what to charge for your time

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Hi all i need a little wisdom here, this is really not a welding question but "home shop related" i have friend who called me a couple of weeks ago who owns a cabinet shop and does quite well he knows i am machinist / welder (really more of a machinist) and needed some of his pocket drilling tools repaired  and or rebuilt as he CANNOT buy parts for them anymore but has several drilling stations in his operation so these are very vital and is not ready to change his operation because he has to keep moving . so i told him "i can't do govt. jobs at my work" and he said "can you get me some made ? "i told him probably, i would be glad to take a look and give him my opinion. so after looking at them i see that some milling and lathe work needed to be done (i have a mill but not a lathe ) and some bushings and snap rings and spacers needed to be bought .i kind of  redesigned the spindle shafts , made a detailed drawing and made everything were the parts would all be inter changeable which is what he wants . i found a shop to make the shafts for a price he agreed on and have them being made as we speak . my question is what should i charge for my time ? i will have 2 or 3 hrs .  of running around time and 2to3 hrs. of shop time . he has told me he is happy to pay for what i have done . what do you guys charge for you time in cases like this? i am thinking between $30 and $50 an hr. so what do you guys think ? thanx  Chris
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749$50/hr sounds fair.I bet he charges at least that in his cabinet shop, prolly a lot more.IMHO of course
Reply:I'd say $50 for the running around planning and what ever the local going rate for the machining is. espeicailly since you redesigned it to fit his needs.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:Call a machine shop and ask them what their hourly shop rate is, drop that by 10-20% and go from there