Buying habbits !

[marcros]

what is bank interest these days though. it is a nice theory, but I think my Natwest isa rate is now 0.01% (but tax tree!!!)

as for successful businesses giving things away, well printer manufacturers and razor manufacturers do ok with providing heavily discounted and loss leading products to make money on the consumables

 

[Droogs]

what is bank interest these days though. it is a nice theory, but I think my Natwest isa rate is now 0.01% (but tax tree!!!)

as for successful businesses giving things away, well printer manufacturers and razor manufacturers do ok with providing heavily discounted and loss leading products to make money on the consumables

Big difference in the turnover rate for a printer cartridge compared to a tablesaw blade or a router bit

 

[Doug71]

How did he fit skirting without a coping saw? Did he just use a jigsaw carefully, and leave it up to the decorator to sort out?

This is what they use on a jigsaw to fit skirting instead of a coping saw when they are house bashing, never tried one but meant to be quite good.

https://www.tftools.co.uk/products/collins-universal-coping-foot

 

[Doug B]

This is what they use on a jigsaw to fit skirting instead of a coping saw when they are house bashing, never tried one but meant to be quite good.

https://www.tftools.co.uk/products/collins-universal-coping-foot

Got to admit I’ve never used a jigsaw for scribing but know a couple of chaps who do & you wouldn’t tell the difference between my scribing & theirs.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

A business can justify buying equipment on borrowed money providing the owner/manager believes that future business cash flows will at least cover the repayments.

Personally I have only ever borrowed money for two things:

- somewhere to live - unaffordable for most without a mortgage
- first new car where the repayments were covered by a car allowance

Otherwise it has always been "if I can't pay for it now, I won't buy it"

 

[LBCarpentry]

There is good debt and bad debt. I have purchased many thing on finance. If I’m given the option to spread payments then why not if it’s the same cost?

Workshop machines can pay for themselves easily over a year or two. Brought my first panel saw on finance and it wasn’t even 0%. It was a brand new felder KS 500. One of the only saws available that was the perfect size for my shop, I couldn’t afford it outright at the time, but I knew that even with interest it could pay for itself. And sure enough it did.

Saying that I would never buy hand tools on finance that would be mental. A Nielsen plane won’t do things any faster than a car booty Stanley plane. But with machines (floor standing) the more you can afford the better features/capacity you’ll get. And more capacity = more squilah

 

[clogs]

for my two penarth,
getting credit , Bank or eleswhere is ok for a new machine, say spindle moulder....
BUT then it's the added kit.... u'll need some special blades for a job, luckily they are getting standardised making them cheaper....
BUt then u drop ur 300 drill driver and need a new one, then the lecky bill comes in plus the rates.....
sometime u just have to have credit....BUT UNDER CONTROL....
the only time ever I had a loan was for a new pick-up truck and that was because the accountant said so....
My first workshop, I had just enough money for the first 6months bills, if I was V, v, careful....
I worked in the doorway because I didnt want to turn the lights on.....work was slow but steady.....
then the head gasket went on my truck.....dohhhhh....
After finishing my apprenticeship I have alway been self employed...hand to mouth keeps u on ur toes....
Over the years now 71, I have bought good machines WADKIN etc and due to unseen surcumstances I have always made a profit from them after years of use when sold....lucky I guess....
that wont happen when u buy Jet or Axminster specials or the like....
bussines is different to hobby.....if u need the machine GO BUY IT, life is to short.....
just think that everyday u open ur w/shop that new shiny toy is there to greet u....
A very good feeling....beside these machine are not stupid overpriced golfclubs, but everyone to thier own....

 

[Doug B]

But anything you can do with a CNC you can do with standard tools. You maybe can't do it as quickly or efficiently, but lack of a CNC is hardly going to stop you taking a job on.

Surely that would depend on the job, if I we’re pricing for it I know I can route panels but I’d be far too slow & hence labour expensive to win a tender on producing several panels when compared with a cnc.

 

[Lons]

The other side of the argument however is that growing into a volume business isn't necessarily best for everyone. If you depend on volume you can easily get sucked in to being dependant on just a few main customers, you have to equipment and people to service the volume, probably larger premises, maybe delivery vehicles and all of that equates to high overheads which puts you at risk if one of your customer cancels or goes to the wall, ok you have to take risks to grow but need to do so with eyes wide open.

There is plenty of business out there for smaller companies producing bespoke quality product and services at realistic prices and some very good standard of living to be had by building a reputation on those principles. Good reliable professionals are rarely short of work and always in demand once established.

Just saying!

 

[pcb1962]

There's a Youtube channel called FreebirdInteriors where the guy is currently trying to grow from a successful one man (almost) business into a bigger business - renting new workshop, investing in machinery etc. He talks a lot about the business side and the reasoning behind his decisions in his videos, may be of interest to some here.

