How to do a custom piece

[drcollie]

I thought I'd document this as I think the order will be placed. I have a customer who wants a very large wall unit that is bench-made using high- quality materials, centered around a flat panel TV. Woods will be poplar, painted black, and tiger maple doors and accents, with restoration glass in the side cases.

First I did a very rough sketch, a concept at the sales counter (see .pdf). She liked the sketch and showed it to her husband, and I told her to be prepared for a $ 10,000 price +/-. She said that was acceptable.

Step 2 then is for me to draw it out, by scale. And I did that today and will email to three of my custom cabinet shops for bids, John Buchanan, JL Treharn, and Bucks Country Furniture. (see second .pdf). After we get the bids them she can select a cabinetmaker based on price/style and if she commissions the piece, and we may or may not draw up a CAD/CAM version of my scale pencil drawing depending on the shop used.

This is going to be a big piece - 12 feet wide and almost 8 feet high. A real material eater.....so I'll let you know what the bids come in at, just for fun so you can follow along.