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I Forge Iron

calculating materials cost


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Si Rojogrande, some seemingly simple questions turn into really complex things. I don't know of a website that'd give you current steel prices near you, Heck, here either though I haven't looked.

 

The best I can offer your, actually pretty simple question, is ask the guys you buy from what their current price /lb. is. The references I suggested will tel you the weight/ft (usually) and it's up to you to put the multiplier into a calculator.

 

When using scrap you must factor in cleanup or it'll cost YOU more than new. Learning to bid YOUR style and product correctly is a must if you're going to run in the black. There's no easy way to do it, one formula works great in one shop but is a door closer in others. I don't know if it's true now but used to be the #1 reason for manufactory failures was blowing bids, sometimes just one bid.

 

A long term way to analyze your bid technique is pretty simple. If you get every job you're charging too little, if you don't get any you're charging too much. Fixing it can be a real clyncher though, maybe the shop isn't fast or good enough, maybe it's just TOO good. It's easier than one may think to produce too well finished products. For instance putting a high polish on a product that'll get painted or buried behind bushes, etc. is a poor move.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

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I have, for years tried to get a rough price list of mat'ls from my suppliers so I can have a ballpark idea of steel costs. I've even tried to get the most current "old" price list - nada. Now days everything is on computer so it's even harder for them to do that (even thought they have a print option). I have the same issue - never ordering or needing the same mat'ls back to back. They always just say "give us a call" - well most times they say "we'll have to call for a price" WELL That defeats my purpose as I'm standing with the client and they want a price on a project. So I feel your pain. About the only thing I can do is like said above - take some notes of recent purchases and figure that is lower than current pricing. Or waiting for a quote from a supplier that sometimes requires a few calls to remind them. It's very aggravating at the least.

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BigRed

 

Bureau of Labor and statistics:

http://www.bls.gov/ro3/ppimetals.htm

 

 

An article that tells why this statistic is nearly useless:

http://www.nber.org/chapters/c7807.pdf

 

Here's another one showing pricing.

http://www.worldsteelprices.com/

 

I gave a more involved answer because I figured you'd googled it yourself and didn't like what you'd found.

 

It's been my experience that nobody considers an estimate to be worth the time till they're losing money on the job.  Neither you nor your client needs to make a financial decision so quickly that either one of you lose your shirt.  

 

Looking back on the worst clients I've ever had - nearly all of them needed a price right away on something they wouldn't pay to engineer, design or draw.  They were in a rush to do everything but pay the bill.

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Yep

 

Looking back on the worst clients I've ever had - nearly all of them needed a price right away on something they wouldn't pay to engineer, design or draw.  They were in a rush to do everything but pay the bill.

 

 

Yep. There's never time or money to do it right with some people, but there's always time and money to do it over when it doesn't work ( usually at double the original cost).

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