Estimating for Furniture Makers:

Is the price right?

By

Richard Jones
96 Monkswood Rise, Leeds, LS14 1DP, Great
Britain
0113 265 0727 Mobile 0776 960 0912
r.jones_08@btinternet.com
www.richardjonesfurniture.com

2009, Richard Jones

Estimating for Furniture Makers.

Is the price right?
How much timber is needed to make this solid
oak and sycamore veneered paneled corner
cabinet? How long will the joinery take? What
about doing those laminated rails?

What time should be allowed to construct and

install a zebrano and maple built-in unit out of
mostly veneered board materials? How long
will it take to deliver and install it in a 17th. floor
apartment?

In both examples how do I go about calculating the

time required for polish preparation and polishing?

In this article I describe an estimating method that's

given me remarkably accurate job times for many
years. I hope others will be able to use the
information as a basis for their estimating method or
to perhaps refine their existing pricing system.

Design fees, and whether or not they are applicable,

along with how you might charge for this element of
the furniture designer makers role, are not discussed
in this text.
2009, Richard Jones

The importance of accurate estimating.

In the rush to gain skills and abilities as a furniture designer and maker its easy to forget
that going into business is just thata business. Its not an inherently romantic activity.
Business is rough, its cruel, its stressful, and it doesnt tolerate mistakes lightly.

Business needs cash-flow like lungs

need oxygen and requires profit much
like the body needs food. Cash flow
and profit are necessary to pay
overheads, salaries, investment in
business growth, holidays, sick days,
advertising, non-billable labour, etc.
Some furniture businesses act as if
they're scared of cash-flow and profit,
perhaps intimidated by the low cost
expectations of potential clients. One
key to profitability is accurate
estimating because consistently
undercharging leads only to financial
disaster.

There are numerous approaches for

estimating your charges. For instance,
a method commonly espoused is to
take materials costs, multiply by a
figure, and add the two together.
Multipliers of materials X 3 to
materials X 20 are quite common.
Whilst uncomplicated and sometimes
useful for a quick and dirty estimate
its a blunt instrument. A traditional
hand dovetailed drawer of solid wood
takes longer to produce than a

Its all too easy to forget that tool preparation

and maintenance must occur before and
during furniture construction work. Joints
cant be cut with dull tools and the
estimating system discussed has built into it
time for the essential regrinding and
sharpening of chisels and planes, along with
the maintenance of heavy machinery such as
table saws, planers, bandsaws, etc. An
allowance is required for such things as
those often forgotten tasks of tidying up after
a days work and reorganising the workshop
after completion of a large project.

2009, Richard Jones

plywood drawer box glued and nailed together. A single materials multiplication
calculation makes no allowance for such differences.

Estimating bespoke or custom furniture building is not easy even for experienced
businesses. For the beginner its daunting. Without experience its hard to know how long
all the different processes and jobs take and what a fair rate per hour is. Without initial
guidance it takes years to accumulate the experience and raw data needed to do the job.

A typical of range of projects in the type of workshop these estimating notes are
primarily written for. This is a workshop where handwork and small machine
processing is undertaken. Heavy machines used for wood processing, CNC work,
shaping, moulding and joinery operations and so on are in an adjacent room. The
range of work under construction here is what might be seen in a similarly sized
commercial workshop. On show are a reproduction mahogany cabinet in the
foreground where doors are being sized to the opening, end frame parts for a
contemporary frame and curved panel two door cabinet on a bench in the midground, a reproduction oak long case clock and a copy of an upholstered chair
frame in the background. In the right background a student works on his own
design of a chest of drawers. From hooks in the ceiling a selection of chairs hang
as examples of historical styles and construction methods.

2009, Richard Jones

Businesses must take into account their true overheads, labour costs (over and above
wages) required profit, fixed costs, etc., before deciding at what level to pitch mark ups
and labour charges. The cost of being in business can be analysed in different ways but
your overheads and fixed costs will come to a specific figure for the years trading. These
costs can be calculated to give a figure for each of the 365 days of the year, divided by 52
to establish the costs per week, or figured for the working hours per year, e.g., 40 hours X
52 = 2,080 assuming only a 40 hour week is worked. However you apportion these costs
their recovery is only possible through the billable hours.

Its quite normal for the owner of a small one person business to spend only 75% to 80%
of their working day on billable activities-- the productive hours charged out to
customers. The rest of a business persons time is taken up with management and
administrative duties such as sales, customer relations, strategic and financial planning,
book-keeping, advertising campaigns, holidays, non-working days, illness, maintenance
work, business meetings, and so on. Your billable hourly rate needs to cover these costs
somehow.

It can be extrapolated from the above example that a small business with seven workers,
one of whom is the business administrator, and the other is the business owner that the
business must charge enough through the productive billable work of the staff to cover
the cost of overhead, fixed costs, the cost of the administrator and the salary and profit
required of the business owner. The business owner is unlikely to be a consistently
productive member of the team as this persons duties are primarily those of manager, a
vital task in a profitable business but mostly non-billable.

An effective working method.

This method of estimating is primarily for furniture makers undertaking specialised
work incorporating a high percentage of traditional hand crafting skills. Businesses that
specialise in other areas of the trade, e.g., mass production operations will find them less
useful in this form, but may be able to adapt them to suit.

The procedure has its roots in a three page estimating guide I was given in the early
1980's. It relies on setting a time allowance for a job, item or process followed by
discounting for multiples of that item. Ive kept accurate records of my work over the last
2009, Richard Jones

From opposite ends of the production spectrum. At left, a streamlined mass

production operation and right a smaller general purpose workshop with a
thickness planer in operation. There is an argument that in todays working
environment a business bears the cost of expensive up-to-date technology even if it
doesnt possess it. The argument goes that if you dont have the equipment
required to perform functions efficiently then you must do the job inefficiently
which effectively comes to the same cost, or perhaps even greater. Its not an
argument I fully subscribe to as the smaller business generally aims their product
at a different customer base where continuous processing operations are not
required. However, it could be argued that truing and squaring wood with only hand
planes as opposed to using machines would be too slow even for most small
custom or bespoke furniture design and make businesses.
thirty or so years which I analyse periodically. I refine my rates based upon the results of
my analysis. Changes in work practices brought about by advances in tool technology,
improved ability, or new skills, et cetera have been incorporated into my method as
required.

Pricing uses a 5% charge reduction for each repetition of a job or unit up to a maximum
discount of 30%. A unit is a process, job, square foot, square metre, etc. Results of
calculating discounted units are rounded up or down to the nearest unit, half-hour,
square foot, and so on.

Techniques not detailed here should be added along with a time allowance allocated
according to your records. Times I suggest for a process or item should be modified
according to your ability and experience--- you might find you do jobs quicker or slower.
Long runs on the spindle moulder with a power feeder are priced differently to short
runs using less efficient methods, and you must take this into account if you dont own a
spindle moulder and power feeder.
2009, Richard Jones

Units.
All types of joints are a unit. Multiples of the same joint, e.g., 8 mortise and tenons
(M&Ts) produced for a four legged table are calculated as eight units before a reduction is
given for multiples.

All forms of length or area are units, e.g. 300 mm lengths or squares, 1 ft (12) lengths or
squares, 1 M. lengths or squares, etc.

Multiples of the same or similar items are units, e.g. 8 drawers, dissimilar in size, but all
constructed the same.

Sets of furniture are units such as a set of 12 chairs, a pair of matching cabinets, or
matching end tables. These are further marked down after they have already been
subjected to discounted prices accrued during the manufacturing process.

