Going To A Production Shop?

[lws380]

Very helpful information from Lobo. Thanks for your feed back.

I'm a one man shop and have resisted hiring help, which I'm sure I could use. I've invested in several machines that help me be a little more efficient. For instance, I use both white and black thread. I got tired of changing the thread for the various options, so I bought a second Cobra Class 4 and set up white on one and black on the other. Another reason I wanted a second machine, was for a back up. My Cobra 4's have never had any problems, but if I only had one and it went down for some reason, I'd be screwed for a few weeks until it could be fixed. If you have a production shop and only one sewing machine, you better have a plan of some sort, in case it goes down. I've also added a Cobra 18 for thin leather work.

I bought a Cobra 10 ton clicker a year or two ago and I'm glad I did. It is a good time saver. I buy dyes from Kirk and Heather at Texas Custom Dyes. Great people and great products, IMO. I generally buy dyes for guns that are very popular and still hand cut ones that are not as popular. For instance, when the Ruger LCP came out, I immediately got a dye made for that gun, as it was a very hot seller. With the clicker and dyes, I can stamp out 10+ patterns in the same time it would take me to trace a pattern and cut one by hand. I can also pre-cut patterns and have them prepped for orders.

I also added the Cobra 14 splitter which has been a nice addition to my shop. I'll be picking up a Cobra strap cutter in a few weeks at the Boot and Saddle Makers Trade Show in Wichita Falls, TX.

I'm semi-retired and had a long career (38+ years) in the financial services industry. Started making holsters 8 years ago and just love making them and doing leather work. I've about run out of machines to buy, but have a couple more in my my sights for the future. Best of luck for you!

[cjmt]

We are now offering 12 holster designs, with or without 4 common options, in 4 finish colors, left-hand and right-hand, for 145 different handguns. This results in about 70,000 possible variations. I have not counted the patterns that I now have in file, but I estimate about 10,000, and new patterns are still being created every week. I have two more new designs ready for the market, but haven't found the time to put up new webpages, photos, etc, and I know that each will result in the need for 20-plus hours of work to generate all the patterns necessary for production.

We are completing about 2,000 orders per year for customers in all 50 US states and 33 other countries so far. So, at the current rate of production it would take about 35 years to make one of everything to have in-stock inventory, and then only if we sold nothing for 35 years. Everything produced is to fill an order that has been confirmed and paid for before leather is cut. All orders are taken via e-mail, providing a written record (I spend an average of about 4 hours throughout the course of each day reading and responding to e-mails, acknowledging orders, answering questions, updating the website, etc). I do not take telephone orders or inquiries. No walk-in customers. While in the shop we are working, and interuptions eat time that can never be replaced.

Average price per item produced is about $78. Average cost per piece (materials, supplies, hardware, packaging, shipping) is about $12. My prices are not at the top of the market, nor at the bottom. Cowhide is all Hermann Oak, horsehide is all Horween's, and I don't think there is any better.

We average one completed product for every 47 minutes spent in production work, so about 31 man-hours per week. Since I also spent 30-plus hours doing admin functions that means a typical work week of 60-plus hours.

How are we doing this?

1. We work in batches of similar items, usually 10 to 15 pieces at a time at each stage. Each order proceeds in a plastic tray (restaurant type, just like they serve sandwiches and fries in). There are typically 3 production batches per week. Dyeing, burnishing, finishing, hardware, and packaging are done once per week.

2. Everything is cut by hand using heavy duty scissors. Average time per piece is about 7 minutes. (NOTE: with average production of 40 pieces per week this amounts to 4 hours 40 minutes spent in cutting. This is the maximum possible time savings possible with press and clicker dies).

3. Everything is assembled by hand, cemented and clamped. Average time per piece is about 5 minutes. (NOTE: as a practical matter we usually cut, assemble, cement, and clamp before proceeding to the next piece. This minimizes fatigue and allows plenty of time for cement to set up before proceeding to stitching).

4. Everything is stitched on a powered stitcher (Leather Machine Company Cobra Class 4). Average time per piece is about 5 minutes. Belts take more time, especially those with fancy stitch patterns, while pouches and other smaller items take very little time. Overall, a single production batch of a dozen or so pieces will be stitched up in an hour.

5. After stitching each piece has the edges dressed off using drum sanders mounted in a benchtop drill press. Depending on the contours we use sanding drums of 3/4", 2", and 3" diameter. Then the edges are beveled. Average time per piece is about 2 minutes.

6. Dye stations are set up for each color and all dyeing is done at this point using both brush and spray application. Average time per piece is about 3 minutes. All dyed pieces are allowed to sit overnight or longer prior to forming, allowing the dyes to set up.

7. We set up for forming holsters, bring the oven to temperature (120-130F) and the drying hot box (104-108F). Forming and boning are done sequentially, usually in 3 cycles of forming/boning with about 8 to 10 minutes at a time in the oven between, then into the drying hot box when ready. Average time per piece is about 10 minutes (actual labor, drying time not included, and everything will remain in the hot box for about 3 to 5 hours after each batch is done). 30 to 40 pieces take a day's work to complete, although I frequently do half one day and half the next. Once they are in the hot box I can do other production work while they finish drying, and they can stay in the hot box for many hours if I am doing other things.

