My first finished commercial piece - what i learned

[YorkshireMartin]

God I'm opening myself up here but we're all in for that from time to time as we learn. As some of you may know, I consider myself a beginner, slowly working his way forwards.

I took my first commission a few months ago to build a trade show display stand for a client. Design supplied by client and then refined further. This is my first ever job that I could consider cabinet making. Forgive me if thats not the right term.. Part of the brief was that the piece had to be easily portable, durable and reusable.

Material is 18mm birch throughout. I've thanked him in private but I'd like to publicly say thanks to SteveF for the suggestion of buttonfix. These enabled the complete portability of the finished piece, despite it standing 2.4m when fully erect.. impressive eh? (hammer). Buttonfix are very good indeed and I would recommend them to anyone with a similar brief. Not cheap, but good quality and strong. Finish was Osmo 3044 raw. This results in a flawless natural finish for the light coloured birch, despite the fact that it's white when in the can. Pigment offsets the "damp wood" look you'd get with a "natural/clear" finishing waxoil.

I've attached a couple of pictures showing the final assembly fixings and the unit itself part way through being dressed.

Material is 18mm birch ply of course, BB/BB grade. Some warp as the client kept it on its side, so joinery was less accurate than it could have been. Theres a little bit of cumulative error due to this, but nothing that most people would notice. The client is very pleased indeed and as can be seen from the photo, has set about dressing it ready for it's job at the conference.

Overall, it's been quite a challenge for me. I knew from the start that something this tall would require excellent accuracy and I tried my best. Things I've learned on this project:

Buy quality materials and insist to clients that you will only use materials you specify yourself as the maker;
Don't assume ply sheets are flat or square to begin with;
Don't skimp on marking out, particularly board orientation and male/female joint connections;
(re)calibrate your tools at intervals throughout a project;
Triple check measurements;
Ease all edges to avoid splinters and tear out after the fact;
Don't get too hung up on finishing the non-display side of the piece, beyond making it presentable;
Have confidence in yourself when you feel the bar is set higher than you are comfortable with;
Divide a large piece into several smaller parts, to avoid getting overwhelmed by components in the workshop;
Utilise scrap for test cuts, particularly for unusual angles or where friction fit is required. By being careful, I was able to friction fit a couple of the internal backs, a la chippendale. They literally ended up sliding in thanks to gravity. Not something i ever saw myself being able to do;
You can never, ever, have enough clamps but if you have to make boxes, make sure band clamps are in your armoury!

I am quite happy with the overall result and it's been a great confidence builder, because hey, it didn't fall over and the client liked it.

The only downer is that I am sure someone with more experience could have knocked this up in a couple of days. :lol:

Onwards and upwards?

 

[marcros]

How did you get on with time on the project vs what you estimated it would be?

Nice job, by the way.

 

[nev]

Looks good but you may want to advise your client to check his/her spelling of the word remodelling

 

[YorkshireMartin]

How did you get on with time on the project vs what you estimated it would be?

Nice job, by the way.

I gave up trying to estimate. It's unprofessional but honestly, theres not much choice given my situation as carer. I met the deadline with a few weeks to spare, but I used all of the available months to do it and had to call in help from family.

Have to cut your cloth to suit I suppose.

Thanks mate.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Looks good but you may want to advise your client to check his/her spelling of the word remodelling

:lol: Now...do I mention it or not?

 

[RogerP]

Nice job! Your client should be very pleased with it.

 

[rafezetter]

Looks good but you may want to advise your client to check his/her spelling of the word remodelling

:lol: Now...do I mention it or not?

Mention it - because your name is attached to the work. The thing about having made a convention display is other company representatives might ask "where did that come from", and your name (and card if you are smart) may be passed on, so the question is - do you want it passed on with or without spelling errors that may be attributed to you having made the mistake.

If she decides not to change it - change it for her, find out who made the overlay and get another made properly - and make sure the company that did it, accepts the majority of the cost for not proofing it in the first place. If they refuse to accept cost and liability, swallow and accept the cost yourself.

