be the same product.

I hear you, Rayban. Lots to think about.

@Rayban, The leather is 6/7oz. @Chuck, I'm just interested in wet forming. I see that few people are doing it, and I wanted to try it for a couple of projects. I've done a bunch of iPhone sleeves this way. I find it funny that I'm making something which will last a hundred years, or more, but the thing it's designed to protect won't last more than two, or three. If I can get good at this, and develop some good moulds, and techniques, I'm hopeful I can carve out a bit of a niche. @bdaz, I thought about doing it that way, and saw a couple of guys doing it (perhaps one was you), but I wanted to try this specific technique, and was going for a specific look, and, in no small part, I was trying to be different. @kwelna, I did a bit of research into the market, and I do know how to price out a product, so I'm on the right track, I think. The first one was for someone I know, and there were delays because of research, experiments, etc. I paid for the materials, and then some, but not even close to a reasonable wage on the labour, not to mention tooling costs, depreciation, etc. I was under by almost half. I'm a bit nervous this will not be a viable product at the price I would have to charge. I'm still hopeful, though. Thanks for the kind words, and good feedback. Another question: Any idea what kind of speed I should be aiming for saddle stitching? I'm wondering if there's a 'stitches per hour' number, or perhaps 'inches per hour', or some such? Carey

I like it.

This is my first commission: It's a Wet formed, semi-rigid, saddle stitched, single cue case (1x1 or one butt, and one shaft). Came out looking sort of like a saddle scabbard, don't you think? Yes, that is a single run of stitching. I started half way (at the bottom), leaving half the thread hanging, stitched up to the mouth of the case, and finished there, then picked up the hanging thread, and stitched up to the mouth on the other side. It's only twelve feet of thread The inside is unfinished, with a deerskin sleeve for the shaft. The sleeve is stitched into the slimmer side of the case like a welt. It runs out the bottom as well, so there's no opening for chalk to get in with the butt. Shafts get chalk on them anyway, but the wraps on cue butts can be very hard to clean. In a related question: After all the sewing, I'm wondering how you figure price for that? Perhaps I'm slow, but considering this one, and the prototype, it takes about four hours to sew each one. Carey Leather Newb