Second Shipping Day Last Week

[Lobo]

Attached is a photo showing a production run ready for packing and shipping. This was the second production run last week, increased somewhat by the inclusion of several hand-carved holsters that my carver completed recently.

Total of 20 holsters (5 carved, 8 lined), 4 belts (1 carved, 1 tooled, 3 lined) and 4 pouches. Production time about 20 hours, and my apprentice spent about 5 hours doing the finish work (burnishing, oiling, sealing, final finishes). Holsters were done 10 at a time (cutting, linings, assembly, stitching, dressing edges, forming), belts and pouches were done during drying periods.

Sometimes it can be a lot like work, but looking at the results can be satisfying.

[Big O]

Wow!

Do you have a system to ensure that each customer gets exactly what they ordered? Bins/bags/tags?

I'm just making holsters one at a time, so it's not an issue for me yet, but maybe some day.......

[billymac814]

You did all that in 20 hours? I must be doing something wrong. I'm sure your workflow is spot on has been honed over the years, thats something I need to get down a little better, I'm just limited on space right now, I'd like to set up stations to do different things, I'm not there yet though.

Nice work as usual.

[Lobo]

Wow!

Do you have a system to ensure that each customer gets exactly what they ordered? Bins/bags/tags?

I'm just making holsters one at a time, so it's not an issue for me yet, but maybe some day.......

Big O:

The production work order accompanies each piece through the shop. Work is done in stages, moving from one work station to the next. Each piece is in a tray with the work order, and I do my best to review the work order at each stage of the process. That doesn't stop me from making mistakes! I still produce right-hand holsters for left-handed customers, plunk one down in the black dye bucket when the work order says brown, etc. I still buy all my pencils with erasers on them because I make mistakes every day.

There is nothing wrong with "one at a time". But when it becomes a business, as opposed to a hobby, we have to carefully evaluate how much time we are putting into each order. Time is the only thing that we can control; material costs will be material costs, overhead will be overhead.

I do each production run with about 10 to 15 items, cutting each piece, then assembling the pieces, then stitching the pieces, then forming the pieces, etc, etc, etc. At the end of the production run I usually average about 45 minutes per completed piece. This is done in a 420 sq. ft. shop with 6 work stations and multiple shelf units. One-at-a-time production requires much more time per unit produced, if for no other reason than the time required to set up the work station, put away tools, clean up after each process, etc.

The best way I can describe it is that this is a business for me, not a hobby. I enjoy what I am doing, so by definition I will never be "working", but I won't work unless the project is profitable and has been paid for when I produce it.

Best regards.

[Lobo]

You did all that in 20 hours? I must be doing something wrong. I'm sure your workflow is spot on has been honed over the years, thats something I need to get down a little better, I'm just limited on space right now, I'd like to set up stations to do different things, I'm not there yet though.

Nice work as usual.

Thank you, billymac. Multiple work stations and working in stages is the key to cutting down per-unit labor. I usually do production runs of about 10 to 15 units, preferably doing like-kind items in each run, I set up each dye station only once per week to dye everything of a particular color at one time. My shop has 6 work stations with plenty of shelf space to lay out items at each stage. By doing things this way I average about 45 minutes of hands-on time per completed item.

Most of the "dead time" in a leather shop is while things are drying. I like to use that time for incidentals like belts, pouches, etc. I can set the timer on my drying cabinet at 10-minute intervals, allowing me to work each piece through the forming and boning processes, while at the same time producing a few incidental items that add profit to the day's work.

I am not saying that anyone should jump into the game with a big expenditure in shop space, tools, equipment, etc. All I am saying is that there can be quite an economy of scale when you have a volume of orders that permits a good production schedule. I worked at home for many years before my bride put her foot down, protesting that she was tired of inventory stacked here and there, materials laying everywhere, etc. Only then did I open up the checkbook and lease a small shop. In less than a year I outgrew the small shop and moved to a larger facility.

