Was $30.00 each too much to charge for this?

I made several of these on a manual lathe for a customer. He was very happy with them,and mentioned it thusly on another forum.This was about 2 years ago,I think.

Now he seems upset that I charged him $30.00 each for these. I made them on a manual lathe. There was freehand contouring involved,and full polishing. I had to buy a new bar of brass to make them,so they weren't made of junkyard metal. I can't recall if the bar was 1" dia.,or 1 1/8".The thread was 3/8 in diameter,to give you a perspective on size.

I Have a large shop which costs money to heat and cool.

What is your opinion,please?

Absolutely not. It sounds like he is an uninformed, unappreciative prick. Perhaps you can suggest if he does not like the price he can purchase his own lathe and tooling and make them himself if it's so easy.

You already know the answer. The price was more than fair.

Okaaaay lets pick this apart.

1'' dia brass - not cheap

convex knurling - not every shop has the gear (I haven't)

curved profile - assuming manual, means some sort of form tool grinding

set machine and get the job right - say 1/2 hour + scrapped parts?

m/c 2 off parts


Get that lot done in an hour from a cold start ? - IMO that would be good going.



All that for $30 each? - seems like a bargain to me.

yup, as others have said..way fair in my opinion.
if this dude is badmouthing you on a public forum he's a prick anyway and his business isn't worth it.
just wait till he calls you wanting a few dozen more then tell him the price just doubled and it's 100% up front now.

Well, now you know that you need to charge him double if he darkens your door again.

Parts for an old tool? Instrument? Looks nice!

As a Hobby Machinist, I have often enough run into folks that thought that my hobby should be a support system for their hobby, at no cost to them.

Nope.

On the other hand, I have occasionally run into guys that thought the money I asked, was insufficient, and gave me rather more tan I asked. Those guys ALWAYS seem to have my undivided attention, when they need a favor. Besides, a couple of them have some REALLY interesting projects on the go, and it's pretty cool to see what other guys do well!

Cheers
Trev

Well first off, judging by looking at the pics it's an excellent job. Plus, it sounds like you're not supposed to make a profit. Betcha he does. Some people just don't get it when it comes to one off parts.

Probably worth about $20

Just a thought; I wonder if he didn't find the parts he already had after the job was done, now he's whining like it's your fault he's an idiot? The old saying goes; No good deed goes unpunished.
Dan

Re: What is your opinion,please?

Tell the clueless ass to "fuck off", and send him to Welden.


Rex

What was that story about selling parts to a (rich) private plane owner, post on PM?

either be crazy cheap so millionaire can laugh about how cheap he is OR really stick it to him so he can laugh with his buddies how much he can spend on a airplane widget.

said another way:
if you have shoddy quality, but are cheap, you;re OK.
if you are expensive with super quality, you're OK.
IF YOU'RE CHEAP AND GOOD, YOU'RE STUPID.

I would still be crying if I had to buy a few, but I do believe it is in the region of a fair price. Maybe invite him over to watch you make a part from scratch so he can appreciate your work.

Good idea to refer him to Weldon, He would save and Weldon would make the big bucks he dreams about!

The time to buy the brass, figure out what he wanted, figure out how to make them, and then make them? Your price was too low.....
Yes, I've done the same thing.......
I now use a couple of terms: I don't think it's a good fit for what I do" - or if they are persistent "I need to decline this project."

Looks a fair price to me. Has he tried buying small spare parts for machine tools yet ?

Regards Tyrone.

gwilson said:

ow he seems upset that I charged him $30.00 each for these.

Click to expand...

Because some lowballer private mailed him on the forum, that he could have done them for less....

What does the customer thinks his employer charges for his time? Assuredly it's more than he gets paid directly; overhead and all that. If it took an hour to make two of these I'd say he's value ahead.

Just for fun, can you post the price for your material with shipping? That should put everything in perspective.

I hope the guy sees this thread. He is now making his own plane cap screws with a lathe he bought. They are completely undecorated,with just flat ends above the knurling. I can easily see cut off tool marks(or some kind of unfinished,rough surface) on the flat tops of his screws. He does not polish his screws. He uses a common diamond knurl. I made the knurl I used. It an old thread I showed how to make these old fashioned knurls here.

It's been about 2 years since I made these for him,and I never heard anything from him. He seems to think that his simple cap screws are the same amount of effort as mine. Yes,he did bad mouth me a bit on another forum.

Now,he's here,wanting help to make a 3 wheel knurler. There is a picture currently on this forum,in this section, of one of his GOOFY planes-AND,not even the GOOFIEST!

I don't do cheap work,and I THOUGHT I was giving him a special,lower price for these plane cap screws.

He's also pissed off that I did not re design his plane body shapes for him for free. I suffer from chronic tiredness anyway,and got to thinking,and counseled with a few others who know his work,that even if he USED my plane body designs,he would continue to use the horrible front grip(VERY EASILY BROKEN),and the SHITTY handle designs. THERE,JUAN,DO YOU SEE WHY I DID NOT REDESIGN YOUR BODIES NOW?
I know he will not quit using his crappy designs because I have told him several times in the past that they are easily broken,not well designed,and someday he will be getting his broken planes back,with the customer wanting him to fix them for free.

He used to listen to me,but now says that he might someday BOTHER to read my helpful suggestions. How incredibly arrogant can a NEW woodworker get? He even says that HE'S WILLING TO MAKE PEACE WITH ME!

Except for not redesigning his shit plane bodies for free,I don't see what he has to bitch about.

Well,he shouldn't bother to look for any more of my suggestions about design. His brain just doesn't get it. He has no decent idea about good design. There is no helping him at all.

This guy is not young. Not as old as I am(75). He is a newbie at woodworking though. As far as I know,he only makes planes.


Dan,I can't recall the price of the brass. It was from Enco. I think it was about $100.00+.

Spyderedge: Since you are about 15 years old,I guess you WOULD be crying about the price! But,don't worry,soon you'll get $15.00 flipping burgers. Then you can better afford stuff !

I place PO's for a lot of cnc'd parts that are one-off's or just a few of each. I wouldn't have been able to buy "a few" of those parts for $30 each. You're price was fair. Your customer is/was clueless.