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© 2009, Richard Jones

Estimating for Furniture Makers: Is the price right?©

By

R i c h a r d J o n e s 96 Monkswood Rise , Leeds , LS14 1DP, Great

Britain 0 1 1 3 2 6 5 0 7 2 7 M o b i l e 0 7 7 6 9 6 0 0 9 1 2

r . j o n e s _ 0 8 @ b t i n t e r n e t . c o m w w w . r i c h a r d j o n e s f u r n i t u r e . c o m

© 2009, Richard Jones 2

Estimating for Furniture Makers.

Is the price right?© How much timber is needed to make this solid

oak and sycamore veneered paneled corner

cabinet? How long will the joinery take? What

about doing those laminated rails?

What time should be allowed to construct and

install a zebrano and maple built-in unit out of

mostly veneered board materials? How long

will it take to deliver and install it in a 17th. floor

apartment?

In both examples how do I go about calculating the

time required for polish preparation and polishing?

In this article I describe an estimating method that's

given me remarkably accurate job times for many

years. I hope others will be able to use the

information as a basis for their estimating method or

to perhaps refine their existing pricing system.

Design fees, and whether or not they are applicable,

along with how you might charge for this element of

the furniture designer maker’s role, are not discussed

in this text.


The importance of accurate estimating. In the rush to gain skills and abilities as a furniture designer and maker it’s easy to forget

that going into business is just that—a business. It’s not an inherently romantic activity.

Business is rough, it’s cruel, it’s stressful, and it doesn’t tolerate mistakes lightly.

Business needs cash-flow like lungs

need oxygen and requires profit much

like the body needs food. Cash flow

and profit are necessary to pay

overheads, salaries, investment in

business growth, holidays, sick days,

advertising, non-billable labour, etc.

Some furniture businesses act as if

they're scared of cash-flow and profit,

perhaps intimidated by the low cost

expectations of potential clients. One

key to profitability is accurate

estimating because consistently

undercharging leads only to financial

disaster.

There are numerous approaches for

estimating your charges. For instance,

a method commonly espoused is to

take materials costs, multiply by a

figure, and add the two together.

Multipliers of materials X 3 to

materials X 20 are quite common.

Whilst uncomplicated and sometimes

useful for a ‘quick and dirty’ estimate

it’s a blunt instrument. A traditional

hand dovetailed drawer of solid wood

takes longer to produce than a

It’s all too easy to forget that tool preparation and maintenance must occur before and during furniture construction work. Joints can’t be cut with dull tools and the estimating system discussed has built into it time for the essential regrinding and sharpening of chisels and planes, along with the maintenance of heavy machinery such as table saws, planers, bandsaws, etc. An allowance is required for such things as those often forgotten tasks of tidying up after a day’s work and reorganising the workshop after completion of a large project.


plywood drawer box glued and nailed together. A single materials multiplication

calculation makes no allowance for such differences.

Estimating bespoke or custom furniture building is not easy even for experienced

businesses. For the beginner it’s daunting. Without experience it’s hard to know how long

all the different processes and jobs take and what a fair rate per hour is. Without initial

guidance it takes years to accumulate the experience and raw data needed to do the job.

A typical of range of projects in the type of workshop these estimating notes are primarily written for. This is a workshop where handwork and small machine processing is undertaken. Heavy machines used for wood processing, CNC work, shaping, moulding and joinery operations and so on are in an adjacent room. The range of work under construction here is what might be seen in a similarly sized commercial workshop. On show are a reproduction mahogany cabinet in the foreground where doors are being sized to the opening, end frame parts for a contemporary frame and curved panel two door cabinet on a bench in the mid-ground, a reproduction oak long case clock and a copy of an upholstered chair frame in the background. In the right background a student works on his own design of a chest of drawers. From hooks in the ceiling a selection of chairs hang as examples of historical styles and construction methods.


Businesses must take into account their true overheads, labour costs (over and above

wages) required profit, fixed costs, etc., before deciding at what level to pitch mark ups

and labour charges. The cost of being in business can be analysed in different ways but

your overheads and fixed costs will come to a specific figure for the years trading. These

costs can be calculated to give a figure for each of the 365 days of the year, divided by 52

to establish the costs per week, or figured for the working hours per year, e.g., 40 hours X

52 = 2,080 assuming only a 40 hour week is worked. However you apportion these costs

their recovery is only possible through the billable hours.

It’s quite normal for the owner of a small one person business to spend only 75% to 80%

of their working day on billable activities-- the productive hours charged out to

customers. The rest of a business person’s time is taken up with management and

administrative duties such as sales, customer relations, strategic and financial planning,

book-keeping, advertising campaigns, holidays, non-working days, illness, maintenance

work, business meetings, and so on. Your billable hourly rate needs to cover these costs

somehow.

It can be extrapolated from the above example that a small business with seven workers,

one of whom is the business administrator, and the other is the business owner that the

business must charge enough through the productive billable work of the staff to cover

the cost of overhead, fixed costs, the cost of the administrator and the salary and profit

required of the business owner. The business owner is unlikely to be a consistently

productive member of the team as this person’s duties are primarily those of manager, a

vital task in a profitable business but mostly non-billable.

An effective working method.

This method of estimating is primarily for furniture makers undertaking specialised

work incorporating a high percentage of traditional hand crafting skills. Businesses that

specialise in other areas of the trade, e.g., mass production operations will find them less

useful in this form, but may be able to adapt them to suit.

The procedure has its roots in a three page estimating guide I was given in the early

1980's. It relies on setting a time allowance for a job, item or process followed by

discounting for multiples of that item. I’ve kept accurate records of my work over the last


thirty or so years which I analyse periodically. I refine my rates based upon the results of

my analysis. Changes in work practices brought about by advances in tool technology,

improved ability, or new skills, et cetera have been incorporated into my method as

required.

Pricing uses a 5% charge reduction for each repetition of a job or unit up to a maximum

discount of 30%. A unit is a process, job, square foot, square metre, etc. Results of

calculating discounted units are rounded up or down to the nearest unit, half-hour,

square foot, and so on.

Techniques not detailed here should be added along with a time allowance allocated

according to your records. Times I suggest for a process or item should be modified

according to your ability and experience--- you might find you do jobs quicker or slower.

Long runs on the spindle moulder with a power feeder are priced differently to short

runs using less efficient methods, and you must take this into account if you don’t own a

spindle moulder and power feeder.

From opposite ends of the production spectrum. At left, a streamlined mass production operation and right a smaller general purpose workshop with a thickness planer in operation. There is an argument that in today’s working environment a business bears the cost of expensive up-to-date technology even if it doesn’t possess it. The argument goes that if you don’t have the equipment required to perform functions efficiently then you must do the job inefficiently which effectively comes to the same cost, or perhaps even greater. It’s not an argument I fully subscribe to as the smaller business generally aims their product at a different customer base where continuous processing operations are not required. However, it could be argued that truing and squaring wood with only hand planes as opposed to using machines would be too slow even for most small custom or bespoke furniture design and make businesses.


Units.

All types of joints are a unit. Multiples of the same joint, e.g., 8 mortise and tenons

(M&T’s) produced for a four legged table are calculated as eight units before a reduction is

given for multiples.

All forms of length or area are units, e.g. 300 mm lengths or squares, 1 ft (12”) lengths or

squares, 1 M. lengths or squares, etc.

Multiples of the same or similar items are units, e.g. 8 drawers, dissimilar in size, but all

constructed the same.

