rodneywt1180b

Good to know. I like your personal one a lot too. They are really classy looking key fobs. The reason I brought it up is I see a lot of old sewing machines, many of them perfectly capable of running and some in amazing shape being repurposed these days. I don't mind the responsible parting out of machines that aren't practical to repair. I don't care to see otherwise perfectly good sewing machines turned into tractors or bookends though.

We're all our own worst critics. Both the knife and the sheath look great to me.

Great looking harness. I'm thinking of eventually making one for our dog. I'm surprised Bo broke one of the nylon harnesses. Our dog pulled like a fiend with a collar but really hasn't pulled since now that we switched to a harness.

Most of my canes are built on spec. I make the cane then cut it to length and install the tip after it's bought. I generally have a few in various stages of completion at all times. I also do custom work and enjoy it. I like the challenge and it helps keep it interesting for me. I price my custom work the same as my other canes and add additional materials to the cost if I have to buy them.

Leather isn't my primary thing. I can only do batch work on my canes to a limited extent. It is much more efficient when you can make it work though. I like to finish several canes at a time. The time difference isn't that much different between 1 or 6 of them at once and the waste and cleanup is exactly the same for either amount. The wood work on them is completed one at a time and mostly by hand. I use machines for the roughing out stages but the final shaping and sanding is all hand work.

Your wallets look awesome! I love the texture. Also, I don't see on Roje's site where you can buy small pieces. Do they do special orders for small amounts?

I think that's a question we all struggle with. I don't have to make a living making canes. It's additional income for my disability. (I'm a cancer patient who's missing a leg.) That gives me the luxury of being more flexible for my pricing. I sell on Etsy. Right now it's about the best online market for what I do and the fees aren't bad. What I did is look at other people's work that I felt was comparable in workmanship to mine. I threw out the unreasonably high and low priced numbers (IMO anyway) and based my work on that rough average. I also looked at their sales numbers to get a feel for how many they were selling in their price ranges. I try to offer a product that's a little better for roughly the same price point than what other people are doing. I also try to offer a product that isn't the same as others. Right now that works out to about $8 to $10 per hour for me per cane I sell. Not a living wage and not all sell quickly. Based on my sales the last year I think I'm in the right ballpark for my canes. Don't try to compete with places like China and Eastern Europe and don't get caught up in a race to the bottom on your prices. You're offering a hand made product made by one person, not something mass produced at slave labor prices in a factory setting. People either appreciate that and are willing to pay more or they're not. Sell to those who value uniqueness.

My feelings are mixed on repurposed items that I love. I love the job you did on the key fobs and I think they would be great sellers. Maybe post some on various vintage sewing sites. I do like them. It's tempered by the fact that the badges came from old sewing machines-another hobby of mine. I'm hoping the machines were beyond recovery.

I like it. I'm sure Jana will too.

That's the way I would do it. Sew a bunch together then cut out your circle. That or cut out your circle then sew other pieces to it for a patchwork effect. Might get a bit bulky that way though.

That's a beauty and in amazing condition too. Try asking over at victoriansweatshop.com There are several experts on pre-1900 sewing machines there. It bears a strong resemblance to an early White machine but I don't think White used that style of top tension. EDIT: ISMACS might be a good place to check too.

The melamine and hard board options both have the advantages of being cheap and easy to replace. The melamine is also easy to clean. HDPE would be a great choice but most likely expensive for a 4x8 sheet. Rodney EDIT: I think the others and i are suggesting a new surface as opposed to finishing the existing one because you said the existing surface is rough. You want a smooth surface. The new surface over the top would be clean, easy, and smooth.

Nice looking work. Rodney

Great looking belts. I like the one with the arrowhead/triangle design the best. Rodney

The only advice I can give is to keep doing more. I like him. Rodney

If you're looking to copy the design invest in good dowels. I know the dowels sold at the hardware store here are made of a softer and not very strong wood. Look for some straight grained oak dowels about 3/8" diameter, no smaller, I think smaller would flex too much. 1/2" might be a bit bulky once they're wrapped. I think metal might get a bit heavy. A stiff fiberglass rod or possibly acrylic might work too. Some plastics might be too flexible.

Nice classic holsters. I would have loved to find something like that for mine when I was still buying guns. Rodney

Congrats on some great looking tools! I think that good tools don't just make work easier they also help to inspire quality work. Rodney

They're nice bags. I like the striped ones. They would work well for dice too. Are marbles back in? Rodney

Nice. Is the stitching decorative or are they lined? Rodney

Wow!

Here's a couple of mine. First up is a home made stitching pony for holding sticks while I stitch them. It's made of a couple scrap pieces of maple and fir. The hinge is salvaged from a sewing machine cabinet and I just have a piece of 1/4" all thread with a nut and a wing nut on it for tightening. It's crude but it works. I figure if I do want to hold something flat I'll just shim it out with another piece of wood. Here's a couple awls I made. The top one I just made for stitching. It's an interesting little offcut from a madrone shank I have. The point is made from a broken off 1/16" drill bit ground to a diamond shape. The bottom awl has a mahogany handle that I originally made as a sewing stiletto. It sees use as a general purpose scratch awl.

Neat! Kind of reminds me of an old quill pen. Any working reasons for the extra length? I'll post a couple of mine soon. I've also restored most of my woodworking tools. Most of my main ones are from the 40s and 50s. Rodney

I should have thought about this earlier. For the tip if you start with a short section of wood you can buy a nice tip for the end. No need to peen the bottom end either. Start with about a 3" long section of a decent hardwood. Drill about 1 1/2" into it the same diameter as your steel and epoxy it to the end. That will give you something to mount the tip to. Lee Valley makes some nice tips. They run about $15 IIRC. After all that work I would want a nice looking tip on the end. Rodney

Welcome! Great looking work in the gallery. Would you like some green eggs and ham? Rodney