I normally start with an hourly rate of £10, which is based upon having been a hobby turner for almost 30 years and so am able to turn items quite quickly to a good finish (finishing still seems to take far too long though). If I know that part of the process has been a little slow because of my technique or process etc, then I will reduce the price accordingly. I do not take in to account the making of jigs, cutting up blanks, trial pieces, templates etc to help and speed up the process. I should also say that I rarely need to buy wood (as do a lot of green wood turning) and so do not have to add that to the cost, but then I do not add the cost of consumables either so it is balances out I suppose.
I see that those who are professional will charge a much higher hourly rate, but can make items more quickly, therefore the price differential of the final product will not be too large. I do not want to sell my items too cheaply though as doing so simply undervalues turning, and makes it even more difficult for those who do make a living from turning.
When I was first starting out turning I gave items away as they were not of adequate quality to sell, then as I improved and thought the items good enough to sell I used a lower hourly rate of about £5 because it took much longer to make an item.
All that said, I do agree with what a few others have said, that if it is a close friend, then just charge for the wood, consumables etc, as a good friend will return the favour when required.
