Thursday, April 19, 2012

Oh and back to my original estimates on time to complete, WRONG!

My original estimates on my new found techniques on time it takes to complete a set of castings are wrong. Materials are wrong too! Double everything at least. Double the time to 3 days to complete a set of approximately 10-12 pieces. Assuming the molds are ready to go. Also the more I do in a batch, the more tedious the process gets by the time I get to the tenth one. I would like to say 6 pieces in a batch may be a good number of castings. 10 to 15 ounces of Epoxy are required at a minimum to get a good coating without holes and really, by the time it would be reinforced with cloth and tape it should be around 25 oz for a solid transparent piece that should avoid sagging.

This pumps up the cost and cost of labor in any real world scenario. My guess now is $20 for materials, not counting the frame or mold. And two completed pieces per day, which would translate to $80 each for labor if I was so lucky to make $20 an hour. Therefore if I sold these items I would have to ask for $100 minimum, just to cover my time and effort if I was going to try and make a living. Still, no overhead, transportation or operational expenses are included in this calculation. For now it will remain a labor of love, but for any extended period of time I am only going to be able to market these as "art" from a cost standpoint.

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