Recent content by Samkilby

Yes great shout re routed panel. I’ve done similar before, albeit either indoors (pretty common with poplar ply and poplar frame kitchens for example) or outdoors with tricoya (basically underwater rated mdf..) which if good for this kind of thing but ferociously expensive then, so now worse. I...

I would recommend t and g, but you could also do loose tongues or “splines”.. either way I reckon you want something proper to register the faces, as they will swell and buckle and twist without. On something like your design it’s an important consideration. Have a look at this link -...

Oops forgot to add - I would make the stiles wider to allow for extra ridgidity, and stronger m&ts

Also - it looks like you are doing a combi design style, a rail and style (frame and panel) with a brace ? Careful consideration should be given in the design phase to allowing movement for the (presumably) t&g panelling. Each board would be allowed some expansion and contraction gappage of...

As you say, the very fact that they even have a head office needs paying for somewhere. There are a lot of hidden costs and overheads in what you have assumed is labour, for example - Where is the van rental, van insurance, fuel, site visit time to asses costs, pli insurance, admin costs...

Whilst I agree that some potential clients are in the boat you are talking about, it’s also our responsibility to educate them on why they are wrong. I can’t expect them to know the difference between types of mdf, and I feel obliged to justify my pricing to them. If you read what I originally...

Couldn’t agree with the above more, when submitting even rough prices give a thorough explanation of material type and thickness, any considerations you would make as standard (real shaker doors vs shaker, scribed panels to fit to walls, type of drawer boxes, fittings manufacturers and their...

Oops. Then try to add something for profit

I dont know anything about the design and make of the piece, but half materials and half labour sounds incredibly cheap to me as a starting position. Let’s say I can buy rough sawn to fulfil for £500. Even if I have “no” overheads (I.e. I’m using all my tools that I bought and paid for for...

Also consider the kerf and or sawplate thickness. For example a lot of manufacturers devise their battery powered saws around using a thinner sawplate

Ah small world ! I was retrained at Chichester college and my first lecturer was Christian Nottley who is also a notable west dean allum. Incidentally - I am now lecturing and working for brinsbury college (after a short stint in industry working for some great local makers) so if there is...

I have a slightly different take on this. Retrained as a furnituremaker about 5 years ago, in a great local college. Class sizes were small, about 10-12 per year group. They were not turning people away. Over the way was the site carpentry group, class sizes around 30. I was lucky enough to...

Are pcbs suffering from the same inflated pricing as the electronics required by the automotive and technology companies, I.e. that some mined or harder to manufacture elements have basically had supply chain issues since covid ? Therefore the ones you can buy are aggressively over charged ...

Agree with the above

I generally use a single wheel gauge, but make up a little block the thickness of the tenon I want to make with a hole in it. You could just do this for every mortice chisel you owned. Allows you to mark from face side/edge every time. Just put it between the stock of the gauge and the...