Sets of furniture are units such as a set of 12 chairs, a pair of matching cabinets, or

matching end tables. These are further marked down after they have already been

subjected to discounted prices accrued during the manufacturing process.

In explanation of the above if you price a single chair and simply multiply by the number

of chairs in a set this doesn’t take into account economies of manufacture achievable

through the production of batches. Shaping 20 identical chair legs on a spindle moulder

using a pattern, jig, or fixture requires making only one pattern and one set-up procedure.

The proportion of time required to make jigs, set up the router or the spindle moulder

diminishes as the number of units produced increase.

General Notes.

These guidelines originated using the Imperial system which is not so widely used today,

with the United States as a notable exception. In working in linear and square units of

measure the calculations work most simply in feet. Strings of numbers entered into the

calculator are generally reasonably small, and many sums can simply be mentally

calculated. Metric is not as easy, but even here many of the sums can be worked in the

head thus reducing the number of keyed calculator entries.

I mostly use the metric system and a difficulty that has to be worked around is that

calculated numbers can get very long very quickly, especially if you work only in

millimetres. The screen space on a hand held calculator soon runs out and an error


message appears. I usually overcome this difficulty by converting metric values to

approximate Imperial equivalents prior to calculating. Another trick that you might try is

to avoid reckoning in millimetres and use metres instead. When calculating wood volume

you can input 10 pieces X 460 X 45 X 20 mm = 4,140,000 mm3, or you can punch in 10 X .46

X .045 X .02 metres = 0.00414 M3. This last method certainly helps to keep the strings of

numbers down, but I forget to move the decimal point two place to the left too often,

errors creep in, and I’ve given up on using it.

However, computerised spreadsheets such as Excel are used by many people and they can

be set up to price work. Spreadsheets handle long strings of numbers easily, work in either

metric or imperial (or even royal cubits if you prefer) can convert values in one system to

values in another and will perform all sorts of useful functions. On the other hand if

you’re in your workshop, your computer is at home and you need to price a job now then

you have to resort to a hand held calculator or paper and pencil.

Accountancy or bookkeeping programmes for small businesses such as Intuit’s

QuickBooks Pro which I use include an estimating capability where you use the Items

Screen capture shot of the Accountancy programme, QuickBooks Pro 2005. The Items menu has charges listed for materials and processes.


function to create charges for jobs (as well as charges for materials and other billable

items.) Line items of charges are entered directly into an Estimate form or Invoice, the

number of units entered in the appropriate column and a price appears in the charge

column with a total calculated at the end.

1. Volume Conversions.

1 cubic metre (M3) = 35.31 cubic feet (ft3) = 423.77 board feet (bd. ft., BF or bf) in the USA.

Useful ‘quick and dirty’ close conversions from cubic metres to cubic feet are: 0.5 M3 = 18

ft3 , 0.25 M3 = 9 ft3 , 0.1 M3 = 3.5 ft3.

1 ft3 (cubic foot) = 0.028 M3 = 12 board feet (BF) in the USA

There are approximately 3.79 litres in one US gallon, and 4.55 litres per Imperial gallon.

A screen view of an invoice generated from the Items menu of QuickBooks Pro.


To convert cubic millimetres to board feet in the US,

Divide mm³ by 2,350,000, e.g. 305 X 305 X 305 mm = 28,372,625/2,350,000 = 12.07 BF.

To convert cubic millimetres to cubic feet,

Divide mm³ by 28,200,000, e.g., 305 X 305 X 305= 28,372,625/28,200,000= 1.006 ft³

Converting cubic metres into cubic feet,

Divide M³ by 0.0282, e.g., 0.305 X 0.305

X 0.305= 0.0283726/ 0.0282 = 1.006 ft³

2. Area Conversions.

1 square metre (M²) = 10.76 square feet

(ft²) or, 1 ft² = 0.093 M².

A useful ‘quick and dirty’ near

conversion is to call 0.1 (1/10) of a

square metre 1 square foot.

Timber Buying.

Waste allowance varies from species to

species, and the form in which the

timber is sold is also a factor. Waney

edged boards are always more

wasteful than square edged stock, and

there are always faults in timber that

can’t be used. It’s also necessary to cut

pieces about 100 mm longer than

required to allow for planer snipe and

other machining faults at the beginning

and end of each board.

I usually calculate the volume of

timber required for a job as follows:

Waney edged oak air drying under shelter from direct sunlight Note the end checking, one cause of waste that needs to be allowed for when estimating timber purchases for a job. This material is extremely unlikely dry below 18% or 20% moisture content (MC) in typical air drying conditions found in the UK. It will need to dry to about 9% or 10% MC for indoor furniture. Acclimatisation by storing the material indoors in a drier atmosphere will bring the MC down to an acceptable level--- so will a short kiln drying cycle. Both these additional drying steps make the material more expensive.


Estimate the rough sawn board requirement that will yield the finished dimensions. For

example, ten pieces at a finished size of 800 mm X 44 X 18 (31-1/2" X 1- 3/4" X 3/4") will

come out of ten pieces of rough timber 36” X 2” X 1” = ~0.42 cubic feet. Using this method

you allow an additional waste factor even though you've calculated using rough sawn

board sizes. Waney edged English oak has an additional waste factor of about 100%, so

price for 0.8 cubic feet. As examples of typical additional waste factors, use 50% for

walnut, cherry 30%, and poplar 20%.

A second method used by many is to calculate exact finished sizes with a percentage

added for waste, but it can be seen that the waste factor allowance must be higher-- in my

experience about double the factors suggested in the first method.


Materials charges.

All materials are charged at cost plus a mark up of at least 25%. This mark up applies to

solid timber, plywood, blockboard, (lumbercore in USA) MDF, HDF, LDF, MDO, veneers,

plastic laminates, (e.g. Formica,) nails, screws, polish, thinners, dyes, stains, glue, etc. The

25% mark up suggested is a minimum. A 100% mark up over cost is not uncommon.

Sundry materials.

Glue, screws, nails, sandpaper, etc., that are not bought as a direct expenses for a specific

job have to be treated as indirect costs. Allow for them as follows. Work out the cost of

direct expenses: wood, board materials,

polish, hardware, pulls, plastic laminates,

etc. Charge indirect expenses at 10% of

direct expenses as in the chart overleaf. If

tax is added after this calculation don’t

forget to do so.

The materials mark up allows an element

for wastage, saw doctor services, the cost

of storage at your premises, maintenance

of machinery, tooling costs, and to

compensate time spent negotiating with

suppliers, etc. It also covers costs

incurred in selecting timber at the

sawmill or yard and its collection using a

business vehicle. Materials ordered by

phone, fax or over the internet and

delivered to the door should also be

marked up for resale for the same

reasons. Discounts do not apply, unless

you are able to buy in quantities, which

attract supplier discounts.

The 25% mark up suggested may not be

sufficient to cover overheads. Only a

Mark ups and profit. I’ve come across some furniture making businesses that resell their purchased goods at cost, which means taking a loss on every sale unless they are somehow compensating for this loss in their labour charge.

Those I’ve talked to that operate this way are reluctant to ‘overcharge’ their customers by marking up their materials to a reasonable level.

Bear in mind that every other business is more than happy to make profit by selling marked up goods.

