On Monday, October 1, 2012 6:49:14 PM UTC-5, SonomaProducts.com wrote:
I spend hours getting my Stickley reproduction designs as exact as possible, measuring from eBay photos and Stickley catlogs. I did a run of very small round tables, in Cherry (not classic). Something you might use as a plant stand. I exercise exacting detail. I did an oil finish (tried and true) that took a few weeks to complete. I give one to a dear friend for his birthday.



His wife says "Hey great, we can use it as a stool in the shower!" I help them understand maybe it won't hold up to the use in a wet environment.



Now a few weeks later I get an email. "Hey I want to give one of your stools to a friend. Do you have another one? Could you whack an inch off of the legs and add some adjusters to the bottom in-case they have an uneven floor?"



Maybe I can get him something from Ikea. He won't know the difference. :-(

I have built several heavy rocking horses using contrasting hardwoods. I spend 80-100 hours on each and I have seen some with similar substance and features in the $500 and up price range. Two of mine have gone to grandkids and one to the daughter of a good friend. The other two have been donated to our church for raffles.

Invariably someone sees one of them and asks the dreaded question: "How much would it cost for you to build one of those for me? I start off explaining that there is nearly $200 worth of hardwood and hardware in the horse. That is when I get that "over the top of the glasses look" and you can hear them thinking "This guy is getting ready to screw me." These people have no clue that with the cost of materials, even if I charged $500, I could make the big bucks shoving hamburgers across the counter at McDonald's.

They don't have a clue.

RonB