Kev Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 1 minute ago, Coop said: Pretty darn good! Our only difference is the overhead and employees. Our quotes were firm and the customer did not benefit from an over bid. They made up for me under quoting the previous or next customer. I like your hourly rates but don’t remember what your materials markup is. My hourly was too low on this one because she was in a tough place in life.. I shouldn't have lowered my hourly to help her though since she went on to buy 3 more projects from me.. As for material, I don't mark it up. I do add 20% to the amount of material that I purchase to account for defects. I do this so that if a client wants to go with me to the lumber yard to pick out their own material, there's no sticker shock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 Just food for thought but there are not a lot of people/companies that sell a product at material cost. I understand the 20% and the customer should assume that as well.I also understand helping a damsel in need! My retired brother and former partner in our business and darn good woodworker, got into building this and that for ladies in his neighborhood and word spread of the quality of his work. I asked him how much he was making per job and it was minimal at best. He too was not marking up the materials. He started marking it up 100% and has not lost a job yet. But, enjoying what you do and creating a quality product, is satisfaction in itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 4 minutes ago, Coop said: Just food for thought but there are not a lot of people/companies that sell a product at material cost. I understand the 20% and the customer should assume that as well.I also understand helping a damsel in need! My retired brother and former partner in our business and darn good woodworker, got into building this and that for ladies in his neighborhood and word spread of the quality of his work. I asked him how much he was making per job and it was minimal at best. He too was not marking up the materials. He started marking it up 100% and has not lost a job yet. But, enjoying what you do and creating a quality product, is satisfaction in itself. Yea, the only places I under bid this job was on my hourly and the finish.. I Made up for the finish by making up some time along the way.. I never mark up for material other than the increase for defects. Normally I get paid a very fair hourly wage so don't see a need to also add additional material cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 Gave it a little buffing and located the top on the base this morning. With the exception of spraying the base after it's painted, this one is done for me! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 That turned out really cool. Will she be painting the base in your shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 24 minutes ago, Coop said: That turned out really cool. Will she be painting the base in your shop? Possibly.. I've made the space available or she can take it home and paint.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 Finally cured up enough for a picture.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 18, 2023 Author Share Posted December 18, 2023 The client showed up yesterday during the marathon turning session with more color samples for the base. As of this writing, it would seem that a decision on color has been made! Supposedly, they'll be getting it done this week so I can get this table out of my wife's quilting room where I put it to keep it safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 Question for the group, especially those that have ordered/bought plans in the past. I'm working on the plans for the Trestle Table and have all my pictures with dimensions, exploded views, etc. My question is do you prefer plans with some sort of description along the way or just plans with the dimensions? Obviously, there's video to go with them but, I also don't mind adding some narrative to the plans either. Just looking to make plans that people will actually use and enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 All I can say is that when I draw up plans for myself, I will make notes on another page, listed in a rough order of construction. They are basically notes to remind me to "do this before you do that" so I don't back myself into unwanted corners along the way. 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 2 hours ago, Chet said: All I can say is that when I draw up plans for myself, I will make notes on another page, listed in a rough order of construction. They are basically notes to remind me to "do this before you do that" so I don't back myself into unwanted corners along the way. I do the same on my shop drawings and they're usually handwritten.. I'm working on some rough plans now and may drop them here later so you can can take a look and offer suggestions or catch mistakes that I'm sure I made.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 4 hours ago, Kev said: Question for the group, especially those that have ordered/bought plans in the past. I'm working on the plans for the Trestle Table and have all my pictures with dimensions, exploded views, etc. My question is do you prefer plans with some sort of description along the way or just plans with the dimensions? Obviously, there's video to go with them but, I also don't mind adding some narrative to the plans either. Just looking to make plans that people will actually use and enjoy. I think the need for a description is based somewhat on a level of experience. When first starting, I preferred more details, but as I gained experience I found that I didn’t need as much. I will go back to what I was always taught when writing something. Always write as if your audience knows nothing, provide detail, but not so much that you overwhelm or confuse. Basically what you write can the person figure out the step, and/or did you provide the roadmap if they wanted to research on their own. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 Thanks! I'm getting a little mind numb looking at this so, just going to post it here so you guys can beat me up a little with the mistakes.. I'm sure I made a few.. PDF format was the smallest I could make it.. Let me know if you can't open it and I'll find another way.. Trestle Table Plans.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 I agree verbatim with Bryan. The novice woodworker will have them and the more experienced can use them or ad lib if he so desires. The side notes are darn handy as well. I’ve gotten up in the middle of the night and written notes down and placed them by the coffee pot for the next day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 44 minutes ago, Coop said: I agree verbatim with Bryan. The novice woodworker will have them and the more experienced can use them or ad lib if he so desires. The side notes are darn handy as well. I’ve gotten up in the middle of the night and written notes down and placed them by the coffee pot for the next day. I do hope you take a look at the rough draft plans I posted and see what you think.. I don't expect them to be perfect as it's a rough draft but, looking for input. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Just went through the PDF and thought it was well done. To the point, but gives good detail. The only comment I have and I realize the amount of writing dictates, but the different size fonts messes with my anal nature. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 13 minutes ago, Woodenskye (Bryan) said: Just went through the PDF and thought it was well done. To the point, but gives good detail. The only comment I have and I realize the amount of writing dictates, but the different size fonts messes with my anal nature. Mine too.. I need to actually print it and see if I can make the picture a little smaller so that I have the writing room.. It's done automatically to keep the text contained in a specified area.. Thanks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 I did some work on the font sizes to see if I could clean it up a bit... Trestle Table Plans.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Looks a lot more consistent throughout, the only 1 that still looks rather small is the shaping the top section. Maybe the picture could be reduced slightly. The other thought would be to make an appendix. Above, Below or Next to the picture you could put something like see Appendix Section 1 and have all the details spelled out. This would probably help with seeing the dimensions, cause you could enlarge image slightly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 10 minutes ago, Woodenskye (Bryan) said: Looks a lot more consistent throughout, the only 1 that still looks rather small is the shaping the top section. Maybe the picture could be reduced slightly. The other thought would be to make an appendix. Above, Below or Next to the picture you could put something like see Appendix Section 1 and have all the details spelled out. This would probably help with seeing the dimensions, cause you could enlarge image slightly. Just the "note" piece that was a smaller font.. I managed to get it all up to the regular size.. I like the appendix idea.. I think I can get this one in but, I can see the benefit on larger plans... Trestle Table Plans.pdf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Looks Great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Nice!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 Very well done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 22, 2023 Author Share Posted December 22, 2023 Well, the painting of the base started today! All General Finishes Milk Paint so far... Color selections and sequence is totally the clients but, so far it's looking pretty cool! Started with a base color of basil. Once that cured, a coat of antique white was applied. Once that cured, it was sanded back to create a more "antique" look. Tomorrow, we'll start the glazing process. Will start with VanDyke brown on all the large surface areas and a burnt umber on all the edges. These will be quickly wiped back so that they simply add some accents to what you see here. And the final will be General Finishes High Performance for a few coats to give it some protection and maintain the look. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 I can see this going in varied directions in your future finishes!😁 Actually, I think this looks pretty darn good for the occasion. I also see the tusk missing in the pic. Will it receive a finish similar to the top? You said color selections were by client. How did she arrive at these? YouTube type videos or previous experience? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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