8. First step in finishing is a modest application of neatsfoot oil, done with a brush and rags. Average time per piece is about 1 minute, 30 to 40 minutes for a week's production.

9. Edges are then burnished. We use a 50-50 mixture of beeswax and paraffin wax rubbed liberally on all edges, then burnish using a hard felt polishing wheel running on a benchmount drill press (1700RPM). Average time per piece is about 3 minutes, 1.5 to 2 hours for a week's production.

10. Acrylic sealant is applied using both swab and spray application. Average time per piece is about 1 minute, 30 to 40 minutes for a week's production.

11. Final finish is applied using both swab and spray application. Average time per piece is about 3 minutes, 1.5 to 2 hours for a week's production.

12. Hardware (snaps, buckles, etc) are installed using hand tools. Hardware tested for proper function. Average time per piece is about 2 minutes, 1 to 1.5 hours for a week's production.

13. Products are packaged for delivery. This includes a product identification card with instructions & warranty information, plastic bag, padded mailers with mailing labels. Average time per piece is about 5 minutes, 2.5 to 3 hours for a week's production.

As can be seen the only power equipment we use is the stitcher and benchtop drill press.

Changing over to clicker dies and press for cutting would cost me about $500,000 to $600,000, or about 3 to 4 times gross annual sales. Assuming that this would reduce my cutting time by half, the savings would be about 3.5 minutes per piece produced. At 2,000 products annually this would amount to 116 hours 40 minutes annual time savings in return for a half-million dollar investment. At a labor cost of $30 per hour it would take about 142 years to ammortize the investment, assuming there will never be a need for additional clicker dies, or for repair/replacement of the press.

Please note that all of this applies only to my little operation. Another maker, perhaps producing 100 different products might get into press and clicker die cutting for much less investment, say $8,000 to $10,000. Adding another single product or variation would require only $60 or $80 for a new clicker die.

In my opinion there is much to be gained by breaking the work down to stages and performing each stage with multiple pieces. This minimizes the time spent setting up equipment and workspaces for each project, and breaking down after each, again and again. Cement takes an hour to set up. Dyes take 12 to 24 hours to set up. Finishes take 12 to 24 hours to set up. Working in batches allows plenty of time for these processes to take place while we are being productive doing other things. I know that if we worked on only one order at a time, from start to finish, we would never get 40 per week out the door.

There are other things that can be done to keep things moving along.

About 20% of my business is belts, and I know that we will always need 10 to 20 straps (two-layer belts) of various lengths every week. So every time I receive a shipment of leather one of the first things I do is to lay out each side and cut 6 or 8 straps, diagonally from back to belly, in target lengths of 50" and 60". With natural variations in the hides this usually yields straps of 46" to 54" and from 56" to 64" or so, allowing belts to be put together quickly and with minimal waste. The resulting pieces are a little less than half-sides, which are much easier and handier to lay out for cutting holster and pouch patterns later. Once a side is laid out for cutting it takes only a few minutes more to cut 6 or 8 straps than it takes to cut 1 or 2 for a single belt. I usually order 8 to 10 sides at a time due to storage space limitations, and we use about 60 sides per year, so I will spend a couple of hours cutting belt straps once every 6 to 8 weeks rather than wrestling with a side to cut a strap or two every day.

Hardware, thread, and other supplies are purchased in quantities to last 6 months to a year. This avoids time lost when we run out of something and have to wait for a delivery (ever notice that your supplier tends to backorder only when you REALLY NEED something?). I keep a running inventory of everything we use, and when anything gets down to a 2 or 3 months supply I know that it is time to reorder. Dyes and finishes are purchased by the gallons, much less expensive than smaller quantities. Snaps, T-nuts, screws, Chicago screws, etc, are purchased by the thousands. Belt buckles are purchased by the hundreds. Packaging and mailing supplies are purchased by the thousands (and cost MUCH less than going to an office supply store).

We have 5 permanent work stations set up for cutting, assembly, stitching, edging, etc. These are used every day. We usually dye, seal, finish, install hardware, package and ship only once per week so those functions are done on temporary work stations that include the work benches and folding tables that can be out of the way the rest of the time. Finishing and hardware take up 3 to 4 hours one day, then everything sits overnight to cure out, and the following morning everything can be packaged and ready to deliver in a couple of hours or so.

Keeping tools and equipment organized and ready to use at each stage of production saves untold amounts of time searching for this or that, trying to remember where it was last used, etc. My assistant and I each have a full set of all basic tools so we never have to borrow from each other or hunt around. Emptying trash cans before they are overflowing avoids interuptions of the work while trying to find someplace to throw the scrap from the bench.

Over and above everything else that can be done, it is my opinion that nothing is more efficient than eliminating interuptions while we work. No TV in the shop (radio in the background is OK, I prefer Limbaugh or Hannity but Mindy likes country western).Telephone calls or people walking in with questions (or just to chit-chat) and other distractions will eat up more time than any kind of automation or machinery can make up for.

Best regards.

Very interesting post - excellent insight into your business

Charlie