In explanation of the above if you price a single chair and simply multiply by the number
of chairs in a set this doesnt take into account economies of manufacture achievable
through the production of batches. Shaping 20 identical chair legs on a spindle moulder
using a pattern, jig, or fixture requires making only one pattern and one set-up procedure.
The proportion of time required to make jigs, set up the router or the spindle moulder
diminishes as the number of units produced increase.

General Notes.
These guidelines originated using the Imperial system which is not so widely used today,
with the United States as a notable exception. In working in linear and square units of
measure the calculations work most simply in feet. Strings of numbers entered into the
calculator are generally reasonably small, and many sums can simply be mentally
calculated. Metric is not as easy, but even here many of the sums can be worked in the
head thus reducing the number of keyed calculator entries.

I mostly use the metric system and a difficulty that has to be worked around is that
calculated numbers can get very long very quickly, especially if you work only in
millimetres. The screen space on a hand held calculator soon runs out and an error
2009, Richard Jones

message appears. I usually overcome this difficulty by converting metric values to

approximate Imperial equivalents prior to calculating. Another trick that you might try is
to avoid reckoning in millimetres and use metres instead. When calculating wood volume
you can input 10 pieces X 460 X 45 X 20 mm = 4,140,000 mm3, or you can punch in 10 X .46
X .045 X .02 metres = 0.00414 M3. This last method certainly helps to keep the strings of
numbers down, but I forget to move the decimal point two place to the left too often,
errors creep in, and Ive given up on using it.

However, computerised spreadsheets such as Excel are used by many people and they can
be set up to price work. Spreadsheets handle long strings of numbers easily, work in either
metric or imperial (or even royal cubits if you prefer) can convert values in one system to
values in another and will perform all sorts of useful functions. On the other hand if
youre in your workshop, your computer is at home and you need to price a job now then
you have to resort to a hand held calculator or paper and pencil.

Accountancy or bookkeeping programmes for small businesses such as Intuits

QuickBooks Pro which I use include an estimating capability where you use the Items

Screen capture shot of the Accountancy programme, QuickBooks Pro 2005. The
Items menu has charges listed for materials and processes.
2009, Richard Jones

function to create charges for jobs (as well as charges for materials and other billable
items.) Line items of charges are entered directly into an Estimate form or Invoice, the
number of units entered in the appropriate column and a price appears in the charge
column with a total calculated at the end.

1. Volume Conversions.
1 cubic metre (M3) = 35.31 cubic feet (ft3) = 423.77 board feet (bd. ft., BF or bf) in the USA.

Useful quick and dirty close conversions from cubic metres to cubic feet are: 0.5 M3 = 18
ft3 , 0.25 M3 = 9 ft3 , 0.1 M3 = 3.5 ft3.

1 ft3 (cubic foot) = 0.028 M3 = 12 board feet (BF) in the USA

There are approximately 3.79 litres in one US gallon, and 4.55 litres per Imperial gallon.

A screen view of an invoice generated from the Items menu of QuickBooks Pro.
2009, Richard Jones

To convert cubic millimetres to board feet in the US,

Divide mm by 2,350,000, e.g. 305 X 305 X 305 mm = 28,372,625/2,350,000 = 12.07 BF.

To convert cubic millimetres to cubic feet,

Divide mm by 28,200,000, e.g., 305 X 305 X 305= 28,372,625/28,200,000= 1.006 ft

Converting cubic metres into cubic feet,

Divide M by 0.0282, e.g., 0.305 X 0.305
X 0.305= 0.0283726/ 0.0282 = 1.006 ft

2. Area Conversions.
1 square metre (M) = 10.76 square feet
(ft) or, 1 ft = 0.093 M.

A useful quick and dirty near

conversion is to call 0.1 (1/10) of a
square metre 1 square foot.

Timber Buying.
Waste allowance varies from species to
species, and the form in which the
timber is sold is also a factor. Waney
edged boards are always more

Waney edged oak air drying under shelter

from direct sunlight Note the end checking,
one cause of waste that needs to be allowed
there are always faults in timber that
for when estimating timber purchases for a
cant be used. Its also necessary to cut
job. This material is extremely unlikely dry
pieces about 100 mm longer than
below 18% or 20% moisture content (MC) in
required to allow for planer snipe and typical air drying conditions found in the UK.
other machining faults at the beginning It will need to dry to about 9% or 10% MC for
indoor furniture. Acclimatisation by storing
and end of each board.
the material indoors in a drier atmosphere will
bring the MC down to an acceptable level--- so
will a short kiln drying cycle. Both these
I usually calculate the volume of
additional drying steps make the material
timber required for a job as follows:
more expensive.
wasteful than square edged stock, and

2009, Richard Jones

10

Estimate the rough sawn board requirement that will yield the finished dimensions. For
example, ten pieces at a finished size of 800 mm X 44 X 18 (31-1/2" X 1- 3/4" X 3/4") will
come out of ten pieces of rough timber 36 X 2 X 1 = ~0.42 cubic feet. Using this method
you allow an additional waste factor even though you've calculated using rough sawn
board sizes. Waney edged English oak has an additional waste factor of about 100%, so
price for 0.8 cubic feet. As examples of typical additional waste factors, use 50% for
walnut, cherry 30%, and poplar 20%.

A second method used by many is to calculate exact finished sizes with a percentage
added for waste, but it can be seen that the waste factor allowance must be higher-- in my
experience about double the factors suggested in the first method.

2009, Richard Jones

11

Materials charges.
All materials are charged at cost plus a mark up of at least 25%. This mark up applies to
solid timber, plywood, blockboard, (lumbercore in USA) MDF, HDF, LDF, MDO, veneers,
plastic laminates, (e.g. Formica,) nails, screws, polish, thinners, dyes, stains, glue, etc. The
25% mark up suggested is a minimum. A 100% mark up over cost is not uncommon.

Sundry materials.
Glue, screws, nails, sandpaper, etc., that are not bought as a direct expenses for a specific
job have to be treated as indirect costs. Allow for them as follows. Work out the cost of
direct expenses: wood, board materials,
polish, hardware, pulls, plastic laminates,

Mark ups and profit.

Ive come across some furniture making businesses

etc. Charge indirect expenses at 10% of

that resell their purchased goods at cost, which

direct expenses as in the chart overleaf. If

means taking a loss on every sale unless they are

tax is added after this calculation dont

somehow compensating for this loss in their labour

charge.

forget to do so.
Those Ive talked to that operate this way are
reluctant to overcharge their customers by marking

The materials mark up allows an element up their materials to a reasonable level.

for wastage, saw doctor services, the cost
of storage at your premises, maintenance
of machinery, tooling costs, and to
compensate time spent negotiating with

Bear in mind that every other business is more than

happy to make profit by selling marked up goods.
If the furniture maker is represented by a gallery he
or she will soon notice the gallery marks up the

suppliers, etc. It also covers costs

makers wholesale price by anywhere between 40%

incurred in selecting timber at the

and 150%. The gallery will display goods on

sawmill or yard and its collection using a

consignment, aka sale or return. Many makers resent

these levels of mark up, which is unfair. Galleries

business vehicle. Materials ordered by

have expenses too and their salaries, overheads,

phone, fax or over the internet and

and so on come from profits generated by their mark

delivered to the door should also be

marked up for resale for the same
reasons. Discounts do not apply, unless
you are able to buy in quantities, which
attract supplier discounts.

ups.
Major chains of furniture stores and shops routinely
mark up their items above cost by 300% or 400%.
This partly explains why it is possible for them to
have 50% or 75% off sales and remain profitable.
Doing some sums will quickly reveal that retailers
almost never sell goods for less than purchase cost

The 25% mark up suggested may not be

sufficient to cover overheads. Only a

except when they go out of business due to

bankruptcy and are forced to have a fire sale.

