On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 15:46:18 -0500 (EST), (Arch) wrote:


The worth of a turning can have two meanings; price and value. Price can
be determined by formula. It's variables a time, equipment, shop,
materials, learning, experience and all the costs of selling. A fair and
reasonable price can be established for a worthy _product made by a good
_workman.

Value is determined by what the buyer gets out and will pay for, not by
what the turner puts in. A turning's quality has nothing to do with how
expensive or novel it is or how hard it is to make.
I long ago gave up trying to price work by time & materials...Of course,
it is important to know what you are spending and how fast you are
working if you do repeatable items like stoppers and pens, but when you
begin dabbling in 'art' and one-of-a-kind stuff, the rules vary!

If I take a large, rare piece of expensive wood, work for a month on it,
and it comes out awkward & ugly...is it 'worth' $4000? Or if I take a
free piece from by back yard and in 3 hours end up with something
drop-dead gorgeous and elegant, should I sell it for $60?

A LOT depends on 'image' (surroundings and circumstances of the sale)
and literally, WHERE you are selling....the same piece may be looked at
differently at a local high school craft fair or in a decent
gallery...and one $200 piece surrounded by a bunch of $30 pieces may
seem awkward.

I am heading for the biggest show of the year this weekend, and I have 2
or 3 of the nicest things I have done...including the single most
expensive item I have ever priced! The wood was free, but it was 3 days
of HARD work, including 4-5 hours of sanding! (preceded by an hour of
delicate bandsawing to get it to a point I could even mount it on the
lathe!)
What was it? It was a 7" tall hollow vase made from the root of a Yew
bush (it was just a mass of roots and dirt when I started,,...you may
see it he
http://users.starpower.net/extree/wood/PB235564.JPG
and here is a larger piece (low & wide) from the same root...(twice the
size and 4 times the weight of the vase...but cheaper!)
http://users.starpower.net/extree/wood/PB235536.JPG
and me, holding one while the vase sits on the kind of root they came
from
http://users.starpower.net/extree/wood/PB235624.JPG
(these are pretty large files..slow on dial-up connection.)
(does anyone have an idea why I get the amazing purples in the part that
was way below ground?)

....anyway..I will see this weekend how they go over with a
discriminating audience! *grin*