Angie - I live your predicament daily. My goal is to have no more than 2-3 pieces in the shop at a time - for two reasons. Space and Stress My work plans have always been to coordinate projects to compliment each other. For example: while a piece is gluing up, I move on to stripping. It doesn’t always work, but that is how try to arrange my work.

@Bruce Nickolet @Aaron Moore Believe it or not I am envious of you both. My shop is too small to have that many pieces waiting or in process. I am forced to defer the customers to a date when I can take the pieces. This causes two issues: administrative tracking to ensure I keep track of pending work, and reduced cash flow. Because the customers have to wait (most times 4-6 weeks), I do not take an initial deposit. Payment comes when the work is done.

I second the suggestion of blend all powders. Typically, I mix the pigments with shellac. Touch up until I like the color. Then, seal it in with rattle can lacquer or polyurethane (depending on the finish).

This is great. Thank you for sharing. I have something similar that I call my shop log. It is basically a spreadsheet created in google sheets. It started as a job tracker and over the years has become my invoicing engine, expense tracker, and my P&L. Keeping track of leads and upcoming work is still stored between my ears. I haven’t found a good solution for that, yet.

I bill based on time and materials. It took me a couple of years to get into the right groove using that method. In my head I estimate how long it will take to do “x” to a piece. From there I factor in my shop rate and provide the customer with a quote range (i.e. $250-$300) explaining that it is based on time and materials. If the job will go over the high end of the range, then I will call you to discuss the work Over the past year, there was only one piece where the guesstimate was too low. Using a range he helped me quite a bit. It provides wiggle room. And when it comes in at the low end or less, the customer is very happy.

Titebond is my go to in the shop. TB2 (blue cap) for repairs on breaks and edge gluing Hide glue for all tight fitting joints TB3 (green cap) for any outdoor work or where waterproof is needed For loose fitting breaks or joints I use west marine g-flex epoxy tinted as needed.

@Aaron Moore thank you. I am sure licenses vary by jurisdiction. For MA, all we need is a DBA.

@Aaron Moore thank you!