Woodworking for a living

[Jim Becker]

Does anyone glue up 3/4 hardwood into larger pieces and cut with a CNC?

There is nothing that precludes doing that at all. I use glued up panels for projects including guitars. CNC isn't just for sheet goods.

[andrew whicker]

I just recently switched over (from engineering career) to try my hand at... not so much woodworking, but as a designer / artist. I plan on sub'ing a lot out and hiring employees as I can. I'm spending a lot of time creating work procedures, specifications, etc. I'm willing to get 'okay' (in comparison to a lot of woodworkers and metal workers I see) at hands on skills and really spend time on the design, assembly and business side.

My take on it (after lots and lots of thought) is that I could think of it two ways:

1) I'm FUNemployed and I'm building stuff to keep from dipping into my savings too much before I take on my next career.
2) I'm a business owner. Starting a business (in my mind and after much thought and deliberation) is NOT woodworking, designing, etc. Building a business is creating something that creates money, regardless of what the commodity is. Kindig-It cars (you should definitely check this company out) isn't successful because one person is amazing at overhauling / redesigning cars. It's because he's a successful business owner. My thoughts are a lot more complicated than this and if this comes off too confident, I apologize. I am definitely still going thru anxiety attack phase. : )

So, I chose to do 2). I think 1) is perfectly acceptable and actually sounds like a lot of fun.

But.. if you want to woodwork for a living and you have savings, you can always quit your job, get a terrible healthcare plan and have fun being 'under employed' at a local shop. Even if you only did for 6 months, it would definitely change your life. Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself I made a good decision. : )

Good luck, whatever you do!

PS: Oh, and it's not hard to be poor while you're living on savings. I spend so much less money on frivolous stuff now! It's very free'ing.

[Brian Holcombe]

The value of good equipment is that it cost less over time. Buying and replacing cheap equipment is extremely expensive. Unreliable equipment produces poor results and causes you to work twice.

It costs time and money to turnover equipment, diagnose failures and replace material of damaged or degraded work produced on low quality machines.

[johnny means]

I like so say that woodwork is not the actual job, sales is where the real work is. You could make a living selling anything, if you can find your buyers.

[Andrew Hughes]

I was just thinking alone the same line as Johnny's post.
How would I feel about woodworking if my business was making a selling paint stir sticks. Or handles for hand brooms.
If business was good and that’s how I made money. Retirement health care lots of employees all all the corners of a successful business.
Could I call myself a woodworker I guess so since processing wood through machines qualifys.
Maybe a factory style woodworker is just a machine operator?

So what compels me to work with wood the way i do?

Where the creative process and money don’t mix. I don’t know.

[Mark Gibney]

David, Andrew and Johnny - spot on comments for me. Selling is crucial, and the most difficult.

[Bruce King]

Selling is the weird part because people will pay 2500 for something in a showroom as long as they can swipe their card. The same exact item in like new condition on Craigslist will only bring 600 in cash. A salesman told me once that’s is all about the packaging for some products. I recently bought a WiFi extender and picked the most expensive one in a real fancy box which is unusual for me but this time I was trying to avoid the process where the cheap one don’t work, take it back, the medium priced one won’t connect etc.
The car business has the best model since many people can’t afford a used car because it takes more out of pocket than a new car.

[Will Blick]

> The same exact item in like new condition on Craigslist will only bring 600 in cash

or u ask $600 for a $2500 product and u get offers for $50, and will you deliver it too?? It is damn hard to sell anything today... even new in a box, u are lucky if you get 25%

[johnny means]

> The same exact item in like new condition on Craigslist will only bring 600 in cash

or u ask $600 for a $2500 product and u get offers for $50, and will you deliver it too?? It is damn hard to sell anything today... even new in a box, u are lucky if you get 25%

How much ROI can one expect from their investment in Craigslist?

[Bruce King]

Over the years I have sold about 80k worth of stuff on Craigslist. Around here you usually get asking price if you price it fairly. Upstate SC you have to list high and take offers.
Don’t lower the listing price unless you just need to sell quicker like cars and RVs.
New people search it all the time. I keep my pictures handy because when the ad expires for more than a week or so the pictures disappear but the ad is renewable. Some things take 4 months to sell but eventually do so don’t drop the price. Used Furniture has to go cheap just to get it out of your way. Don’t give out your address until they say they are on the way. Badly misspelled or cryptic emails I just ignore.

[Curt Harms]

Thanks for asking Mark. No there’s no business to grow in my area there are many stores selling furniture made in Mexico,China,India.
Im not sure about cabinet shops I do talk to people I meet at Peterman lumber and they are struggling to find work.
The only choices left to someone in my area if they want to work with wood is to be artistic. It’s not a bad gig I don’t worry about what I make to pay my bills. I also don’t have the pressure. I get to keep using skills I have.
Hows your business doing.

The trick with artistic work is that you need to be in an area with enough people with both the desire and means to afford it.

[Zachary Hoyt]

Or make stuff that is small enough to be mailed. I sell 95 to 98% by mail order depending on the year, locally there is virtually no demand.

[John Goodin]

Not gonna lie and say it is cheaper than a psychologist... but for me it is therapy.

[Will Blick]

Interesting SC CL...
wow, here, its nearly impossible to sell anything..
I have stuff NEW in box, hot items, cant get 1/4 new price...
ebay is better, but in the last few years, that too has been rough...too many scammers hit ebay, I think it has fallen.
and often, zero responses on CL... I guess it really is heavily dependent on the area...

ww for sure is NOT cheaper than a shrink!! ROFL.... hilarious, thx for that!!!

[Bruce King]

Always put a least 3 pictures of your item on CL, even if it’s a boat anchor.
I have had some people that wanted something but were 45 minutes away and some that drove an hour. Had two boxes of framing nails that only fit my broken nailer so listed for about half of new. One guy wanted me to meet him half way. No way I’m going to sit and wait. Waited another few months and a guy came and got them for asking price. I had two coach lights new in a box that I had leftover from a new house 20 years ago on sale for $10 for both. Looks like a $50 set. Sold them to the same guy for 20. Back before covid people would stay and chat. Talked to a professor for 2 hours and several others for an hour.
Anyone tried the other site called LetGo ?
Also OfferUp, Facebook , Nextdoor ads