Wall Cabinet

[Lee Schierer]

Here is the cabinet I asked about pricing a while back. It is about 28 inches high and 20 inches wide. It was made from solid red oak and left unfinished at the request of the customer.

http://home.earthlink.net/~us71na/cabinet1.jpg

The doors turned out quite nice after two previous attempts. The owner hasn't seen it yet, so I can't say what he thought when he saw it. I'm not sure I would have picked those handles as they seem a little large, but that is what he wanted. He plans to cover the back with cloth so it was made of plywood. It is attached with screws so it can be removed. The two shelves are fixed, but can be slid out for finishing. The glass is set in the doors and held in place with 1/4 X 5/16" wooden strips held in by #2 X 1/2 brass flat head wood screws. The corners of the doors were done with lap joints and the 1/4" bead was glued in after the rails and stiles were made and glued up. Because of the narrow stiles, I couldn't use self closing hinges so I had to add two small magnetic catches at the top.

Oh yeah , the price was $160 and I figure that it took about 10-12 hours to make not counting the two extra sets of doors.

[Dave Avery]

Very nice work Lee..... I must say, though, that you work much too inexpensively. Dave.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

VERY nice cabinet Lee! The new owner should be very grateful for not only an excellent hand built piece, but for the best deal in the universe to boot! Your work is excellent, and your price is much to reasonable. You can chalk it up to experience, and I am sure you learned a few things along the way you can use in the future, so if you look at the project in that light, you did well. Outstanding job..............I hope the new owner does the cabinet justice when finishing it! ;)

[Lars Thomas]

Lee, I think it looks great. I've always thought that molding adds so much to a cabinet - and your project proves that true. Lars

[Charles McKinley]

Way too cheap. They couldn't get Ikea stuff for that price. Pricing is that hardest thing. I'm just starting out and I'm asking for time and material. If you think it is too much then you can adjust the time.

Great work!

[Mike Evertsen]

great job,,,, for pricing program go to cutlistplus.com it the program I use it gets in the ballpark then I adjust the price alittle if I think I get more for the project,,,,

[Ken Wright]

but you sure underpriced your work!!!

Like the way you finished out the top ..... wish I had seen this a couple of weeks ago!

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Lee
It looks really nice.

[Kevin Post]

I agree with the others... Great work but it's too cheap. I used to do the same thing when pricing my work. I justified the low prices as having someone subsidize my hobby.

I learned quickly, however, that I can keep plenty busy completing projects for myself. When I do things for other people, there is a list of things that I'm not getting done for myself like painting the house, changing the oil in the truck, or taking care of the lawn. If I hired someone to do those things for me, how much would it cost? What is your time worth?

I like to do nice things for people but some people will take advantage of you and not give it a second thought. I enjoy the time I spend relaxing when I'm not busy. (It doesn't happen very often...) Now, when I price my work, I try to go to a place in my mind where I think about how much someone would have to pay me to set down a cold beer and drive in to work on a Saturday afternoon without putting me in a fowl mood. (It's generally quite a bit of money...) Any discount from that price is me doing something nice... :D

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Nice job, Lee. It is simple and yet a little elegant. I like it.

[Steve Clardy]

I would have priced it at $200.00-$225.00
Steve

[Lee Schierer]

I just heard from my customer and he was very pleased with his cabinet. It was for Mother's day, so he scored some points at home too.