Dungeon Equipment (25)

Since they look like a chair, can be used as an odd bit of furniture or even as a quirky plant stand, one of these may well fit your needs.

www.chainedheart.co.uk

Think outside the box. Look at things as raw materials. In this case what about a garden hammock, the 'sofa swing' sort. Shortened, it would seem to fit the bill. Even has chain attachments already built in. Just an example.

As a builder of fetish equipment, I'm not here to justify high prices, but it's not just the cost of the raw materials. If you think about the cost of tools and consumables, the investment in space to work and the time each piece takes, costs add up. I don't even want to think about clients who change their minds.

Good luck in your venture.

S_C

Edited 7 May 08, 12:03 PM by Muzzlehatch

'Taste the whip, in love, not given lightly......taste the whip, now plead for Me !'

The materials are indeed pretty cheap. The costs rocket though if you add in workshop space, the kit to manufacture to much higher standards, having stock that you hold, allowing for the occassional cock up, and of course if you seek to pay yourself a decent hourly rate.

I did consider stepping up a gear and made a wee business plan. The result was I couldn't compete with e bay on price except on a few specific items, and could never compete with the likes of Master Chopper or people like Tops to Bottoms in terms of quality. So I have kept it as a hobby really. The one thing that would be a goer is my hemp rope, but that's never going to be something to make a living from, so do that on a favours for mates basis too.

Don't want to put you off - wish you well with it. But when you do the numbers it's not as easy to make a decent buck from it and significantly undercut.

Now go and tell an egg how to suck granny.

This may be a little too big for home use, but it would seem ideal if you were fortunate enough to have access to a dungeon. Smaller ones are also available from the same people (bound4bondage) [IMG]http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm87/Kneel_al....[/IMG]

Kneel

Kneel

My first thoughts on reading your post are that you have no real idea what you are talking about. Second I thought that here is somebody else thinking they can either make a fast buck out of the fetish scene or they can make tools and equipment of better quality and for less than I can. I have seen them come and seen them go just as quickly.

Then I thought, as I have never met you, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and be nice to you. Maybe I can save you spending a lot of time and money on something that just doesn't add up.

So, what materials are you thinking of working with? If you are thinking of making wooden furniture, you need to choose carefully. You can make one or two items in the shed or garage, but if you want to make things professionaly, you will need a fair bit of space and some rather expensive tools. My wood working tools have cost me about £4000. Lathe, bandsaw, extractors, linishers, sanders, planer/thicknesser, routing table, hand tools.

If you are thinking of using alluminium check your facts. HE30 aluminium has gone up by 120% in the last 12 months. I buy my stock in full 3 metre lengths for rod and 5 metre lengths for tubing. Average cost of a stock order is about £500, plus VAT.

Stainless steel has gone up 340% in the last 12 months. I hold about £2500 worth of stainless steel at any time.

If you are going to be using stainless steel or alloy you also need the tools and equipment to work it and finish it properly. My lathe cost me £1800.00 plus VAT, new MIG welder last year cost me £820 Plus VAT. TIG welder £1600 plus VAT. Pipe benders £800. Chop saw £280. Angle Grinders X 3 from £60 - £120. Pillar drill X 3 £80.00, £270.00 and £460.00. Linisher £260.00. I have about £3000 worth of turning tools, £1000 worth of drill bits and attatchments. Polishing machine X 2 £840 and £420. At any time I hold about £200.00 worth of polishing soaps and £250.00 worth of polishing mops.

I have always got a minimum of £2000 - £2500 worth of hide in stock. £500 - 600.00 worth of timber. At least £800 worth of raw cane. Not to mention all the other workshop consumables. Leather working tools, heavy duty sewing machine. The lease on my workshop premises, business rates, electricity, insurance, transport, advertising, promotion etc etc etc.

Customers expect a lot, quality costs. Every time I design something new, somebody copys' it. I constantly get asked for things and then told that someone else can do the same thing for half the price. I know that other people cannot do many of the things I make, simply because they are my own designs, I make EVERY item I supply and do not supply anything to other traders. No two items are identicla because I make everything by hand, so there are always small differences.

I have been commercially making fetish tools, equipment and furniture for more than ten years now. I send goods all over the world and support lots of events in the UK. I have a great many repeat customers, so I must be doing something right.

By all means have a go at making some tools and equipment, not for me to say you can't. However, if you think you can make and supply items for sale at the right quality and price, plus earn some profit, you are in for a big suprise.

I constantly look at what is availabel from other suppliers. I know most other suppliers do NOT make thier own products, they buy them in from the far east, china and eastern europe. The quality varies, but the prices are always high.

I do not know of another supplier in the UK that will invite buyers to thier workshop to watch thier item being made while they wait. I do that all the time. There are many IC members that have been to my workshop that can vouch for that.

Good luck with your idea, but I strongly advise you to do some proper research first. You may well think that as a supplier I make huge profits, but the truth is that I do not. As in any business, profit is vital. No profit means no research and development, no new equipment, no replacing worn out or broken tools. NO WAGES!!!!

Master Chopper.

WWW.SPANKINGTOOLS.COM
NOW UPDATED WITH MANY NEW ITEMS IN THE CATALOGUE.

Glad to do so! Great day, that was. Link.

(Apologies for not making it to the photoshoot today mate).

Now go and tell an egg how to suck granny.

Pretty much my thoughts too, but it may just be that he doesn't know how long it takes to make good quality furniture or that he has more time on his hands than we do.

I make my own kit and the material costs are around £100 for a plinth or spanking bench, but unless you've got access to industrial machinery, the time taken means a retail price of around £500 / £700 and even then, you're never going to get rich. That gives me 20 to 30 hours to make it and market it, not allowing for additional costs such as packing, delivery, liability insurance, time wasters and faulty materials (I had a sub standard pack of adhesive a while ago and didn't find out until I had made three pieces with it).

And the OP should have been on the Business Board.

Lady Alpha

Intelligent domination and disciplinary coaching Life coaching and therapy Kinkdom

Include industrial sized packs of teabags!

I spent many happy hours in the workshop last summer helping where I could to prep for some shows that. Chopper was doing and can vouch for the dedication that he puts into what he does. One pays for quality and there are all the overheads as detailed above. It isn't a quick or cheap way to make a living!

Good luck with the venture though but be aware of what you may be getting into.

The nice lady with the whip.

What master chopper says is very true. there's no such thing as doing it cheap. In my industry, restoring old vehicles, there are many who think they can do it cheap, many who think they can do it, and many amateurs that can do it well and cheap, but it takes a long time.

With the amount of investment I've got, not only in tools, but basics like nuts and bolts, the stock there is over £3000. So, translate that into woodscrews, caoch bolts, wing nuts etc and you're already going into 4 figure sums.

Do a cash flow projection and some proper costings and ok if you want to do it for a hobby, but full-time, you may find it a struggle.

Good luck anyway, if you need any help with cash flows etc. send me a pm and I'll see what I can do.

Rubber Roy