2009, Richard Jones

12

careful analysis of your costs and expenses within your business model will determine
what this figure should be, but in the first instance a 25% mark up should at least ensure
that your purchased materials are not resold at a significant loss.

Materials mark-up example.

Item.

Cost

Mark up.

Resale
charge

Direct materials: wood,

hardware, polish, board
materials, etc

500

125

625

Indirect materials: Glue

screws, nails, sandpaper,
etc., at 10% of direct
materials

50

12.50

62.50

TOTAL

687.50

Initial Machining of materials, (Millwork, USA.)

This is the squaring and truing of solid timber on all four sides, and the cutting of man
made board materials ready for other operations using typical hand fed electric powered
woodworking equipment, such as saws, surface planers (jointers) and thicknessers. The
result is parts ready for other processes, e.g., final edge preparation before gluing up solid
wood into a wider panel, or framing parts ready for cutting to final length, joints marked
and cut, etc.

There are seldom discounts applied to initial machining operations except in special
circumstances, e.g., cutting up timber and man-made board materials for a big order of
kitchen cabinets or similar projects require machines set up for long runs. Power feeders
also speed the job along. More material processed per hour can lead to a price reduction.

1. Solid Timber. Charge 28.25 hrs. per cubic metre, which equals 0.8 hrs per cubic foot
or, in America, charge 4 minutes per board foot (BF) which is the same as 15 BF per hour.

2009, Richard Jones

13

Two table sawing operations. At top

ripping hardwood rough stock to width
and thickness on a rip saw. Below a
sliding table saw in use dimensioning
man-made board, i.e., MDF.

2. Board Materials.

Charge 20 minutes

per sheet for all sheet goods whether they be,

2440 X 1220 mm, (8 X 4,) or 1500 X 1500 mm
(5X 5) Baltic birch ply, etc., ie., 3 boards per
hour.

The author facing and edging or initial

squaring timber using an overhand
surface planer, aka in the US as a
jointer. Facing and edging means
getting one wide face flat and an
adjacent narrow edge true (straight)
and square and to the first face.
The first cut illustrated, is to flatten
the face. Downward pressure should
be concentrated on the outfeed table
once the timber has passed the
cutterhead. The outfeed table is set at a
height that is tangent to the circle
described by the rotating knives. The
infeed table merely sets the depth of
cut.

These basic machining charges are good for

high quality and/or intricate work where delicate veneers and edges on board materials
must not be damaged, and solid timber requirements are pernickety. This allows you to
get the material out of storage, pick through it, select what is most suitable, make
calculations, and do primary dimensioning, (e.g., truing, squaring, and thicknessing solid
wood.) Additionally you have to move the stuff around the workshop, change blades or
cutters in saws, surface planers and thicknessers, and finally tidy up.
2009, Richard Jones

14

General Joinery for Carcases, frames, etc..

Estimate every joint in a carcase, frame or structure at 2 hrs per joint. (Variations to this
blanket two hour charge are detailed in other parts of the text.) This includes all forms of
mortise and tenon, halving joint, rail dovetail, dowel, sliding dovetail, tapered sliding
dovetail, biscuit- shown right- mitre, housing (dado, USA,) etc. It also includes all edge to
edge joints in solid timber illustrated right, whether they are tongued and grooved,
dowelled, biscuited, or rubbed joints. The
blanket single two-hour tariff allows for the
fact that some joints take longer than this
and some take less. In an average cabinet,
frame or structure a mixture of joinery is
used so two hours per joint is a safe median
time that covers most eventualities.

For every repetition of the same or similar

joint give a discount of 5% up to a maximum
of 30%. For example, four mortise and
tenons in a frame attracts a 20% discount
thus, 4 X 2hrs = 8 hrs minus 20% = 6.5 hrs to
the nearest half hour. 10 mortice and tenons
in a (door) frame gets the maximum 30%
discount, i.e., 10 X 2 hours = 20 hours minus
30% = 14 hrs.

The two hour allowance is enough to mark

the joint (or joint sample) cut it, test fit, make
adjustments to the machinery settings and
processes if machine cut, and provides time
for the final assembly with glue and clamps.
Also built in is allowance for such often

From top, biscuit jointing, rubbed edge

joint using hide glue, and mortice and
tenon joints for a table frame.
2009, Richard Jones

15

forgotten necessities as sharpening tools,

tidying up, and getting tools out of their
cabinets and their final replacement.

Hand carcase dovetailing estimate at

2 hrs per 300 mm (1 ft) length with any
additional part of 300 mm to count as 300
mm. The minimum charge is 2 hrs. e.g.,
150mm = 2 hrs. A 450 mm length = 4 hrs
prior to calculating a multiples discount
done as follows, 2 X 300 mm lengths X 2
hrs per length = 4 hrs, minus 10% (2 X 5%)

Cleaning out machine cut mortises by

hand. Housings (dados) can be seen
routed on the inside faces of a cabinet
side panel.

= 0.4 hrs giving 3.5 hrs to the nearest half

hour.

Similarly, estimate hand cut secret mitre

dovetailing or secret lap dovetailing at 2.5
hrs per 300 mm (1 ft) length, or part
length. The minimum charge is 2.5 hrs e.g.
225 mm (9) dovetail length = 2.5 hrs. A
380 mm (15) dovetail length = 5 hrs (2 X
300 mm lengths X 2.5 hrs per length)
minus 10% (2 X 5% = 0.5 hrs) giving 4.5
hrs.

Dovetailing lengths rarely exceed 800 mm

(~30) but if they do they should be treated
as described above.

Glue up and assembly of worked joints

forms part of the charge.

Double twisted dovetailing takes 6 hrs for a 300 mm (1 ft.) length or part length.
Giving a discount is entirely optional as this is a very demanding joint. I find that
increasing the length compounds the difficulty of execution and assembly.

2009, Richard Jones

16

Machine carcase dovetailing. Charge

2.5 hrs to machine dovetail all four corners
of a single large carcase using a router and
jig. Charge each additional carcase at 1 hour
each with no discounts. A large carcase is
one that is greater than 350 mm (14) deep.

Dovetail guides vary in their complexity

and ease of set up, and in their ability to
produce dovetails of different patterns.
Some users have a router dedicated to the
job and therefore always ready to go with
the correct guide bush and router bit set at
the necessary depth, so the set up time is
minimal. The times suggested are a good
place to start to avoid under pricing.

Mouldings.
Traditionally moulding was accomplished

Sawing waste from between fingers of

double twisted dovetails.

with hand held planes, either metal or

wooden, so it was worthwhile calculating this process in detail for short runs of say 0.5 M.
or a couple of feet. In modern work most plain mouldings are produced with hand held or
inverted routers. Larger shops usually have a spindle moulder (shaper) as well. In
estimating for moulding a large set up time is required to run a short length. Once a
machine is set it will quickly run long lengths of the required profile.

