How to turn a buck in the shop.

[Dave Lehnert]

Things are slow at work and we were cut back to a 4 day work week. :(

Looking for a way to turn a buck in the wood shop. Like to hear what other woodworkers have found to be a good way for a little income.
Would have to be something a one man hobby shop could make fast enough. No projects that would take a month and such.

Not interest in craft type projects (but would consider)
I love building clocks. Also thought about jewelery chests or cedar chests.
Have been doing some custom woodworking jobs. Tend to take a long time because of time involved in design time, going to take measurements, Back and forth with what they want.

[Stephen Edwards]

That's a good question and one that I think that a lot of us are asking ourselves right now. I'll be interested in hearing what others are coming up with, too.

[Dennis McGarry]

Pick an area you are really good in and offer small 2-3 hour crash course instructions on a one and one basis or small groups..

[Jeff Willard]

Do you turn? Small turned items frequently sell well, particularly pens.

[Darrell Bottoms]

I'll be following this one close as I'm in a similar situation work-wise. I'm trying to come up with stuff that is both useful and would be done in a quick enough manner to make it affordable.

Watching close:eek:

[David DeCristoforo]

I put some ads in the classified section of my local newspaper. They have what they call a "Dia-A-Pro" section. I put in an ad for furniture repair and home repair. I usually get several calls a week. None of it throws off "big dollars" but it definitely "turns a buck" and they add up to usually an extra couple of thousand dollars a month for doing stuff that only takes a few hours and can easily be "fit in" around other work. I'm going to start posting ads on CL also.

[Andrew Joiner]

You'll want commercial liability insurance. It's expensive.
If one person gets hurt as a result of you charging for your work or products you might get sued in todays world. If you have any money or property it could all be lost even if you did all you could to be safe.

I wish this wasn't the case, but now days it's a reality. When I was a pro in the 1970's my commercial liability insurance cost was $200 a year including product liability. In 2002 I got a quote for $1500 for product liability only! That was based on LESS than 20k gross a year of sales.

Another choice is to form a corporation or some legal way to disconnect you personally from your sales.
Anyone have any luck with decent price insurance?

[Brad Westcott]

I have had good luck from word of mouth among my friends. I have done all kinds of house repairs and I am currently doing a custom kitchen. Most of this work is a result of last years hurricane Ike. I am not any cheaper than "professional" services but all my friends know that I can be trusted in their homes, I am honest, and they will get a job well done.

[David DeCristoforo]

"Most of this work is a result of last years hurricane Ike..."

Natural disasters always have a way of creating a lot of work. Here on the west coast, we don't get hurricanes. But, over the years, I have gotten a lot of work because of fires and earthquakes.

[glenn bradley]

To turn a buck I clamp the tail in the chuck and pin the antlers at the tailstock.

[Jeff Willard]

Now tell him how to make some doe! :eek:

[Chris Kennedy]

One suggestion (not from experience) -- candlesticks. They can be turned or shaped, don't require much in the way of stock or other hardware. Kind of a craft item, I guess.

Cheers,

Chris

[Thad Nickoley]

Thats funny right there...I dont care who ya are thats funny!!!

[Dave Lehnert]

One suggestion (not from experience) -- candlesticks. They can be turned or shaped, don't require much in the way of stock or other hardware. Kind of a craft item, I guess.

Cheers,

Chris
Thats a good idea. Thanks!

I bet pepper mills would sell good.

[Mike Hall1]

Plantation Shutters :rolleyes:

Mike

[Shawn Stennett]

I have been cut back to 3 days a week from six days since last October, I had enough jobs already lined up to keep me somewhat busy, between that and new baby in Dec. I would like to do some cutting boards.

[Gene Howe]

thats funny right there...i dont care who ya are thats funny!!!

+1:d:d:d:d:d

[John Shuk]

Find something you can reproduce easily and sell at a price that people don't have to think much about. What you sell is up to you. I think having a product to offer is much more efficient to jump into than trying to sell your services.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Ya gotta know who your customer base is and how to reach 'em.

once you have that down the rest is just work.

[Orion Henderson]

If you have the equipment this is pretty cool:

http://www.ponoko.com/

Very interesting thing they are doing.

[Brad Westcott]

If you have the equipment this is pretty cool:

http://www.ponoko.com/

Very interesting thing they are doing.

Interesting concept. Not sure it will work unless blind faith is part of your makeup. I want to know who I am working with before committing my hard earned money.

[Jerome Hanby]

Friend of mine has been building "pirate" chests (best way I know to describe them) out of scrap for friends and family. I think everyone that has ever seen one of them started asking about price and where to get one. He's not spending too much effort in the build and I would think you could really churn them out if you had your design and patterns already worked out. I wouldn't blink at paying $50 for one, so the real squeal point is probably substantially higher. Seems like they would be more of a wood working than artsy/craftsy project...

[Horton Brasses]

Interesting concept. Not sure it will work unless blind faith is part of your makeup. I want to know who I am working with before committing my hard earned money.

