Joe Dusel’s Blog

I use two software tools to generate estimates for my cabinet jobs. I first design the project with the eCabinet Systems cabinet design software. This not only gives me the design drawings, renderings, cut lists and nest diagrams; but it also gives me a very good estimate for all of the board stock, moldings, sheet materials and hardware that the job requires.

I then plug the materials cost into an Excel spreadsheet where I have various tasks setup so that I can enter time values for everything I think I will do on a job. I break things down into dozens of tasks including everything I can think of. Here is some of my list – design, purchasing materials, milling, door installation, drawer box installation, line boring, edgebanding, sanding, finishing, delivery, installation, etc. Every time I come up with a new task I just add it to the mix. If there is no time for a particular task I put in zero.

The times that I enter for the various tasks are added up to give my estimated hours. This is then multiplied by an hourly rate, an overhead factor, a profit value and where required sales tax is added in. Once I input all of my numbers it spits out the job cost.

I find this to be reasonably accurate for me. Of course, it’s best for you to keep a log of how much time it takes you to do various tasks so that your numbers will be getting closer all the time.

I use the same method whether I’m estimating kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, entertainment centers or almost any other kind of custom cabinetry. Pricing “by the foot” is not something that works for me.

Joe

Every now and then I get questions about getting a contractor’s license. One of the big things that people want to know is whether to go to a school for this.  These schools charge anywhere from $600 to $1200 for the classes plus the study guides.  It’s a bit expensive if you ask me.

I recommend that you just get a set of the study guides for the trade and law tests. If you go through the sample tests a few times you will have no problems. It also helps if you can get hold of a copy of the WIC and AWI standards since that is where they get a lot of the questions from. You will also need to buy a copy of the Law & Reference Book from the state.

The actual tests are not that difficult. They are multiple choice, and you only need to get something like 65% of the questions correct.  It’s broken up into two sections - the trade and the law. Each section is about 100 questions, and they give you 2 hours per section. I did each section in about an hour.

The test is pass/fail and they will not tell you what your score was. If you happen to fail it they will let you know what areas you screwed up on.

You can also apply via the PDF form that is available for download on the CSLB web site. Once you send in the form you can check the status on the web site as well.

If the application is accepted you will need to get finger printed before the test date.

Good luck!

Joe

Since this is my first post on this blog about woodworking, I want it to be something that is really important to me. I’ve been working wood since about 1985 starting with a radial arm saw, a drill, a router and a few other basic tools. Back then I knew nothing about woodworking, but I knew I liked working with wood. I had no idea about tool safety. I bought a radial arm saw and figured that I didn’t need to read the manual to use it. It looked pretty straightforward to me. I just moved the blade forward towards me with the power off, put the wood behind the blade, turned on the machine and then pushed the blade through the wood. No problem. It wasn’t until years later that I read articles about radial arm saw being dangerous because the blade could climb up on the wood and possibly injure the user. When I read that at first I couldn’t figure out what the heck they were talking about, but then I finally realized that I had been using the machine the wrong way all along! Maybe I should have read the manual – or not.

Since then I’ve been reading the manuals for my tools, and I’ve also read a lot of information on woodworking forums. The forums are a great source of information, but there is one type of posting I dread – the accident report. Almost every one of these stories is related to table saw mishaps, and they usually have about the same causes. Lots of us woodworkers have decided that the safety features that come with the saw are more trouble than they are worth. Some say their splitters aren’t designed well, so they take them off. Others say the guard is in the way and obscures their view of the cut, so they take them off. They may go a lifetime without a problem, but all that it takes is one moment of in-attention, a board that’s improperly dried, a piece of wood that’s a bit too narrow, and BAM! Then it’s off to the emergency room to see if they can re-attach whatever you whacked off.

So, here are my suggestions. Use your splitter, your guard and long push sticks whenever you are using the saw. Don’t assume that if you are doing a dado with the blade “covered” that you are safe. If the blade catches on the wood it’s going to kick it back, and if you are over the blades it’s going to get messy. If an operation on a machine seems a little scary, DON’T DO IT!

If you don’t want to do any of the things I suggest at least wear safety glasses so you won’t put an eye out with a flying finger.

Be safe,

Joe