Select to expand quotesn said..Sailhack said..
Going by the minimal gap between the drawer side and carcass, I'd say that is one of the old 'vinyl-wrap around' drawers with a nylon guide. New drawer slides need 12.5-13mm clearance each side. I'm also a joiner with many years owning my own business and never have charged full price for a small job like that one and used to do it for about half of that...probably why I was always busy.
You can still buy those drawers and some hardware stores might stock them as they were standard sizes (being a cutlery drawer unit, probably a 450mm).
Several fingers ago I made umpteen gazillion drawers using the vinyl wrap sides.
Then a few years later, I was working on rental houses around South Perth, Kensington, Como - fixing the things that tenants had destroyed.
Biggest problem with these drawers, is the front is only held on by 3 x 8mm dowels each side.
Load the drawer up with cutlery [or any decent weight] close it hard and the loaded drawer wants to keep travelling back - while the drawer front wants to stop - so the front gets torn off.
When you assemble the new drawer - lots of decent glue on the dowels, and on all the joining faces, and in the groove that the base is located in.
Secure a padded block behind the drawers to limit the rearward travel.
If you have the remains of the old drawer - it can often be repaired, or used as a template.
"Generally", all the drawers are identical - so as long as they were made properly in the first place, any drawer is a template for a replacement.,
stephen
Thank you very much Sailhack and sn for your informed advice. Being having hands-on experience beat many of those whose contribution count for nothing.
I have a cabinet maker to look at it tomorrow. Hopefully all turns out well.Select to expand quoteSandS said..Jupiter said..Cal said..
Was there grizzling SandS? Sounded like someone that really doesnt know. As has been stated, it may be fair, it may be cheap or it may be over, depends on more than we know but what's wrong with someone asking. Happens here all the time.
Thank you, Cal.
I thought it is a good idea to suss out the general "fair" price to get something done. Judging by some of the responses, it appears there must be some beach loving folks here with very deep pockets who are prepared to pay whatever asked.
I hope some of them are not tradies with attitudes For your information, I found someone who will do it for $250, and he is belonged to a Cabinet Maker Association too 
Well done Jupiter ! He must have that colour laminate just by chance . Or he is willing to do it for goodwill . If its painted he will do his nuts for sure .
Good luck with your attitude as well . It can be a struggle !
I have been pondering whether you deserve a reply...
Sn is right - which is why I never used those drawers. Replaced many with melamine drawers.
Select to expand quotesn said..
Several fingers ago I made umpteen gazillion drawers using the vinyl wrap sides.
classic
Select to expand quoteJulianRoss said...sn said..
Several fingers ago I made umpteen gazillion drawers using the vinyl wrap sides.
classic
Classically accurate, be honest, how many count with their fingers? So if you lost them, of course it is umpteen...
Select to expand quoteChris6791 said..
$300 for a pain in the arse, fiddly job that he probably doesn't even want seems fair.
bang on.
I've taken on so many jobs as no one else wanted them, looked after the client with no charges for the fiddly run around, couple of hours calling around and / or searching for specific parts and down time only to have them complain about the end price.
then i tell them how much it should have cost.
trouble is a lot of people do not see what goes on behind the scenes.
$300 fully tax deductible sounds like a bargain to me.
Saltiness, perhaps your problem there is communication with the client. I suspect that is one of the problems with this whole drawer topic. I suspect the client might have one fairly simple expectation, but a quote around the $300 mark would be delivering something of higher quality. Of course I may be wrong...
Select to expand quoteJulianRoss said..
sn said..
Several fingers ago I made umpteen gazillion drawers using the vinyl wrap sides.
classic
The first day of tech. when I started my apprenticeship, the instructor told the class that we should all expect to lose at least 1 finger before we get our trade papers.
I beat the odds
but the odds caught up with me later
stephen
Select to expand quoteCal said..
Saltiness, perhaps your problem there is communication with the client. I suspect that is one of the problems with this whole drawer topic. I suspect the client might have one fairly simple expectation, but a quote around the $300 mark would be delivering something of higher quality. Of course I may be wrong...
actually i have found that too much info given to the client can be of no use. even had a couple of people think i was patronising them because every detail was listed and the price, with non charged items listed.
seriously there is no satisfying everyone and no matter how good a price is quoted, there is always someone that will complain.
True that saltiest.