Some mouldings, particularly those done with routers that need multiple set ups using
different bit profiles require pricing as a series of distinct profiles.
(Continued on page 19)

2009, Richard Jones

17

Notes on modern cabinetry, e.g., built-in kitchens, bedroom furniture,

bathroom cabinetry, study furniture, and simpler free standing furniture, etc.
Modern carcass joinery uses plywood, melamine faced chipboard, MDF, and so on,
and pre-veneered show panels in conjunction with the 32 mm Euro frameless
system of assembly. The installation of drawers is usually on metal slides and the
doors mounted on proprietary hinges. An older but still popular style of built in
kitchen furniture includes a face frame on which doors are hung and drawers move
on either wooden runners or modern metal slides.
In both cases the boxes are economically assembled at the corners with machined
joints formed with plate jointers, drills, routers, spindle moulders and a wide
selection of knock down (KD) or quick assembly fittings. in the US unlike Europe
another common way of working the joints is with dado blades in a cabinet or
contractors saw.
Fixed shelves may be simply housed (dadoed) with full housings or with a shoulder
worked on the shelf ends. Typical joints are biscuit joints, dowel joints, tongue and
housing (US tongue and dado) or tongue and groove joints, full housings or
grooves, rebates for full thickness panels glued and all screwed together.
A single example of any of this type of joint is priced at 0.5 hrs. If you set up to
construct a large run of such cabinets, estimate at 6 joints per hour (ie, ten minutes
per joint) with no discounting allowance. The time allowed should be sufficient to
set up the machinery, cut the joints, assemble the carcase, and air nail/staple/screw
the back panel into the rebate worked on the cabinets back edge, i.e., 2 cabinets
every 1.5 hrs, or in an 8 hour day, 10.5 cabinets. In cabinets with a single fixed shelf
allow one hour to cut the six joints and assemble the cabinet, i.e. 8 cabinets per 8
hr., work day with, again, no discount for multiple runs.
Line boring for the 32 mm system, and making and hanging doors, working
mouldings and applying trim, etc., is estimated separately. Line boring for instance
costs 0.5 hrs per side, i.e., a run of holes on the front and back edge.

CNC machinery in use on flat panel

processing at a large scale furniture
manufacturer.

Installing 32mm (Euro) style door hinges

into pre-bored holes.

2009, Richard Jones

18

(Continued from page 17)

Price moulding in three separate stages for either the router or spindle moulder.

1. Set up time.

2. Running the moulding.

3. Preparing the moulding for polish, i.e., removing the cutter marks. Some work typically
omits this last process, e.g., architectural mouldings.

The following suggested times have the discount element worked into them with the
exception of given examples.

Moulding with a hand held or inverted table mounted router.

Fit router bit and set router. Remove bit and tidy up at the end of the run, 0.5 hrs.

Run 1 metre (3 ft) of moulding, 0.5 hrs. The minimum charge is 1 hr.

For each additional metre (or part) worked with a hand held router charge at 5 minutes
per metre or 12 metres per hour.

For each additional metre with an inverted table router charge at 15 metres (45 ft.) per
hour.

An important element of doing this job is the time spent moving material around and
cleaning up at the end of the job.

Table top rule joints are an example that should be thought of as two distinct mouldings,
plus the fitting of hinges and testing the joint.

Spindle Moulding (Shaping in US.) Standard set up charge to fit the knives to the
moulding head and install it on the machine, run test cuts, and fine tune the fence, guards,
etc, and at the end of the job tidying up = 1 hr.

2009, Richard Jones

19

Hand feeding. Charge 0.5 hrs for each 10

metre (30 ft) run. The minimum charge is
therefore 1.5 hrs including set up time.

Power feeding. Charge 0.5 hrs per 50

metre (~150 ft.) run. The minimum charge is
1.5 hrs. including set up time.

Charge 2 hrs per pair of cutters to grind and

sharpen for custom profiles.

Cutter manufacturers offer a bespoke or

Overhead router used with 6 mm copy

pin protruding above the router table
running in a 6 mm groove cut in the
underside of the MDF panel being
worked to create matching 6 mm groove
in the top surface of the panel.

custom grinding service for unusual

profiles. This is usually a direct cost to the job and should be marked up by at least 25% as
discussed before and billed to the client, e.g., your cost, 100. Charge 125 to the client.

Additional Moulding Notes.

Wide plain mouldings are sometimes built up of small mouldings glued together to
achieve the width. Each moulding is priced individually. Add to this the cost incurred in
gluing the parts together. Price the assembly part of the job at 2 hrs per joint, subject to the
5% reductions as outlined elsewhere.

Curved and compound curved moulding, e.g., arched doors, cabinet and chair legs.
This type of work varies greatly in its complexity. It usually requires patterns, jigs or
fixtures with special safety hold downs. These additional elements must be accounted for
as well as all the normal charges for doing the moulding. It may be all that is required is a
template taking 1 hour to make prior to setting up the router with a pattern cutting bit and
running the moulding. Once these patterns are made they are re-usable. Most business
store frequently used patterns therefore the full cost of making these jigs should only be
charged to customers commissioning a one-off job.

Cutters ground for a specific profile are usually kept in storage for future use and
modification. This is a means by which savings can sometimes be achieved.
2009, Richard Jones

20

Carved Mouldings. Estimate the

moulding portion of carved work as plain
moulding. For the hand carving charge 2
hrs for each 300 mm (1 ft.) length of
material up to 50 mm (2) wide. For each
additional 50 mm width add 1 hour.

For example to carve a 300 mm L X 80 mm

wide moulding the basic calculation is 2
hours for the 300 mm length, plus 1 hour
for the 50 mm width increment = 3 hrs. If
the piece to be carved is 550 mm X 80 mm

Profiling of a cabinet leg in an L shaped

cradle jig with a spindle moulder and
bearing guided profiling cutter is shown
here note that guards are removed to
illustrate the technique.

the basic time allowance is 6 hrs. Discount

carving in 5% increments up to the
maximum 30% meaning in the last
example the charge would be 5-1/2 hrs to
the nearest half hour.

Turning.
Estimate at 1 hr. per 300 mm length for
diameters up to 50 mm. The minimum
charge is 1 hr.

For reeds, flutes and other mouldings on

turnings, estimate as for mouldings taking
the circumference at the greatest diameter
as the width of the moulding.
Running drawer bottom groove in drawer
sides and front with spindle moulder (US
shaper.)

2009, Richard Jones

21

Add 1 hr. per 300mm length for each additional 50 mm of diameter. Discount turning in
the usual 5% increments. A pair of turned dining chair front legs at something less than 2
ft long is charged at 2 hrs each (4 hrs) less 20% = 3 hours. For a set of twelve chairs
multiply the 3 hrs per set by 12 = 36 hrs, and apply the 30% multiples discount = 25 hours.

Turning a front rocking chair leg between centres.

2009, Richard Jones

22

Drawers.
Hand dovetailed drawers. Estimate at 8 hrs per drawer for a single premium quality
traditional drawer. This means making the drawer complete starting with random lengths
of squared timber. Apart from cutting the timber to length and pre-fitting, the dovetails
must be marked and executed. The charge includes time for making and installing a solid
wood bottom. This is fitted to slips moulded and joined to the drawer sides. The drawer is
finally installed by skimming with a hand plane to suit the opening. Attaching handles is
extra and depends upon the handle. Carving or turning and installing wooden handles
takes longer than screwing on a proprietary item. Lesser quality drawers dont take so
long to make and should be priced accordingly.

Fitting cockbeads to drawers are estimated at half an hour per 300 mm. (1 ft) length, plus
0.5 hrs per scarf joint or corner mitre.

Producing separate mouldings for later planting on to drawer fronts are estimated as for
mouldings, plus half an hour per joint and 0.5 hrs each for installing each 300 mm length
as with cockbeads.

All the drawer making operations described are discounted in 5% increments up to 30%. A
nest of 5 hand cut graduated drawers in a cabinet can be calculated, 5 X 8 (hrs) minus 25%
= 30 hrs.

Drawers, machine dovetailed. Boxes, machine cut finger (box lock)

joints.
To set up and cut one machine dovetailed (or finger jointed) drawer box charge 1.5 hrs,
after which charge 1 hour per drawer.

Making and Hanging Doors.

Estimate at 4 hrs per door for hanging and fitting, including notching out and attaching
brass butt hinges and locks. Fitting handles or pulls is extra and should be charged in the
same way as drawer handles as described before.

