Uwe

I finally came across a website (http://www.np-z.de/969-190382.html) that has a price stated. Apparently it starts around 10,000 Euro in Germany, which is just shy of $12K at current, lowest-in-nine-years, exchange rates. But 19% of that price is VAT tax, so it's practically a bargain! Now I just have to check if it'll fit in the overhead bin on my plane, haha.

Here we are in 2015 and apparently it's still a secret how much these machines cost. I'm going to Germany in March. Maybe I'll take a road trip to the DA headquarters and sit in the lobby until they tell me.

For buying supplies and leather, Tandy is a likely if not exactly cheap choice. I just recently got started as well and noticed early on that anything marketed for leather craft will carry a premium price. The same thing marketed for a different segment may cost much less. Some basic supplies like needles, thread, and small leather pieces will be available from general craft stores like Michaels. For many tools, you don't need a "leather" version to get started. Any utility knife will cut leather, you don't really need the $90 rounded edge version at first. A cheap mat cutter cuts perfectly nice, straight pieces of leather, I found. Many tools are optional or simply a convenience. Make your own tool combos if you can. I use a cheap metal locking clamp and two pieces of wood blocks with felt to hold small pieces of leather when stitching small pieces - no need for the $80 stitching pony yet. For large pieces, my knees come in really handy until I get a cramp, haha. Cheap tool stores like Harbor Freight (there's one in Arlington) have specialty knifes, arbor presses, and things like that. Youtube is vital resource for me. Leather craft gods like Ian Atkins and others happily share their skills in instructional videos - their quite addictive. I did buy one book for figuring out out how to construct bags and specifically gussets (Leatherworking Handbook: A Practical Illustrated Sourcebook of Techniques and Projects, $16 on amazon.com) For buying larger pieces of leather relatively cheap, I've used Maverick Leather (http://www.maverickleathercompany.com/). They often have nice bargains on leather, including the famous Horween stuff. Just work around or embrace the flaws (character!) that often come with second run leathers. Having some basic skills in a vector drawing is handy for making your own, precise patterns. I make patterns that have the stitching holes placed and spaced precisely where I want them for repeatable stitching. It takes a little longer to mark the stitching holes but is more predictable for me than using the little wheel tool for marking stich locations. Get your hands on some leather and experiment - enjoy!

LOVE that dark butcher block top and metal base you made! I'm contemplating using the ShopBot CNC router I have access to at my local TechShop to create the cutout in a new table top for my flatbed machine, a Consew 225. If it works out, I might make a few extra pretty table tops for the local Detroit market. It seems to me the cutout is fairly standardized for this class of machines. I'm also sure I'm not the first one to think of using a CNC router. The commercially available tops are clearly routed by CNC machines. Is anybody aware of available CAD files for CNC routing or do people re-invent the cutout wheel, so to speak, when they make their own table? I'd like to experiment making the CNC cutout with some cheap(er) plywood before I carve up my precious butcher block tops.

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself here since I signed up a few weeks ago and spend a fair bit of time reading other member's posts. I'm located in Garden City, Michigan, just outside of Detroit. I'm a German import, originally from southern Germany by Lake Constance (Bodensee) near the swiss border. I'm mainly interested in making bags and accessories, although I should probably consider doing adult leather gear for many of my friends. By training and education I'm a computer programmer and engineer, and a self-taught photographer. I do mostly hand stitched items right now, but I'm looking into sewing machines for future work. I have a Consew 225, and I'm tinkering with a new Pfaff 335 right now. I set up an etsy shop with my first few creations here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RawCargo Happy New Year! Uwe (pronounced OO-veh)

I thought I'd post an update to this older thread, since I recently made a little video when I was selling one of my sewing machines. I had just gotten an new iPhone 6 and wanted to try out close-up video shooting and editing capabilities of that phone. You can see the video in all its 1080 HD glory here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg12IXhcqkU The video was filmed and edited entirely on my iPhone 6 using the built in software that comes with iOS 8. The superimposed text elements were added in the youtube annotation editor. Other elements of this little production were seriously low-tech, though. I used scotch tape dispenser as a stand for my phone. I think it's important to lock in focus and exposure for these kinds of close-up shots, otherwise the exposure and focus will change constantly as you move in front of the camera. On my phone, you can touch the screen to lock focus on a specific area and adjust exposure for the duration of that particular video snippet. I hope this helps.