Project for a friend

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A friend of mine owns a Marble Slab Creamery.And he needed a mobile cart to take one of the refrigerated slab units to catering/off-site events.So I built him one.After the initial design work, a little cutting.Then the fab work:I considered using square tubing as vertical supports between the two "frames," but the cart only has to support 150#.  I think the 16ga sheet corners will be more than sufficient.It didn't really need fully-welded seams, but . . . I spent a few hours doing that.  But I was having some problems with my torch--my liner must be going bad, because the wire was binding in there.  Oh, well.  There was no time to find a place to buy a new one.Then a support and a bottom plate for a tray.  This is intended to hold a pan for collecting condensation from the unit's drain hose.Anyway, the welded seams mean that now I have to spend a few hours grinding them smooth.  Then some all-metal.  Then more sanding.  I'm doing this as a favor and just charging my buddy for materials.  But for those of you that normally do this kind of work, what would you charge for something like this?Cart is roughly 24" x 44" x 30", using 14ga square tubing and 16ga sheet.I'm going to deliver it to him unpainted, but ready for paint.Last edited by RAW; 06-03-2010 at 12:23 PM.
Reply:You're a good friend I would have no idea on what to charge for something like that, but great job none the less!TodHH140HF 4x6 band saw (cut straight right outta the box!)"-Of all the things I've lost... I miss my mind the most."
Reply:very fine work going to look great when finished dont know what to charge but for a friend ( that i like ) i would do the same as you i would like to see it finishedsa200 mo heat mo rod mo money
Reply:Looks pretty slickDid you do the artistic cutouts with the plasma?  (Oh God, I had to ask)  (never hear the end of it) If you can't feel the cabinet racking when you put weight and twist on it, it's plenty sturdy  If you look at hospital rolling cabinets, tool boxes, and food service rolling cabinets, they're very rarely reinforced in the corners.  And most of the weight of the "slab?" will be uniformly distributed anyway.  I wouldn't add one more welded thing to it if you've gotten away without distortion to this point"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:The cart looks very professional. The cutouts look nice and sharp. Good job. Can't wait to see it painted.Are you getting paid in ice cream?
Reply:Cart looks nice!  He could powder coat it to match the slab he will be putting on the top, put some LED's in the ice cream cone cut outs.  As far as pricing...for a friend.  If he's a GOOD friend, who buys the beer every once in a while, I would double material costs (gotta pay for wire, elec., gas, tips, welder, etc.)  and that's it.  A so-so friend...our shop rate is $75/hr so working out of the garage I would charge maybe $20/hr + material.Other opinions may vary.The cart looks great either way.  Show us pics of the finished product.
Reply:Thanks, y'all.  It's good to hear that other metal workers think it looks good.  I'm pretty sure that my friend won't fully appreciate what I've done for him, as evidenced by the fact that he still hadn't given me the dimensions and whatnot until just a few days ago (cuz I stopped by his store).  And then, when I asked, told me he needed it by June 10th!  And yes, the panels were plasma cut.  In the first post, the words "a little cutting" are a link to a video of my CNC plasma cutter.  I could never pull that off by hand. I lay the designs out in a CAD program, bring those files into Sheetcam for conversion to G-code.  Then from there to the machine controller.
Reply:Payment....lets see.....one double scoop, once a week....for life!!!!!!! And a banana split on yer B-Day!200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:Hope your buddy realizes how good a friend you are!  Nice job!(Retired) Professional firefighter, amateur everything else I try to do...Oh yeah:  Go Big Red!   (You know: one of the 12 members of the Big 10 cuz we left the 10 members of the Big 12...)