If the furniture maker is represented by a gallery he or she will soon notice the gallery marks up the maker’s wholesale price by anywhere between 40% and 150%. The gallery will display goods on consignment, aka sale or return. Many makers resent these levels of mark up, which is unfair. Galleries have expenses too and their salaries, overheads, and so on come from profits generated by their mark ups.

Major chains of furniture stores and shops routinely mark up their items above cost by 300% or 400%. This partly explains why it is possible for them to have 50% or 75% off sales and remain profitable.

Doing some sums will quickly reveal that retailers almost never sell goods for less than purchase cost except when they go out of business due to bankruptcy and are forced to have a fire sale.


careful analysis of your costs and expenses within your business model will determine

what this figure should be, but in the first instance a 25% mark up should at least ensure

that your purchased materials are not resold at a significant loss.

Initial Machining of materials, (Millwork, USA.)

This is the squaring and truing of solid timber on all four sides, and the cutting of man

made board materials ready for other operations using typical hand fed electric powered

woodworking equipment, such as saws, surface planers (jointers) and thicknessers. The

result is parts ready for other processes, e.g., final edge preparation before gluing up solid

wood into a wider panel, or framing parts ready for cutting to final length, joints marked

and cut, etc.

There are seldom discounts applied to initial machining operations except in special

circumstances, e.g., cutting up timber and man-made board materials for a big order of

kitchen cabinets or similar projects require machines set up for long runs. Power feeders

also speed the job along. More material processed per hour can lead to a price reduction.

1. Solid Timber. Charge 28.25 hrs. per cubic metre, which equals 0.8 hrs per cubic foot

or, in America, charge 4 minutes per board foot (BF) which is the same as 15 BF per hour.

Materials mark-up example.

Item. Cost Mark up. Resale

charge

Direct materials: wood, hardware, polish, board materials, etc

5 0 0 1 2 5 6 2 5

Indirect materials: Glue screws, nails, sandpaper, etc., at 10% of direct materials

5 0 1 2 . 5 0 6 2 . 5 0

TOTAL 6 8 7 . 5 0


2. Board Materials. Charge 20 minutes

per sheet for all sheet goods whether they be,

2440 X 1220 mm, (8’ X 4’,) or 1500 X 1500 mm

(5’X 5’) Baltic birch ply, etc., ie., 3 boards per

hour.

These basic machining charges are good for

high quality and/or intricate work where delicate veneers and edges on board materials

must not be damaged, and solid timber requirements are pernickety. This allows you to

get the material out of storage, pick through it, select what is most suitable, make

calculations, and do primary dimensioning, (e.g., truing, squaring, and thicknessing solid

wood.) Additionally you have to move the stuff around the workshop, change blades or

cutters in saws, surface planers and thicknessers, and finally tidy up.

Two table sawing operations. At top ripping hardwood rough stock to width and thickness on a rip saw. Below a sliding table saw in use dimensioning man-made board, i.e., MDF.

The author ‘facing and edging’ or initial squaring timber using an overhand surface planer, aka in the US as a jointer. Facing and edging means getting one wide ‘face’ flat and an adjacent narrow ‘edge’ true (straight) and square and to the first ‘face’.

The first cut – illustrated, is to flatten the face. Downward pressure should be concentrated on the outfeed table once the timber has passed the cutterhead. The outfeed table is set at a height that is tangent to the circle described by the rotating knives. The infeed table merely sets the depth of cut.


General Joinery for Carcases, frames, etc.. Estimate every joint in a carcase, frame or structure at 2 hrs per joint. (Variations to this

blanket two hour charge are detailed in other parts of the text.) This includes all forms of

mortise and tenon, halving joint, rail dovetail, dowel, sliding dovetail, tapered sliding

dovetail, biscuit- shown right- mitre, housing (dado, USA,) etc. It also includes all edge to

edge joints in solid timber illustrated right, whether they are tongued and grooved,

dowelled, biscuited, or rubbed joints. The

blanket single two-hour tariff allows for the

fact that some joints take longer than this

and some take less. In an average cabinet,

frame or structure a mixture of joinery is

used so two hours per joint is a safe median

time that covers most eventualities.

For every repetition of the same or similar

joint give a discount of 5% up to a maximum

of 30%. For example, four mortise and

tenons in a frame attracts a 20% discount

thus, 4 X 2hrs = 8 hrs minus 20% = 6.5 hrs to

the nearest half hour. 10 mortice and tenons

in a (door) frame gets the maximum 30%

discount, i.e., 10 X 2 hours = 20 hours minus

30% = 14 hrs.

The two hour allowance is enough to mark

the joint (or joint sample) cut it, test fit, make

adjustments to the machinery settings and

processes if machine cut, and provides time

for the final assembly with glue and clamps.

Also built in is allowance for such often

From top, biscuit jointing, rubbed edge joint using hide glue, and mortice and tenon joints for a table frame.


forgotten necessities as sharpening tools,

tidying up, and getting tools out of their

cabinets and their final replacement.

Hand carcase dovetailing estimate at

2 hrs per 300 mm (1 ft) length with any

additional part of 300 mm to count as 300

mm. The minimum charge is 2 hrs. e.g.,

150mm = 2 hrs. A 450 mm length = 4 hrs

prior to calculating a multiples discount

done as follows, 2 X 300 mm lengths X 2

hrs per length = 4 hrs, minus 10% (2 X 5%)

= 0.4 hrs giving 3.5 hrs to the nearest half

hour.

Similarly, estimate hand cut secret mitre

dovetailing or secret lap dovetailing at 2.5

hrs per 300 mm (1 ft) length, or part

length. The minimum charge is 2.5 hrs e.g.

225 mm (9”) dovetail length = 2.5 hrs. A

380 mm (15”) dovetail length = 5 hrs (2 X

300 mm lengths X 2.5 hrs per length)

minus 10% (2 X 5% = 0.5 hrs) giving 4.5

hrs.

Dovetailing lengths rarely exceed 800 mm

(~30”) but if they do they should be treated

as described above.

Double twisted dovetailing takes 6 hrs for a 300 mm (1 ft.) length or part length.

Giving a discount is entirely optional as this is a very demanding joint. I find that

increasing the length compounds the difficulty of execution and assembly.

Cleaning out machine cut mortises by hand. Housings (dados) can be seen routed on the inside faces of a cabinet side panel.

Glue up and assembly of worked joints forms part of the charge.


Machine carcase dovetailing. Charge

2.5 hrs to machine dovetail all four corners

of a single large carcase using a router and

jig. Charge each additional carcase at 1 hour

each with no discounts. A large carcase is

one that is greater than 350 mm (14”) deep.

Dovetail guides vary in their complexity

and ease of set up, and in their ability to

produce dovetails of different patterns.

Some users have a router dedicated to the

job and therefore always ready to go with

the correct guide bush and router bit set at

the necessary depth, so the set up time is

minimal. The times suggested are a good

place to start to avoid under pricing.

Mouldings.

Traditionally moulding was accomplished

with hand held planes, either metal or

wooden, so it was worthwhile calculating this process in detail for short runs of say 0.5 M.

or a couple of feet. In modern work most plain mouldings are produced with hand held or

inverted routers. Larger shops usually have a spindle moulder (shaper) as well. In

estimating for moulding a large set up time is required to run a short length. Once a

machine is set it will quickly run long lengths of the required profile.

Some mouldings, particularly those done with routers that need multiple set ups using

different bit profiles require pricing as a series of distinct profiles. (Continued on page 19)

Sawing waste from between fingers of double twisted dovetails.