2009, Richard Jones

23

Making the doors, e.g., frame and raised

panel doors are estimated using charges as
outlined in other sections for joinery,
mouldings, etc..

Estimate glazed doors with wooden

tracery at 2 hrs per glass pane in addition
to door frame joinery.

Doors constructed using matched

cutters with an inverted router or
spindle moulder.
Examples are rail and stile door joinery in
modern kitchens , i.e., with a stub tenon

Fitting doors to a cabinet with extruded

brass butt hinges, brass cut cupboard
lock, escutcheon and flush sunk bolts
installed in the edge of the leading left
hand door.

and scribed (coped) reverse image mouldings at the rail ends where they match the stile
profile.

1. Set up cutters and machine first set of door parts, i.e., one with four corner joints, 1.5
hours. Time allowed covers the set up time, test fitting, and then running the mouldings.
Gluing and assembling the door with its separately priced panel or glazing follows.
Increase the charge accordingly if there are additional rails, mullions or muntins.

Thereafter charge 1 hour for each additional door with no reductions for multiples.

Bending wood. Steam bending and laminates.

For laminated structures working in square metres is rather cumbersome to estimate
small laminated and steam bent surface areas (and for pricing veneering or leather work.)
Using square feet for these calculations is almost always easier because the sums are
simple. Every surface square foot of a bend is charged at 8 hours. For example, if you want
to form an arced laminated panel that is 25" long with a 12" arc that is 1/2" thick the sum is
(25 X 12) / 144 = 2.08 ft. Similarly, a part, eg a rail, with a 34" long arc, 2" wide X 7/8"
thick calculate (34 X 2) / 144 = 0.47 ft. Apply a 5% discount to each additional square foot
up to a 30% maximum, e.g., 5ft equals 40 hrs less 25% = 30 hours, and 10 ft = 56 hrs
which includes the maximum 30% discount.
2009, Richard Jones

24

The times suggested dont make

adjustments for such factors as the
complexity of the mould or former that
must be made, nor for the method of
bending-- cold bag press, heated bag press,
cauls, cold clamping, male only or male/
female moulds, etc. No allowance is made
for the number of laminates required to
create the necessary thickness. The figures
also dont account for time needed to
prepare the bending materialthis might
be the simple cutting of bending ply into
strips, rectangles or squares compared to
producing bandsawn veneers in the
workshop. The suggested 8 hours/square
foot rate is a good base figure that's
adjustable according to task complexity.
The job entails producing the bending
form or jig which sometimes requires
modification, or even a completely new
form must be made to compensate for
unexpectedly large springback. Preparing
the laminates, spreading glue, applying
clamping pressure, and tidying up after

Cold bending a bent plywood lamination

in a male/female mould made of chipboard
(US particle board.) The inside and outside
faces are veneered with 3 mm thick oak
glued up during the bending operation.
The glue is urea formaldehyde, a glue that
dries rigid thus reducing creep and
springback.

the job follows this.

Using metric dimensions for small jobs, i.e., less than 1 metre square means the calculator
keying can get quite complex and mistakes are all too easy to make. To hand calculate
laminating jobs using square metres for shaped doors, drawer fronts, legs, etc., estimate at
8 hrs per glued up square 300mm = 90,000 mm or 1ft. Like square feet, 300 mm squares
are subject to the usual 5% discount calculations.

2009, Richard Jones

25

Whether calculating areas in metric or imperial measurements a 5% reduction accrues for

each matching shape up to a maximum of 30%, e.g., 4 drawer fronts of the same radius but
of different widths, and a mirror image of each other need just one bending former.

For large jobs, i.e., 0.6 M. Sq. or above, calculate at 60 hrs per M which includes the
maximum 30% discount, i.e., 1M = 86 hrs -- 30% = 25.8 hrs = 60 hrs rounded to the nearest
0.5 hr.)

Bending wood, steaming. Use the same numbers and discounts as laminate bending,
i.e., 8 hours per square foot.

Sundry work.
Carcase Backs. Framed backs using full mortise and tenons should be estimated using
numbers and discounts described in other sections.

For installation of backs charge 2 hrs. Therefore, the minimum charges for installing a
back, e.g. of plain plywood, is 2 hrs. The time includes an allowance to work the necessary
grooves or rebate (rabbet) in the carcase sides and top.

Adjustable shelves. Estimate at 1 hr. per shelf for fitting and fixing on shelf standard,
pins, etc.

Tops. Attaching tops to carcases and table frames usually takes 1 hr. per top, e.g., using L
shaped expansion plates.

Where the top rails have to be cut out to accommodate the plate estimate at 2 hrs.

If tops are attached with wooden buttons or traditionally formed pocket screws, allow 3.5
hrs to cover forming the pockets or for button fabrication and installation into the channels
which must be worked.

2009, Richard Jones

26

Be a little flexible with these figures to

account for the size of the top, your work
methods, and the number of plates,
buttons, pockets, etc., to be made and
installed.

Legs. Cabriole legs charge at 4 hrs per leg

complete with wings. Estimate cabriole
legs with carved feet such as claw and ball

Fitting split turned quarter columns along

with various mouldings to an oak
at 8 hrs per leg complete with wings.
reproduction long case clock. Hot hide
Charge knee carvings, e.g. acanthus leaf or
glue and rub joints are mostly employed.
shell at 4 hrs and price carved scrolls at 1
These tasks have similar time
hr. each. All work on cabriole legs is
requirements to the fitting of chair corner
blocks and other sundry processes.
subject to the 5% reductions up to the
maximum 30% discount.

Estimate moulded legs the same as mouldings as previously detailed, eg, 1 hr. per 300mm
length or part length. For example turned fluted (or reeded) legs are priced as turning plus
moulding.

Corner Blocks. Estimate four corner blocks fully jointed into chair frames at 4 hrs per
chair frame.

Corner blocks simply mitred and glued into the corner estimate at 1 hr. per chair. If you
add two or more screws to the blocks charge 1.75 hrs per chair.

Knuckle Joints. Estimate at 2 hrs per joint up to 300mm (12) of length. Knuckle joints
rarely exceed 200 mm long and are priced the same as through dovetail joints.

2009, Richard Jones

27

Veneering.
Estimate at 1.5 hrs per 300mm (foot) square
discounting at 5% per additional ft. The
tasks include preparing the ground,
flattening tricky veneers, arranging the
veneer pattern, and hand preparing with
knives and veneer saws. Often packs of
sliced veneers are edge jointed straight
with a plane with the packs held flat
between sheets of plywood or MDF. (If a
guillotine and joint stitching equipment is
available this will speed up the job and
charges could be reduced to reflect this
efficiency.)

The edges are taped with veneer tape after

straightening, glue applied, and the veneer
pressed. Lastly there is trimming
overhanging edges, removing tape and
tidying up after the job. Planing, scraping
and sanding in readiness for polishing is a
separate charge.

Top. Applying urea formaldehyde glue

with a roller to an MDF ground prior to
veneering in the hydraulic veneer press in
the background.

Bottom. Pomelle sapele veneer applied to

the top face of the MDF ground. Both
earlier calculating veneering jobs in square
sides of the panel are veneered and
metres can become rather complicated.
pressed simultaneously.
As with bent wood laminating described

Anything over 0.6 metre square can be

calculated in whole metres and automatically attracts a 30% discount, i.e., 11 hrs per
square metre. At 1.5 hrs per ft for the job, each square metre takes 16.14 hrs. Deduct from
this the 30% discount to give 11 hrs.)

Veneer work for very large projects such as conference tables, large custom built cabinetry,
wall panelling, etc., are often best subcontracted to panel product and veneering
2009, Richard Jones

28

specialists. With their specialised equipment, skills and concentration in a niche market
they beat the small workshop on price every time. Whilst subcontracting veneer work
sometimes means making compromises in the design work and adjustments have to be
made in the workshop schedule, savings to the client are usually substantial.

