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Thread: Need good tools for a woodworking career

  1. #31
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    Oct 2007
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    Some very good info in Fine Woodworking ; Tools & Shop issue this month.

    I’d seriously look into Richard’s tool offer, having read many of his posts he knows what he’s about and I’m sure his tools where well used and maintained.

    On the “have a business plan” : Ya, I’d agree IF you are NOT a good businessman by nature, going thru the process of defining what you are going to be building , or more importantly WHO you’ll be selling to might lead you to work for some one else and moving to where ever they do business would be a good exercise.

    Best of luck!

  2. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by John Gregory View Post
    If you experience a great meal at a restaurant, Do you say, "The cook must have an awesome stove!" Look at all of the historic furniture pieces build before electricity. The skill is in the person.
    But you can assume he's got a range that produces enough heat to sear a steak. I can prepare a meal with a campfire. I couldn't serve a restaurant full of customers with that same fire. The OP is talking about making a living not expressing his inner craftsman.

  3. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by johnny means View Post
    But you can assume he's got a range that produces enough heat to sear a steak. I can prepare a meal with a campfire. I couldn't serve a restaurant full of customers with that same fire. The OP is talking about making a living not expressing his inner craftsman.
    I think the stove analogy is used to impress upon the OP that good tools alone are not enough.

    Good skills alone are not enough, we can also argue, if one does woodworking for a living. Ask anyone who uses a plunge saw. a sander or a Kapex with the Festool extraction system in a client's home vs a Dewalt miter saw with a shop vac, and they will tell you why good tools are important.

    As a hobby woodworker, I use premium tools and get great results because of a good combination of skills and tools. If the OP decides to attempt woodworking for a living and he (or his dad) can afford the purchases, I would advise him to get the best that he can afford. The investment in tools is tax-deductible to start with. Worse comes to worse, sell the tools and get back 60 to 70% depending on what they are.

    The SawStop must be the tablesaw option if the cabinet saw route is taken by the OP, not just for safety and performance reasons, but also for insurance purposes, if applicable.

    Having said all this, I would not want to be doing furniture for a living as the fun of woodworking won't be the same when you have to be worried about deadlines (if you are lucky to be overloaded with orders), cost control, marketing, hiring or finding extra help when you have time for the shop but none for anything else. You will soon hate doing stock prep. (few can afford to get the "dirty" work done by apprentices as Michael Fortune or Sam Maloof), and wonder why a "small" shop is not small at all to maintain given all the tools you have.


    Simon

  4. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Sommers View Post
    My dad is interested in funding a wood shop for me and I’m trying to give him an honest price.
    I’m talking SawStop TS
    I need a good brand for the following
    Router Table
    Bandsaw – this could come later but now would be great.
    Joiner
    Planer
    Drill Press – later
    belt sander for easy shaping parts

    I want to build small items that would sell well. I’m thinking side tables, hall/wall tables, etc.
    I had a shop before but I bought all cheap stuff and what a nightmare that was! so I had sold some stuff and now I’m starting over from the bottom up.
    I also want a good vacuum air system as well.
    any advice would be wonderful, thanks.
    Hey Brian,

    If you were a hobbyist or regular schlubb like me, it'd be easier to advise.
    We could tell you to get X router, Y bandsaw, and a Clearvue cyclone.
    However, you mention "career."

    1. What type of career are you envisioning?
    2. What is your experience? Any formal apprenticeships? What industry?
    3. How serious are you about this? Any side jobs?

    I'm a huge fan of woodworking, but could not see doing a career out of it.
    After learning to build guitars (and apprenticing for a while), I'd much more happily pay money to support a good luthier.
    While it sounds romantic, there's a lot of tedious, thankless work that goes into good craft....people like Brian Holcombe just make it look easy.

    Secondly, how serious are you about running a business? And why woodworking?
    Even Maloof started with crappy tools, and making crappy furniture out of plywood as a necessity...his neighbor saw his work, and bought some furniture...and it spread (before Ikea and Wayfair came along).
    Quite a few scrappy business owners bootstrapped our businesses, and cobbled together equipment, materials, etc as we could...with whatever money/side jobs we could find.

    When I started my dental office, I liquidated all my stocks for working capital within the first 4 months.
    The computers, sensors, etc was from my savings after working 3 jobs for the previous two years.
    Most of my equipment was bought used (albeit they're considered best of breed, and better than the new stuff).
    I spent 2 years without paying myself.
    Even 4 years later, with a solid reputation, it's still lots of work and expense.

