Wood is expensive

[RayV]

I'm hoping this picture is mislabled and they aren't selling this as Bird's Eye Maple:

$2,420 for a blanket chest? Maybe tools aren't that expensive...

[Jeff]

I suspect wood is a little high by historical standards due to politics and high energy prices, but the most significant portion of price is labor. It would be interesting to run the numbers, but I suspect they could ship the materials to Asia and assemble that chest with a retail price considerably lower than the ones listed on that site.

Jeff

[J T]

Tue, Jan 22, 2008, 7:17am (EST-3) [e-mail] (RayV) doth posteth: I'm hoping this picture is mislabled and they aren't selling this as Bird's Eye Maple:

$2,420 for a blanket chest? Maybe tools aren't that expensive...

They can 'ask' any price they want, but how many do they actually sell, at that price?

JOAT

10 Out Of 10 Terrorists Prefer Hillary For President

- Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - just not Hillary.

[J T]

Tue, Jan 22, 2008, 7:30am (EST-3) [e-mail] (Jeff) doth posteth: I suspect wood is a little high by historical standards due to politics and high energy prices, but the most significant portion of price is labor. It would be interesting to run the numbers, but I suspect they could ship the materials to Asia and assemble that chest with a retail price considerably lower than the ones listed on that site.

Historical stqandards? Years ago wages were low, prices were low. Today wages are a lot higher, today prices are a lot higher.

If you want to run the numbers, you can go out and find someone that would custom make one for you, of at least equal quality, if not better, with high quality wood, for less then what those people want.

JOAT

10 Out Of 10 Terrorists Prefer Hillary For President

- Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - just not Hillary.

[Dick Keats]

Sure doesn't look like Bird's Eye Maple to me. Dick

[Robert Allison]

It's not maple, but anyone that would pay over 2,000 bucks for it could probably be easily fooled.

[B A R R Y]

If you could touch some of their furniture, you'd think your tools were even less expensive.

Some of the stuff could be mistaken for Ikea.

[Jeff]

It's not that simple. Some prices are higher while others are considerably lower. How many computers did you own in the 1970s? Now you can practically get one in a box of cracker jacks. Lumber is a natural product whose price is tied tightly to energy and housing. I can't find free historical pricing on the Internets but I did find this flimsy indicator. In 1991, "the 15,800 board feet of lumber used to frame the average house cost $3,200 at the sawmill gate. Today, the same quantity costs $7,000." Harvests are down, energy is up and we're at the end of a housing boom. That price will probably recede. I'm not sure how this compares to the mid 70s - the gold standard of high lumber prices, but I doubt I was off base when I said it was a little high by historical standards.

Jeff

[J. Clarke]

I paid about 180 bucks for a Bosch jigsaw in 1979 or thereabouts. I paid 160 a few months ago for the one that replaced it when the old one died the death. The price of a Sawzall has pretty nearly remained constant in the face of inflation. Tools right now are a bargain compared to the '70s.

[J T]

Tue, Jan 22, 2008, 12:38pm (EST-3) [e-mail] (Jeff) doth sayeth: It's not that simple. How many computers did you own in the 1970s? "the 15,800 board feet of lumber used to frame the average house cost $3,200 at the sawmill gate. Today, the same quantity costs $7,000."

I was trying to keep it simple. And, you forgot, prices on almost anything depends on location. Before I forget, today I own exactly as many computers now as I did in the 1970s - zero. Sounds to me like you're making a flat statement about the price of lumber for a house. Hell, I live about 15 miles from a moderate size city, you buy a home in the south part of the city, and it might clost $10,000 less than the exact same mode home in the north part, maybe 2-3 miles away, and knowing the lumber cost is about the same. But you go to San Francisco, or somewhere like that, and that identical model home would probably n you well over $1,000,000, and no telling what price the lumber would cost. Location, location, location.

JOAT

10 Out Of 10 Terrorists Prefer Hillary For President

- Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - just not Hillary.

[J. Clarke]

If you dig into the stuff you own you may be surprised. Just about anything with a control system these days uses a microcomputer. TV sets, watches, clocks, cars, microwave ovens, small appliances . . .

[Jeff]

Maybe he's doing a Ted Kaczynski and living off the grid...

[tiredofspam]

Thought I would bring this around.

Went to buy cherry ply the other day. Price $130..

