Matthew Yemola Capstone

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For my capstone I decided to combine carpentry with little bits of economics sprinkled in. I build woodshop cabinets for personal use and documented the price of materials, tools used, and pricing of on the market cabinets. The goal of this was to try and figure out which is cheaper, building your own furniture vs. buying it? Going into this my initial thought was building your own would be cheaper at the expense of qualities    I produced three cabinets using 2 seperate designs and compared their pricing to that of market cabinets that were a similar size. The construction of the cabinets was also taken into account as I tried to make them look very nice and this was a high factor in deciding if they were actually worth it or not.

The process was very simple consisting of mainly 3 parts. Research, construction, and reflection. Through this all I produced what I viewed to be usable cabinets that were made at an affordable price. After this I added together all the costs for production and compared these cabinets to that of purchasable ones. Ultimately the final verdict was very hard to make as there were more and more variables that appeared over time. It came down to actually how much you're producing being the biggest factor. The final decision was that buying cabinets off the market is ultimately better.

Bibliography

Seattletable, and JFP1213. “MÖCKELBY Bench - IKEA.” IKEA US/EN, IKEA, 30 Nov. 2017, www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30348259/.

This source shows me the problem to the pricing of big stores. I think that the big stores should be less expensive. I think the big stores are bad, scammers. Who do scams on the costumer which is not good. Particle-board, which is what this bench is made out of, is not very much money. In fact, particle board is a really bad material that would only cost like 30 dollars or so. (check other source). So this bench shows that there is a significant price markup for like no reason. Which I could hopefully fix for the school, by creating benches and stools and chairs and maybe tables, at the price of the resources not the big companies which scam!  

Steph, et al. “3/4 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. Particle Board Panel-ru1191248096000000a.” The Home Depot, 23 Jan. 2018, www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Particle-Board-Panel-ru1191248096000000a/202518919?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-100058485-_-202518919-_-N.

I used this source mainly for materials reason. I wanted to find what materials would be the best to use for their price. I needed to figure out what kind of wood I was going to use and what the reason was for best using that species of wood. However before I decided this I needed to figure out if using real wood was even worth it. The other option was to use manufactured wood, Mainly plywood or MDF. Pricing for manufactured wood is of course cheaper as it's not real and is cheaper to make. However this price comes at the cost of quality. I decided in the end that used real wood was the best option for me as it was still relatively cheap to use pine and it's easy to handle.

Dahl, Timothy. “How to Build a French Cleat Shelf to Hold Virtually Anything.” Popular Mechanics, Popular Mechanics, 14 Nov. 2017, www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/how-to/g2340/how-to-build-a-french-cleat-shelf/.

I needed to know how I was going to hang my cabinets once I made them and I already had some ideas in my head. I had already decided on french cleats. mainly because of their strength and effectiveness, along with the fact that they are easy to install. While I have a basic understanding of how they work I haven't used them for an application that would be holding this much weight and needed to know that the best way to use them was. Ultimately it doesn't come down to cleats themselves but rather where they are hung and the way there hanging on. You simply have to make sure they are secured to a stud.

United States, Congress, Engineering Principles and Practices. “ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES for Retrofitting Flood-Prone Residential Structures .” ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES for Retrofitting Flood-Prone Residential Structures , FEMA.

https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1506-20490-1062/fema259_front_matter.pdf

Now this source was used in a weird way. I didn't need my cabinets to be made flood proof nor did I plan on making the school flood proof. I used this source to look at the structures of houses and how they're built. I would use this to determine the placement of the cabinets along with gaining more knowledge on hanging them. I needed to know if there was any danger is using certain stud to hand the cabinets. This also gave me information on best placement of cabinets for potential house damage which wasn't what I needed but is something I incorporated into determining pricing. If you DIY cabinets you have more power to make them damage proof.

