G'Day - NEED HELP!!

[Rob Williamson]

G'day everyone, I've just got married and have been looking for a quality wooden jewellery box for the new wife. Unfortunately I can't seem to find anything made from solid Aussie wood that suits. I have looked at a number of sites for specialist craftsmen but the cost is coming in at a minimum of $400!! Can anyone suggest where I can find a reasonably priced craftsman who will be able to make a mid sized jewellery box (about 200 x 100 x 100) with felt lining and a lift out tray??
Any help would be great!
Thanks,
Rob

[Claw Hama]

That is a fair price, good luck. You need to find a retired gentleman who makes boxes for a hobbie and doesn't have to make a living from it.

[BEKKY]

That's an absolutely ridiculous price.
Myself and some of our club members have been making the type of boxes that you
describe and selling them at local fairs, and they sell at about $45.00.
And then some people want them cheaper.!!!! .

best of luck, Keith.

[Allan at Wallan]

Hi Rob,

PM sent.

Allan

[munruben]

Welcome aboard Rob, Prices can vary according to type of materials and fittings on the box.. Some timbers are more expensive than others and some are very expensive. Finishing the item can also be costly depending on the finish used and time taken to achieve it.

There is also a huge difference in prices if you buy from a hobbyist rather than a retailer who is purely in business to make a profit. Many articles sold on the market stalls by craft folk and hobbyists are actually sold at, or below cost to keep their hobby alive and they are happy sometimes to sell something just so they can buy in more materials and make something else, Most hobbyists are not in the game to make profit.

Good luck, it's a great idea you have. something to cherish forever. Here's wishing you a long and happy life together with your new wife.

[IanW]

Hi Rob - I guess you're not a woodworker yourself, so it's fair enough that you probably don't know how much time goes into something like an elaborate jewellry boxbox. A really decent box with proper joinery & multiple compartments would take me a long day to make as a one-off, though someone doing short production runs would cut that time significantly, I imagine. If you then sell through a retailer, the markup is usually >50%. Four hundred is barely a day's wages plus overheads for a small shop, so you can see that pricing is a delicate matter.

We have all gotten used to buying manufactured goods from countries where the wage structure is considerably less than ours, but if you want Aussie woods & craftsmanship, it is going to cost a more realistic amount. I would hope that a box in that price-range should be well-constructed & last a couple of lifetimes, so if you amortise the cost over that sort of period, maybe it's a bargain!

Cheers,

[Christos]

I read your post and thought that it might be a little high but then again there is so many other factors involved. As some on the forum have mention. The sites that you have visited can you ask them how it was created and what type of wood and finish. Then you can get some idea on what they do and time involved.

I would even go and suggest in making one your self and giving that to your wife. It came from you not a shop?

[Crackerboy]

"A reasonably priced craftsman"

That would be someone who has probably been working for most of his adult life improving and "practising" at his chosen profession, or someone who has the gift of being bloody good at what he /she does.

Why should these people work on a piece of furniture that they cherish and love right from the start to the finish and then sell it cheaply to someone who decides they want a cheap present for a loved one?

As a craftsman who has spent the last 30 years of my life honing my skills and striving to improve each day I find your post/request insulting.

Try going to a dentist and asking for a cheap job.............

What's the difference?

Apologies in advance for any offence to any other craftsmen on this forum but this post just sums up what is wrong with the regard in which we are all held.

We are not just chippies!

[IanW]

..........We are not just chippies!

Woops, Cracker - there are a few chippies, old & young who would (rightly) consider themselves craftsmen too!

As you say, honing your skills & putting years of learning into a job deserves just recompense. I was also trying to get that mesage across, but perhaps a bit too tactfully. However, we have to accept some of the blame for public perception, because we don't explain the differences well enough. As I said above, folks are used to paying a ridiculously low price for just about anything (& we are benefitting from it too - I wouldn't have half the machines in my shed if it weren't for a bunch of underpaid poor b*gg*rs and a skewed monetray system). We have to make a superior product, but also educate the clientele as to why & how it's superior. It ain't easy - when I was trying to make a go of doing furniture, I just couldn't seem to get across that a small item like a complicated chair was worth more than a large, but very simple "miners' couch". The couch took way fewer hours to put together, which more than made up for the cost of material, but all the customers could see was the weight of wood. I just had to acept that some jobs subsidised others.....


Avagooday,

[Crackerboy]

You're right IanW,

My post was wrong at the end, my main work is as a chippy but I can also turn out a beautiful piece of work given the time, bloody mortgages eh!!

Sorry to all chippies and anyone else involved in the numerous skills required to be a success in our trade out there!! We have to have the knowledge in our heads of so many different aspects of woodwork but also the abilty to use our hands to bring these dreams to life.

I think my gripe was that it seems that people who work with their hands seem to be undervalued and looked upon as a lower class. It really pisses me off when I have to have an official document signed and my trade isn't included as an allowed signatory, a physiotherapist works with his hands but he can sign, tell me the difference!!!

As I said, we work hard at our trade, earn #### money as apprentices, not particularly good money as fully qualified tradesmen when you compare our levels of knowledge required across the whole field of our trade.

It's been a big old sore point throughout my working life and the original post hit the wrong spot, I couldn't help but respond!!

Rant over.........................

[artme]

G'day Rob and welcome!

I see you've had a baptism of fire. As you can see, nothing is as simple as it first appears.

[munruben]

G'day Rob and welcome!

I see you've had a baptism of fire. As you can see, nothing is as simple as it first appears.

Probably wont see Rob again after being taken to task so soon after his first couple of posts.