Surfing the Amazon site, clicked on a “professional grade” smooth plane, sells for $39. One customer had written a review. (paraphrasing) “No it’s not a $200 plane, but with just a little work you can make it perform as well as a $200 plane. I spent 30 hours tuning it up and now it works great.”
“When asked if you can do something, tell’em “Why certainly I can”, then get busy and find a way to do it.” T. Roosevelt
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Let's see. I get billed out at $45.00 an hour. If I take on a side job it's $75.00 an hour. I could have blown a lot of money on that little plane.
Ugha Chaka! Ugha Chaka! Ugha, Ugha, Ugha, Chaka!
$35.00/hr here, but add taxes, insurance, WC, and 15% markup to that LOL.
Actually my rate right now is 2.00/ SF hehe.Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling
Dang, I just blew $70 away by reading some threads here this week <G>
I thought $40 for 30 hours of entertainment and a $200 plane wasn't badly out of line. To each his own. At least it was constructive for him.
Here's a copy of the "review" for the Footprint #280205 professional plane:
View Image Worth what you pay, August 14, 2005
Reviewer:
Scott Fruchter - See all my reviews It's not a $200. plane but it's better than what Stanley sells at twice the price. It took over thirty hours of work to tune it to the exceedingly high standards of my college hand tools class, but when done it was as good as the $200. planes. Yes, I wish the mouth was adjustable and the other adjustments were smoother. It is worth what you pay and can be great if you invest some sweat equity.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Unless he just wanted to do it .
I watched a guy down the street spend all day into darkness hanging a storm door. Brother says to charge it to self satisfaction.
Stupid to do it ? Yea from a business standpoint . I think more like a 1500 peice puzzle or spending hours fishing for a couple of fish thats thrown back.
Or like Buck says , losing money spending time with the kid.
I think its silly for me to spend so much labor being the care taker for a dog. The vet already has charged me 10 times what hes worth. Thats stupid to me.
Tim
Well, maybe the kid learned a lesson...which is why he's in college!Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
That's a good advertisement to buy a Lie Nelson.
in 30hrs... i think i could have started with a block of steel and a rock to carve it with... that or.... just remembered my middle brother he could turn any basic task into a 6month project...
p
I'd say he must work for minimum wage--and here I thought I was woprking for nearly nothing!
Like my wife's ex, a self employed clinical psychologist got the Friend of the Court to believe that he only made $12,000 a year! Since he billed at $70/hr, that would mean he worked less than 200 hours a year (if my math is right, DW hid the calculator). I guess the IRS believed him too.
Sounds like that poster was really trying to tell you to spend the money to get the better quality plane to start with.
Edit: after reading the actual qoute you just posted, maybe he actually didn't mean it that way, after all.
Edited 3/2/2006 12:24 pm by intrepidcat
The guy is just plane stupid. No pun intended. 40 hours to tune up a cheap plane to his standards? If he had such high standards he would have bought a plane that didn't need a weeks worth of work. What did he do all that time? Make it solar powered?
Ugha Chaka! Ugha Chaka! Ugha, Ugha, Ugha, Chaka!
yeah, I wish we could ask him just what he spent those 30 hours doing.
Corporate business today measures everything by the size of the silver dollar.
1hour with 29 studentes helping = 30 hours...
Mr. T.
There's a steering-wheel in me pants and it's driving me nuts!!!
That's the smart way. Wonder if he was really that smart.
Corporate business today measures everything by the size of the silver dollar.
Dunno, when I was in school, I had way more time than money...
Phat
Never underestimate your ability to overestimate your ability
Dunno, when I was in school, I had way more time than money...
I can see why this guy wouldn't have any money. Who can find time to work when you spend 30 hours on a plane? I hear next week he's changing his coolant and this summer he's painting the bathroom.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Admittedly I’m making an assumption from the line “the exceedingly high standards of my college hand tools class†that he’s still in school. Using this as my basis, it reminded me of a few people I’ve known. Where the journey of turning a crappy tool (or other object) into something fine was the point, not just buying someone else’s efforts.
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Read that another way – artist, or wannabe’s.
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Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m a tool whore. Any excuse to buy a new tool for me…
Never underestimate your ability to overestimate your ability
From an old ex-clown & entertainer I gotta tell ya...you're alraight Phat.
kid probably "wasted" his time getting a good grade in some college class.
before I read that college deal ... I was thinking ...
hasn't anyone ever heard of having a hobby?
imagine the money I lose playing with my kid?
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
30 hours may be worth it if the plane was a collectable, but he was trying to get a good user out of it, and whether he knows it or not, he still ended up with a $35 plane. That's ok though because it's the experience of tuning a plane, and that takes much more than 30 hours to learn...it took me some years. Sounds like the guy may have had a good time doing it though.
The key is to get a beat up old Bedrock plane for $35 and tune that, (not 30 hours though), maybe replace the blade with a Clifton or a Lei Nielson A2 R60...and away you go . You have a $300 smoother as good as any money can buy,,,just about. Look on E-bay under collectables-Tools-Woodworking-Planes then search in there for Bedrock.
Or you can buy a new Lei Nielson
For my 2 cents which is worth exactly that, Zen plane fixin' gives a whole new meaning to "each to his own." I spent over 200 hours making my first storm door - turned spindles, Victorian corner braces, carved name plate, etc. @ $45.00 per hour that $9,000.00 storm door looks great on my century home and the cost doesn't include the beer I drank or the pride I feel when a friend says "Nice Door!" When asked what I would charge to make one for someone else I just smile.
Mother nature will out live us all.
chascomp,
I have been building some small tables the last couple of years.
At my normal rates the tables" cost "me $1200-$1600 each in labor---plus materials
I can probably buy highly similar products retail for maybe $250
sure--it's " Stupid"--- but I would rather have MY tables.
Stephen
Hazlett,Sometimes the journey IS the destination. I'm glad there are still people like you out there that do it for the gratfication. Keep on buildin'.