Notes on modern cabinetry, e.g., built-in kitchens, bedroom furniture,

bathroom cabinetry, study furniture, and simpler free standing furniture, etc.

Modern carcass joinery uses plywood, melamine faced chipboard, MDF, and so on, and pre-veneered show panels in conjunction with the 32 mm ‘Euro’ frameless system of assembly. The installation of drawers is usually on metal slides and the doors mounted on proprietary hinges. An older but still popular style of built in kitchen furniture includes a face frame on which doors are hung and drawers move on either wooden runners or modern metal slides.

In both cases the boxes are economically assembled at the corners with machined joints formed with plate jointers, drills, routers, spindle moulders and a wide selection of knock down (KD) or quick assembly fittings. in the US unlike Europe another common way of working the joints is with dado blades in a cabinet or contractor’s saw.

Fixed shelves may be simply housed (dadoed) with full housings or with a shoulder worked on the shelf ends. Typical joints are biscuit joints, dowel joints, tongue and housing (US tongue and dado) or tongue and groove joints, full housings or grooves, rebates for full thickness panels glued and all screwed together.

A single example of any of this type of joint is priced at 0.5 hrs. If you set up to construct a large run of such cabinets, estimate at 6 joints per hour (ie, ten minutes per joint) with no discounting allowance. The time allowed should be sufficient to set up the machinery, cut the joints, assemble the carcase, and air nail/staple/screw the back panel into the rebate worked on the cabinet’s back edge, i.e., 2 cabinets every 1.5 hrs, or in an 8 hour day, 10.5 cabinets. In cabinets with a single fixed shelf allow one hour to cut the six joints and assemble the cabinet, i.e. 8 cabinets per 8 hr., work day with, again, no discount for multiple runs.

Line boring for the 32 mm system, and making and hanging doors, working mouldings and applying trim, etc., is estimated separately. Line boring for instance costs 0.5 hrs per side, i.e., a run of holes on the front and back edge.

CNC machinery in use on flat panel processing at a large scale furniture manufacturer.

Installing 32mm (Euro) style door hinges into pre-bored holes.


Price moulding in three separate stages for either the router or spindle moulder.

1. Set up time.

2. Running the moulding.

3. Preparing the moulding for polish, i.e., removing the cutter marks. Some work typically

omits this last process, e.g., architectural mouldings.

The following suggested times have the discount element worked into them with the

exception of given examples.

Moulding with a hand held or inverted table mounted router.

• Fit router bit and set router. Remove bit and tidy up at the end of the run, 0.5 hrs.

• Run 1 metre (3 ft) of moulding, 0.5 hrs. The minimum charge is 1 hr.

• For each additional metre (or part) worked with a hand held router charge at 5 minutes per metre or 12 metres per hour.

• For each additional metre with an inverted table router charge at 15 metres (45 ft.) per hour.

An important element of doing this job is the time spent moving material around and

cleaning up at the end of the job.

Table top rule joints are an example that should be thought of as two distinct mouldings,

plus the fitting of hinges and testing the joint.

Spindle Moulding (Shaping in US.) Standard set up charge to fit the knives to the

moulding head and install it on the machine, run test cuts, and fine tune the fence, guards,

etc, and at the end of the job tidying up = 1 hr.

(Continued from page 17)


Hand feeding. Charge 0.5 hrs for each 10

metre (30 ft) run. The minimum charge is

therefore 1.5 hrs including set up time.

Power feeding. Charge 0.5 hrs per 50

metre (~150 ft.) run. The minimum charge is

1.5 hrs. including set up time.

Charge 2 hrs per pair of cutters to grind and

sharpen for custom profiles.

Cutter manufacturers offer a bespoke or

custom grinding service for unusual

profiles. This is usually a direct cost to the job and should be marked up by at least 25% as

discussed before and billed to the client, e.g., your cost, £100. Charge £125 to the client.

Additional Moulding Notes.

Wide plain mouldings are sometimes built up of small mouldings glued together to

achieve the width. Each moulding is priced individually. Add to this the cost incurred in

gluing the parts together. Price the assembly part of the job at 2 hrs per joint, subject to the

5% reductions as outlined elsewhere.

Curved and compound curved moulding, e.g., arched doors, cabinet and chair legs.

This type of work varies greatly in its complexity. It usually requires patterns, jigs or

fixtures with special safety hold downs. These additional elements must be accounted for

as well as all the normal charges for doing the moulding. It may be all that is required is a

template taking 1 hour to make prior to setting up the router with a pattern cutting bit and

running the moulding. Once these patterns are made they are re-usable. Most business

store frequently used patterns therefore the full cost of making these jigs should only be

charged to customers commissioning a one-off job.

Cutters ground for a specific profile are usually kept in storage for future use and

modification. This is a means by which savings can sometimes be achieved.

Overhead router used with 6 mm copy pin protruding above the router table running in a 6 mm groove cut in the underside of the MDF panel being worked to create matching 6 mm groove in the top surface of the panel.


Carved Mouldings. Estimate the

moulding portion of carved work as plain

moulding. For the hand carving charge 2

hrs for each 300 mm (1 ft.) length of

material up to 50 mm (2”) wide. For each

additional 50 mm width add 1 hour.

For example to carve a 300 mm L X 80 mm

wide moulding the basic calculation is 2

hours for the 300 mm length, plus 1 hour

for the 50 mm width increment = 3 hrs. If

the piece to be carved is 550 mm X 80 mm

the basic time allowance is 6 hrs. Discount

carving in 5% increments up to the

maximum 30% meaning in the last

example the charge would be 5-1/2 hrs to

the nearest half hour.

Turning.

Estimate at 1 hr. per 300 mm length for

diameters up to 50 mm. The minimum

charge is 1 hr.

For reeds, flutes and other mouldings on

turnings, estimate as for mouldings taking

the circumference at the greatest diameter

as the width of the moulding.

Profiling of a cabinet leg in an L shaped cradle jig with a spindle moulder and bearing guided profiling cutter is shown here— note that guards are removed to illustrate the technique.

Running drawer bottom groove in drawer sides and front with spindle moulder (US shaper.)


Add 1 hr. per 300mm length for each additional 50 mm of diameter. Discount turning in

the usual 5% increments. A pair of turned dining chair front legs at something less than 2

ft long is charged at 2 hrs each (4 hrs) less 20% = 3 hours. For a set of twelve chairs

multiply the 3 hrs per set by 12 = 36 hrs, and apply the 30% multiples discount = 25 hours.

Turning a front rocking chair leg between centres.


Drawers.

Hand dovetailed drawers. Estimate at 8 hrs per drawer for a single premium quality

traditional drawer. This means making the drawer complete starting with random lengths

of squared timber. Apart from cutting the timber to length and pre-fitting, the dovetails

must be marked and executed. The charge includes time for making and installing a solid

wood bottom. This is fitted to slips moulded and joined to the drawer sides. The drawer is

finally installed by skimming with a hand plane to suit the opening. Attaching handles is

extra and depends upon the handle. Carving or turning and installing wooden handles

takes longer than screwing on a proprietary item. Lesser quality drawers don’t take so

long to make and should be priced accordingly.

Fitting cockbeads to drawers are estimated at half an hour per 300 mm. (1 ft) length, plus

0.5 hrs per scarf joint or corner mitre.

Producing separate mouldings for later planting on to drawer fronts are estimated as for

mouldings, plus half an hour per joint and 0.5 hrs each for installing each 300 mm length

as with cockbeads.

