What do we charge for turnings?

What I try to do is recover the cost of the wood plus get $20-25/hr for my time. If the piece comes out "special" (I can't define this, but I know when it happens) I will jack the price up 20 to 30 %. I price a piece the same, whether I am taking it to a craft show or sending it to a gallery-except for wine stoppers which go for 10 at show, 12 in the gallery that takes them.

Kip Powers Rogers AR

You and I price "ordinary" at the same rate. I figure $25/hour, $5 for the materials, which includes the "price" of the wood, as the most expensive I use is $60 per full cord delivered. That said, I live in the poorest county in my state, where I could actually survive on my retirement check if I didn't have two kids in college. If my expenses were greater, I'd charge more.

My prices for burls, gnarls and weird spalteds are about double the ordinary rate, but I put a _bit_ more effort in them than in a salad bowl or turned box, too, so I really don't consider it outrageous. It empties the shelves when I go to sell, which is what I want. Otherwise I'd have to quit turning and make jewelry boxes to pay books and fees.

Thanks Arch. I made some bottle stops for the first tims and was wondering what I should charge.

At this time I am working with exotic hardwoods and don't get my wood free or at minimal cost. Therefor I charge 2.5 to 3 times the cost of the wood as a base rate. I then factor in beauty of the wood, excellence of design(?), and "like" factor. Primarily I try to get all I can, but most work goes for the base rate.

Nearly everything that I turn for sale is from old weathered fence posts. I price them somewhat like Kip said. If it looks a little better it sells for a little more. If it looks a lot better, my wife takes it away from me. Some of the items that I do well with are

Weed Pots $18-24 Votive candle holders $15-20 Desk Clocks $25-35 and what Craft Supplies calls a Paul Revere lamp $50-75

The ladies seem to like the combination of rustic wood, contrasted by portions sanded and buffed to a fare-thee-well, with some useful gadget attached.

Ron Robinson East Texas

Aw, come on, you mean you don't have wild ebony or purpleheart trees growing around your state? Or have a friend that gives you hundreds of board-feet of blackheart sassafras every year? And the old fence-posts you find aren't made of pau ferro? You'd at least think that you could find some discarded palates made of bubinga or something. : )

steve

Short and sweet...

Natural Edge bowls:

6" to 8" -> $30 - $60 9" - 11" -> $50 - $90 12" or larger -> $80 - $150

Hollow Forms: Small vases (3" to 4" dia and 5" to 7" tall): $40 - $80 Squashed pots (6" to 10" dia and 3" to 6" tall): $50 - $85

Pens: $30 - $55 (depends on the venue) Box included

Bottle Stoppers: $12 - $15 (depends on the wood used)

Lately, I've been selling my unfinished bowls (5" to 8") that I do for demonstrations for $10 each at the venue where I'm demonstrating (local fairs). No sanding, no finish and no signature. They are completed in 20 minutes or less. Usually, they are very green maple or box edler which makes GREAT shavings for the crowd. In the past, I would just throw them out since I don't sand at the shows because of the clouds of dust it creates.

Peter Teubel Milford, MA

Excuse ME if this shows up twice(or more) I'm having problems with my server.

Arch, I just turned a bunch of bottle stops and was wondering what to sell them for. You just confirmed my thoughts on the subject.

Right now I am turning exotic hardwoods which costs a lot more then native(found) wood. Therefor I charge a base rate of 2.5 to 3 times the cost of the wood depending on the beauty of the wood, the excellence of the design(?) or the like factor. This will increase the price. Lets face it I'm in it for the money. The joy of turning is still there but it is enhanced by the monitory returns I receive(how crass).

Steve, now that you mention it, I have been known to tell prospective buyers at craft sales about my magical tree in the back yard with branches of different hardwoods that I pruned for the items I turned. It brought a good laugh, but some people had to think awhile before they responded.

I want to speak freely with you about this. However I feel it would not be in my best interest until I have all the facts. Rest assured as soon as I fully understand what I am dealing with you will be among the first to know the rest of the story. I just don't want to rush into this before I have a good grasp of the situation. Then the people clost to me,buisness associates,family and of course the people of RCW will get full disclosure from me. Thank you all for your support.

God Bless, Al Kyder

Hi Arch. I've sold only a few items:

Cocobolo & Padauk magic wand w/velvet sack - $50 (ebay) Curly Maple magic wand with velvet sack - $30 Turned Box - $25 Baby Rattle - $20

I've had a variety of items at a coffee/gift shop at my wife's place of work ­ which is the world HQ for a tech firm. I've had 6-8" bowls, boxes, fridge magnets, tea light holders, and magic wands there at various times with very little success in selling (three pieces in 1 year). My prices have been in line (or maybe a little less) than what others here have posted.

I gotta find another venue...

_____ American Association of Woodturners Cascade Woodturners Assoc., Portland, Oregon Northwest Woodturners, Tigard, Oregon _____

Hey Arch!

Good question!!! The answers a bit tougher, I'm afraid... However, I'll give it MY analysis as it applies to MY work. And I'd like to preface by saying that I've sold, and continue to sell, my work at art shows, on the internet, through custom orders, and people calling out of the blue asking to buy a piece. So here goes...

I have a relatively simple calculation I use: $35-50/hr bench rate (depending on complexity of piece)

• Cost of materials

• Overhead (i.e. power, sandpaper, finish, etc.)

