Am I a moron?

A guy at work has offered me $2,000 to build him a custom pool table (ala Brunswick) I agreed, except that he is on his own for the slate top and bumpers.

Did I do a bad thing? (no signatures on anything yet, no dead Presidents have changed hands ... not so much as a hand clasp to signify a contract)

Bill

Reply to
W Canaday
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Have you priced the material yet? What is your skill level? If you are a slow worker and it takes you 1000 hours, it is probably not a good deal. Sounds like a pretty big project for the money.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

sounds waaaay too cheap. seriously.

Reply to
David

If you have to ask, you already know.

In my misspent youth, spent a lot of time bent over a green felt surface.

Based on your description above, $5K wouldn't get me to look up from my shot.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Thanks for the quick responses. I'll let him know that the pricing needs more research ... that if he wants to cut a check today, fine. But it's a deposit.

Bill

Reply to
W Canaday

W Canaday wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@replyonlist.com:

$2k is cheap for a custom kitchen table, let alone a pool table.

How well do you know this fellow? And how well do you like your current place and mode of employment? There are risks here unrelated to the technical challenge or the price.

Patriarch

Reply to
Patriarch

Go price a real Brunswick and add 40%

Reply to
Battleax

How much experience do you have with custom work? Any custom pool table that I've ever seen has a great deal of ornate carving on it. As well, what you consider to be custom and what he considers to be custom could vary greatly. I'm guessing that a suitably large amount of wood would be required as well as knowledge of pool table support structures. The material for building the base alone could easily cost you $2000 and then there's your labour on top of that. Go do some Norm measurements on a quality pool table and then come back and tell us what the answer is to your own question.

Reply to
Upscale

After doing a proper drawing and a bunch of phone-calls to price the materials, delivery, etc,, there's about 300 left to buy the pockets....empty pockets.

IOW.... try 5-6 kilo-bucks for a break-even point.

Reply to
Robatoy

Reply to
<edwalsh

Thank you, Leonard. You don't know how much your input means to me.

Bill

Reply to
W Canaday

I'm going to let him know you said this. ;-)

I think, now that I've had a chance to review the comments I've gotten (thanks ALL!), that the conversation should start around $6,000 and move up, rapidly, for any special features (such as carving, inlay, gikding, and so on) that he might have in mind.

As for our relationship? If he dies tonight I'll kip in a few bucks toward flowers .... but I'm not likely to bother getting my suit cleaned for the funeral. I'm sure he'd do nearly as much for me (minus the money for the flowers).

Bill

Reply to
W Canaday

I, too, have bet $50 at the local gun & knife club when I didn't have $5. Per ball.

Managed to get drunk without developing any new leaks.

Bill

Reply to
W Canaday

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