Crossbanding and Inlaid lines are

charged at 0.5 hrs per 300mm (foot) length
and use the 5% per 300 mm. unit discount
calculation. Charge 0.5 hrs per joint, e.g.,
mitre or scarf.

Leather and Baize tops-- estimate as for

veneering.
Traditional hand veneering. Applying
beech veneer to an MDF ground using hot
hide glue, an iron and damp cloth and a
veneer hammer

A large heated hydraulic press and glue spreader in the foreground typical of
commercial veneering or plastic laminate application to large panels.

2009, Richard Jones

29

Preparation for Polishing and Polishing.

The preparation needs of premium quality craft work will normally include the use of
smoothing planes, block planes, hand scraping and hand sanding which is often
augmented by some power sanding. Commercial quality work relies a great deal on
power sanding using tools such as oscillating belt thicknessing sanders, drum sanders,
panel (stroke) sanders, bobbin sanders, horizontal belt sanders and handheld random
orbital sanders, etc., which limits the use of hand tools.

Whichever method is used its necessary to remove the quite deeply hammered marks that
the planer cutters sometimes leave below the surface of the wood, and veneers have
characteristic cross grain scoring that have to be removedthe scoring is caused by the
knives that sliced the veneer off the log.

Polishing routines undertaken on improperly prepared surfaces, particularly horizontal

surfaces such as table tops, will reveal every omission in the preparation stage. The quality
of finish and the work required will vary according to circumstances. High quality
furniture demands meticulous preparation
on show wood, less work on such items as
drawer sides and backs, and sometimes
little or no work on hidden structural
parts. It is quite common to see
architectural or commercial woodwork
polished or painted straight off the
machine, eg, thickness planers, drum
sanders, spindle moulders, etc. In this type
you will find door/window facings, many
kitchen cabinets, chair rails, cornice work,
and so on. There are circumstances where
the client will demand better preparation
and polishing of these architectural parts
and is willing to pay for it.

Stripping a table frame. This is a job that

has to be undertaken from time to time by
furniture makers. In this case the table
was made by me and came in for repair
after damage during transportation and
gallery exhibition. Methylene chloride
based strippers are most effective on
most film finishes. Stripping the varnish
off this table frame took about three
hours.

2009, Richard Jones

30

Good quality polishing whether a nitrocellulose type applied by spray gun, a

brushed on finish, wiped on varnishes, or
traditional French polishing are all
pernickety jobs requiring more time and
skill than most people new to the business
of furniture making realise. One of the
easiest and lowest tech finishes to apply
are the oil finishes, e.g., boiled linseed oil
and pure tung oil, but just because they are Using a power stroke sander to level a
panel ready for colouring and polishing
relatively easy to apply it doesnt mean
with a sprayed nitrocellulose lacquer.
that they can be done properly if enough
time isnt set aside. Also time consuming are the group of ragged-on or wiped-on polishes
called variously tung oil finish, tung oil varnish, wiping polyurethane, okene, Danish oil,
etc. These are all thinned oil based products with added resins of one sort or another
designed to increase their durability and water resistance over pure oil finishes, even if the
increase in these qualities is, in some cases, only marginal.

The small workshop does not have production line facilities to speed wood preparation
and polishing processes along, especially on large jobs. Getting the surface right before
applying the finish is not easy. Matching dyes and stains can be troublesome. Weather
conditions can throw the schedule out of kilter. Things are constantly moved around to
make space to polish the next batch. With large polishing jobs all other production usually
grinds to a halt because of it. Its not unusual to find the preparation for and actual
polishing of a job consumes up to 30% of all the time devoted to it, e.g., a job lasting 100
hrs might include 20 or 30 hours of wood preparation and polishing.

Polish preparation using mostly hand methods, handplanes, scrapers, etc., charge 5.5
hrs per M or 0.5 hrs per square foot.

Preparing surfaces using mostly power sanding or oscillating thickness sanders, etc.,
charge at 0.75 hrs per square metre, or 15 ft per hour.

2009, Richard Jones

31

Scraping and sanding mouldings up to 50 mm (2) wide, charge 0.5 hrs per lineal metre, or
1 hour per lineal 6 feet, i.e., 10 minutes per foot. No discounts for polish preparation are
applicable.

Dyeing, staining, grain filling, and polishing.

Dyeing and Staining
Charge at 0.75 hrs per M or 15 square
feet per hour. This allows for mixing
dyes or stains, raising the grain and
sanding back if using water based
products, applying the colouring agent
by spray gun, cloth or brush, wiping
off, and cleaning up afterwards.

Grain filling charge at 2 hrs per

Applying water based aniline dye by hand to

American black walnut panels.

square metre, or 1 hour per 5 square

feet (12 minutes per foot.)

Polishing
Coverage
Nitro-cellulose type finishes such as pre-catalysed lacquer and acid catalysed lacquer
coverage is approximately 60 ft per litre, which is roughly the same as 6 metres per litre.
Applied as per the manufacturers recommendations of a wet film between 100 to 125
microns* (m) thick gives a dry film thickness of roughly 30 40 after the solvents have
evaporated and the finish is fully cured. Therefore three coats applied over a surface area
of 5.5 m needs approximately 2.75 litres of polish, i.e., (5.5 m X 3 coats)/0 6 m per litre =
2.75 litres.
(Continued on page 34)

* A micron, aka micrometer, is one millionth of a metre. In North America the

measurement unit mil or thou (of an inch) is used quite commonly. A mil or a thou
equals 25.4 microns (m). 100 microns or 4/1000 (4 mil) is about the thickness of a
typical human head hair.
2009, Richard Jones

32

Spray polishing bedside cabinet parts with an alkyd varnish using a small pressure
pot. The advantages of a pressure pot or the more modern and safer low pressure
pump polish delivery systems using hoses to get the fluid to the gun are numerous.
Spraying can continue for long periods without refilling. A suction cup attached to
the base of the gun or a gravity pot gun seem to require filling every few minutes on
large jobs and continuity is more difficult. There is a great deal more freedom for
the operator with fluid and air lines supplying the gunpolish can be applied with
the gun at any angle, even above the operators head. Weight is reduced as there is
frequently no need to carry a pot full of heavy polish about if the supply hoses are
long enough.
Clean up after polishing is a little more involved as the fluid line must be cleaned of
polish, but in my experience proper clean up of a gun, lines and tank followed by
lubricating the various parts takes no more than ten or so minutes.
Oil based varnishes are not ideal for spraying. The technique requires practice as
its slightly different to the technique used for applying normal lacquers such as
pre-catalysed lacquer. It dries so slowly that runs, sags, fat edges and curtains form
easily if the material application is too heavythese are the same problems that
occur if brush application is also poor so there are many similarities.
I find the most unpleasant characteristic of spraying oil based varnish is the sticky
overspray. Overspray remains wet in the air and even stays wet for a while after it
lands on horizontal surfaces. It gets all over your arms and settles on any horizontal
surface within the area. If you have hairy arms as I do the hairs get gummed
together. On flat surfaces the overspray dries rough to the touch and, and if this flat
surface is an important part of the piece of furniture, the problem requires
significant time to repair.

2009, Richard Jones

33

(Continued from page 32)

Times for Polishing

Times given here apply to spray polishing of nitro-cellulose type lacquers, oil varnishes,
shellac, etc. Adjustments should be made for other techniques, e.g., French polishing or
water borne polishes, etc. Charge 1/2 an hour per coat per square metre. Therefore charge
1 hour per square metre for two coats, and 1.5 hours per square metre to apply three coats.

