Fig. 97. A HIGH FREQUENCY MACHINE
Figure 97 shows a high frequency (violet ray) electric machine designed by the author in which this idea is carried out. The stand is of iron, nickle-plated; the base of the apparatus proper is of wood, japanned black; the rim is of brass, nickle-plated; the plate-base, on which the visible part of the apparatus is mounted, is made of slate and japanned black; the metal parts of the interruptor are nickle-plated, and the coil and insulating standards are of hard rubber as is also the handle. The cover shade and the violet ray vacuum tube are of glass, while red or green flexible silk cords are used to make the connections, and finally the lamp socket is of a composition called electrose.
Thus the color scheme is polished ebony, the wood base, the slate plate base, hard rubber fittings and electrose socket all appearing precisely alike; the blue-white nickle-plated parts alternate with the black, the glass lends an added touch of beauty while the red, or green, cords give it a dash of color that relieves and sets off the other parts.
Iron work can be japanned black, enameled any color, or nickle-plated; brass can be lacquered or nickle-plated, and wood can be enameled. After the device or machine is assembled it should be rubbed up to remove all finger marks and to brighten it, then wrapped in tissue paper and packed carefully in a box if it is small enough so that this can be done, or it must be crated in such a way that it can be transported without marring or breakage.
Overhead Charges.—In figuring on the cost of a completed device, machine or product so that a selling price may be put on it which will insure a handsome profit the cost of the stock, of the breakage of tools, of the labor, or production, and of the power—gas, electricity, water or coal—are all easy to keep track of.
But there are other costs that must be taken into account which, while they do not stick out so plainly must also be reckoned with, or your venture will be a money losing one. These are the overhead charges, such as the depreciation of your machinery, that is the wear and tear of it; the rental of your factory, or the taxes if you own the building; the insurance on the building and the machinery; transportation costs such as teams and teamsters or automobile trucks and drivers; telephone calls and the other little and big items of expense—all of these must be carefully thought up and worked out for the year and charged against the number of machines you are going to make in that year.
To these fixed and variable charges must be added the salaries of yourself and your associates and the office staff together with the printing bills, advertising accounts and all the incidental expenses of maintaining an executive office. Divide the total running expenses for the year by the number of machines you have turned out in a year and you will have the net cost of each article or machine you have produced.
Where Your Profits Come In.—Add 33⅓ per cent., 100 per cent., or 500 per cent. to the cost of production and let that be your selling price to consumers, agents, jobbers or wholesalers, less the usual small discount for cash. And the difference between the cost of production and your selling price will be your profits less certain losses on accounts which even an agency can’t collect.