How many times have you thought "I can make that" only to spend 25 hours to make a 40 dollar item?

In magic that seldom happens to me. I did discover why not to buy silk yardage and make my own silks, though!

I have made a few musical instruments that would have been simpler to buy. In that case the time is just my fun time and I get at least as much out of the process as I do from the result. Will you enjoy a prop more for making it yourself? If do you have not wasted your time.

-Patrick

I do the opposite. I buy it and re-make it if needed. I try to improve on things to modify them to my preference. Then, if necessary, I make a copy as a back up.

I too do this.

A lot!

OMG, I have so many new tools used once, materials, yardage of cloth and leather thong, cork balls, magnets, intersting items form the junk shop.... So many of my experiments turn out to be harder than I thought. Still, the creative outlet and problem-solving is fun.

I don't waste time. There are times when I am not doing anything in particular. Sometimes, I am doing nothing but staring at something that I should be doing. Sometimes I stare at other things to avoid staring at what I should be doing. Sometimes I stop doing nothing so I can eat or sleep.

There are times when I am hard at work doing meaningless things, and there are times when I am spending a lot of time working on things where I hope for better results than I end up with, because those results are not consistent with the amount of time and/or money I have spent on them. This is usually when I am learning something important.

I produce when it is necessary. In between those times requires an understanding akin to reading between the lines. You learn more about what you are doing if you have that ability. Any day that I am alive, I can thank whatever happened the day before.

But, I don't waste time. Why? Because it is mine, and I can do whatever the hell I want to do with it.

I like to make my own equipment but it's much more expensive

Always worth it once. Improves cognitive tinkering.

I've always made my own props... sometimes it's more expensive and time consumimg.. but none of it is wasted time. I have rarely walked on stage with a prop that looks like it was dripped all over. I have never walked onstage with a badly stenciled prop. My stuff, when I was performing regularly, never looked like anyone elses.. and often worked just differently enough so that my magicians friends went. HMMM.. if just for a second.

Heh, my rule of thumb- your actual cost and time for any project will be 150% over the estimate. This holds true even after you've factored this rule into your estimate.

Anyway, I tend to view the sunk time as a learning experience; the next time I have to do it, I'll know what to do.

Don't factor in that rule and keep your costs down to estimate x 150%.