    So, not to be a downer...but I think you need to think things through...unless this is just a hobby.
    At the very least, a business plan.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    May 2014
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    Alberta
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    2,162
    Ok Brian, so everyone is trying to convince you how hard this can be. I will try to help with your original question. I would buy no less than a 8'' jointer,15 '' four post planer, cabinet saw, and probably a 14'' bandsaw. With these and a drill press you are equipped to do most everything at least one way. Go for it ,this stuff will be great if woodworking only is a hobby or if you can find a way to work wood for a living. The big thing for me is nothing is permanent . If I buy a tool that does not work like I need or I simply do not use it enough ,I sell it and move on. If you stick to this level of equipment to ''test the waters" it will all be easy to sell off if things do not work out,or keep it for your own use. One final thought buy it used, then if you sell it is easier to get most of your money back. FWIW, Mike.

  6. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Hughes View Post
    Be ready to stay hungry
    Haven't made it very far in the thread yet, but this is solid.

    I've got over $1m invested. I burn through $20k a month before I buy a single piece of lumber, or hardware.

    I am small time.

    I also haven't paid myself squat this year. No jokes, (I just looked yesterday when I was doing payroll), I've made $1.82 per hour this year. The good news is I haven't capped 3000 hours yet.

    I've talked to a few people about this, no way in hell would I try starting a woodworking business today.

    I started on my own almost fifteen years ago with about a $10k investment. I bought a powermatic tablesaw, 6" jointer, and 15" planer. I had all of my hand tools and install tools since I had been a full time cabinet maker for five or six years already.

    If I had it to do over again, I'd get a cnc and an edge bander almost right off the bat. You can pay for everything else you want with those two tools.

  7. #37
    mid- level slider 4000
    entry level professional shaper 3000
    20" planer 2000
    16" jointer 1000
    20" bandsaw 1200
    Cabinet saw 500
    wide belt sander 4000
    10 hp dust collector 3000

    This would be my budgeting for used equipment if I was opening up a new shop today. I consider this pretty minimal to achieve any real production.

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Sommers View Post
    My dad is interested in funding a wood shop for me ...
    I want to build small items that would sell well...
    Good luck.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    Three Rivers, Central Oregon
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    Sounds dismal.

    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Wasner View Post
    Haven't made it very far in the thread yet, but this is solid.

    I've got over $1m invested. I burn through $20k a month before I buy a single piece of lumber, or hardware.

    I am small time.

    I also haven't paid myself squat this year. No jokes, (I just looked yesterday when I was doing payroll), I've made $1.82 per hour this year. The good news is I haven't capped 3000 hours yet.

    I've talked to a few people about this, no way in hell would I try starting a woodworking business today.

    I started on my own almost fifteen years ago with about a $10k investment. I bought a powermatic tablesaw, 6" jointer, and 15" planer. I had all of my hand tools and install tools since I had been a full time cabinet maker for five or six years already.

    If I had it to do over again, I'd get a cnc and an edge bander almost right off the bat. You can pay for everything else you want with those two tools.
    Scott Vroom

    I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    LA & SC neither one is Cali
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    This thread has me thinking, we have a lot of very skilled full-time woodworkers on SMC but off the top of my head, I can't think of one that builds primarily furniture. Who am I forgetting?
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  11. #41
    I'm thinking Brian Holcombe.

  12. #42
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    Jan 2010
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    LA & SC neither one is Cali
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Fulks View Post
    I'm thinking Brian Holcombe.
    I thought about Brian and while he builds some amazing things I wasn't sure he was primarily furniture, but he may well be.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  13. #43
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
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    Primarily furniture, yes.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  14. #44
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Cambridge Vermont
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    2,280
    The first thing you need to remember is it's not just the tools. A table saw is worthless without a blade. Blades, bits, sander belts add up quickly. My neighbor is probably one of the best woodworkers you'll ever meet. Everything in his shop is large industrial equipment. He started out with much lower end tools (in fact he still has his first cabinet saw, a Northwood that he said I could have). His name is well known to the point where people pay to fly him all over the country to do custom work. He has thousands invested in shaper bits alone. Yet, at times, I've seen him do work like felling trees for money simply because of a low. I think if I was to get into woodworking professionally I would try to find someone to work for. Not so much to get experience on doing woodworking but to get an idea of the business side. Look at what they are doing that makes money, look at what types of clients they have, and look at their equipment.

  15. #45
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    Jun 2008
    Location
    So Cal
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    What about me I make furniture.
    I can a piece if the highest quality, unfortunately it doesn’t mean squat in today’s internet. The social media woodworker has taken the mystery and mystic of the craft.
    The good news is there’s still good work being done.
    I think some don’t share their work. So they don’t feed the YouTube copycats.
    I sure don’t want to help them.
    Aj

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