Building a $2,500 Table... With No Buyer.

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

**Update** - The table has been sold. By coincidence, a local gentleman reached out to me after seeing this video. We negotiated a price of ~70% of the original $2500 asking price, since I didn't have to build a shipping crate & pay for shipping. The buyer was very happy with the table, as I was with the sale price, as well as the opportunity to sell to a local buyer.

[@chucksimpson5160]

As for shipping, the smaller is better and easier to work with.

[@MarcusWieland-vp5ec]

Awesome job and congrats on not destroying any of your tools on that maple, I just built a kitchen table that has a rounded “P” shape to it out of rough sawn 6/4 hard maple so I know how that journey went for you lol. As far as making plans ahead of time, I love doing so using Solidworks. Even though our builds don’t always go as planned it’s good to be able to go back to our model and make changes as we go to be able to see how that effects all the other part dimensions and joinery later on. One advantage you’ll have over other CAD designers is you have the experience to think about how your ideas can actually be achieved. It’s one thing to sit at a computer using the extrude tools to shape all these intricate parts, it’s another to stand there staring at your table saw, bandsaw, jig saw and routers trying to figure out the best way to achieve the cuts you need to make to get those shapes. Being able to think about that in the design phase helps a lot. Seeing that you also sell plans for your builds it will also streamline the process of making those plans out of your models with minimal work once you go through the process of building it ensuring everything is reasonably possible to do. As far as the cost, for a hard maple table like that, I would ideally charge maybe double what you want to price it at if not a little more. Aside from the overhead and time it takes you there’s the value being provided to the customer which is ultimately the most important factor to consider. For example, there’s lag bolts out there that cost $5 a piece….. meanwhile they might only be like $0.23 cents worth of steel and takes a couple minutes each to be machined. They’re able to charge the retail price they charge because of the benefits you get from securing something with them as opposed to just using nails. One thing I always point out for people to consider, is if they have to get a new “cheap” piece of furniture every 2 or 3 years because things start wiggling loose from it being MDF with laminate that starts buckling and crumbling just from the humidity in the room, they can wind up spending thousands of dollars in less than a decade on just replacing one item. So being able to spend a few grand on something that could last the next 400+ years so long as it’s cared for properly and even if it’s not could easily be sanded down and refinished to look like new, that’s a steal. So while the work that goes into it matters, the value a customer gets from the item always matters more which is what can make any craft challenging to succeed at because if something doesn’t serve a valuable purpose but would simply be “nice to have” THEY might not want to pay more than $12 for it regardless to the fact that you spent almost 100 hours making it out of an expensive exotic wood that averaged out to $30 for the chunk you made into that item.

[@thewoodshop69]

Dang write a book 😅

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I’ve never used that software, but I’ll check it out, I’d love to be more familiar with that. It’s very challenging to find the proper price point of what someone will pay vs how much time it takes, but you’re right… all the little things add up so quickly. I wish it was more ‘common knowledge’ of the different between true solid hardwood and manufactured particleboard! Thanks for watching and offering your thoughts!

[@Mike-xp9cj]

Nice job , I love it…. Keep up the good work..

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks Mike!

[@6453bianchi]

Seems like a reasonable price. Kinda low maybe? It def came out looking mint man. Love the hard maple. The legs and base are sweet. Good work

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks! It’s definitely challenging to find the sweet spot price wise between and attractive price and enough for the effort/time of the build!

[@ponyboyc]

I dont use build plans simply because I can not draw and don't have access to a computer. Awesome build

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks! I have no idea how to use plan software either 😅

[@TheCarpenterGirl1984]

Xin chào tôi yêu công việc của bạn xin chúc mừng 🎉🎉🎉

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thank you! 🎉🎉

[@Makdaddy-q4y]

Oh did you nail that ,my next project involved,carving oh did I need new tools. knives and stones and honing compound and bandaids and a good glove because bandaid are expensive, and Amazon make it too easy.

