Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

geni wrote:

HI Guys,

How long it takes you to make a flute?

Geni,

I've found that the basic crafting steps don't take very long. (cutting, drilling reaming, etc.) These steps are usually completed in a day. However, bore adjustment can take much longer. This includes the time spent adjusting the tonic before the holes are drilled as well as fussing with the bore after the holes are drilled. It's helpful to me to live with a flute for awhile, get to know it slowly and make occasional adjustments as needed. With this method, a flute might take a few days or slowly evolve over weeks and months.

Ken

geni wrote:

How long it takes you to make a flute?

For a craftsman to remain in business and make an acceptable living he/she needs to charge four times their going labor rate. This is for workshop space, tools, materials, insurance, taxes, internet site, email, telephone, digital camera and the myriad of other incidentals.

How long? As an example, take a thousand dollar flute and divide by 4, now we’re down to $250. This number is the labor rate times the hours. If our bamboo cutter makes $25/hr then he/she will have applied ten hours to the flute. So, for this craftsman, the overhead of just standing around runs $75/hr.

That's why there are far more teachers than flute makers.

Nick