10 points for trying

[Meli]

I just had a sad phone call from a guy that wants to work two days per week as a furniture restorer.
Has he any experience? no
Does he know anything about antiques? not really
Does he have any woodworking skills? no

He wants to sell his house and build a workshop and learn the trade as he goes. He has already bought a table saw and a set of 200 dollar chisels
He says I'm the 5th number he's rung and most seem to have closed down.
He cant believe that people think his quotes for $200 to refinish a set of 8 chairs is too expensive :eek:
He seemed to go a bit quiet when I told him that a really good experienced restorer might make $120,000 pa employing 3 people and running a well established business.



I spent 30 mins trying to convince him to take it up as a hobby first.

How old is he? 42

[ishmael]

If he's set on it, it could work. I liked making furniture, but never much liked restoring old stuff. Sometimes it's poorly made, you've often got to be careful with chemicals, and in general it's not nearly as fun as cutting up some new wood.

Neither are liable to make you rich, but if he got good at it he could make a decent living. 42 isn't dead! LOL.

Some time with it, as in the hobby you suggested, is a good idea.

[Fernir]

He cant believe that people think his quotes for $200 to refinish a set of 8 chairs is too expensive :eek:

$25 per chair to refinish could be a bargain, depending on how much work is involved.

[Meli]

I was joking. I charge $250 per chair. Pulled apart, re glued and clamped, stripped and re polished. he'd be working for $5 per hour or less

[Fernir]

I was joking. I charge $250 per chair. Pulled apart, re glued and clamped, stripped and re polished. he'd be working for $5 per hour or less

I'm glad you're joking.

$25 a chair might be enough to spray them and then, anything other than just chucking pre-cat at them (+ materials) is stupid.

[Meli]

Unfortunately I got the impression that thats the sort of restoration work he had in mind. You would think that 4 out of 5 closed businesses might have given him a clue :D

(and I only work on small bits occasionally these days)

[Fernir]

Unfortunately I got the impression that thats the sort of restoration work he had in mind. You would think that 4 out of 5 closed businesses might have given him a clue :D

It's the economy Meli.

Try being a caner and french polisher competing with the $1.00 a hole (sloppy as &%$$#) morons.

It's not pretty.

[Meli]

It's the economy Meli.

Try being a caner and french polisher competing with the $1.00 a hole (sloppy as &%$$#) morons.

It's not pretty.

Nah, It's ok, I chose to downsize, I only take in stuff that interests me. You need a regular income when your a sole parent.

You do caning???? come over here, I've 6 chairs need doing. You cant get caners for less than $2.20 per hole here and they are rare as hens teeth.
I can do it but I hate it ;)

[Fernir]

You do caning???? come over here, I've 6 chairs need doing. You cant get caners for less than $2.20 per hole here and they are rare as hens teeth.

Much as I would love to, I doubt that 6 chairs even at $ 2.00 (I took out the materials) a hole will sustain me for very long and it's not even like I'm high maintenance.

[Meli]

I suspect that even over here antique dealers are taking a big slice and giving the work to pieceworkers.
I get asked a lot if I can recane but I'll only do a small seat with the materials I've got left. I kinda discourage the work because the cane is picked and prepared by bonded child labour in the philipines etc.

[S.V. Airlie]

Are there not a few apprenticeships there? My ez brother i law apprenticed himself to a renown Harpsicord maker.I say renown as I gather he is but do not know personally. My ex BIL, spent two years working for this guy, building these things and then moved on.. That experience led him to make some unbelievable furniture.Personally,I am a wee bit leary of refinishing antiques though. They may look pretty when someone finishes the job, but the value of said item goes south..Someone would really have to know HOW to repair/restore furniture without destroying its integrity.

[Tylerdurden]

Up here we have the unlicensed technicians we call trunk slammers who charge well below standard and do shoddy work. When the economy is bad customers will go to them to save but in the long run the repair costs them much more when I have to go back and fix what they did before I can diagnose the original problem. The Home Depot mentality hasn't helped any because now everyone thinks they can fix just about anything with no technical or engineering background.