I recently dropped about $2800 on a new stitching machine, way more than the minimum I could have gotten by with. But I have learned that it is better to invest in the better equipment, have more capacity than you might ever need, than to try and struggle through with something that you are always pushing to capacity. The new machine (Cobra Class 4 from Leather Machine Company, see the banner ads) has been in service for about 6 weeks now, continues to function flawlessly and effortlessly, and has served to produce more than twice its price in orders in that time. I expect this machine to be in service for at least a decade or two after I have dropped dead, so the investment is well worth it. Having stitched a few thousand pieces by hand over many years I can assure you that a good quality stitching machine can be counted as a blessing.

Best regards.

[TwinOaks]

It might be noted that Lobo said 20 hrs, but with a tooler and an apprentice, plus the shop owner, it could have been as high as 60 man hours. Not that it necessarily was, but each person's contribution adds to the whole.

Personally, I'd love to have the space to set up work stations like Lobo has, and perhaps will one day. For now, I'll just have to keep punching them out one and two at a time, and admiring the work and craftsmanship displayed here.

[katsass]

Attached is a photo showing a production run ready for packing and shipping. This was the second production run last week, increased somewhat by the inclusion of several hand-carved holsters that my carver completed recently.

Total of 20 holsters (5 carved, 8 lined), 4 belts (1 carved, 1 tooled, 3 lined) and 4 pouches. Production time about 20 hours, and my apprentice spent about 5 hours doing the finish work (burnishing, oiling, sealing, final finishes). Holsters were done 10 at a time (cutting, linings, assembly, stitching, dressing edges, forming), belts and pouches were done during drying periods.

Sometimes it can be a lot like work, but looking at the results can be satisfying.

Lobo: It looks great! I remember the biggest run I (well, Ma Kat and I) did was a run of 28 holsters, start to finish, hand sewn, between a Friday afternoon and the following Monday morning. They were all the same design for the same gun, which helped. I was glad to get then all done, in more ways than one. Mike

[gregintenn]

Wow Lobo! Is that what retirement is going to be like? If I'm not mistaken, I think I remember you saying you were retired.

I love to see someone build a successful business, and through your posts on this and other sites, I've got to do just that. Thanks for taking the time to share and congratulations.

[billymac814]

Lobo,

Is your shop just a manufacturing shop, or do you have a store front as well? It's good to see someone that can make a living doing what they like, that's pretty much my dream. I realize though that if you jump into that before your ready it can have disasterous results. I'd take the plunge if I could stay consistently busy for a few years. I'm going to be moving soon and I'm going to make sure I get a place that's big enough to at least have a room dedicated as my shop, Right now I have a table that's 3X7 and thats pretty much it other than my sewing machine stand that I recently added. It seems like all I get done is cleaning up messes.

That Cobra looks awesome, When I'm ready to buy a machine I'll definately look into that one, I just picked up a used Boss and it should be fine for me for quite a while and is a whole lot quicker than hand stitching. I should easily be able to get my money back and then some when I'm ready to upgrade.

[Lobo]

Lobo,

Is your shop just a manufacturing shop, or do you have a store front as well? It's good to see someone that can make a living doing what they like, that's pretty much my dream. I realize though that if you jump into that before your ready it can have disasterous results. I'd take the plunge if I could stay consistently busy for a few years. I'm going to be moving soon and I'm going to make sure I get a place that's big enough to at least have a room dedicated as my shop, Right now I have a table that's 3X7 and thats pretty much it other than my sewing machine stand that I recently added. It seems like all I get done is cleaning up messes.

That Cobra looks awesome, When I'm ready to buy a machine I'll definately look into that one, I just picked up a used Boss and it should be fine for me for quite a while and is a whole lot quicker than hand stitching. I should easily be able to get my money back and then some when I'm ready to upgrade.

Billymac:

My shop is just a production shop, no storefront. I don't usually take walk-ins, and I don't do business by telephone, as these would interrupt production continually. Everything is done by e-mail, and even that eats up 2 hours or more every day. I generally work in the shop from 3 to 6 hours daily, occasionally going in at night for an hour or two as needed to keep things moving along.

