Hoffman Amplifiers Tube Amplifier Forum
Amp Stuff => Tube Amp Building - Tweaks - Repairs => Topic started by: Voxbox on July 28, 2022, 03:44:42 pm
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Hello,
How long would you allow to build a straight 5E3 tweed deluxe?
That is, building with a bare ready-made chassis, making the turret board, wiring the whole thing without any mods and testing/debugging of course?
I'm thinking 10 hours max?
I'm buying a ready-made cab.
I've built one before but never logged the time. Now I'm being asked to build one and charge my customer for it, so I'd like to be fairly certain about the number of hours I'll spend on it so I can quote a reasonable price.
(Then add 30% for screw-ups :rolleyes: )
Cheers,
VB
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No time limit but usually the slower you go the neater the job. So, depends what’s important to you, a messy build that works or neat and clean build that works.
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I've never used "time" as a measurement for builds, $101 over parts cost is a better billing method.
If I fix someone's broke thing, then it's hourly-ish. If I spend 2 hours jammin to music, studying the schematic for that magic section I missed, that's on me, if I plug in the solder iron, then the clock starts
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24 hours.
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24 hours.
But you're a Master Builder :icon_biggrin:
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A lot depends upon organization skills, and physical dexterity, in addition to technical skills with a soldering iron. Having components and tools readily available and neatly organized at hand will aid in efficiency.
When my boys were growing up, I would invariably have to go on a wrench hunt, any time I started to work on the car. Of course, "nobody" ever saw it or took it out of the tool box. :l2:
I have essential tremors that growing older has exacerbated. Some days, I can't even hold a coffee cup, let alone maneuver a soldering iron.
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Depends on pay rate.
Fender paid his women maybe $1/hour and they probably did 20/day, less than a half hour each.
LaBooutique Builder pays himself $100/hour and must spend 15 hours to justify $1,800 for $300 of parts put together.
What does a "new DeLuxe" cost these days? Must be close to a grand? That's with speakers and cabinets of course. Don't try to under-bid what they cost in the store. Some products are over-priced, or you pay for "name". But most are pretty near factory cost plus several layers of "profit" (actually value-added financing, warehousing, distribution, and marketing).
Don't forget the "custom" customers are liable to come back for changes. Less brite. More bottom. Tweak the talent. Power-pack hubcaps.
And I think "screwups" can be "double it and add a nickle".
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Thanks Tubeswell for the straightforward answer sir.
I'm going to log my time on this and let you know how I get on.
Thanks everyone else for the input and considerations too :worthy1:
Dude - I've included a pic of how I build. :smiley: I'm more than happy to take the time it needs to do a neat build from and aesthetic and engineering point of view. I've already sold my customer the build standard as it were. Its part of what he's paying for.
Looking at suppliers that sell kits and also provide the kits ready-built, Modulus (UK) charge £323 (USD393) for a kit build. Tube Amp Doctor (Germany) charge £465 (USD566).
Labour rates vary in country to country of course, so its just a rough indication.
Let you know in a couple of months how it goes regarding the timescale. (Its a 6 week lead-time on the cab).
Cheers, VB
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Looking good!
But that mains connector is bound to fail at some point. I would solder it instead of screwing those wires in.
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Hi Bieworm, it’s been good for 16 years so far……🙂
Cheers,VB
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My 5e3 had a complete working, fully tested chassis in about 5 hours, including hand cutting/drilling/staking eyelets.
Just wanted a quick one to play while I debugged a more complex amp I had screwed up somehow…
contrast that with a princeton reverb (with tons of mods) I built for a friend. I easily spent 20+ hours on the chassis alone (I refuse to count the time hand-cutting the joinery for the cabinet.)
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24 hours.
But you're a Master Builder :icon_biggrin:
Nah, not me. Just anal.
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Well, I finished both builds and logged my time on both. Note that I didnt make or cover the cabs though.
26-28 hours is about it for each one, and that doesnt include any time I spent tweaking and comparing things as thats time spent for myself having fun and learning stuff while I had the amps. :icon_biggrin:
Cheers, VB
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Since I'm retired, the longer I take, the more entertainment I get per $ spent (because hobby labor is free). Plus it's really hard to make mistakes when you're going at a tortoise pace. I just built a 5E3 and the duration was 2 weeks I think. I was trying to make it last longer but it was just way too much fun, hard to stop when I got started. If I had to build one for someone, part of the labor would be entertainment. At least now I know two different people took 24 and 28 hours so I know what to charge. My actual hours spent would probably be 40. I remember going back to study cathode biasing and plate dissipation. Then I studied all sorts of other build pics, schematics, and layouts to get ideas. I do a lot of that during a build. Nothing funner. :huh:
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Having built 70+ 5E3 (Somewhat customs) this year alone I have the chassis down to 4-4.5 hours now. Now, I will say that sometimes I will do 5 at a time so I have a system that works for me. I made jig to drill chassis for grounds, board mounts, etc. I will also pre-build boards so that also seems to speed up build times. A normal AB763-ish amp takes me around 8 hours if I out my head down. I think having an efficient workspace and tool setup will help too if your like me. Also, listening to Tony Rice play the heck outta that old Martin gets me in the groove too :icon_biggrin:
(https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56fbe87462cd94ff6ec9d02c/1648948788729-MXAKOTRNPHMUO9RD0PS9/UncleLarryAmps.jpg?format=2500w)