Shopsmith Forums

That's an excellent breakdown explanation of a builds cost.

Thanks WMZIGGY

That is both just what I wanted and more than I thought to ask for, thank you!

As I said above, I've been limited in terms of wood choice until now. I also thought it would cost a lot more per project - of course it depends on the project. Looks like I'll have no problem getting supplies for projects since I work slowly. I can afford to start the next project by the time I finish one.

As I said in another channel, the details of the music stand pull together so well!

It is a beautiful piece. May I ask what part(s) of the project were made with the Shopsmith?

algale wrote:It is a beautiful piece. May I ask what part(s) of the project were made with the Shopsmith?

All wood was dimensioned using the SS jointer. The legs were turned on the SS. The mortice and tenons were SS. The top, middle shelf & bottom of the box were joined using the SS biscuit joiner. Along the top, the ledge piece was dimensioned to 1/2" thickness using the SS planer. The raised panels and edge moldings were cut on the SS shaper, except for the rope molding which was cut on my Rockwell Delta lathe (it is easier to do fine machine work on it) alone with the 3/8" diameter rungs for the legs.

All the cutting to length of boards was done on my Craftsman Radial Arm. All ripping on my Ryobi table saw. The Lace wood was resawed on my Rockwell Delta bandsaw. All 1/4" dados were cut using a Stanley 46 multiplane. Tenons were final fit using shoulder planes, as all pieces were final fit using an assortment of hand planes. I would say that the majority of "heavy lifting" was done by Shopsmith.

In the cost analysis in an earlier post, I forgot to add the cost of brass hardware. The casters were solid brass quality made. They were $17.50 each, for a total of $70.00. The piano hinge was $32.50. The brass ball chain and fastners for it cost $16.90. Finally one solid brass hinge for the top support cost came out of back stock I had. However solid brass hinges are expensive, and run about $25.00 each.

Thus you need to add to the cost of $115.00, $144.40 for the hardware bringing total material cost $259.40.

Running the numbers on hardware did not surprise me, as every project I have ever made the hardware costs more than the wood.

Here is a web site for the brass casters.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/home/Online ... d=e8fdc23c

You have to type in brass casters, ball chain, or hinges in the search box.

Thanks for adding those prices in as well. Brass itself is pricey. Nice brass parts are a pretty penny for sure. Worth it after all that effort though!

Even with the added cost, by the time I finished one project along those lines I could afford to make another - I work slowly.

Thank you for the inspiring effort and information!

I knew they had a hardware catalog but had never looked at it. I had no idea how much variety they have.

fitzhugh wrote:I knew they had a hardware catalog but had never looked at it. I had no idea how much variety they have.

There are other sources, of course. I just checked Horton Brasses Inc: http://www.horton-brasses.com/cupcastersfor.asp
and was shocked to see cup casters like I used beginning at $35.00 a shot. Makes Lee Valley look like a deal.