[TheForge] materials vs. final cost

[Peter Hirst]

At ten times materials I'd be selling my lamps for $40, shop time $10/hour. 
Now if I were using wrought iron from the UK, that lamp would go for $800. 
Or at least it would be so priced. It wouldn't go at all.  I think shop time 
is a much better starting point.  A few years ago, Nol Putnam published a 
guide to blacksmithing as a business.  Absolutely far and away the best 
discussion I have ever seen of the realtionship of cost, value and price. 
Applicable to all crafts, amyber all businesses . If its still there, its 
available at

http://www.anvilmag.com/smith/blcasabs.htm

An absolute must-read for this discussion.


Keziah

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Woolley" <wjec at comcast.net>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2008 8:53 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] materials vs. final cost


> Four times materials as a labor cost?  I'd be giving away my railings. 
> And just about everything else come to think of it. IMHO this formula is 
> way off.
>
>
>
>
>
> Rich Maynard wrote:
>> My tutor said 4 tmes materials for a farication job, 10 times materials 
>> for
>> hand forged. Not as a basis for quoting, but it's a useful check I find.
>>
>> Richard Maynard - Artist Blacksmith
>> The Forge, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire SG10 6BS
>>  rich at muchhadhamforge.co.uk
>> www.muchhadhamforge.co.uk
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
>> [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Andy Gladish
>> Sent: 25 March 2008 21:26
>> To: Sponsored by ABANA
>> Subject: [TheForge] materials vs. final cost
>>
>>
>> On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:36:33 -0700, Peter Hirst <saltydog335 at aol.com> 
>> wrote:
>>
>>   Can anyone think
>>
>>> of another craft where top quality materials represent less than 10
>>> percent of  price?  So yeah, for the next order I take, where the extra 
>>> quality will show, I am definitely in the iron market.
>>>
>>> I would be interested in knowing how other smiths'  economics --or math
>>> --  compare to mine.
>>>
>>> Keziah
>>>
>>
>> About fifteen years ago I was doing a lot of very careful house painting 
>> for very wealthy people.
>> 10% was one of my rules of thumb- not applicable to everything of course, 
>> but it averaged out about there.
>>
>
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