Music Desk Price

[Farrell]

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Dear Esteemed List Contributors,

I'm looking for some opinions on what would be a fair price for a =
custom-built music desk. It is for a 1920s Baldwin grand. It is a =
duplicate of the original in mahogany (as was the original) and finished =
to match the previously refinished (reddish stain, clear lacquer) piano.

Is there a source for any type of complete music desk? Can one buy a =
music desk from a manufacturer for a current model piano (a Steinway, a =
Yamaha or whatever)? I'm thinking a fair price might be the price of a =
new Yamaha desk plus some percentage (like maybe 50%?) for the custom =
fit and finish.

Any opinions?

Background - for those interested in the sordid details - go for it:

I have chosen not to charge for my time. I will not do that. This has =
been the project from he%%, and I brought it on myself. Someone leaned =
on the end of the music desk and broke the wood at the end-slot. It =
started out that I would try and glue it back together. After getting it =
back to my shop and looking more closely I realized that the break would =
not fit together very well and any glue joint would be obvious - it =
really needed an epoxy job, but that would get even more ugly looking. I =
noticed that the other end was cracked also. The wood grain of the =
original runs parallel with the ends (new ones go parallel with the long =
axis of the desk). She said she wanted it to look nice - the piano has a =
nice finish in very good condition. So I suggested that we just replace =
the ends and refinish to match the original. She agreed, but we did not =
talk fees (yes, yes, yes, I know, please spare me the lecture!!!). I =
feel very comfortable charging something beyond the price of a new =
Yamaha desk (my guess is maybe in the $200 - $300 range - but that's =
just a wild guess), but I am no cabinet maker, and this project has =
taken me umpteen unmentionable hours - I can't charge for my time - I =
feel that if there was a mistake made here, it was my mistake in not =
knowing how long it would take for me to do this kind of work.

I have no hesitation charging full fees for a well-defined set of =
services - I do that all the time. I just charged a guy $2K for applying =
472 band-aids to an old worn out square grand (only new parts that went =
on it was a set of damper felts). Was the work musically worth that =
price? No way. But I accurately and fully described exactly what I would =
be doing, and what the results would be (and the results were as poor as =
I predicted). He agreed, and I charged him (and he paid with a smile!). =
My music desk project lacks that kind of clarity - so that is why I feel =
the need to pursue a different fee-determination method.

Terry Farrell
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