Thanks for the message Tidal Wave, I’d be happy to offer some background on my pricing.
My prices include shipping (usually $25-$60) and the amount of material to make the ledges factors less into the price as the labour, although as an example, a milled board foot of Walnut is now around $10 per board foot, so not insignificant. I also need to “find” continuous knot free sections in rough lumber, so my yield on a rough piece of lumber is never 100%, I always have losses from the process of breaking down boards to usable size.
Whether the ledge is a 14” single all the way up to the 5 record ledges (72” long) they each require the same milling, keyhole slot mounts, and finishing processes (3 coats of oil, sanded and buffed between coats). Even less-known details like milling the ledges on all 4 sides once, and letting them sit a few days for the internal stresses to release (warping/twisting) , before final milling to ensure straighter ledges is a step that is required for quality work.
I never mind going into detail about the process of making and pricing woodworking because people would be very surprised how small the margins (around 30%) actually are once material, machine upkeep, consumables, labour , shipping and income taxes are factored in. Unfortunately there is a reason we don’t see much in the way of quality woodworking around anymore.
Cal
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