I made a Tudor bench. Started it in May, 2002 Finished it in April 2003. When I realized it would not be finished by Labor Day. I put it aside for the winter as I did not want to leave it outside when it would not have been even sat upon, so finished it the following spring.
Stated a second one a couple of weeks ago. It will be finished maybe two more weekends. Why the big difference? For the first one, I made some templates for the arms, crest, etc. The time it took to make them was paid back now. I've also increased my skill level and have a few more tools to simplify. Actual build time will be less than half this go around.
A few other things I've made as a repeat, the time was cut about 20 to 30%. Design was done, tough setups simplified. I've also made a few projects for the grandkids. Making three or four of the same item adds only about 50% more time than making one.
At a Scott Phillips seminar, he showed a box that he makes for sale at local specialty shops. First one was over ten hours, now it is less than two hours.
Since I don't make anything for money, time is less critical for me than a pro. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net