First day of the weekend coffee and wx, 13 December

[ibike2havefun]

@ibike2havefun About 25 years ago, I didn’t want to spend $99 for a TV stand, thinking that I could built it for less. It required 2 sheets of furniture grade plywood @ $64, each. Plus glue, hardware, and stain, totaling over $250. And the finished product wasn’t as nice as the big box item.

Yeah I get it. I could pay more for a single specialty router bit that I'm likely to use only once, than I might've done for a finished commercial product. (Then again, I found the target bit on Amazon for under $25 where my local specialty store wants $195 for the comparable item in a different brand. I doubt they're really comparable quality-wise- my cheapie tool may end up lasting for just one use, but that's all I'm planning to use it for anyhow.)

I've started pricing materials but had to stop because the numbers were almost beyond my comprehension, and the actual material I want isn't shown on the website.

I'll never save money building my own versus buying an off-the-shelf item but that's not the point (to me). It's the entertainment value and challenge that keep me going back for more. Plus, the tools. More tools = more fun. Finally, in this case I'm sure I'd never find anything even remotely similar to the other pieces of furniture in our bedroom set so it's a case of build it myself, or buy and live with something wildly different, or do without.

Doing without is cheapest, of course, but also the least fun. And I'm all about the fun, as you know.

 

[St-Gerard]

There is something about the feeling you get when you look at something you made yourself. Myself I like real wood rather than particle board.

 

[Obo]

There is something about the feeling you get when you look at something you made yourself.

Like sometimes when I look at Thing1 and just shake my head and sigh...