how much to charge for woodworking work

[B A R R Y]

If you charge proper rates, you will often get referrals from other pros and even suppliers.

Charging "hobbyist rates"? You'll get treated like one, by suppliers as well as your local peers. There's actually nothing at all wrong with that, as long as we remember that it dosen't usually work both ways.

Also remember that if you exceed a sideline income threshold, you're open for business in the eyes of the IRS and local tax authorities, whether you want to admit it or not. The IRS doesn't really care if it's your full-time gig or not. The good news is that stuff you would have bought for your hobby now becomes deductible against the income it brings in. Have a really bad year in between some really good ones? Small business losses can actually reduce your "day gig" tax burden.

A few hours with a good local CPA can be a great value if you really want to make a go of it. He or she can help you get properly set up, get a simple accounting system going (like Quickbooks), and sleep better at night.

Have fun!

[dadiOH]

I like the "you owe me one" answers best. The problem with charging for your labor - even a modest charge - is that you immediately become classified as a pro in the minds of those paying and they can get pretty picky.

[Robatoy]

Well said. Nothing to add.

r

[Leuf]

The MDF is going to go together with little to no sanding and a paint job while the cherry is going to go through a much more eleborate preparation and finishing process. Plus expensive materails assumes, not necessarily correctly, a higher degree of craftsmanship.

That said, if you make the same table out of oak and walnut, it makes more sense to add the cost difference between the two after the multiplication.

Use your head. It's a general guide, a starting point.

I can build something in 5 hours. It takes you 10 hours to build the exact same thing. Is yours worth twice as much? You probably should be making half as much as I do, but how do you know that? If you are just doing things for friends you don't really have a market to help you gage where you stand.

If you really want to be profiting, you charge whatever the market will bear. Then from that you look at what your hourly wage works out to be to decide whether it's worth doing. But if you're just doing the odd job you need some way of coming up with a reasonable figure.

-Leuf

[B A R R Y]

I agree.

However, the cost of total overhead has much more to do with the achievable hourly wage rate than materials cost when it comes time to see if it's worth doing.

[henry]

Woodworker A builds a piece in 50 hours and woodworker B does the same piece in 25 hours. Are they both worth the same hourly wage. Of course not. What the market will bear is the true value. I am now building a reproduction piece and learning new skills so its taking me longer to learn carving etc then some of you more experienced people. That said I agree with $0 and you owe me one., after paying for material.

[fredfighter]

I don't.

The guy for whom I do most of my handyman favors feeds my cats and changes the litter box when I'm out-of-town. That may be a comment on the quality of my work.

You can charge enough so as to keep the volume of work at an acceptable level. or start bumming favors in return, or ask your friends to help you so they can learn how to do for themselves.

--=20

FF

[B A R R Y]

[B A R R Y]

Not a single person in this thread ever said that, because that's stupid. A certain level of ability and efficiency is required, and for discussion purposes, it has to be assumed. The person who works too slowly simply won't make money, regardless of the cost of materials, or the business.

How does this fit in with pricing the work as a multiple of material cost? That's what I'm discussing, actually making some sort of profit on your labor vs. multiplying material costs.

It's easy to say " charge what the market will bear", but what does that really mean, and how does one find out on a one-off job?

A good starting point is KNOWING what it truly _costs_ YOU (or your organization) per hour to work. If your personal hourly rate is way too high, the discussion is over and the job leaves. A little high? Negotiation is possible. When you're flat out you actually want some jobs to leave.

If all of your prices are accepted, your price is too low. Don't get any jobs at all, but people are still asking? Time to look deeply at your overhead costs (including your hourly pay), production processes, customer demographic, etc...

These are very basic business principles used in everything from custom furniture making, to car repair, to home theater installation, to driveway paving, to asbestos removal... Any time there's some sort of billed labor involved.

"Art" is a whole 'nuther story...

[Pig]

In all things, it depends. If, for example, you are making a custom sized sofa table of furniture grade quality, stop in to a quality furniture store, get the retail price of a similar item, and price your work to a friend at 50% of retail, getting the material cost up front. Often, I have said "hey, I'll make one and if you like it, you can buy it, if not, I'll keep it" and price it on the above basis, and guess what, they have always bought it, likely because they see the quality and craftsmanship.

On the other hand, if its a pine bookcase out of straight oneby stock and/or plywood with applied edging, 2 or possibly 3 (depending on whether you are to stain or otherwise finish the work) may not be unreasonable.

Bottom line for me with friends and family is not to try and compete, or suggest you are competing, with the Walmart/Target/Kmart furniture of the world, and if that is what your friends expect, tell them to go to Walmart as it is cheaper in the short run. Then after they move once or twice and the particleboard falls completely apart, they'll be back for some quality work at a price that will give them value long term. I've done this several times and guess what - they do indeed come back once they realize the long term value of a solid piece of woodworking.

Mutt

[Pig]

In second paragraph, I meant "2, or possibly 3 times material cost"

Mutt

[Mike M]

I don't have much time for working for other people, but usually do it for free for good friends. For neighbors and others I suggest a gift certificate from woodcraft or rockler. I never specify an amount and I know who I want to do favors for now. My next door neighbor is in a band and goes on the road, I told him I would feed his animals for free as he's my neighbor. He insisted on giving me something. Again I suggested gift certificates which he could do on line. Near as I can tell all woodworkers should take care of pets. If he goes on the road for a month I've got my wide belt sander.

Mike M

[John B]

G'day Frank, I'm with you on this one. I make toys and small gifts to sell at the local monthly markets. I make enough to buy a new tool every now and then and to keep me in smokes. The point is I only make what I want to and what I enjoy. This way labour is not a problem as putting a price on fun is pretty hard. regards John