# Question Of The Week... (2014 Week 41)



## ripjack13 (Oct 5, 2014)

Howdy,
This is a weekly series of questions topic for everyone to join in on the discussion. Some of the later questions may have a poll, and some will not.

_Don't be shy now, go ahead and post an answer...._

*Do you track your hours on a piece (project), and if so, what is your method?* 




**Rules**
There is no minimum post requirement,
Homebodies, duckmen, footpatrols and historical avatar trend setters are welcome to post an answer.
And of course the primate and brink too...


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## Kevin (Oct 5, 2014)

No.

Reactions: Like 1


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## ripjack13 (Oct 5, 2014)

Ah yes...a man of many words....well said sir.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 2


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## manbuckwal (Oct 5, 2014)

Not yet

Reactions: Like 2


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## Tony (Oct 5, 2014)

No because if I did it would discourage me and ruin the fun.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3 | Funny 1


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## Sprung (Oct 5, 2014)

I do not. I think I'd hate to see how many hours I end up putting into small, uncomplicated pieces.

Besides, I'm in this for enjoyment purposes. If I was making a piece to sell, I'd probably try and keep track of the hours, but that doesn't necessarily apply to me right now.

Reactions: Like 1


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## woodtickgreg (Oct 5, 2014)

The only time I do is when I do a detailed scroll saw piece, I kind keep track just for fun.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Brink (Oct 5, 2014)

My iPad has a note book. Every time I finish working, and before checking in on wood working babble, I post date, hours, and what was done.

Reactions: Like 5


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## ripjack13 (Oct 5, 2014)

you sure do a lot of smoothing...i have no idea why Kevin still calls you a hairy ape...

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Brink (Oct 5, 2014)

Kevin calls me monkey

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## eaglea1 (Oct 6, 2014)

Nope, but I occasionally will get tracks on my projects if they happen to fall on the floor and I try to catch em.
When I first started out making calls, I had a duck call that I was buffing up go flying across the shop, and
the pup went after it and chewed it up growling. Good....dog, (bad dog), come on "GIVE ! DAMMIT! sheesh

Reactions: Funny 3


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## Foot Patrol (Oct 6, 2014)

I am constantly trying to find ways to reduce cycle time. The internet has become a great go to place to learn techniques that will allow you to become more efficient and reduce rework. Getting to know those that are at the top of the field and willing to share their ideas and techniques is also a great source. If you want to shoot better golf, take a lesson or 2. The same can be said here.

For actually tracking hours and minutes, I am more focused on one aspect at a time to reduce time. I have a good idea how long a process takes. I would rather change one thing at a time than a whole sale huge change. Just saying....

Reactions: Like 2


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## Tclem (Oct 6, 2014)

No. Just a hobby. I pretty much know how long it takes to makes pens an sticks so no need to on them

Reactions: Like 1


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## Schroedc (Oct 6, 2014)

I do track hours on a lot of what I do but that is because this is what I do for a living and I need to make sure I'm getting properly compensated for my time, I also use comparisons to determine if I'm reducing cycle time or things are suddenly taking longer. For the oddball flat work project I use it the same way to make sure I'm actually turning a profit on my time (Contrary to what the general public seems to believe, Profit is NOT a dirty word)

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 1


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## Molokai (Oct 6, 2014)

No, dont keep track of time.

Reactions: Like 1


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## woodintyuuu (Oct 6, 2014)

the more complicated the project---- the less i make per hour, which i constantly try to overcome by making production hollow forms i can sell for a reasonable amount of money. they tend to compensate me better and at the end of the year i hope i have a bigger pile of dough than when i started, my problem is im a wood junky and i buy it when i see it. I consider it an honor to do this for a living cl The longwinded answer is NO NO NO! If i did i would have become a lawyer

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Oct 7, 2014)

I should have been keeping track of my hours all these years! I started WW for my own fun and then started giving gifts away to friends and family, as time went on people would ask if i could make them something and I responded with "when is your bday?" or something similar.... people are so impatient they wanted it now and offered to pay me to make it so they could have it before their bday, anniversary, etc.... They started offering me cash, as word of mouth spread people I didn't know would call/email me wanting me to make them something. This is when I started trying to do estimates for making their project and because I had no reference journal or notes on all those freebies I made. It was really hard for me to get the time needed correct. So now I keep a record of my works and am getting better at projecting my time on a particular item.

Reactions: Like 4


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