Materials cost

[MatthewZS]

Just out of curiousity, has anyone ever done an even aproximate breakdown of how much it costs per pen? I'm not talking about the kit or the blank, but the 3 or 4 paper towels we use, the little piece of half a dozen grits of sandpaper, the dozen or more drops of super glue, the squirt of accelerant.....

I just got thinking.... for something that was the stuff of goofy late night informercials 30 years ago, CA glue is BLOODY expensive!! Shouldn't this stuff be 99 cents a gallon by now? And paper towles.... they charge HOW much for pressed sawdust?!?!

Just curious.

 

[tim self]

IMHO, if you think CA is expensive, you're buying it in the wrong place. For paper towels, I'm using the select-a-size (300 count per rolel) and maybe one sheet per pen. and I don't use accellarator. As far as cost per unit, I'd venture I'm not using more than .05-.10 per unit. That said, how can we factor in the utilities used and you must consider labor, marketing, packaging, web page cost (if applicable), paypal or CC fees. And then, are you doing this as a hobby trying to sell in the Craft Circuit or more seriously in the Art venues. Cost per booth, travel expenses, food there, hotels, the list goes on.
Things to consider.

 

[Rangertrek]

Overhead

I did a cost analysis of all my "overhead" items to make a pen. This includes the expendable items like: sandpaper, mm, polish, ca glue, towels, etc. I based this on producing a certain number of pens with the materials. Then there are the items I consider equipment that will need to be replaced at some point in time. Items like: the lathe, belts, chisels, saw blades, etc.

When I first added up all the above items, based on production of about 500 - 1,000 pens my "overhead" is about $2.00 per pen.

Since I did this over a year ago, I have kept track of what I actually used and found that I over estimated my costs. The consumable items lasted longer that I expected, and the useful life of equipment items is longer than expected.

My current overhead costs per pen are about $1.75 per pen.
Now, if you factor in a portion of gas, electrical, business license, taxes, etc. for my small shop building, this adds about another $0.30 per unit.

I do this as a hobby; but, I do want to make a profit when I sell a pen. I also want to pay for my time at a 'hobby' or craftsman rate.

Hope this helps.

 

[MatthewZS]

That was exactly where I was coming from .... it's just a hobby mainly but it's nice when it makes a profit and buys a happy meal to boot. But when I got lookinig at it it occurs to me it's not really accurate to say "woohoo, I make back the cost of the kit"......

Speaking of CA glue, where DO most people get their's? If I'm in a hurry I'll grab a 2oz for about 11 dollars at the local woodcraft. Otherwise I think I have a page bookmarked now with another brand thin and medium CA glue for about 7 or 8 dollars a bottle before shipping.

Thanks all for indulding my stupid curiousity

 

[ribanett]

The best place for CA is Monty's website:
http://woodenwonderstx.com/WWBlue/NewGlueWS.html
The best price and quality you will find anywhere.

 

[Spats139]

Just to add to what "tim self" and "Rangertrek" have said, here are some thoughts from a north-of-the-border perspective.

Off the top I have to add about 50% to anything that I buy from a US supplier; this is to cover shipping, exchange and duties. Then, all the other expenses come into play: consumables, equipment depreciation, auto expenses, web site hosting, books and magazines, photo equipment, electrical, security monitoring, business licence, etc. Many of these costs are fixed regardless of how many pens I make, so the amount applied to each unit (pen) will vary according to the number produced; e.g. for 100 pens my per pen expenses are 10 times what they would be for a thousand pens - and I only make a 100+ pens a year so far.

The way I am able to justify the expenses of this little activity is that I have set myself up as a small business (sole proprietorship), registered with the provincial government, have a business licence from the local government, and I collect and remit sales tax. As my business grows (which it is doing) a portion of my excess expenses are written off against my personal income, and my goal is to have it become a money maker by the time I retire; even then it will probably only provide a modest supplemental income.

So currently, given all the above, my additional costs per pen (after components and materials; and with no labour cost factored in) is somewhere around $20 - $30 each. Those will be come down over time as my production increases, and as some of my capital costs are reduced, but in the mean time this is what I have to consider to keep it "real".

