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Shoutout to the old timer who told me to stop over-engineering drawer boxes
I was building drawers for a kitchen remodel up in Portland last spring and spent 2 days cutting dovetails by hand for all 14 of them. One of the homeowners walked in, saw the progress, and asked why I wasn't just using dado and glue like every other cabinet guy in town. Have any of you ever had a client talk you out of your own process mid-job?
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hollyl251mo ago
Did the old timer happen to mention how much time YOU actually saved by NOT doing dovetails? Because I bet its more than you think. I had a guy once tell me that the extra hour per drawer was costing me $50 in labor, and the clients couldnt even tell the difference after painting. Sometimes we get caught up in the craft and forget that the customer is paying for a functional kitchen, not a museum piece. Maybe the real win here is learning when to be a craftsman and when to be a businessperson.
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