Question
Below is a table I am finishing up that is marketing toward the enthusiasts of the mahogany boat (Chris-Craft, Century, and Gar Wood). The table is made of dark red meranti. It is finished with Smith's CPES, and 7 coats of Epiphanes varnish. The legs are 5" diameter turned meranti. The chrome piece on the top is a polished stainless deck plate that provides access for an umbrella or you can screw the cap back on for a finished look when not using an umbrella. A navy blue Sunbrella umbrella is included and a custom table cover (made of navy blue sunbrella too).
I have a design of custom chairs but have not fabricated them yet and they would not be included in the first sale. The table is 4' x 6' and the arched legs allows for 6 to very easily sit at the table. So I am looking to sell a couple of these. Where would you start the pricing?
Forum Responses
(Furniture Making Forum)
From contributor P:
Start by figuring out what it costs you to make one.
Labor is for cuts on dimensional lumber (not much here, some cuts on the radial arm and adding the splines) gluing the ring frame, trip to and from the CNC router house, turning the legs, sanding, staining, coat of Smith's CPES, 7 coats of varnish, and the caulking in the grooves.
Routing is not direct labor as I used a CNC house for the profile cuts, pocket for the plywood, and grooves in the plywood.
Merenti may be in the mahagony family but its not mahagony. How long will you guarantee the caulking stays in the grooves? What about the bond between the caulking and the varnish, which at seven coats is over kill to say the least.
Epiphanes is also one of the most common varnishes used on these boats. Epiphanes recommends seven coats with the first couple of coats thinned. Although Chris Craft used to ship their boats with three coats, many of the builders/restorers these days are going 10-20 coats. I went to a show up in Meredith, NH last weekend and saw boats with 17, 30 and 24 coats. The desired look is glass. I am banking that if they are paying 90k for a boat that something along the same lines will be attractive.
The caulk process is actually not required, other than to keep with the authenticity. The typical deck planks would have (3) 3/16" kerfs in them with caulking in the "fake" seams, as well as in the real seams between the boards. In my case, I have a single piece of plywood so I really do not need the caulking. I do, however, want the look of the antique boats so that is why I have it there. The process is to put all but the last coat of varnish on, put in the caulking, let it set, put the final coat of varnish on. Now I can either leave it like that (with a slight yellow tint on the white from the last coat) or I can mask and paint with white paint. This is the typical process you see on the old boats. (Sometimes the caulking is under more layers). 3M -5200 needs a UV protectant so that is the reason for the coat of varnish.
The end grain glue joints on the dimensional lumber frame have splines made of the same material to strengthen the joint and add some flat grain surface area to the joint. The joints themselves are not at 90 degrees but rather some obtuse angle. The picture below is a clearer shot. You can see the spline too.
Finally, do you have a market? Prototypes are very time consuming. Some of that 50 hours must be the design work. I've gotten a lot of good business by approaching furniture retailers and building their designs. The trick is to be competetive and profit. That requires speed and experience and a strong heart and cast iron stomach. I have lots of my own designs but can't market them properly yet as I need a showroom. A proper showroom will increase the price of sold pieces 50%.
Plane lumber, cut shapes of edge, assemble, rough sand, mill pocket, cut ply, assemble, detail edge, detail sand. You caulk and finish. This does not include legs or material. I don't do turnings, I sub them out. Bottom of the feet we could do. First one would take longer but I would feel comfortable with that number on 12 pieces.
The target markets are another important factor. For example, Center Harbor NH right beside Lake Winnipesaukee is aa major center of antique boats. The price will be a bit higher because the market can support it. I went into a consignment shop last weekend and was absolutely amazed at the prices of the handmade furniture. The yacht market is another profitable one. Their dining tables go for $20k. Just the chrome bases alone cost me $4k each.
If I am not in any of these markets I would say that the target retail will be $4K but I may use an oil finish rather than the varnish as I am pretty sure that the attention to maintenance may not be there.
The changes to the finishing process for future tables are as follows: First, I would offer the table in just an oil finish as an option. My wife preferred the table just after staining over the highly polished format. I believe that just meranti with an oil finish would be a viable product. For the high shine I would go to a PPG Urethane. I spoke to a guy at the antique boat show in NH and he uses clear urethane (no yellowing). He can lay on coats every 15 minutes and be done with the finish in a night. Without the yellowing I can use a white filler and not have any post processing.
In regards to pigmented epoxy, it is funny you said that. I just went to the marine supply shop to get some pigment. I have some west systems epoxy and want to see how that will work instead of the 3M 5200. The epoxy is also not UV stabilized so something will need to go over it.
I just did a black epoxy inlay job on a teak countertop (faux boat deck). I ran some grooves on the tablesaw mixed the graphite into the epoxy spread it with a squeegee and then ran the entire thing through the widebelt sander. It worked great and was easy to finish.