But worth remembering that good communication does not necessarily mean more saying more. I specifically meant clarification of expectations which includes asking and listening etc.
I'm sure you know all that though, was just saying that it seems to me to be a consistent problem right across our society and probably of importance in this situatuation.
Select to expand quotesn said..
JulianRoss said..
sn said..
Several fingers ago I made umpteen gazillion drawers using the vinyl wrap sides.
classic
The first day of tech. when I started my apprenticeship, the instructor told the class that we should all expect to lose at least 1 finger before we get our trade papers.
I beat the odds
but the odds caught up with me later
stephen
On my first day of apprenticeship when I was 15 I was told "you come to work with 10 fingers...you go home with 10 fingers", which was followed by the qualified old guy counting his fingers in front of my face 1...2...3 etc. This was nearly a weekly event! A couple of years later I was cutting glazing bead for some very small colonial windows on an old foot-guillotine and wasn't paying attention until I noticed blood on the floor, I looked around to see where it was coming from and everywhere I looked the drops become more prevalent. It turned out that I had 'trimmed' a perfect 45deg mitre on the tip of my finger, narrowly missing bone and nail (only a tiny slice). That was the only loss I had to my fingers in 20 years of joinery work, so very lucky - but also very careful and thankful to the old guy that kept reminding me.
Select to expand quotesaltiest1 said..
actually i have found that too much info given to the client can be of no use. even had a couple of people think i was patronising them because every detail was listed and the price, with non charged items listed.
seriously there is no satisfying everyone and no matter how good a price is quoted, there is always someone that will complain.
I think more detail is better than none. I have been getting quotes for some work recently where almost everyone seems to round up the price into one big number and don't go into detail.
The problem I have with this is that they have all stated different tasks and equipment in the quote, so I have little faith in them when they don't tell me what and why. If they all agreed it might be a different story but when I see 'rounded up' figures I think they are not really quoting, just hoping for an easy win.
I factor in a value of $20 an hour for my own time when shopping around. Ie, if it's going to take me 3 hours of dicking around with phone calls and sitting at home waiting for a trade to turn up and quote, and all I save is another $50, then I'll pay the $300.
Dont waste the tradies time, and don't waste your own.
As as for thinking $300 for a drawer is reasonable, I'm in WA, everything is expensive
Select to expand quoteCal said..
Common mistake in my opinion sotired.
(mistake or poor tactic)
A mistake by the guy doing the quoting?
I think it is, as in my job you have to provide a lot of detail and prices accordingly, and because of that I expect something similar.
I trust a tradesman much more if they can justify their charges and not just making things up.
I started this thread simply to gauge a fair price for a cutlery drawer. I have no clue what it will cost, hence the question. It is interesting that it obtained so many diverse answers. Most are sensible and helpful. Some simply tagged on to it to show how clever they are in the use of English language. It is incredible that soe even suggest simply pay up for whatever price asked as it is too fiddly for them. Some even suggest not to touch it as it is not a big job, hence not worth lifting their fingers.
I am in the IT business. Yes, I do charge a good rate, but for a job well done. I offered come-back warranty. If a client had problems because of my mistakes/negligence, I admitted it and rectified it free of charge. I built up client relationships by offering them some sweeteners such as installing Anti-Virus software on their personal computers, or installing new programs, or just simple fixes that may take half an hour to do, but I did it for free. Why? Because the clients saw that I am not just looking at them being another bank account number, but humans. So what do I get in return? Returned business and trust.
Yes, we are all in it for the money. But if you believe that is all it is to it, then you had better head to the dole office and sign up because you won't last long.
Select to expand quoteBuster fin said..
Oh, am just about to throw these away...
Any good to ya?
4 of BTW
I sent you a PM. Thank you for the kind offer. Much appreciated.
Jupiter , so how did you go ,did the cabinet maker come today , or was he a no show ? And how did the $250 quote go was that the same guy that was coming today, or a different tradesman ?
can we wrap this one up yet ?
That's a wrap I hope
A vinyl wrap
Speaking of vinyl (the older ones will get it)
its Elvis's 80th birthday today
yes SandS im amazed this went on for so long, but Jupiter did say in his first post
"Any comments will be welcomed"
Been funny, now lets all do the Russian Fan Dance from this one
Select to expand quoteSailhack said..