A small lumber guy I deal with who doesn't deal in ply or anything but hardwoods sells cherry for about $4.30 - $4.80 depending on when I have bought it. I didn't check his current price, but the 4.80 was the highest I paid last April. Bought about 150 bd feet which is gone now.

So the question is, why would I buy cherry ply for $130, when I can buy less expensive birch ply, and resaw the cherry into veneer, and make the cherry go way farther. Aside from the time savings, (I'm not a pro), I think cherry ply is way over priced right now compared to the cost of cherry.

Even if I decided to eliminate the ply and build it with solid cherry, the cost difference w/o loss is negligible. About 150 to 130..

[BDBConstruction]

Are you thinking you could buy birch, resaw your own veneer, and make cherry ply in your shop for less than the 130? And come out with the same product? Thats crazy. You have perhaps 60.00 a sheet or more into the birch ply. Tthat would leave you, best case, with 70.00 to work with. This doesnt take into account that 60.00/sheet is low, fuel, and your time to go get it, and so on.

After that you have to purchase the cherry (+fuel and time) , resaw it, (blades, shop time, wear and tear) etc.. Veneer the ply, (glue, clamps, time, vaccum setup, etc..) Sand, scrape, finish the ply (paper), and you are still going to likely have an inferior product to the commercially available ply.

Even if you used a very low number of $100.00/hr just for the shop time you would be losing your shirt.

The solid cherry option is fine unless you wanted the stability and speed of the ply in the first place (which is likely).

Too often people dont realize that the added expense of a given item is far offset by its time savings and other charecteristics. This is very easy to do when you devalue your time and operating costs down to $0.00.

Mark

[J T]

Wed, Jan 23, 2008, 6:58am (EST-3) [e-mail] (Jeff) doth sayeth that John done writ: If you dig into the stuff you own you may be surprised. Just about anything with a control system these days uses a microcomputer. TV sets, watches, clocks, cars, microwave ovens, small appliances . To which you writ:. . Maybe he's doing a Ted Kaczynski and living off the grid...

I'm still on the grid, but as much as most of you Ill bet.

No computer, '78 Camino daily driver - in fact my only driver, microwave maybe 15 years old, TV maybe 15 years old, clock maybe 15 years old, wind up pocket watch - when I carry a watch, coffee pot on-off switch only, 4 calculators - none newer than several years - the elcheapo kind. That's as exotic as it gets around here. Still on the grid, but low key - and that's the way I prefer it. Oh yeah, I do carry a cell phone, pre-paid - but it's turned off, emergency use only.

JOAT

10 Out Of 10 Terrorists Prefer Hillary For President

- Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - just not Hillary.

[tiredofspam]

$60.. Birch ply is $45 a sheet here. Putting on another 2 layers 1 on each side would be time consuming, but I would actually get 2 A sides out of it, matched two.

I would be at 1" ... better. Cherry ply for $130 is not A/A.. S> >> Thought I would bring this around.

[Lobby Dosser]

I'll second the cell phone thing. Damn if I can figure out why anyone would want to be instantly available to all and sundry. I don't even answer the land line. Got a machine does that. If I don't call back, I probably don't want to talk to you. :)

[Lumpy]

Are you posting to the newsgroup from your coffee maker?

Lumpy

In Your Ears for 40 Years

[J T]

Thu, Jan 24, 2008, 5:23am (EST+5) [e-mail] (Lobby=A0Dosser) doth sayeth: I'll second the cell phone thing. Damn if I can figure out why anyone would want to be instantly available to all and sundry. I don't even answer the land line. Got a machine does that. If I don't call back, I probably don't want to talk to you. :)

My answering machine died a few years back and I never replaced it. Now I don't come back home to messages wanting me to call someone. Yesterday I got a call from someone that had been trying since Mon to get ahold of me. Heh heh. Not to try to sell me sumpin, but to deliver sompin. I was available for alll but about an hour each day. I prefer the no answering machine method.

JOAT

10 Out Of 10 Terrorists Prefer Hillary For President

- Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - just not Hillary.

[J T]

Thu, Jan 24, 2008, 9:30am (EST-2) [e-mail] (Lumpy) doth queryeth: Are you posting to the newsgroup from your coffee maker?

Yer not from around here, are ya? Don' need no steenkin' computer, got WebTV.

JOAT

10 Out Of 10 Terrorists Prefer Hillary For President

- Bumper Sticker I don't have a problem with a woman president - just not Hillary.