In many situations the materials are not what the big cost is. It's the paint. For example, for a standard lugged road frame I charge $1400. Of that amount about $600 goes to the painter. About $150 is in materials. The rest goes to labor hours, consumables, electricity, insurance, etc.
My hunch is that most builders, if they took the job, would likely say the price would be net of paint and materials.
Tim O'Donnell
Shamrock Cycles
-Edit- Sorry, material cost of $150 is for the tubes only, which is all I thought the original poster had. I didn't read that he had lugs as well. Lugs, BB shell, tubes, braze-ons, drop-outs, etc. are probably $250 and up.
Last edited by HMBAtrail; 01-18-09 at 08:34 AM.
Reason: Mid-read original post