As your first major piece you really cannot afford to have that as an advert of your work, even though you didn't actually do it.

Also point out that the way the "new build conversions" and "eco build conversions" just looks as though they put "conversions" into the list twice - unless of course that's what they did and "new build" and "eco build" are meant to be just that.

 

[custard]

Looks really clean and tidy, well done!

=D>

 

[Eric The Viking]

I think it's turned out very well, and it fits with the company ethos too.

But I tend to agree about the spelling. It was the thing my eye was drawn to, and not your really nice woodwork or the models (did you make those, too?). I have a rule with companies I deal with: if there are obvious mistakes on their web sites, then I know for certain that some of their processes, at least, are broken, and I treat them with caution, as I have no idea how reliable they will be with more important things. Spelling has never been easier to check than nowadays, and the same goes, largely, for grammar and punctuation. You know your customer obviously, so see if you can get it changed. If they're good, they'll be grateful.

Your work is very good, and nobody would expect you to complete a first complex project in days and make a fat profit at the same time. You do need this to show off your skills. Can you make a little plaque to stand in, somewhere unobtrusive, with your name and email on it?

E.

PS: I now have button-fix.com bookmarked too! Dead useful. You might want to give your client three or four spares if you haven't already handed it over - good PR at low cost - as the inevitable is, er, inevitable at trade shows. You might also offer to make them an adjustable plinth for events such as agricultural shows, where they might not get a flat, level floor for their stand space. Ought to be profitable too!

 

[davin]

Nice piece. I always like the look of Osmo on birch ply, doesn't look heavy or varnishy (is that a word?) The white Osmo looks great on ply as well.

Regarding spelling. I took the kids to see the new Hastings pier the other day ( well worth a visit, lots of glue lam timber, very clever use of space,,,).
Saw a very expensive laminated printed sign advertising the new Peer.!
Just makes you question the company who made it in my opinion

 

[Woodmonkey]

Nice job. As others have said, don't worry too much about how long it took or what profit you made, you've taken the hardest step on a steep learning curve.

 

[petermillard]

Good job - you and your client should be pleased with that. Re. the spelling, yes, definitely mention it - you're not paid to do as you're told, you're paid to think, and the client should be grateful for your awareness & attention to detail, as silly errors like this reflect badly on them.

A useful excercise may be to have a sit down and think about what you would do differently next time - 'cos you know there'll be a next time - wether that's more efficient ways of working, design, or costing, it'll all be time well spent.

Cheers, Pete

 

[tomatwark]

Nice job.

Definitely mention the spelling, a joiner I know has Joiner and Glazier on the side of his van, after a bump he had one side repaired and about 6 months later it was parked on a job we were doing when I spotted it said Joiner and Glazer on the side, he had never spotted it, so your customer may not have either.

 

[n0legs]

Nice one YM

 

[YorkshireMartin]

Thanks for all the positive comments gents. The spelling mistake issue is indeed unfortunate. I'll mention it and I'm sure they will correct it. Not in anyones interest to go to market with that type of error!

 

[YorkshireMartin]

PS: I now have button-fix.com bookmarked too! Dead useful. You might want to give your client three or four spares if you haven't already handed it over - good PR at low cost - as the inevitable is, er, inevitable at trade shows. You might also offer to make them an adjustable plinth for events such as agricultural shows, where they might not get a flat, level floor for their stand space. Ought to be profitable too!

Not only is it a great product made to a high standard, their support is currently brilliant. I had an enquiry relating to the fixing screws, which if you go by the recommended spec, are a half size pan head, which not many places stock. One call to the company, spoke to reception who did their best, said they would put me through to technical. So I expected some young call centre type.

I only got to chat to one of the product designers directly.... :shock:

Alternative was offered, problem solved. Simple as that. So I met my deadline.

I mean, this is how business should be done and whilst I wish them every success, I do hope they don't lose that level of customer service. It's so rare these days.