All the drawer making operations described are discounted in 5% increments up to 30%. A

nest of 5 hand cut graduated drawers in a cabinet can be calculated, 5 X 8 (hrs) minus 25%

= 30 hrs.

Drawers, machine dovetailed. Boxes, machine cut finger (box lock) joints.

To set up and cut one machine dovetailed (or finger jointed) drawer box charge 1.5 hrs,

after which charge 1 hour per drawer.

Making and Hanging Doors.

Estimate at 4 hrs per door for hanging and fitting, including notching out and attaching

brass butt hinges and locks. Fitting handles or pulls is extra and should be charged in the

same way as drawer handles as described before.


Making the doors, e.g., frame and raised

panel doors are estimated using charges as

outlined in other sections for joinery,

mouldings, etc..

Estimate glazed doors with wooden

tracery at 2 hrs per glass pane in addition

to door frame joinery.

Doors constructed using matched cutters with an inverted router or spindle moulder.

Examples are rail and stile door joinery in

modern kitchens , i.e., with a stub tenon

and scribed (coped) reverse image mouldings at the rail ends where they match the stile

profile.

1. Set up cutters and machine first set of door parts, i.e., one with four corner joints, 1.5

hours. Time allowed covers the set up time, test fitting, and then running the mouldings.

Gluing and assembling the door with its separately priced panel or glazing follows.

Increase the charge accordingly if there are additional rails, mullions or muntins.

Thereafter charge 1 hour for each additional door with no reductions for multiples.

Bending wood. Steam bending and laminates.

For laminated structures working in square metres is rather cumbersome to estimate

small laminated and steam bent surface areas (and for pricing veneering or leather work.)

Using square feet for these calculations is almost always easier because the sums are

simple. Every surface square foot of a bend is charged at 8 hours. For example, if you want

to form an arced laminated panel that is 25" long with a 12" arc that is 1/2" thick the sum is

(25 X 12) / 144 = 2.08 ft². Similarly, a part, eg a rail, with a 34" long arc, 2" wide X 7/8"

thick calculate (34 X 2) / 144 = 0.47 ft². Apply a 5% discount to each additional square foot

up to a 30% maximum, e.g., 5ft² equals 40 hrs less 25% = 30 hours, and 10 ft² = 56 hrs

which includes the maximum 30% discount.

Fitting doors to a cabinet with extruded brass butt hinges, brass cut cupboard lock, escutcheon and flush sunk bolts installed in the edge of the leading left hand door.


The times suggested don’t make

adjustments for such factors as the

complexity of the mould or former that

must be made, nor for the method of

bending-- cold bag press, heated bag press,

cauls, cold clamping, male only or male/

female moulds, etc. No allowance is made

for the number of laminates required to

create the necessary thickness. The figures

also don’t account for time needed to

prepare the bending material—this might

be the simple cutting of bending ply into

strips, rectangles or squares compared to

producing bandsawn veneers in the

workshop. The suggested 8 hours/square

foot rate is a good base figure that's

adjustable according to task complexity.

The job entails producing the bending

form or jig which sometimes requires

modification, or even a completely new

form must be made to compensate for

unexpectedly large springback. Preparing

the laminates, spreading glue, applying

clamping pressure, and tidying up after

the job follows this.

Using metric dimensions for small jobs, i.e., less than 1 metre square means the calculator

keying can get quite complex and mistakes are all too easy to make. To hand calculate

laminating jobs using square metres for shaped doors, drawer fronts, legs, etc., estimate at

8 hrs per glued up square 300mm = 90,000 mm² or 1ft². Like square feet, 300 mm squares

are subject to the usual 5% discount calculations.

Cold bending a bent plywood lamination in a male/female mould made of chipboard (US particle board.) The inside and outside faces are veneered with 3 mm thick oak glued up during the bending operation. The glue is urea formaldehyde, a glue that dries rigid thus reducing creep and springback.


Whether calculating areas in metric or imperial measurements a 5% reduction accrues for

each matching shape up to a maximum of 30%, e.g., 4 drawer fronts of the same radius but

of different widths, and a mirror image of each other need just one bending former.

For large jobs, i.e., 0.6 M. Sq. or above, calculate at 60 hrs per M² which includes the

maximum 30% discount, i.e., 1M² = 86 hrs -- 30% = 25.8 hrs = 60 hrs rounded to the nearest

0.5 hr.)

Bending wood, steaming. Use the same numbers and discounts as laminate bending,

i.e., 8 hours per square foot.

Sundry work.

Carcase Backs. Framed backs using full mortise and tenons should be estimated using

numbers and discounts described in other sections.

For installation of backs charge 2 hrs. Therefore, the minimum charges for installing a

back, e.g. of plain plywood, is 2 hrs. The time includes an allowance to work the necessary

grooves or rebate (rabbet) in the carcase sides and top.

Adjustable shelves. Estimate at 1 hr. per shelf for fitting and fixing on shelf standard,

pins, etc.

Tops. Attaching tops to carcases and table frames usually takes 1 hr. per top, e.g., using L

shaped expansion plates.

Where the top rails have to be cut out to accommodate the plate estimate at 2 hrs.

If tops are attached with wooden buttons or traditionally formed pocket screws, allow 3.5

hrs to cover forming the pockets or for button fabrication and installation into the channels

which must be worked.


Be a little flexible with these figures to

account for the size of the top, your work

methods, and the number of plates,

buttons, pockets, etc., to be made and

installed.

Legs. Cabriole legs charge at 4 hrs per leg

complete with wings. Estimate cabriole

legs with carved feet such as claw and ball

at 8 hrs per leg complete with wings.

Charge knee carvings, e.g. acanthus leaf or

shell at 4 hrs and price carved scrolls at 1

hr. each. All work on cabriole legs is

subject to the 5% reductions up to the

maximum 30% discount.

Estimate moulded legs the same as mouldings as previously detailed, eg, 1 hr. per 300mm

length or part length. For example turned fluted (or reeded) legs are priced as turning plus

moulding.

Corner Blocks. Estimate four corner blocks fully jointed into chair frames at 4 hrs per

chair frame.

Corner blocks simply mitred and glued into the corner estimate at 1 hr. per chair. If you

add two or more screws to the blocks charge 1.75 hrs per chair.

Knuckle Joints. Estimate at 2 hrs per joint up to 300mm (12”) of length. Knuckle joints

rarely exceed 200 mm long and are priced the same as through dovetail joints.

Fitting split turned quarter columns along with various mouldings to an oak reproduction long case clock. Hot hide glue and rub joints are mostly employed. These tasks have similar time requirements to the fitting of chair corner blocks and other sundry processes.


Veneering.

Estimate at 1.5 hrs per 300mm (foot) square

discounting at 5% per additional ft². The

tasks include preparing the ground,

flattening tricky veneers, arranging the

veneer pattern, and hand preparing with

knives and veneer saws. Often packs of

sliced veneers are edge jointed straight

with a plane with the packs held flat

between sheets of plywood or MDF. (If a

guillotine and joint stitching equipment is

available this will speed up the job and

charges could be reduced to reflect this

efficiency.)

The edges are taped with veneer tape after

straightening, glue applied, and the veneer

pressed. Lastly there is trimming

overhanging edges, removing tape and

tidying up after the job. Planing, scraping

and sanding in readiness for polishing is a

separate charge.