I have a part-time apprentice who has come along very well over the past 6 months. She has developed a real talent for finishing work, which she can come in and do whenever she likes. She also does a lot of the cutting work for me. Imagine a 23-year old woman with a bachelors degree, owns her home, works a full-time job and two part-time jobs, and teaches a couple of nights per week! Not too many young folks with that much top spin!

The shop is 432 sq. ft. of leased space. Most of my work stations are old metal office desks (very handy and practically indestructible), plus the 8-foot workbench and a couple of tables. I am always finding a need for more shelf space.

Nothing wrong with the Tippmann Boss, but they are finicky about timing and have a couple of parts that like to break down (cast zinc gears and drive rack, which I suggest that you keep spares on hand for, and the 1/4"X20 cap screw attaching the handle, which develops metal fatigue in use and will snap off, so I recommend using Schedule 8 cap screws and changing those out about monthly). I still use the Boss for a number of small operations. Speed is actually just about as good as with a power machine (my Cobra Class 4 is set up for about 60 stitches per minute, allowing excellent control), but operator fatigue sets in on larger projects and longer production runs.

When you are ready to invest in another machine I suggest getting one that exceeds your needs; that way you won't be pushing it too hard or struggling with some projects. Lots of throat depth helps greatly. Also, doing business with a good company (like Leather Machine Company) helps because Steve will always pick up the phone to provide answers to questions and help with the occasional glitch.

Best regards.

[Lobo]

Wow Lobo! Is that what retirement is going to be like? If I'm not mistaken, I think I remember you saying you were retired.

I love to see someone build a successful business, and through your posts on this and other sites, I've got to do just that. Thanks for taking the time to share and congratulations.

Greg:

I was a cop for 24 years, took an early retirement in 1995 with the intention of continuing to work. I have never had to dip into the retirement account yet. I've built houses, run a roofing company, and done insurance investigations while doing a little leather work on the side. After taking the leather business on-line I have been able to drop the other business interests and do leather work full-time. It doesn't happen overnight, and I would not recommend starting from scratch with no other means of support.

Best regards.

[Lobo]

It might be noted that Lobo said 20 hrs, but with a tooler and an apprentice, plus the shop owner, it could have been as high as 60 man hours. Not that it necessarily was, but each person's contribution adds to the whole.

Personally, I'd love to have the space to set up work stations like Lobo has, and perhaps will one day. For now, I'll just have to keep punching them out one and two at a time, and admiring the work and craftsmanship displayed here.

Twin Oaks:

My carver is paid per piece. I always try to send several pieces at a time rather than one here and another there, allowing him to make more effective use of his time. He tells me that he averages about two hours per holster carving, when doing multiple orders, so he is following the same pattern that I use in production. With that information, I estimate about 12 hours for the six carved pieces featured above. So, with my 20 hours, his 12 hours, and my apprentices 5 hours, the total time is about 37 hours.

The 20 hours that I spent took place over 3 days. My apprentice worked 2 hours one day and 3 another day. The carving work was probably done in stages over several days.

For many years I made only a few items at a time. As the business grew I developed my work flow plan to maximize productivity, and started keeping track of time spent so that I would have a better means of determining per-unit production costs, setting prices, etc.

I think we all know that to produce a single holster will take quite a bit of time over several days. By running production in batches I can set up a cutting table and cut a dozen pieces, then assemble those, then stitch them, etc, etc, etc until that batch has been completed. By moving from one station to the next I can cut down on set-up time and clean-up time.

I know of a couple of makers that can average 25 units per day over the course of a week. That probably requires a lot more effort than I prefer to expend, now that I qualify for senior citizen discounts at Denny's! My days are actually pretty relaxed at the current pace. If demand grows significantly I'll have to consider expanding, maybe adding more help, which could also add challenges and stress.

I once read that John Bianchi started out as a young policeman making holsters on his kitchen table. Forty-odd years later he sold the company with over 10,000 square feet of production space and hundreds of employees, having made over 40,000,000 products! In his spare time Mr. Bianchi was in the National Guard and retired as a brigadier general. I seriously doubt that I will upstage that fine gentleman!