 

[Smitty37]

Quick estimate

Just out of curiousity, has anyone ever done an even aproximate breakdown of how much it costs per pen? I'm not talking about the kit or the blank, but the 3 or 4 paper towels we use, the little piece of half a dozen grits of sandpaper, the dozen or more drops of super glue, the squirt of accelerant.....

I just got thinking.... for something that was the stuff of goofy late night informercials 30 years ago, CA glue is BLOODY expensive!! Shouldn't this stuff be 99 cents a gallon by now? And paper towles.... they charge HOW much for pressed sawdust?!?!

Just curious.

A home business is tough and a hobby/business is worse. Especially on things like utility use. I've gone thru the exercise of trying to calculate everything but it can be very difficult to get reasonably accurate estimates.

 

[ed4copies]

The best place for CA is Monty's website:
http://woodenwonderstx.com/WWBlue/NewGlueWS.html
The best price and quality you will find anywhere.

OR, you can buy Monty's glue at Exotics. It is about a dollar more expensive, but if you only want a bottle or two, you will save by being able to combine the freight with other items in you order.

We buy from Monty at his published prices---this is being offered as a convenience, not as competition--if we find there is no demand, we will not continue it, but it is worth a shot--in my mind!!

 

[rjwolfe3]

OR, you can buy Monty's glue at Exotics. It is about a dollar more expensive, but if you only want a bottle or two, you will save by being able to combine the freight with other items in you order.

We buy from Monty at his published prices---this is being offered as a convenience, not as competition--if we find there is no demand, we will not continue it, but it is worth a shot--in my mind!!

Dagnabit I only needed a bottle but went ahead and ordered extra to get his shipping deal. I could have used the other money to get the Diplomats that I have been needing, lol. I have 6 finished blanks waiting on kits. I need to check your site more often.
You should advertise more!

 

[TellicoTurning]

Just out of curiousity, has anyone ever done an even aproximate breakdown of how much it costs per pen? I'm not talking about the kit or the blank, but the 3 or 4 paper towels we use, the little piece of half a dozen grits of sandpaper, the dozen or more drops of super glue, the squirt of accelerant.....

I just got thinking.... for something that was the stuff of goofy late night informercials 30 years ago, CA glue is BLOODY expensive!! Shouldn't this stuff be 99 cents a gallon by now? And paper towles.... they charge HOW much for pressed sawdust?!?!

Just curious.

I don't know if you could calculate a per pen cost... how many spritz's are there in a bottle of accelerate?? How much did you spritz at a time... I use the little pump bottles and sizes of the spritz will vary depending on how far down I push the pump head...
How many drops of glue in a bottle of CA?? Did you use a big drop and a tiny little drop??..
If a blank is relative soft wood and turns very quickly and the next one is very hard and takes 20 minutes to turn, how much electricity did your lathe pull in the turning...
I believe it's an exercise in futility... I have added a percentage to my blank and kit cost to account for the assessorial expenses and include that in my pricing formula.

As for the cost of the glue, if you buy from Monty, glue will be one of the lower cost items we use in pen making... relatively speaking.

 

[Smitty37]

I don't know if you could calculate a per pen cost... how many spritz's are there in a bottle of accelerate?? How much did you spritz at a time... I use the little pump bottles and sizes of the spritz will vary depending on how far down I push the pump head...
How many drops of glue in a bottle of CA?? Did you use a big drop and a tiny little drop??..
If a blank is relative soft wood and turns very quickly and the next one is very hard and takes 20 minutes to turn, how much electricity did your lathe pull in the turning...
I believe it's an exercise in futility... I have added a percentage to my blank and kit cost to account for the assessorial expenses and include that in my pricing formula.

As for the cost of the glue, if you buy from Monty, glue will be one of the lower cost items we use in pen making... relatively speaking.

Well you can't calculate a per spritz cost...but you can know how much you spent on it and how many pens you made. A few punches on a calculator and you know how much per pen it cost you.