On my first day of apprenticeship when I was 15 I was told "you come to work with 10 fingers...you go home with 10 fingers", which was followed by the qualified old guy counting his fingers in front of my face 1...2...3 etc.
Out of the entire crew of wood-machinist instructors at Leederville tech. that had the "honour" of teaching me and my classmates during our apprenticeships, I reckon there would have been enough complete fingers to [almost] outfit one bloke.
heck - one of my classmates lost his middle finger down to the second knuckle in a drum sander - on his first day at work
As for glaziers - every one of those that I have dealt with over the years had lots of bragworthy scars - and were often missing either bits of fingers or an ear [or two]
Hey Jupiter - keep us posted with how you go.
stephen
Select to expand quotesn said..Sailhack said..
On my first day of apprenticeship when I was 15 I was told "you come to work with 10 fingers...you go home with 10 fingers", which was followed by the qualified old guy counting his fingers in front of my face 1...2...3 etc.
Out of the entire crew of wood-machinist instructors at Leederville tech. that had the "honour" of teaching me and my classmates during our apprenticeships, I reckon there would have been enough complete fingers to [almost] outfit one bloke.
heck - one of my classmates lost his middle finger down to the second knuckle in a drum sander - on his first day at work
As for glaziers - every one of those that I have dealt with over the years had lots of bragworthy scars - and were often missing either bits of fingers or an ear [or two]
Hey Jupiter - keep us posted with how you go.
stephen
Ouch……….. on a drum sander.
I remember the store man at Leederville only had one and a half arms. Used to roll his smokes in the crook of his elbow,
Select to expand quoteMickV said..
Ouch……….. on a drum sander.
I remember the store man at Leederville only had one and a half arms. Used to roll his smokes in the crook of his elbow,
no ouch - he was stoned at the time / IIRC, he was perpetually stoned - like several in my classes / also had a current appointment card for the appropriately addressed medical clinic at 69 Moore Street in Perth during his entire apprenticeship.
At the time I didn't know if he was a fella to pity, or someone to admire
The storeman at Leederville tech was a cool bloke - depending on who told you, he lost the arm due to a street fight / car crash / bike prang / jealous husband / military service / boat accident / para-trooping into a wire fence / speedway pile up / water skiing oops.
Never found out which - if any - was the true story.
We were told to call him Stumpy for some reason
I enjoyed my time at tech, learnt heaps, made heaps of foreign projects for the instructors [and me] including timber doors for an old chev, timber model T ford roof and other bits, and timber chassis for an olde schoole vehicle using rotten old frame for templates.
stephen
Select to expand quoteJupiter said..
I started this thread simply to gauge a fair price for a cutlery drawer. I have no clue what it will cost, hence the question. It is interesting that it obtained so many diverse answers. Most are sensible and helpful. Some simply tagged on to it to show how clever they are in the use of English language. It is incredible that soe even suggest simply pay up for whatever price asked as it is too fiddly for them. Some even suggest not to touch it as it is not a big job, hence not worth lifting their fingers.
I am in the IT business. Yes, I do charge a good rate, but for a job well done. I offered come-back warranty. If a client had problems because of my mistakes/negligence, I admitted it and rectified it free of charge. I built up client relationships by offering them some sweeteners such as installing Anti-Virus software on their personal computers, or installing new programs, or just simple fixes that may take half an hour to do, but I did it for free. Why? Because the clients saw that I am not just looking at them being another bank account number, but humans. So what do I get in return? Returned business and trust.
Yes, we are all in it for the money. But if you believe that is all it is to it, then you had better head to the dole office and sign up because you won't last long.
That brought a tear to me eye reading that. Very moving
Select to expand quoteJupiter said..
I started this thread simply to gauge a fair price for a cutlery drawer. I have no clue what it will cost, hence the question. It is interesting that it obtained so many diverse answers. Most are sensible and helpful. Some simply tagged on to it to show how clever they are in the use of English language. It is incredible that soe even suggest simply pay up for whatever price asked as it is too fiddly for them. Some even suggest not to touch it as it is not a big job, hence not worth lifting their fingers.
Starting a thread on here is like going to IKEA to buy your drawers, you go around the maze, follow the arrows as best you can, you find what you want and make your escape but somehow you still end up at the self-serve checkout with a heap of of stuff you never intended putting in your trolley.