[gregintenn]

You have way more drive than I ever will. I don't see a person like you ever retiring. That's a good thing.

[billymac814]

Billymac:

My shop is just a production shop, no storefront. I don't usually take walk-ins, and I don't do business by telephone, as these would interrupt production continually. Everything is done by e-mail, and even that eats up 2 hours or more every day. I generally work in the shop from 3 to 6 hours daily, occasionally going in at night for an hour or two as needed to keep things moving along.

I have a part-time apprentice who has come along very well over the past 6 months. She has developed a real talent for finishing work, which she can come in and do whenever she likes. She also does a lot of the cutting work for me. Imagine a 23-year old woman with a bachelors degree, owns her home, works a full-time job and two part-time jobs, and teaches a couple of nights per week! Not too many young folks with that much top spin!

The shop is 432 sq. ft. of leased space. Most of my work stations are old metal office desks (very handy and practically indestructible), plus the 8-foot workbench and a couple of tables. I am always finding a need for more shelf space.

Nothing wrong with the Tippmann Boss, but they are finicky about timing and have a couple of parts that like to break down (cast zinc gears and drive rack, which I suggest that you keep spares on hand for, and the 1/4"X20 cap screw attaching the handle, which develops metal fatigue in use and will snap off, so I recommend using Schedule 8 cap screws and changing those out about monthly). I still use the Boss for a number of small operations. Speed is actually just about as good as with a power machine (my Cobra Class 4 is set up for about 60 stitches per minute, allowing excellent control), but operator fatigue sets in on larger projects and longer production runs.

When you are ready to invest in another machine I suggest getting one that exceeds your needs; that way you won't be pushing it too hard or struggling with some projects. Lots of throat depth helps greatly. Also, doing business with a good company (like Leather Machine Company) helps because Steve will always pick up the phone to provide answers to questions and help with the occasional glitch.

Best regards.

Is your apprentice married? You are right you don't find to many young people like that. I am younger people though so I shouldn't talk.

I'll look into getting some replacement parts for my Boss. Although operator fatigue can be bad with it it's not near as bad as an awl and two needles. I probably wouldn't have chose the Boss if I didn't get a really good deal on it, I wouldn't have paid "New" prices as it's too close to a powered machine in price. So far I'm happy with it, it cut my times down significantly. I'll use it until I outgrow it and then it'll be replaced with something that I can't outgrow.

I was suprised you don't take phone orders, I would like not to in all honesty, I work a full time job and then this every evening and weekend and people call at the most inconvienient times and I'm not much of a phone guy anyway, but I don't want to turn too much business away(unless I get a PITA customer) at this point and I don't get too many phone orders anyway. I do have my number listed but I also note that they need to leave a message because I'm a one man operation and I'm not stopping to answer the phone. Then I call them back when I can.

Here's my shipment for the week, minus a few. Not near yours, but I'm ok with that. I actually hate shipping stuff, I have a seat going out tomorrow too.

[Lobo]

Is your apprentice married?

She is engaged to be married next year.

I'll look into getting some replacement parts for my Boss.

The parts that I refered to are the helical drive gear to which the handle attaches, and the two-piece drive rack that the gear turns to run the bottom shaft, along with the 1/4" X 20 screw that attaches the handle to the gear. Keeping spares for these will avoid interruptions in production while waiting for replacement parts.

I'll use it until I outgrow it and then it'll be replaced with something that I can't outgrow.

It never hurts to have a back-up machine on hand for those times when one needs repairs. This keeps the work flowing. I have kept mine for that reason.

I was suprised you don't take phone orders, I would like not to in all honesty

Phone orders can take as much time to hash out as it takes to make the order. Then there are those customers who become just like little kids in the back seat on a long car trip (Are we there yet? When are we gonna get there? Are we there yet? When are we gonna get there?). Doing business by telephone leaves you with no control over your time at all.

I like your work!