 

[Rich C]

Probably everything on a bevel cut and gap filled with caulk

Most of the skirting in my house is fitted like this. It's pretty rough.

 

[Spectric]

Hi all

This is not market research or anything official, just curiosity. I am not saying you are going to get into debt as I like many others only buy what they can afford but more a case of spreading the load. These days it is a method used to shift goods by offering people things they want but a single payment might upset the monthly budget wheras if you are offered say 5 interest free payments then it becomes easier and they purchase and the business shifts higher volumes. With many of us into woodworking on these forums I would say many are probably in our later years and buying is not an issue but spending £100 month for six months on something feels better than laying out £600 in one hit. Perhaps we become a little tighter with our cash as we get older even though we know that there are no pockets in a shroud !

 

[johnnyb]

sorry I missed the chat about the young joiner fitting skirting. I think he used a jigsaw but from the face with an angle on ( I think as I was "under the kosh" fixing up the bay tbh). strangely I was showing him my collins coping foot in action. it's a great bit of kit but take some getting used to. also use no pendulum and t244d blades.then it's really really good. some practice before using it on fancy hardwood skirting.
I also use a mafell p1cc and a guide rail. but my old bosch with the coping foot is a permanent van fixture. not just for skirt but any scribing and relief cuts.ie I had to cut out for the lead rolls on that bay in some panels I made. the lead roof was a pitched typical bay ground floor. using the coping foot I could put a relieving cut angled toward the back to clear the lead rolls. I could have done it with a gouge but it was painted and would have damaged the soft paint.

 

[Inspector]

Sorry to veer off a little more but back when Fine Homebuilding had a forum a gent showed his method for coping with a disc grinder. After cutting the mitre on the saw he took the grinder that had two course discs in it, back to back and proceeded to cope the crown clean and crisp in less than a minute or so. Because the disc isn't guarded it isn't a safe practice in the hands of a novice but he made it look effortless. I imagine there are youtube videos out there with variations of the method. Here is one.

Pete

 

[Blackswanwood]

Going back to the original question for this post there are organisations such as Klarna and Clearpay that are linking up with retailers to provide Buy Now Pay Later Credit.

The basic offer is to repay in say four instalments and if you do it’s cheap or even interest free. Here’s the catch ... if you don’t you need to sell a kidney to settle the loan. There are no proper upfront affordability checks. In short the less financially astute and vulnerable will get sucked in and just like pay day loans it will all end in tears.

 

[marcros]

Because the disc isn't guarded it isn't a safe practice in the hands of a novice but he made it look effortless.

Pete

this is the difference between North America and the UK. We would say "Because the disc isn't guarded it isn't a safe practice" full stop/"period"!

 

[cammy9r]

I voted yes. But, it does not mean I would buy more tools, just what I needed. I not long ago bought a mig and a tig welder (i metalwork as well). I could have paid in full no problem, 0% interest credit was offered so I took it. I have been doing the interest free with snap on for decades as and when i needed to but never over the cost anything I could afford right at that time. Until the welders I had a zero debt life other than utility bills, I still sleep at night as it is only a couple of grand.
I would not buy overspec tools just on the 0% thing and if I got a discount for paying in full then I would do that, if I am paying full price and the option is there I will likely take it.
Amazon offer 0% installment payments on some stuff too. I got a sealey buffer for less than other retailers and I am paying it up in 5 monthly payments of £16. Only 1 more payment to go until it is all mine .

 

[Spectric]

Hi there

I have a two phase 400 volt Tig welder in my shed that since I moved North is of no use as I now only have a single phase 230 volt supply. When I can make access to move it, and collect together the torch, foot pedal and the tungstens and cups etc then I may put it on this sites market place.

 

[user22161]

Interest free credit isn't, it's hidden somewhere in the price. When I had a retail furniture business, we had various financing options and so-called interest free was about the most expensive.

The interest at that time (20 years ago) was 9% flat and was hidden from the customer. In effect, a £2k suite had to be sold for £3k, on a 5 year plan, the customer paid the £3k to the lender and we got a cheque for £2k, our full normal price.

One of the large chains was prosecuted by TS for allowing cash discounts on items marked as interest free as that was an admission that interest was hidden in the price.

 

[marcros]

Interest free credit isn't, it's hidden somewhere in the price. When I had a retail furniture business, we had various financing options and so-called interest free was about the most expensive.

The interest at that time (20 years ago) was 9% flat and was hidden from the customer. In effect, a £2k suite had to be sold for £3k, on a 5 year plan, the customer paid the £3k to the lender and we got a cheque for £2k, our full normal price.

One of the large chains was prosecuted by TS for allowing cash discounts on items marked as interest free as that was an admission that interest was hidden in the price.

so, 20 years ago I could walk into your shop and choose between paying £2k cash or £3k on interest free credit for the same product?

I appreciate what you are saying that nothing is truly free- somebody is paying for it whether they are aware or not. I just dont quite understand what you are saying on this post.