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Haha, I hear you! That’s how I ended up with 99% of my tools 😆

[@Julie-it9yi]

You could offer the choice of shipping it assembled or in parts for different prices

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

I thought about that. If anything I’m leaning toward leaving the base assembled and putting the top in a separate box 👍🏻

[@alancook1380]

Nice work on the table and the price is comparable to what I would expect to pay in a fine furniture store in my neck of the woods. Have you considered maybe putting pads of some sort on the bottom of the feet? That's a lot of wood making contact with some less than perfect floor .

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks! I hadn’t, but that’s a great suggestion - I actually have pads already and will add some. Thanks for the thought!

[@valeriessmokehouse2543]

that's a good price my man that's what I would charge that's a good price

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks! Hopefully it’s around the appropriate figure!

[@aarong402]

I am not 100% sure if you had plans you would stick to them. I feel like plans are just a base on what you need to do. As a woodworker, you start one thing and depending on the way the wood looks as you are building and so on your vison changes. I buy plans from different people and sometimes go fully off of the plans and sometimes I change a little bit in the middle. Nicely done btw

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

That’s a great way to think about it. I usually end up changing something a couple times throughout each build 😆

[@Amanda-yl1oz]

Sanding definitely took long because the maple. Whenever i have to sand hard maple I end up thinking theres something wrong with my sandpaper

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Sanding the pedestal on the lathe took FOREVER 😅 the top wasn’t quite as bad and I’m always surprised how easy the edge burn marks sand out!

[@SimbaTarzan-kr4uy]

100% next project, next Tool. Now i m a flower ... 😂

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

That’s how it goes! 😂😂

[@BrianElwell-l8v]

You are undervaluing yourself. Put at least another $500 to that number. I would charge $3000 in my market of Charlotte, NC.

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks for the input! I think the market/area plays a huge role in pricing and sales.

[@lenniereagan2362]

Great build! If anything, your price is tad low. Certainly $3000 if not more. Thanks for posting!

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks for your input! $3000 sounds even better than $2500 😅

[@SimonPEdwards63]

You couldn't even buy the wood for that price in Australia.

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

What species are more commonly available in Australia? I’m only familiar with the common North American species.

[@SimonPEdwards63]

@mmcc_woodshop6288 most is imported from Southeast Asia. Australian native and Australian grown: Tasmanian Oak, Blackwood, Ironbark, Spotted Gum and Jarrah.

[@grantrosen9144]

For a solid hard-maple table 56" in diameter, $2500 is giving it away.

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

So many tables are ~48”ish, which I just feel is too small. I was hoping the larger diameter would be a helpful selling point 👍🏻

[@jeffhedges48]

That table is def worth over $3500.

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks Jeff! 🙏🏻👍🏻

[@thewoodshop69]

Man your loosing money. I'm sure you have a small mint just in lumber. That is a steal and can't believe someone would chip away at the asking price.

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Thanks for the input! I felt like this design was a huge gamble to build without a buyer, so I agree with you on that, but overall I was happy to sell the table at a slightly reduced price.

[@ronaldtreitner1460]

nope way too much, i can get a similar one at home depot for example for 220, yours is a bit nicer so I'd say around double that but 2500 nope. if was made from dome exotic, expensive wood or used epoxy then sure the price would be ok and maybe a bit low depending. similar styles used to be common and this was never an expensive style of table back then. don't get me wrong its a nice table but.....

[@ZakkaryHess]

comparing handmade natural material made domestic goods to mass produced, imported veneer covered particle board as justification... nice. The table is easily worth $2500. Nice build, Matt.

[@davidcotney-m5r]

You do realize that the materials cost more than that don’t you? Not putting you down just making a point. Actually most people would not pay that much for that table, and that’s fine. But someone will. Someone with an appreciation for fine custom work and the ability to pay that. He earned every penny. You can buy something from Viet Nam for less than

[@joeyclutch2675]

You must have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about to comment that hahaha @ronaldtreitner1460

[@nicolamullings7993]

If you put Epoxy in it you could knock another 500 off it as it has been done to death by the garage makers.... it is nice enough as is, if a bit dated.

[@mmcc_woodshop6288]

Ronald, thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts/opinions!