I have a friend who spent 40 years as a saddlemaker. Now he's retired from production but spends his time restoring 1950s era silver parade saddles (he was also a silversmith). He gets contacted fairly regularly by people who want him to repair their saddles. However, the only way he does business is to buy the saddle from them outright, restore it, then sell it again.

His has found that if he has to price his restoration work by the hour, most people will try to bargain him down or ask him if he will only do XX dollars worth of work. He doesn't need the money, but as a craftsman he is very concerned about the condition of the work that is attached to his name. By buying the saddle outright and fully restoring it, he admits that he will usually make less money on the sale that if they paid for all the hours, but the job is done right. And sometimes he finds a buyer willing to pay him alot more, because they understand not only the value of the antique saddle, but what went into it for the restoration.