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This reminds me of a real life story that happened to me.  A young private in the army came into my shop one day and asked me to recover a motorcycle seat.  He paid in full up front because he did not know when he would be back in town.  About 20 years go's buy and one day a Cournal shows up, he is in town for his wedding and was wondering if I could sew some fancy looking wings on to his hat.  I had to explain to him that my sewing machine would not take the shape of his hat and I had to send him to a guy who does shoe repair.  I ask him to wait for a moment, I go out into the shop and come back with the bike seat he left with me for recovering all those years ago.  He just about fell over Shocked  Come to find out he still has the bike Grin

What's he been sitting on all these years? :o
Rich

Just a note to those who are using Juki machines. I really like that stitch length dial over the old, "hold down a button and turn the handwheel" setup, but I was having a hard time  (especially in the winter, when my fingers are dry) turning that small, hard plastic dial. I finally found that the large (1-1/2") white rubber leg tips sold in Home Depot (sold two to a pkg. so you have a spare if you ever need it :)) fits right over the dial and by marking the most common stich lengths (I have S, M and L on mine) with a sharpie marker, it's a breeze to quickly dial in the stitch length you want.
Rich

Old, filthy pool covers, I can't think of anything much worse than those! Especially when all those shock springs get hooked on the edge of the bench.
Mojo, I'll be doing some sunshades in a few weeks that measure 12'x15' each. That oughta be fun!
Rich

I think if storage fees are going to be charged it should be stated in writing on the original estimate, work order, or whatever you give the customer.

Yes, of course that would be fair. I think every rule and/or regulation that has ever come about was done as a result of a person or person whose good nature was abused by someone else. If you don't see much of an abuse, it makes sense that you don't enact a policy to deal with it. But when it happens, you wish you had. I think it's something that needs to be done when you feel you're being taken advantage of too many times.
In my case, it's hardly ever a problem, but, I have a piece of furniture the customer has been slow about doing anything for. Getting back to me on the phone, dropping off a deposit and now bringing her fabric in and I'm starting to think that money could be a great motivator. Hopefully, it won't be necessary, but I wanted to know what others thought.
Thanks,

Hey, I'm reminded of an old story about a guy who is rummaging around in the attic and finds his old army uniform. Wondering if it still fits, he tries it on. As he's standing at the mirror, he puts his hand in the pocket and pulls out an old shoe repair ticket. So, now he's wondering if that repair shop might still be in business since it's in a part of town he hasn't been to in many years. He drives over, only to find that it's actually still there! He can't resist the urge to play a little joke, so he goes in and hands the ticket to the little old man behind the counter without saying a word. The little old man takes the ticket, puts on his glasses, looks at it and says "I'll be right back". A few minutes later, he comes out from the back room and says "your shoes will be ready next Tuesday"

I guess storage fees don't matter to everyone.
Rich

Does anyone assess storage charges for furniture left at their shop when the customer is holding up the work process, or just not picking it up when finished? If so, how much?
Thanks,
Rich

Back in the 80's, American Express was a client of mine and whenever they got a new Lincoln Town Car, they would bring in the armrests to have a compartment built into it to conceal their car phones (of course, this was before cell phones). I love that type of work, ship the armrest and some fabric to me, I'll do it.
Rich

Finding a name can be real difficult. My only suggestion is to come up with a name that does not pigeon hole or limit you to an area of this trade.

I see that in a different way. My experience tells me that if it's a good area of business to focus on, then build your business name around it. When a person knows what they want they'll locate a business with a name that is specific to the work done or product sold more quickly. Also, since it zeroes in on the nature of the business it could represent expertise in that field to a potential customer. Many businesses have gone a long time with the same name through gradual changes and then will either modify or change the name when it's necessary. I say, make the most of the business you're after by naming your business to target that area, then change later on if it's really needed. The sales you realized with a targeted name will make up for any inconvenience a name change might cause.
But I do agree that finding the "right" name can be very difficult.
Rich

What procedure are you using to cut and sew? Her'es how I would do it, especially if you are having wrinkles:
1-cut an oversized blank of leather and backed foam and sew all pleats making sure to pull slightly on the leather as you go.
2-pin the pleated assembly to the seat, pulling out any wrinkles, then mark a line where your seam will lie. Include registration marks  every 8" or so and certainly at the front and rear centers, Remove the assy. and pin fit the boxing transferring registration marks.
3-Remove boxing, trim to seam allowance and stitch to pleated assy. aligning registration marks.
4-Trim excess pleated material past seam and install on seat.
Rich

Paul, feedback is what I'm looking for, so don't worry about offending.
I have done a few of these over the years, never enough to develope any real expertise at it, so I appreciate input from folks like you who know the nuances. I was thinking of securing it with wire ties, but if each spring requires it's own custom tension as you and others have described, then my idea as I've presented it, wouldn't do the trick.
I'll keep thinking though.
Rich

I thought this looked interesting:
http://emsnews.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/us-economic-growth-is-inflation.png?w=500&h=300
Rich

Rich:  If you got the time and the interest to work on it, and you think you can come up with something better I say go for it.  Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say. 

Of course, that is true. Being that I don't see much of this work, I might not be the best one to be experimenting, but maybe someone who does it more often could use the feedback found here.
I think it would be helpful to know what the objectives are. What is the goal of hand tying coil springs? I'll start the list based on what I know:
-Align all springs and secure top and bottom so that they are evenly spaced in relation to one another.
-Prevent them from moving left to right and front to back.
-Provide a means of keeping them in a semi-compressed form.
-Maintain a uniform height across the top of all springs.
-Use a material and a means of attachment that will hold the springs in this position for many years of use.
-?
Rich

Anyone who subscribes to the "stock market has had it's day in the sun"  theory care to offer any viable alternatives?
Rich

Isn't this defeating the purpose of a custom job
Doing something like the above, is going the way of China
Make something quick and cheap

The purpose of custom work, is to deliver a quality job
That means hand tying springs.

I say a quality job is a quality job regardless of the time it takes. In my analogy of the plywood vs. boards, there are performance advantages to plywood that solid boards can't deliver. carburetors are certainly more involved mechanically than fuel injectors but can't deliver the benefits of fuel injection. There are many more examples I could mention.
Mike, it may be that hand tying is still the best it gets in today's world, but my way of thinking was to reinvestigate whether that was still true. Quality, yes. Intensive labor? Not unless it's justified.
Rich

Yep like I said, the math in investing does not work. Like gambling the odds are in the houses favor.  You might win a little here and a little there but over time little by little or all at once, the house wins and you get to go home broke.

Would you say that's a recent development? Since many have done well over the years investing in the stock market.
Rich

I think what Mojo said is very important, but if there is time (10years or more) before retirement, I think waiting it out with investments that were well chosen to begin with is the way to go.
Rich