If you work in square feet use the slightly smaller area of 10 square feet as the basis for
calculating and charge 0.5 hours per coat. Three coats sprayed on 10 square feet takes 1.5
hrs. Ive never given discounts for polishing and found these figures to be reliable.

Ive not listed other finishing techniques often employed. Glazing between coats has been
omitted, and so too have specialised techniques such as dealing with blotching in woods
prone to it, e.g., cherry, pine and maple. Applying thin barrier coats between dyeing,
staining and grain filling have no suggested charges, nor have dyeing using spray
techniques or staining using gel stains, etc. These and other processes need to be
understood and practiced before they can be priced successfully. Skilled finishers develop
the necessary knowledge and expertise for accurate estimating. The times suggested for
the most common techniques as described give a good basis to build on and, importantly,
allow enough time to do the job properly and profitably.

Delivery
Finally, it shouldnt be forgotten that a new piece of furniture doesnt get out of your
workshop and into the clients house all on its own. It has to be delivered and if its a builtin piece it has to be installed. Ive always charged for delivery and a simple way to
estimate it is to use van hire day rates plus a flat mileage rate to cover expenses as a basis
for your prices. (Using about the same mileage rate as companies pay staff for private car
usage is a good baseline.) Add to this the number of man hours required to pack, wrap
and load the piece and deliver it to your client and work out a price.

For example, if the day rate for a hire van is 60, and the delivery address is within 25
miles of your place of business requiring two people for half a day, charge 60 plus your
mileage rate, plus 8 hours at your rate per hour. If you must really hire a van to get all the
2009, Richard Jones

34

items delivered in one journey then you should pass on the vehicle hire charge with your
mark-up, hourly labour rates and mileage charge to the client.

Installation of built in furniture can take anything from a day or two up to a week or more.
This time should be charged at your normal workshop rates your workshop overheads
and other business costs don't go away and still have to be paid.

2009, Richard Jones

35

Table summarising jobs and processes with suggested time

allowance.
Process or Job

Unit of
measure

Charge per
unit

Materials

Mark up

Mark up
minimum
of 25%

Initial machining of solid

wood
Initial machining of wood

Cubic metre

28.25 hrs.

No.

Cubic foot

0.8 hrs.

No

Initial machining of wood

(US)

Board foot (BF)

No.

Machining of board
materials

Board

15 BF per
hour (4
minutes per
BF)
0.33 hrs
each or 3
boards per
hour.

Joinery.
Mortise and tenon,
halving, rail dovetail,
dowel, sliding dovetail,
tapered sliding dovetail,
biscuit, mitre, housing
(dado in US) edge
lippings, solid timber edge
joints, etc.
Hand cut through carcass
dovetailing

5%
discount
scheme up
to 30%?
No

2 hrs.

Yes

Foot length, or
300 mm
length.

2 hrs

Yes

Hand cut secret lap or

secret mitre dovetailing.

Foot length, or
300 mm
length.

2.5 hrs.

Yes

Double twisted
dovetailing

Foot length, or
300 mm
length.

6 hrs.

No

Machine carcase
dovetailing

One large
carcase, i.e.,
deeper than ~
350 mm (10)

2009, Richard Jones

Yes. Each
additional
carcase at 1
hr. each.

36

Calculate
from
purchase
cost.

No

Per Joint.

2.5 hrs

Notes.

Used in all
structures,
e.g.,
cabinets,
tables,
chairs, beds,
etc.
Part length
to count as
300 mm
length
Part length
to count as
300 mm
length
Increased
length
increases
difficulty.

Unit of measure
Process or Job

Charge per
unit

5% discount
to 30%? Yes/
No. Alternative

Notes.

discounts
suggested where
appropriate.

Mouldings 1. With
hand held or inverted
router.
Set up time.
Mould first metre, 3 ft.
Run additional lengths
with hand held
router.
Run additional lengths
with inverted router.

Set up charge
Metre (3 ft.)

0.5 hrs.
0.5 hrs.

No
No

Metre (3)

12 M/hr.
(36ft/hour)
15 M/hr. (45
ft./ hr.)

No.

1 hr. (1/2 hour

each cutter.)
1 hr. (i.e., 1/2
hr. each.

No

3. Sand out cutter

ripples.
4. Fit 3 drop leaf
hinges.

1 hr.

No

0.75 hrs., each

Yes, for
multiple
leaves and
tables.

1. Set up charge.
2. Hand feed 10
metre run (30)
3. Power feed 50
metre run.
4. Grind matched
cutters.

1 hr.

No.

0.5 hrs.

Yes.

0.5 hrs.

Yes.

2 hrs.

No.

1. 300 mm (1 ft.)
lengths up 50
mm (2) wide.
2. 300 mm L X
100 mm W.

2 hrs.

Yes

3 hrs.

Yes.

Metre (3 ft.)

1. Set up charge.
Mouldings 2.
Table top rule joints

Moulding, 4.
Spindle moulder
(shaper in US)

Carving of moulded
profiles

2. Run moulding.

2009, Richard Jones

37

No

Yes (for
multiples)
5.25 hrs.

Minimum
charge =
1.5 hrs.

Unit of measure
Process or Job

5% discount
to 30%? Yes/
No. Alternative

Notes.

1 hr.

Yes.

2 hrs.

Yes.

For reeding
fluting, etc., on
turnings treat as
moulding taking
the circumference
as the moulding
width.

Charge
per unit

discounts
suggested
where
appropriate.

Turning.

1. 300 mm length
X 50 mm
diameter
2. 300 mm length
by 100 mm
diameter.

Making and fitting traditional drawers with hand cut dovetails

Unit of
measure

Charge per
unit

Pre-fit solid wood parts,

mark and cut dovetails,
make slips with grooves,
edge moulding and rear
notch and front tenon,
make and fit solid wood
bottom, assemble draw,
finally shooting in to fit
with handplanes, fit lock.

Per Drawer,
complete.

8 hrs.

5%
discount
scheme
up to
30%?
Yes

Fit cockbead.

300 mm

0.5 hrs.

Yes

Mitre/scarf cockbead.

Joint.

0.5 hrs.

Yes

Attach planted mouldings.

300 mm (1ft)

0.5 hrs.

Yes

Mitre or scarf planted

moulding.

Joint.

0.5 hrs.

Yes

Process or Job

2009, Richard Jones

38

Notes.

Fitting pulls is
extra all
depending on
type of pull.
Metal screw
on pulls take
five minutes
whereas a
workshop
made wooden
pull must be
made and
estimated as a
distinct job.

Other drawers, and drawer related work

Unit of
measure

Charge per
unit

Per drawer
box

1.5 hrs

Per front

0.5 hrs.

Drawer

1 hr.

Unit of
measure

Charge per
unit

1. Installing Doors.

Fitting,
hanging,
attach hinges
and locks.

2. Tracery work

Per pane of
glass
Set up charge
and cut four
corner joints.

Process or Job
Drawer box, machine
dovetailed or finger
jointed. Cut solid
wooden parts or
plywood to length, set
up dovetailing jig, cut
dovetails, run groove for
bottom, cut plywood
bottom to size, assemble
drawer box.
Attach planted front to
machine dovetailed
drawer box.

Fit proprietary metal

drawer slides, keyboard
slides, etc.

5%
discount
scheme up
to 30%?
Yes. After
first
drawer
charge 1 hr.
per
additional
drawer
box.

Notes.

Attaching
pulls. See
note above
for handcut
drawers.

Yes, charge
at 20
minutes
per
additional
drawer3
per hour.
Yes.
Charge 0.5
hrs for each
additional
drawer.

Estimate
construction
of front as a
separate job.

Notes.