As with bent wood laminating described

earlier calculating veneering jobs in square

metres can become rather complicated.

Anything over 0.6 metre square can be

calculated in whole metres and automatically attracts a 30% discount, i.e., 11 hrs per

square metre. At 1.5 hrs per ft² for the job, each square metre takes 16.14 hrs. Deduct from

this the 30% discount to give 11 hrs.)

Veneer work for very large projects such as conference tables, large custom built cabinetry,

wall panelling, etc., are often best subcontracted to panel product and veneering

Top. Applying urea formaldehyde glue with a roller to an MDF ground prior to veneering in the hydraulic veneer press in the background.

Bottom. Pomelle sapele veneer applied to the top face of the MDF ground. Both sides of the panel are veneered and pressed simultaneously.


specialists. With their specialised equipment, skills and concentration in a niche market

they beat the small workshop on price every time. Whilst subcontracting veneer work

sometimes means making compromises in the design work and adjustments have to be

made in the workshop schedule, savings to the client are usually substantial.

Crossbanding and Inlaid lines are

charged at 0.5 hrs per 300mm (foot) length

and use the 5% per 300 mm. unit discount

calculation. Charge 0.5 hrs per joint, e.g.,

mitre or scarf.

Leather and Baize tops-- estimate as for

veneering.

Traditional hand veneering. Applying beech veneer to an MDF ground using hot hide glue, an iron and damp cloth and a veneer hammer

A large heated hydraulic press and glue spreader in the foreground typical of commercial veneering or plastic laminate application to large panels.


Preparation for Polishing and Polishing.

The preparation needs of premium quality craft work will normally include the use of

smoothing planes, block planes, hand scraping and hand sanding which is often

augmented by some power sanding. Commercial quality work relies a great deal on

power sanding using tools such as oscillating belt thicknessing sanders, drum sanders,

panel (stroke) sanders, bobbin sanders, horizontal belt sanders and handheld random

orbital sanders, etc., which limits the use of hand tools.

Whichever method is used it’s necessary to remove the quite deeply hammered marks that

the planer cutters sometimes leave below the surface of the wood, and veneers have

characteristic cross grain scoring that have to be removed—the scoring is caused by the

knives that sliced the veneer off the log.

Polishing routines undertaken on improperly prepared surfaces, particularly horizontal

surfaces such as table tops, will reveal every omission in the preparation stage. The quality

of finish and the work required will vary according to circumstances. High quality

furniture demands meticulous preparation

on show wood, less work on such items as

drawer sides and backs, and sometimes

little or no work on hidden structural

parts. It is quite common to see

architectural or commercial woodwork

polished or painted straight off the

machine, eg, thickness planers, drum

sanders, spindle moulders, etc. In this type

you will find door/window facings, many

kitchen cabinets, chair rails, cornice work,

and so on. There are circumstances where

the client will demand better preparation

and polishing of these architectural parts

and is willing to pay for it.

Stripping a table frame. This is a job that has to be undertaken from time to time by furniture makers. In this case the table was made by me and came in for repair after damage during transportation and gallery exhibition. Methylene chloride based strippers are most effective on most film finishes. Stripping the varnish off this table frame took about three hours.


Good quality polishing whether a nitro-

cellulose type applied by spray gun, a

brushed on finish, wiped on varnishes, or

traditional French polishing are all

pernickety jobs requiring more time and

skill than most people new to the business

of furniture making realise. One of the

easiest and lowest tech finishes to apply

are the oil finishes, e.g., boiled linseed oil

and pure tung oil, but just because they are

relatively easy to apply it doesn’t mean

that they can be done properly if enough

time isn’t set aside. Also time consuming are the group of ragged-on or wiped-on polishes

called variously tung oil finish, tung oil varnish, wiping polyurethane, okene, Danish oil,

etc. These are all thinned oil based products with added resins of one sort or another

designed to increase their durability and water resistance over pure oil finishes, even if the

increase in these qualities is, in some cases, only marginal.

The small workshop does not have production line facilities to speed wood preparation

and polishing processes along, especially on large jobs. Getting the surface right before

applying the finish is not easy. Matching dyes and stains can be troublesome. Weather

conditions can throw the schedule out of kilter. Things are constantly moved around to

make space to polish the next batch. With large polishing jobs all other production usually

grinds to a halt because of it. It’s not unusual to find the preparation for and actual

polishing of a job consumes up to 30% of all the time devoted to it, e.g., a job lasting 100

hrs might include 20 or 30 hours of wood preparation and polishing.

Polish preparation using mostly hand methods, handplanes, scrapers, etc., charge 5.5

hrs per M² or 0.5 hrs per square foot.

Preparing surfaces using mostly power sanding or oscillating thickness sanders, etc.,

charge at 0.75 hrs per square metre, or 15 ft² per hour.

Using a power stroke sander to level a panel ready for colouring and polishing with a sprayed nitrocellulose lacquer.


Scraping and sanding mouldings up to 50 mm (2”) wide, charge 0.5 hrs per lineal metre, or

1 hour per lineal 6 feet, i.e., 10 minutes per foot. No discounts for polish preparation are

applicable.

Dyeing, staining, grain filling, and polishing.

Dyeing and Staining

Charge at 0.75 hrs per M² or 15 square

feet per hour. This allows for mixing

dyes or stains, raising the grain and

sanding back if using water based

products, applying the colouring agent

by spray gun, cloth or brush, wiping

off, and cleaning up afterwards.

Grain filling charge at 2 hrs per

square metre, or 1 hour per 5 square

feet (12 minutes per foot.)

Polishing Coverage

Nitro-cellulose type finishes such as pre-catalysed lacquer and acid catalysed lacquer

coverage is approximately 60 ft² per litre, which is roughly the same as 6 metres² per litre.

Applied as per the manufacturers recommendations of a wet film between 100 to 125

microns* (μm) thick gives a dry film thickness of roughly 30– 40 μ after the solvents have

evaporated and the finish is fully cured. Therefore three coats applied over a surface area

of 5.5 m² needs approximately 2.75 litres of polish, i.e., (5.5 m² X 3 coats)/0 6 m² per litre =

2.75 litres.

(Continued on page 34)

* A micron, aka micrometer, is one millionth of a metre. In North America the measurement unit mil or thou (of an inch) is used quite commonly. A mil or a thou equals 25.4 microns (μm). 100 microns or 4/1000 (4 mil) is about the thickness of a typical human head hair.

Applying water based aniline dye by hand to American black walnut panels.


Spray polishing bedside cabinet parts with an alkyd varnish using a small pressure pot. The advantages of a pressure pot or the more modern and safer low pressure pump polish delivery systems using hoses to get the fluid to the gun are numerous. Spraying can continue for long periods without refilling. A suction cup attached to the base of the gun or a gravity pot gun seem to require filling every few minutes on large jobs and continuity is more difficult. There is a great deal more freedom for the operator with fluid and air lines supplying the gun—polish can be applied with the gun at any angle, even above the operator’s head. Weight is reduced as there is frequently no need to carry a pot full of heavy polish about if the supply hoses are long enough.

Clean up after polishing is a little more involved as the fluid line must be cleaned of polish, but in my experience proper clean up of a gun, lines and tank followed by lubricating the various parts takes no more than ten or so minutes.