Lake, Matt. “Detectors Can Find Just the Right Spot to Drive That Nail.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Apr. 2001, www.nytimes.com/2001/04/12/technology/how-it-works-detectors-can-find-just-the-right-spot-to-drive-that-nail.html.

This source was used to purchase a stud finder or use different methods to find studs. This is a small part of everything however it still is something you must buy if you want to DIY this. If you don't want to buy one thought there are different methods to use in finding a stud. You can tap on the wall and when it no longer sounds hollow there is most likely a stud. The issue with this though is to determine if there is a stud there or not, you must drill into the wall. If you feel force after drilling through the drywall then you've found a stud. If you don't feel this force then congratulations you just put a hole in your wall.

Todd. “Fusion 360 | Free Software for Students, Educators | Autodesk.” Autodesk 2D and 3D Design and Engineering Software, Fusion 360, www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/students-teachers-educators.

I wanted to use CAD for this project just to show that its easy to use and can even give you a slight edge in creating your own cabinets versus mass market cabinets. I decided on using fusion 360 because it's free to me and I already had a basic understanding of how it works. However after using it I discovered a variable I didn't account for. While the process of using it was easy and it definitely helps people with the building process I didn't take into account the price when its not free. It costs a lot and almost definitely puts mass market cabinets as a far cheaper buy.

"Figure 2f From: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic Revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: E7720. Https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720." doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e7720.figure2f.

https://www.nationalofficefurniture.com/resources/design-tools/price-lists

I needed to use something to get a general idea of pricing of market cabinets and what my competition was. This source was extremely valuable as it showed me how cabinets are priced based on all different things. It mainly though allowed me to pin my pine cabinets against other market pine cabinets. This allows me to have an even ground because the two products are so similar, materials wise. This source also allowed me to look into customization of market cabinets and how different feature influence the final price more than others. This gave me the ability to show which was a better option based on needs of the person.

Sawyer, Tom Y. "Statements of Profit and Loss and Cash Flow: Plan for Profits and Ready Money." Financial Modeling for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs, 2014, 231-54. doi:10.1007/978-1-4842-0370-5_11.

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/finances-cash-flow/managing-money/more-profit

This source was used to help me find the total price it would be to make the cabinets accounting for all the tools, materials, and other things used. Aside from that this was also used to help me try and minimize  the amount of money I needed to spend while still producing the best quality work I can. The main thing this source helped me with though is determining the tools used and helped me control the price. The tools I used are very expensive and right off the bat they can cost more than a whole set of cabinets. This source though reminded me that you can use different far cheaper tools to produce similar quality work.

"Figure 2f From: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic Revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: E7720. Https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720." doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e7720.figure2f.

https://www.wwgoa.com/how-to-build-cabinets/

I had an idea of how to build cabinets but this source was the main thing I used in helping determine my final design and how I was going to put these together. This site caused me to change a lot in my design along with how I was choosing on holding everything together. This also forced me to look at how I would construct doors and connect them for the first time. I also had to consider the amount of weight these cabinets would be holding. While I originally thought the weight they hold would be exclusively apart of how I hung them, It also slightly about how they are held together. So i had to reconsider what I would put in these along with how much they can hold compared to market cabinets.

"Figure 2f From: Groom Q (2014) The Distribution of the Vascular Plants on the North Frisian Island, Amrum. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: E1108. Https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.2.e1108." doi:10.3897/bdj.2.e1108.figure2f.

http://scottmcgillivray.com/design-renovations/know-your-limits-diy-vs-contractor/

My final source was used to help determine if the person who was taking on the DIY challenge could actually handle it. While the price is still the biggest element that must be considered the person is the second biggest factor. Something could be extremely cheap but if the person isn't right they cant handle it and then buying your own market cabinets is better. This also made me consider the average tools that someone already has. So aside from personality, the other factors that the person should be evaluated on it experience and tools they already own. The tools they already own is a massive factor as it cuts a lot into price and the quality of the work.