My first post... Look at my Pooh!!

[Gary S]

Hi all,

My first post on this forum - I've been happily browsing for the last few weeks and have been very impressed with what I've seen on the forum.

I thought it was about time I added something to the forum so here goes with a radiator cover I made for the nursery at home (I should be a dad in 3 weeks time...!).

Not something Norm would be very proud of, but the wife loves it and hopefully the baby will do too!! All made out of MDF, with the 'Pooh' being cut out and glued / screwed into three layers to give it a slight 3d effect (you can't really see this in the photos).

Hope you guys like it! I'm now in the process of building a cot out of Oak, so depending on how things go I'll put up some WIP photos for that too!

Cheers

Gary

 

[Adam]

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u210 ... ohRad2.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u210 ... oohRad.jpg

Heres those links. Got caught by the "new member" antispam filter...!

In fact, let me enclose in image tags...

Welcome to the forum...

Great Stuff!!!

Adam

 

[dedee]

Gary,
Welcome to the forum. There is always room for Pooh around here. :lol:

Will the cot be similarly adorned?

Andy

 

[Gill]

Yay!!!

That's my style of woodwork too .

Seriously, it's very well executed.

Gill

 

[Gary S]

Will the cot be similarly adorned?
Andy

The cost will not be similarly adorned - it will be made from solid oak, finished with Danish oil. A bit more challenging than an MDF radiator cover...!

Quite a few people (friends / family) have said how great the rad cover is and how they've never seen ones like it before and I've had people asking me to make them one or make one for their friends.

So, my question is - what do you guys think a 'reasonable' cost would be for something like this? A flat packed standard cover from one of the DIY sheds will set you back £50 or more and this won't be made to fit or finished and obviously not installed!!

Whilst the cost of materials to make one isn't very much obviously it takes a bit of time, especially the Pooh bit. PLUS more than likely people will want different ones - Barbie, Cars, Mickey Mouse etc, etc, etc, etc...!! This will involve some 'design' time that simply making a duplicate copy would not have.

Any thoughts / opinions gratefully received.

Cheers

Gary

 

[ByronBlack]

HI Gary

Nice work! Certainly looks smart. I think you could be onto something with the character covers, but I would make sure your not infringing on copyright in anyway as you are using protected images, no problem for personal use, but if your selling them, then you have to be very careful.

A friend of mine's wife used to make custom blankets and got an email from disney about the use of their images on some of her products that she sold to friends and family, they are very strict.

 

[Gary S]

I would make sure your not infringing on copyright in anyway as you are using protected images

Good shout - it had crossed my mind, but I'd be surprised if they contacted me if I was producing for some friends / family. Having said that, it's a very fine line between personal use and 'friends and family', especially if you start charging. I didn't charge the wife, so that should keep them off my back for a bit... :wink:

I guess the best option is to go with designs that would be popular with Mums and Dads but don't infringe on copyright - fairies etc for girls, football / cars etc for boys.

The other thing I thought about was building on the 'blackboard' theme for the one that Homebase sell - I could design one that was practical in more than one way - ie it covers the radiator (safety), perhaps has some kind of storage and also has a 'play' element such as blackboars / easel.

Still comes back to the same question though of how much to charge...!!

 

[ByronBlack]

Gary, in terms of what to charge.

Take your material costs and how much profit you want to make, then factor in the number of hours it takes to make, and this will give you an idea of what to charge and whether it's will actually be worth your while.

IF however you aren't worried about a profit and want to do it just for friends and family, then charge them material cost plus a bit extra for tooling that way you can use it to fund your tool purchases and move on to the bigger projects.

 

[Woodmagnet]

Very nice Gary, just hope my daughter does'nt se..............drat to late, now you've gone and done it, " dad, can you make" is now ringing around in my ears. :lol:

 

[woodbloke]

That's a good piece of work for a littl'uns room - well done - Rob

 

[Waka]

Welcome to the forum and well done on the cover.

 

[Benchwayze]

Nice job..
Right, I am going to talk ---- COPYRIGHT----!!
:lol:

Seriously, it looks great and it makes me want to do some ordinary covers. Sadly, SWIMBO, believes radiator covers cost money, because they stifle the radiator! Oh well, I have tried to convince her otherwise.

Lucky baby-to-be. Well done.

John

 

[Gary S]

Sadly, SWIMBO, believes radiator covers cost money, because they stifle the radiator!

I made one for my parents, too (minue the 'Pooh...!), and my Mum had concerns about heat loss. I explained that as long as there's a vent at the top and the bottom of the radiator then the heat is actually pushed into the room rather than running up the wall and heating the ceiling.

My mum was sceptical about this but once it was installed she said it was much warmer in the room. The design of the pooh rad is slightly different because there's no horizontal vent at the top, but the top of the cover is vented so the heat can get out.

Of course, for anyone under pressure to make a Pooh radiator cover you can always use the "they keep out heat" excuse as a reason not to make one...!! :wink: