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Subject: Re: large furniture parts

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Message Thread:

large furniture parts

6/21/15       
Mike Staige  Member

Website: http://www.custommade.com/by/stageonedesigns/

For the life of me, I can find no one who is willing to make these urn pedestals for a large dining table commission I am currently doing. Does anyone have a link or company that outsources these type of items? There has to be someone or this provided photo simply wouldn't exist. And yes, I've tried a custom quote from Osborne wood products and they just didn't reply...twice. Thanks to all in advance!


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6/22/15       #2: large furniture parts ...
David R Sochar

We can make these for you. I will ball park them at about $1,400 for the pair, assembled, no additional parts, in soft Maple, plus freight. They will be hollow.

Most people just don't know how to make them.

6/22/15       #3: large furniture parts ...
Mike Stsige

Thank you for your reply. Just to be clear, that's $1400 for two urn shaped pedestals as pictured. Not any of the other base items pictured. And freight would be added on to the $1400. That is a bit too steep for my budget on this project.

6/22/15       #4: large furniture parts ...
David R Sochar Member

We are over-comitted for the next 3 months, so we would have to run it on OT.

We would bandsaw blanks about 6" wide to a template, glue to width, then sand the faces with the dough roller - inflatable sanding drum - then miter and assemble and finish sand. Should be about 24 man hours - 3 days.

6/22/15       #5: large furniture parts ...
rich c.

Mike, I went to your Custommade site. I now understand your budget statement. Just curious, how the heck do you make a profit on selling a cherry bedside table with a drawer for $400? And other tables for $300. Man, you've got to raise your prices! Doesn't custommade take a cut too? That spalted pine table should sell for over $1500. Maybe I don't understand the pricing since there is a + plus sign next to the price.

6/23/15       #6: large furniture parts ...
David R Sochar Member

I agree with Rich - I don't know how you make a living. Perhaps you don't, or it is just a hobby.

I have done it all from a one man show to 20 people, and have made money and lost it at both ends of that spectrum as well as in between. My current shop rate for a 2 man shop is $75.00 per man hour, and we will do 300k this year. You can do the math and see that not all hours are billable once you account for materials. But this is not rocket science costs are similar for all of us, and all shops will fall within certain parameters.

You are of course, free to charge what you want. But you should realize that you will never be able to raise prices since you will known as the guy that works for less. Think about professionalism and what the things you make are truly worth. Just my opinion.

It is interesting that individuals (mostly) go thru the Custom Made path, and then drop off of it. Custom Made is on a bell curve, and they are now on the down side. Shops go thru the same thing as they grow and learn and find out about real costs and realize it is a business. You are not the first, and certainly won't be the last. Hell, Custom Made has chewed thru thousands of shops.

6/23/15       #7: large furniture parts ...
Mike Staige

Thank you, gentlemen, for bypassing the very purpose of this thread and for heading straight for the criticism. Because that is exactly why I'm reaching out to fellow craftspeople....to be criticized. You know nothing of how I price my work or how it pertains to the listings I have. So please, if you don't have any information regarding the outsourcing of the aforementioned urn pedestals, kindly refrain from offering me career advice.

6/23/15       #8: large furniture parts ...
Ed  Member

Website: http://www.thespeedofwood.com

I must agree with rich and david.
After looking at the pictures and prices on your site I can't begin to figure out how you can possibly make any $ at all. Even if I was doing it in my basement or garage I would be losing money. If you got some secret please share it with us!

6/23/15       #9: large furniture parts ...
rich c.

Well that didn't go well. We know exactly how you are pricing your work, and that is why we are suggesting you look at it again. We are not making any statements about your career, purely business.

6/24/15       #10: large furniture parts ...
Steve Hanson

Website: http://hansonwoodturning.com

We make these all the time.

www.hansonwoodturning.com

under square turnings


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large furniture parts

6/24/15       #12: large furniture parts ...
Glen

Mike- nice work and I think people here are trying to tell you something. We make custom for interior designers and are in the big magazines fairly frequently. We would charge 4x what your prices are and we get it. If I need to sub out turnings I get a quote and add that to my pricing. You can make a good living at the custom end but you do need to price your work so you work less for a lot more dinero. Good luck.

6/28/15       #13: large furniture parts ...
Bob

Unfortunately that is exactly the market CustomMade is working hard to develop; bottom dwelling clients and makers willing to make things for as little as possible, sometime for less than is possible. Seriously, how can a maker stay in any kind of real business charging what most of the CustomMade makers charge. Most must be hobbyists just looking for material costs.

7/1/15       #14: large furniture parts ...
Paul Downs

A quick observation: the advertised price may not be the selling price. Those low numbers might be there to produce a healthy stream of inquiries, and then Mike takes his pick of the ones he likes and upsells them.

Just sayin'

 

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