In the antique furniture restoration and conservation biz, as soon as potential customers been questioned & guided to a fairly clear understanding of what work is entailed in order to meet their goals, the next bit of conversation is about the very subject so well reported by Rob: restoration and values.
There are opportunities to carefully repair a piece and realize profit, over and above mere wages. However, it is far more likely to cost the value or even far exceed the value when repairing family and sentimental goods. Once families understand this and have a clear idea of what is entailed, sometimes to the extent of a formal report, about fifty percent+ of them give the 'go-ahead'.
As a corollary sidebar, I am having a real wrestling match with a locally famous gunsmith over my .22 Combat Masterpiece S&W, that he has had for two years and to the tune of over 500.00. After attempts to prompt a completion, I consulted with Alex Hamilton at Ten-ring. He regularly does a column on gunsmithing in a magazine. Alex stated that quite a few gunsmiths are just lousy businessmen, no matter their competence level. Another national 'smith I queried reported that he receives around thirty phone calls and about 100 e-mails a day, which eats up bench time rapidly.
The in and outs that Rob reports, and the monetary travails he lived thru, do indeed make for a classic example of 'read-before-restoring'. If Dave would edit and save the report permanently, I think it would be a valuable reference for the BBS.
Rob, congratulations on getting to your goal and finally enjoying the results. And thanks for writing it up.
Best shooting and happy powder smoke,
John
