So who would like to make two chairs for one of my customers? My chairmaking skills are marginal at best and we’ve come up empty searching the internet.
She really likes this chair, but it’s steel and she wants unfinished wood (probably white oak, but that’s negotiable) so we can finish it to match the table I’m building for her.
Thanks
Replies
What price is your customer hoping to pay?
Jeff
If we go with this plan, she'll pay a fair price. The first trick is finding someone who can/will build them.
Dave
For a chairmaker, there is no difficulty in building the chair in the picture. It requires two forms for bent laminations, and possibly a third for the crest rail. The issue at hand for any chairmaker is going to be the fact that only two are desired.
When I build chairs for a client, it is in sets. Even though the picture is nice to have, it doesn't design the joinery or layout of the chair. That has to be done with a mockup, and they take time. That time is usually either paid for up front, or is absorbed into the price of, say, 6 or 8 chairs. When there are only two, the price per goes way, way up.
Is she prepared to pay $5K for two chairs?
That's what is going to be barely fair for a professional chairmaker. Many wouldn't even touch the project for that low amount. Those that are chairmakers on this sight know what I'm talking about. That may or may not be your first obstacle.
If you wish to discuss this further, then let me know. Finding someone who can build them is not difficult. I can give you the names of 10 individuals here on the Knots, myself included, who can build them. Finding someone who wants to only build two will be the issue. I can easily spend a couple of weeks building jigs, and moving around alignment of parts like the skew of the rear legs, the curvature of the crest rail, whether or not the chair has any front to rear cant, etc.....These things take time to work out. And, we don't work for $20 an hour, as I know you understand.
Jeff
Edited 5/2/2009 12:30 am ET by JeffHeath
Oh yeah, I understand, Jeff. You should have heard our conversation when I told her the price for the table I'm building. She has a whole new understanding of the differences between custom made and the production stuff available on the internet. - lolThe chairs may have become a non-issue anyway. My finish guy is a magician with wood and metal and we may buy the metal chairs, sandblast them, and paint to match the table finish.
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