Oil based varnishes are not ideal for spraying. The technique requires practice as it’s slightly different to the technique used for applying normal lacquers such as pre-catalysed lacquer. It dries so slowly that runs, sags, fat edges and curtains form easily if the material application is too heavy—these are the same problems that occur if brush application is also poor so there are many similarities.

I find the most unpleasant characteristic of spraying oil based varnish is the sticky overspray. Overspray remains wet in the air and even stays wet for a while after it lands on horizontal surfaces. It gets all over your arms and settles on any horizontal surface within the area. If you have hairy arms as I do the hairs get gummed together. On flat surfaces the overspray dries rough to the touch and, and if this flat surface is an important part of the piece of furniture, the problem requires significant time to repair.


Times for Polishing

Times given here apply to spray polishing of nitro-cellulose type lacquers, oil varnishes,

shellac, etc. Adjustments should be made for other techniques, e.g., French polishing or

water borne polishes, etc. Charge 1/2 an hour per coat per square metre. Therefore charge

1 hour per square metre for two coats, and 1.5 hours per square metre to apply three coats.

If you work in square feet use the slightly smaller area of 10 square feet as the basis for

calculating and charge 0.5 hours per coat. Three coats sprayed on 10 square feet takes 1.5

hrs. I’ve never given discounts for polishing and found these figures to be reliable.

I’ve not listed other finishing techniques often employed. Glazing between coats has been

omitted, and so too have specialised techniques such as dealing with blotching in woods

prone to it, e.g., cherry, pine and maple. Applying thin barrier coats between dyeing,

staining and grain filling have no suggested charges, nor have dyeing using spray

techniques or staining using gel stains, etc. These and other processes need to be

understood and practiced before they can be priced successfully. Skilled finishers develop

the necessary knowledge and expertise for accurate estimating. The times suggested for

the most common techniques as described give a good basis to build on and, importantly,

allow enough time to do the job properly and profitably.

Delivery Finally, it shouldn’t be forgotten that a new piece of furniture doesn’t get out of your

workshop and into the clients house all on its own. It has to be delivered and if it’s a built-

in piece it has to be installed. I’ve always charged for delivery and a simple way to

estimate it is to use van hire day rates plus a flat mileage rate to cover expenses as a basis

for your prices. (Using about the same mileage rate as companies pay staff for private car

usage is a good baseline.) Add to this the number of man hours required to pack, wrap

and load the piece and deliver it to your client and work out a price.

For example, if the day rate for a hire van is £60, and the delivery address is within 25

miles of your place of business requiring two people for half a day, charge £60 plus your

mileage rate, plus 8 hours at your rate per hour. If you must really hire a van to get all the

(Continued from page 32)


items delivered in one journey then you should pass on the vehicle hire charge with your

mark-up, hourly labour rates and mileage charge to the client.

Installation of built in furniture can take anything from a day or two up to a week or more.

This time should be charged at your normal workshop rates— your workshop overheads

and other business costs don't go away and still have to be paid.


Table summarising jobs and processes with suggested time allowance.

Process or Job

Unit of measure

Charge per unit

5% discount scheme up to 30%?

Notes.

Materials Mark up Mark up minimum of 25%

No Calculate from purchase cost.

Initial machining of solid wood

Cubic metre 28.25 hrs. No.

Initial machining of wood Cubic foot 0.8 hrs. No Initial machining of wood (US)

Board foot (BF) 15 BF per hour (4 minutes per BF)

No.

Machining of board materials

Board 0.33 hrs each or 3 boards per hour.

No

Joinery. Mortise and tenon, halving, rail dovetail, dowel, sliding dovetail, tapered sliding dovetail, biscuit, mitre, housing (dado in US) edge lippings, solid timber edge joints, etc.

Per Joint.

2 hrs.

Yes

Used in all structures, e.g., cabinets, tables, chairs, beds, etc.

Hand cut through carcass dovetailing

Foot length, or 300 mm length.

2 hrs

Yes

Part length to count as 300 mm length

Hand cut secret lap or secret mitre dovetailing.


2.5 hrs.

Yes

Part length to count as 300 mm length

Double twisted dovetailing


6 hrs.

No

Increased length increases difficulty.

Machine carcase dovetailing

One large carcase, i.e., deeper than ~ 350 mm (10”)

2.5 hrs

Yes. Each additional carcase at 1 hr. each.


Process or Job

Unit of measure Charge per unit

5% discount to 30%? Yes/No. Alternative discounts suggested where appropriate.

Notes.

Mouldings 1. With hand held or inverted router. Set up time. Mould first metre, 3 ft. Run additional lengths with hand held router. Run additional lengths with inverted router.

Set up charge Metre (3 ft.) Metre (3’) Metre (3 ft.)

0.5 hrs. 0.5 hrs. 12 M/hr. (36ft/hour) 15 M/hr. (45 ft./ hr.)

No No No. No

Mouldings 2. Table top rule joints

1. Set up charge. 2. Run moulding. 3. Sand out cutter ripples. 4. Fit 3 drop leaf hinges.

1 hr. (1/2 hour each cutter.) 1 hr. (i.e., 1/2 hr. each. 1 hr. 0.75 hrs., each

No Yes (for multiples) No Yes, for multiple leaves and tables.

5.25 hrs.

Moulding, 4. Spindle moulder (shaper in US)

1. Set up charge. 2. Hand feed 10 metre run (30‘) 3. Power feed 50 metre run. 4. Grind matched cutters.

1 hr. 0.5 hrs. 0.5 hrs. 2 hrs.

No. Yes. Yes. No.

Minimum charge = 1.5 hrs.

Carving of moulded profiles

1. 300 mm (1 ft.) lengths up 50 mm (2”) wide. 2. 300 mm L X 100 mm W.

2 hrs. 3 hrs.

Yes Yes.


Turning. 1. 300 mm length X 50 mm diameter 2. 300 mm length by 100 mm diameter.

1 hr. 2 hrs.

Yes. Yes.

For reeding fluting, etc., on turnings treat as moulding taking the circumference as the moulding width.

Process or Job

Unit of measure Charge per unit

5% discount to 30%? Yes/No. Alternative discounts suggested where appropriate.

Notes.

Making and fitting traditional drawers with hand cut dovetails

Process or Job

Unit of measure

Charge per unit


Notes.

Pre-fit solid wood parts, mark and cut dovetails, make slips with grooves, edge moulding and rear notch and front tenon, make and fit solid wood bottom, assemble draw, finally shooting in to fit with handplanes, fit lock.

Per Drawer, complete.

8 hrs. Yes Fitting pulls is extra all depending on type of pull. Metal screw on pulls take five minutes whereas a workshop made wooden pull must be made and estimated as a distinct job.

Fit cockbead. 300 mm 0.5 hrs. Yes Mitre/scarf cockbead. Joint. 0.5 hrs. Yes Attach planted mouldings. 300 mm (1ft) 0.5 hrs. Yes Mitre or scarf planted moulding.

Joint. 0.5 hrs. Yes


Other drawers, and drawer related work

Process or Job

Unit of measure

Charge per unit


Notes.

Drawer box, machine dovetailed or finger jointed. Cut solid wooden parts or plywood to length, set up dovetailing jig, cut dovetails, run groove for bottom, cut plywood bottom to size, assemble drawer box.

Per drawer box

1.5 hrs Yes. After first drawer charge 1 hr. per additional drawer box.

Attaching pulls. See note above for handcut drawers.

Attach planted front to machine dovetailed drawer box.

Per front 0.5 hrs. Yes, charge at 20 minutes per additional drawer—3 per hour.