I think if you have the equipment you don't have to commit much of anything. Just be eligible (and capable) of building what someone is ordered. You will know before you start how much you will receive. I would think any woodworker with the right machines could basically sign up to be one of their builders. I don't think it will generate much money at the moment; but some is better than none, and it might grow into a lot. Having a Shopbot system helps too.

[Gregory Stahl]

I pay about $600/yr for insurance. This also covers my shop that is in a rented space for $60k worth of machinery and inventory.

This does not cover me working on other's property--just liability of my products and space should someone visiting get hurt, and coverage of my equipment and inventory up to $60k.

Only real pain has been the insurance inspector comes through a couple times a year.



Anyone have any luck with decent price insurance?

[Chris Tsutsui]

My friend is a contractor, and he dresses like one.

Whenever you go out to places where possible clients might be.. Dress like somebody that knows what they're doing or wear a shirt with your business on it.

So I would go shopping with him at the Borg or lumber yard. People would approach him with quick questions that would result in him getting a small job every now and then.

[Dave Lehnert]

Friend of mine has been building "pirate" chests (best way I know to describe them) out of scrap for friends and family. I think everyone that has ever seen one of them started asking about price and where to get one. He's not spending too much effort in the build and I would think you could really churn them out if you had your design and patterns already worked out. I wouldn't blink at paying $50 for one, so the real squeal point is probably substantially higher. Seems like they would be more of a wood working than artsy/craftsy project...

Don't happen to have a pic of one?

[Thomas Williams]

Dave:
I assume you are wanting to sell products you make in the shop as opposed to say custom built ins? If so, pepper mills, cutting boards and maybe some pens and candle stick holders. Hit the boutique/gift type of shops in the Kenwood/Montgomery area (or other upscale shopping areas) and see what they might be buying. I know of some pen turners that used to have a good deal with a Hallmark gift store. You could also check some of the vendors at Cesar's Creek Flea market (or any of the other local flea markets) they might do some consignment sales for you.
Liability insurance is a good idea, but you might just be able to add a home business endorsement to you homeowners policy that will not set you back. Also creating a LLC is a good idea, but how much are you going to be selling?
Good Luck!

[george wilson]

Keep the work simple and quick to make. Less than $50.00 is in the impulse buying range. Women buy the most gift items. This is how we run our home jewelry business. we have several $24.00 earrings,on up. the cheaper stuff sells best. Find a nice gift shop to sell them for you. They will want 50% of the money.

I hate to suggest making pens,but apparently a lot of them are sold.

[Rick Fisher]

This might be beneath you .. and out of season, but planter boxes for decks always sell..

You can rattle off planter boxes pretty quick, if you can leave 30% for a retailer to sell them.. even better..

Up here, in Canada, they need to be Cedar.. if you hit a mill, you can buy rough shorts for next to zip..

Its all labor after that.. which is what your looking for..

[Jerome Hanby]

Don't happen to have a pic of one?
Looking at one, it was pretty clear how to make, this picture s pretty similar
http://www.binkyswoodworking.com/PirateChest20Thumb.jpg

This guy's site (http://www.binkyswoodworking.com/PiratesChest.html) (where the picture is from) shows how to build it.

[Don Jarvie]

How about radiator covers? If you have a lot of older homes in the area they still may have the old fashioned radiators.

Some people with small children may want some and getting custom mades ones can be expensive.

[Josiah Bartlett]

Do you live in an area where people enjoy wine and/or cheese? Wine related products (racks, stoppers, corkscrews), cheese related (cutting boards and slicers) seem to sell at a good markup for simple amounts of labor. If its more of a beer area, tap handles are easy to make and can be marketed by word of mouth or just dropping a few off at a home brew store and asking them to sell them.

[Dave Lehnert]

Do you live in an area where people enjoy wine and/or cheese? Wine related products (racks, stoppers, corkscrews), cheese related (cutting boards and slicers) seem to sell at a good markup for simple amounts of labor. If its more of a beer area, tap handles are easy to make and can be marketed by word of mouth or just dropping a few off at a home brew store and asking them to sell them.

very good ideas

[Kev Godwin]

For many years my father built many gun racks and fishing rod racks and sold them in several local gun shops and bait shops. Now that my father is much older and can't keep up with the demand, I'm getting calls to cover the gap for him. My day job keeps me from stepping up.

In his retirement, he paid for many cruises and several other vacations just from his "outdoorsman rack" production.
Kev

[Wayne Cannon]

I saw a video where a cabinetmaker added sign-making to his shop repertoire, and it was well-received.

[Sean Nagle]

I saw a video where a cabinetmaker added sign-making to his shop repertoire, and it was well-received.

This is a very good idea. Sign customers are almost exclusively businesses, so there should be some good margin in the pricing. You can pickup CNC milling machines for less than $4K these days.

[Tony Bilello]

In a bad economy, forget about building and selling anything. The quick and easy money is in furniture repair.
I recently went back into woodworking business after 2 slow years in the oilfields offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Although I love building furniture, previous woodworking experience taught me that ads for repairs pays off quickly, and it still does. If you want short duration jobs, you can easily make $50/hour in furniture repair. Once people come into my shop, they become interested in furniture I build but still, money is tight and repairs are NECESSARY.