4 hrs

5%
discount
scheme up
to 30%?
Yes

2 hrs.

Yes.

1.5 hrs.

Yes.
Charge
every
additional
door at 1
hour each.

Door work
Process or Job

Matched cutters,
inverted routersdoor
joinery.
Cut and assemble joints.

2009, Richard Jones

39

Attaching
pulls should
be charged
separately
according to
complexity.
Used for
modern
kitchen
cabinetry,
etc.

Miscellaneous work
Process or Job

1. Bending woodlaminated and steam

bending.
2. Bending wood 2--estimating jobs greater
than 0.6 square metres.

Carcase backs.
1. Framed backs.
2. Install back.

Unit of
measure

Charge per
unit

5%
discount
scheme up
to 30%?

Square foot.

8 hrs

Yes.

Square metre

60 hrs.

No.
Discounted
time
included in
hourly rate.

Joint.
Per back

2 hrs.
2 hrs.

Yes.
Yes

Line Boringfor 32
mm European style
cabinetry using multi
spindle line borer.

Per cabinet
side.

0.5 hrs.

Yes.

Loose shelvesfitting
and fixing.

Per shelf

1 hr.

Yes

Per top.

1 hr.

Yes.

Per top.

3.5 hrs.

Yes.

Tops- cabinets and

tables.
1. Using proprietary
metal expansion plates,
etc..
2. With wooden
buttons made in
workshop, or pocket
screws.

2009, Richard Jones

40

Notes.

Estimate
using joinery
and
moulding
times.

For
adjustable
shelves on
standards, 5
mm shelf
pins, etc..

Cabriole legs, chair work, knuckle joints

Process or Job

1. Cabriole legs.
2. Cabriole legcarved
foot (claw and ball) +
wings.
3. Add knee carving,
e.g., acanthus.
4. Add scrolls.
Corner blocks, for
chairs, etc.
1. Jointed in place
2. Mitred and rub
jointed.
3. As at 2 above + screws
Knuckle Joints

Unit of
measure

Charge per
unit

5%
discount
scheme up
to 30%?

Notes.

Per leg
Per leg

4 hrs.
8 hrs.

Yes.
Yes.

Knee

4 hrs.

Yes.

Price
moulded
legs as
mouldings
detailed
earlier.

Scroll.

1 hr.

Yes.

Per chair
Per chair

4 hrs.
1 hr

Yes
Yes

Per chair
300 mm
length.

1.5 hours
2 hrs.

Yes
Yes.

Veneering, inlays, stringing, cross banding, leather work

Unit of
measure

Charge per
unit

1. Small areas with

hammer, vacuum bag or
press.
2. Areas greater than 0.6
metres square (if
calculating in square
metres.)

300 mm
squares, or 1
ft. squares.
Square metre

1.5 hrs.

3. Crossbanding and
inlaid lines
4. Scarfing and mitreing
crossbanding and inlaid
lines.
Leather and baize tops.

300 mm
length
Joint

0.5 hrs

No.
(Discount
already
calculated
into time.)
Yes.

0.5 hrs

Yes

Process or Job

11 hrs.

5%
discount
scheme up
to 30%?
Yes

Notes.

Price as
veneering

2009, Richard Jones

41

Preparing wood for polishing or finishing

Process or Job
Hand methods (feet)
Hand methods (metres)

Unit of
measure
Square foot.
Square metre

Charge per
unit
0.5 hrs
5.5 hrs.

Power sanding (feet)

Square foot

Power sanding (metres)

Square metre

4 minutes (15
sq. ft per hr.)
0.75 hrs.
0.5 hrs per M

3. Preparing mouldings

Lineal metre
or lineal foot
up to 50 mm
wide.

Notes

No
discounts

1 hr per 6 ft.

Polishing/ finishing
Unit of
measure

Charge per
unit

Lacquer Coverage 1

Square metres
per litre

6 metres per
litre

Lacquer Coverage 2

65 ft per litre

Dyeing and staining

Square feet per

litre
Square metre

Dyeing and staining

Square feet

Grain filling

Square metre

4 minutes per
foot (15 sq. ft
per hr.)
2 hrs

Grain filling

Square feet

Spray polishing, per

coat.
Spray polishing, per
coat

Square metre

12 mins per
foot (5 feet per
hour.)
0.5 hrs

10 square feet

0.5 hrs

Process or Job

5%
discount
scheme up
to 30%?
No

Notes.

1 mil dry
film
thickness.

No

0.75 hrs.

None

Example.
Spraying 3
coats of
polish when
calculating
in metres
therefore
equals 1.5
hrs per
square
metre.

Discounting for multiples of the same piece of furniture, e.g., sets of chairs, pair of
cabinets, pair of end tables, etc..
Calculate time required to make one item, and discount at 5% per additional item up
to the maximum of 30% and multiply by the number in the set
Example.
Time estimated to make one chair, 50 hrs.
4 chair set attracts 4 X 5% discount = 20%.
Therefore 50 hrs minus 20% = 40 hrs.
4 chairs X 40 hrs = 160 hours.
2009, Richard Jones

42

Sample Estimate for a 5 Drawer Cabinet, 1270 mm H X 760 mm W X

330 mm D on Cabriole Legs.
Description of operation and calculations.

Timber preparation. 5 cubic feet X 0.8 hrs/ft.

=
Hour
s.
4

Machine plywood for drawer bottoms. 1 board at 0.3 hrs. per board

0.3

Edge joinery of solid wood to make large panelstop, base, and sides. 8 joints @
2 hrs ea. = 16 hrs, less 30%= 4.8 hrs
4 cabriole legs @ 4 hrs each, 16 hrs, less 4 X 5% =20 % = 3.2 hrs.

11

5 drawers @ 8 hrs = 40 hrs, less 5 X 5% = 25% =10 hrs.

30

2 bottom carcase dovetails 330 mm long @ 2 hrs per 300 mm = 4 hrs. = 8 hrs. less
2 X 5% = 0.8 hrs.
8 drawer rail and muntin joints =16 hrs less 6 X 5% = 30 % = 5.3 hrs.

4 top rail joints = 8 hrs less 4 X 5% = 20 % = 1.6 hrs.

6.5

8 base frame mortise and tenons = 16 hrs less 6 X 5% = 30% = 4.8 hrs.

11

Base moulding, 1680 mm required. Charge for 2 metres using router, plus
hour set up and break down time
Top moulding, 1.68 M required. Charge for 2 metres using router, plus hour
set up/ break down time
Install top with buttons.

1.5

Install plain plywood back.

Base mould joints. 4 joints X 2 hrs = 8 hrs less 4 X 5% = 20% = 1.6 hrs.

6.5

Polish preparation. Approximately 2 square metres of show wood prepared

using hand tools at 5.5 hrs per M
Polish preparation, mouldings. Approximately 4 lineal metres at 0.5 hrs/metre

11

Dyeing. 2 square metres at 0.75 hours per metre

1.5

Grain filling top. 0.251 square metres at 2 hrs per sq. metre.

0.5

Polishing, 3 sprayed coats on 2 square metres at 0.5 hrs per coat per metre (1.5
hrs X 2 metres.)

TOTAL

125

13

11

1.5
2

To make 4 chests of drawers as above.

125 hrs. X 4 =

500 hrs..

Less 4 X 5% = 20 % =

-100 hrs.

TOTAL.

400 hrs..

When a maximum of 30% discount is reached, no further reductions should be made (e.g.
the eight drawers in an eight drawer chest, or one dozen boxes normally only attracts a
maximum 30% discount.
2009, Richard Jones

43

Bibliography
CoSIRA, (1969) A Guide to Estimating for Cabinet Makers, Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

2009, Richard Jones

44