Estimate construction of front as a separate job.

Fit proprietary metal drawer slides, keyboard slides, etc.

Drawer 1 hr. Yes. Charge 0.5 hrs for each additional drawer.

Door work Process or Job

Unit of measure

Charge per unit


Notes.

1. Installing Doors. 2. Tracery work

Fitting, hanging, attach hinges and locks. Per pane of glass

4 hrs 2 hrs.

Yes Yes.

Attaching pulls should be charged separately according to complexity.

Matched cutters, inverted routers—door joinery. Cut and assemble joints.

Set up charge and cut four corner joints.

1.5 hrs. Yes. Charge every additional door at 1 hour each.

Used for modern kitchen cabinetry, etc.


Miscellaneous work Process or Job

Unit of measure

Charge per unit


Notes.

1. Bending wood- laminated and steam bending. 2. Bending wood 2--- estimating jobs greater than 0.6 square metres.

Square foot. Square metre

8 hrs 60 hrs.

Yes. No. Discounted time included in hourly rate.

Carcase backs. 1. Framed backs. 2. Install back.

Joint. Per back

2 hrs. 2 hrs.

Yes. Yes

Estimate using joinery and moulding times.

Line Boring—for 32 mm European style cabinetry using multi spindle line borer.

Per cabinet side.

0.5 hrs. Yes.

Loose shelves—fitting and fixing.

Per shelf 1 hr. Yes For adjustable shelves on standards, 5 mm shelf pins, etc..

Tops- cabinets and tables. 1. Using proprietary metal expansion plates, etc.. 2. With wooden buttons made in workshop, or pocket screws.

Per top. Per top.

1 hr. 3.5 hrs.

Yes. Yes.


Cabriole legs, chair work, knuckle joints

1. Cabriole legs. 2. Cabriole leg—carved foot (claw and ball) + wings. 3. Add knee carving, e.g., acanthus. 4. Add scrolls.

Per leg Per leg Knee Scroll.

4 hrs. 8 hrs. 4 hrs. 1 hr.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Price moulded legs as mouldings detailed earlier.

Corner blocks, for chairs, etc. 1. Jointed in place 2. Mitred and rub jointed. 3. As at 2 above + screws

Per chair Per chair Per chair

4 hrs. 1 hr 1.5 hours

Yes Yes Yes

Knuckle Joints 300 mm length.

2 hrs. Yes.

Process or Job

Unit of measure

Charge per unit


Notes.

Veneering, inlays, stringing, cross banding, leather work

Process or Job

Unit of measure

Charge per unit


Notes.

1. Small areas with hammer, vacuum bag or press.

300 mm squares, or 1 ft. squares.

1.5 hrs. Yes

2. Areas greater than 0.6 metres square (if calculating in square metres.)

Square metre 11 hrs. No. (Discount already calculated into time.)

3. Crossbanding and inlaid lines

300 mm length

0.5 hrs Yes.

4. Scarfing and mitreing crossbanding and inlaid lines.

Joint 0.5 hrs Yes

Leather and baize tops. Price as veneering


Preparing wood for polishing or finishing

Hand methods (feet) Square foot. 0.5 hrs

No discounts

Hand methods (metres) Square metre 5.5 hrs. Power sanding (feet) Square foot 4 minutes (15

sq. ft per hr.) 0.75 hrs.

Power sanding (metres) Square metre 0.5 hrs per M

3. Preparing mouldings Lineal metre or lineal foot up to 50 mm wide.

1 hr per 6 ft.

Process or Job Unit of measure

Charge per unit

Notes

Polishing/ finishing Process or Job

Unit of measure

Charge per unit


Notes.

Lacquer Coverage 1 Square metres per litre

6 metres² per litre

No 1 mil dry film thickness.

Lacquer Coverage 2 Square feet per litre

65 ft² per litre No

Dyeing and staining Square metre 0.75 hrs. None

Dyeing and staining Square feet 4 minutes per foot (15 sq. ft per hr.)

Grain filling Square metre 2 hrs

Grain filling Square feet 12 mins per foot (5 feet per hour.)

Spray polishing, per coat.

Square metre 0.5 hrs

Spray polishing, per coat

10 square feet 0.5 hrs

Example. Spraying 3 coats of polish when calculating in metres therefore equals 1.5 hrs per square metre.

Discounting for multiples of the same piece of furniture, e.g., sets of chairs, pair of cabinets, pair of end tables, etc.. Calculate time required to make one item, and discount at 5% per additional item up to the maximum of 30% and multiply by the number in the set Example. Time estimated to make one chair, 50 hrs. 4 chair set attracts 4 X 5% discount = 20%. Therefore 50 hrs minus 20% = 40 hrs. 4 chairs X 40 hrs = 160 hours.


Sample Estimate for a 5 Drawer Cabinet, 1270 mm H X 760 mm W X 330 mm D on Cabriole Legs. Description of operation and calculations. =

Hours.

Timber preparation. 5 cubic feet X 0.8 hrs/ft. 4 Machine plywood for drawer bottoms. 1 board at 0.3 hrs. per board 0.3 Edge joinery of solid wood to make large panels—top, base, and sides. 8 joints @ 2 hrs ea. = 16 hrs, less 30%= 4.8 hrs

11

4 cabriole legs @ 4 hrs each, 16 hrs, less 4 X 5% =20 % = 3.2 hrs. 13 5 drawers @ 8 hrs = 40 hrs, less 5 X 5% = 25% =10 hrs. 30 2 bottom carcase dovetails 330 mm long @ 2 hrs per 300 mm = 4 hrs. = 8 hrs. less 2 X 5% = 0.8 hrs.

7

8 drawer rail and muntin joints =16 hrs less 6 X 5% = 30 % = 5.3 hrs. 11 4 top rail joints = 8 hrs less 4 X 5% = 20 % = 1.6 hrs. 6.5 8 base frame mortise and tenons = 16 hrs less 6 X 5% = 30% = 4.8 hrs. 11 Base moulding, 1680 mm required. Charge for 2 metres using router, plus ½ hour set up and break down time

1.5

Top moulding, 1.68 M required. Charge for 2 metres using router, plus ½ hour set up/ break down time

1.5

Install top with buttons. 2 Install plain plywood back. 2 Base mould joints. 4 joints X 2 hrs = 8 hrs less 4 X 5% = 20% = 1.6 hrs. 6.5 Polish preparation. Approximately 2 square metres of show wood prepared using hand tools at 5.5 hrs per M²

11

Polish preparation, mouldings. Approximately 4 lineal metres at 0.5 hrs/metre 2

Dyeing. 2 square metres at 0.75 hours per metre 1.5 Grain filling top. 0.251 square metres at 2 hrs per sq. metre. 0.5 Polishing, 3 sprayed coats on 2 square metres at 0.5 hrs per coat per metre (1.5 hrs X 2 metres.)

3

TOTAL 125

To make 4 chests of drawers as above. 125 hrs. X 4 = 500 hrs..

Less 4 X 5% = 20 % = -100 hrs.

TOTAL. 400 hrs..

When a maximum of 30% discount is reached, no further reductions should be made (e.g.

the eight drawers in an eight drawer chest, or one dozen boxes normally only attracts a

maximum 30% discount.


Bibliography

CoSIRA, (1969) A Guide to Estimating for Cabinet Makers, Council for Small Industries in Ru-

ral Areas, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Documents

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