---------------------------------------------- = Total

• %10 as profit margin

---------------------------------------------- = Final Cost of Work

This roughly works out to multiplying the cost of the wood by 10. Of course, that only works if you actually buy the wood. It's harder to figure it out if you got the wood for free. In that case, I tend to just charge about $50/hr flat.

You have to take into consideration overhead costs like web site fees, marketing/advertising, etc. I think this year at tax time I'm going to get someone to do my taxes for me... Obviously the prices we charge for various kinds of turnings in various

Ali, that sounds like the standard formula to me, it's a good one for a dedicated, professional artisan who has mastered the techniques, or come close to doing so. With the exception of someone like David Ellsworth, who charges in the thousands for one of his vessels!

I'm not a dedicated professional or a master--I work relatively slowly and thoughtfully so I have to adjust my rates accordingly. I'm afraid to charge more than $20 per hour especially if a piece is going to a gift shop or gallery which has to add another 40-50 percent.

That raises another question: do you have seperate calculations for wholesale and retail? If one sells both direct and in galleries/gift shops, the prices direct should match the prices in shops, otherwise you're undercutting the galleries--bad practice, I understand. So you either have to lower wholesale prices, or raise the retail amount.

BTW Ali--speaking of lower prices, are you having a 50% off sale on your Dyed Maple Potpourri Pot? Better check it out ;-)

Ken Grunke Coulee Region Woodturners webguy

This is an excellent thread. Just the information I was looking for, too.

Fir ore information, you might want to look into August/September issues of Woodturning from the UK. Dave Regester had two consecutive articles on this issue. It appears his was geared more to the professional who would also give demonstrations to woodturners, too. His article also focused on sending your work to galleries and how to price accordingly. Definitly a good read.

Well, Arch, did you learn anything from all the responses? Thanks for the query and I did learn a few things but am more confused on two points.

First, the turners who figure in $$ per hr. + this, + that, as they get better and faster and buy less expensive larger quantity supplies, does the price of their turnings go down?

If they turn two cherry 8" salad bowls, same log, but one the wood grain needs 50 min. more attention and the other goes as expected, are these bowls then different prices? or does the turner work an hour free?

It would be necessary to see pictures of the bowls, pens, stoppers to better grasp prices. I sell bottle stoppers for $20 per, one gallery sells them for $32 per and another (50 miles away) sells them for $25.50 per. I use only native woods, the chrome stoppers and put them in silver draw-string bags. They are good sellers. A picture (from my website)

(if this doesn't work, go to my site below on the "Turnings" page).

Also on my website: walnut burl flared top bowl = $195.00 walnut vase with bark = $95 sumac 8" bowl = $75

3 curly maple candlesticks = $40 curly maple box (same pic) = $30

I do not turn plain salad bowls of any size. Too many people have said "Good Lord, I can buy 5 in Wal-Mart for this price!" and I'd reply, "Yes, and it's worth the trip."

Personally, I look at the finished product and say, "This is worth $195" or "If someone offers $18 for this piece, it's theirs"!

I've been supporting myself with lathework for 7 yrs. (turning for 12, the first 5 also had antique shop). Some projects I get $1.25 per hr, some $90 per hr. I have never had a problem paying my bills and supporting my life style (repeat MY life style).

So, Arch, how are you going to price your turnings? I'm really curious because it truly does depend on location, clientel, quality of product, desirability of product and "your" life style.

Ruth

Woodturners Logo My shop and Turnings at

Obviously there is a median somewhere. For instance a begginer takes several hours to do a box can't charge for his time. The middle range guy would be OK charging on a per hour basis, and the pro who can do it in ten minutes can still charge at least as much as the middle guy. What I think most of us here are looking for is that mid range price.

If someone commisions you to make a new and unusual piece, you have every right to work on a per hour basis.

Usually one does a day of a certain work such as bowl day, box day, and candle stick day. To quote Ray Key it can take two hours to do a bowl mixed amongst other works you do that day or you can get 10-15 bowls working a straight 8 hr day on just bowls. So in answer to your question above, it would balance out.

This formula obviously works with more unique pieces [the $195 ones] and the greater the artist's/turner's name in the field.

and faster and buy less expensive larger quantity supplies, does the price of their turnings go down?<

AHA! Ruth, you've hit upon the very heart of why people should almost never be paid by the hour. The slower you work, the more you make. If you hire a lawyer to do something, the fellow just out of law school might need to do 3 hours of research and then an hour to write an opinion. The guy who's done it a thousand times only requires the hour to write. The beginner ends up charging you much more than the expert. If, on the other hand, you hired a lawyer based on a flat fee of say $500, the newbie would make $125 per hour and the expert would make $500 per hour. The value of the product or service to the buyer has nothing to do with cost of the product or service to the seller.

W2ZR wrote: ...snip...."The value of the product or service to the buyer has nothing to do with cost of the product or service to the seller."

********************************** AHA, you read between the lines and saw exactly what I was saying! : )

Everyone's looking for the black and white equation when there is none.

Once while at the King of Prussia Mall, Valley Forge, PA., I went into J.C.Penny and there was a nice white sweater by Alfred Dunner $69; went to Strawbridge, same sweater, same Alfred Dunner $149; then I went to Nieman Marcus, same white Alfred Dunner seater $1,135.

Everyone has their own clientel, area and venue, you charge what they are willing to pay, if you charge more, they don't buy, you're out of business. That's my black and white equation.

Ruth

Woodturners Logo My shop and Turnings at