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Thread: Making a Living Woodworking

  1. #46
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    If you were closer to Polo, MO I know a 58 year old who makes them like an artist but he can't do it full time any longer. Good luck on your search.
    Quote Originally Posted by jack duren View Post
    You can make good money as a cabinet maker.
    You can make good money as a Commercial shop.
    You can make money as a furniture maker.

    Every shop does different work and pays differently.

    I lost my helper last week. Now I need an apprentice. These are hard to find. It's roughly 15-17 hr. I need a cabinet maker,etc that understands how tools and wood works. Actually hard to find.

  2. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by john lawson View Post
    I agree, go for it you are single. I attended a woodworking school in Maine for three months and as a part of our training we visited several one man shops of craftsman who were earning their living making furniture. One of the humorous sayings that I heard more than once was "the first requirement of a professional woodworker is to have a wife who has full benefits".

    There is a reason that a lot of professional woodworkers share that humor.
    I agree. I was raised in Florence,Al. I wouldn't starve as a woodworker there buy you might not enjoy the place you work at. All I have to do is look at Craigslist in Florence and see why I won't return.

    I have on occasion called on a few of the cabinet shops down in Florence. They ask...... what do I know how to do? and I reply.... Everything. Now my question, what do you pay? They say $15 hr if you don't need guidance. I reply ..What kind of broom you have? They say Why" I say.....Because that's all I'm going to do all day for $15 hr...Click.................

  3. #48
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    Thx... There's guys around her but tend to get discouraged when you tell them to build something without nails and wood putty

  4. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tim Bridge View Post
    Is it possible to make a living woodworking out of my garage making small projects and selling them at flea markets or other places?

    I have a bandsaw, router table, planer, miter saw, table saw, spindle sander, drill press and an assortment of hand tools.

    I am tired or working for electrical contractors and would like to go into a new direction.
    Tim, there has been a lot of good advice here, ranging from 'don't do it' to 'go for it'. Both viewpoints are correct. One aspect to consider is how you personally respond to a very difficult challenge, hardship and pressure. Do you make a plan, knuckle down, and push through it no matter what (bullheaded), or do you work hard for a while, get frustrated, tend to blame others, and move on to something else? Think back through your history and be honest. Can you stay motivated for several years of hard times, while building a business? Can you quickly change your business plan when the market doesn't match your original vision?

    Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who never take 'no' or 'can't do' as an answer and take personal responsibility for everything that happens in their life. They morph to become what they need to become to be successful.

    I think the best advice so far has been: 1) don't go into debt, and 2) keep your day job, but try to start making money building things out of wood and building up a list of resellers or clients. Keep very accurate accounting records of the wood business: wood and hardware costs, expendable supplies and equipment costs, depreciation of equipment, sales revenue, time spent to build each item sold, time and gas spent selling each item,.... Then figure out how much you are really making per hour. You'll learn a lot in the first 2-3 years, hone your wood skills and market knowledge, and be better prepared to know if this is really what you want to do or if it sucked all the fun out of a favorite pastime.

    I always support the dreamer, but you need to be a dreamer who can plan, follow through, and work hard, not just an idea guy who runs out of steam quickly.
    Mark McFarlane

  5. #50
    I haven't read through the entire thread here so if these suggestions have been mentioned already I dot know.

    My advice to the OP, yes you can make a living woodworking, however you must be flexible. That meaning be more like a finish Carp than a furniture maker/ cabinet maker. Yes you can build those items to but you need flexibility.

    Make/Hang custom doors, custom mouldings, custom crown moulding ,custom gates , Outdoor Projects out door/ indoor custom bars etc all sorts of various wood work oppurtunitiesare out there. You have to be open for them.

    To be specialised in say furniture making and cabinet making only is tough to compete against the big boys. Average customer looks at price ( think HOME Despot or Blowes , IKEA,for kitchen cabinets as a standard)

    Versatility and being creative and flexible .

    At least thats my plan.

    Also having a niche is helpful to

  6. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark mcfarlane View Post
    ...Then figure out how much you are really making per hour ....
    I agree with what mark says except, instead of figuring how much you make per hour, I've found it's more usable to figure how much you make per week, week after week. That way you don't have to keep hourly tallies and decide, "Was this work related or wasn't it ?" At the end of the week, or month, if you've made enough to live on, that tells you what you need to know. I cost out all my jobs by the week.

  7. #52
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    There's a lot more to this trade than making a few pieces of furniture,cabinets,crafts,etc.

  8. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yonak Hawkins View Post
    I agree with what mark says except, instead of figuring how much you make per hour, I've found it's more usable to figure how much you make per week, week after week. That way you don't have to keep hourly tallies and decide, "Was this work related or wasn't it ?" At the end of the week, or month, if you've made enough to live on, that tells you what you need to know. I cost out all my jobs by the week.
    I like this, but to make sure I'm understanding what you are saying. For an example, lets say I need to gross $1000/wk. So this week I make 4 items, I would then sell them for $250 each? or ??? Could you go into more details?

  9. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Sommers View Post
    I like this, but to make sure I'm understanding what you are saying. For an example, lets say I need to gross $1000/wk. So this week I make 4 items, I would then sell them for $250 each? or ??? Could you go into more details?
    It doesn't always work like that...

  10. #55
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    What you live on is profit. Gross doesn't matter much. I would say start with needing to make a profit of $1000 a week, and figure from there. That wouldn't really be much of a living though. You still have to pay taxes, including self-employment taxes out of gross profit. It would be safer to say you need a minimum of 2000 gross profit a week.

  11. #56
    If I were going into business to build things out of sheet goods, I'd seriously look at a cnc table. Or, more generally, look at equipment in a very different light than a hobbiest would.

  12. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    What you live on is profit. Gross doesn't matter much. I would say start with needing to make a profit of $1000 a week, and figure from there. That wouldn't really be much of a living though. You still have to pay taxes, including self-employment taxes out of gross profit. It would be safer to say you need a minimum of 2000 gross profit a week.
    $1000-2-3 it doesn't really matter. If he doesn't know the work he's better off doing it for a hobby and making a few bucks....

  13. #58
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    I think to make appreciable money in woodworking, as a one-man shop, you need not only to be a craftsman, but an artist too. I know several professional furniture makers that do pretty well, but everyone of them are extremely artistic and the pieces they create are Art forms. Because of that, their work is unique and most importantly.... Highly desired. Also, their client base is very exclusive and normally have several month waiting lists. There are several luthiers in this country that have 2-3 year waiting lists and charge thousands for a guitar. Regardless what you produce, you have to catch the attention of clients that have rediculous discretionary income. The good news is there are a ton of people in this country that will buy only the best and won't even blink at the price.

  14. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Sommers View Post
    I like this, but to make sure I'm understanding what you are saying. For an example, lets say I need to gross $1000/wk. So this week I make 4 items, I would then sell them for $250 each? or ??? Could you go into more details?
    Yes, sort of like that. The way I do it : I figure how many widgets I can make in a week (considering part of the week will be spent getting materials, marketing, etc (except I, myself, have my business set up where I don't have to do marketing, because I sell to a re-seller, or another manufacturer). I have the advantage of knowing how much I can sell a widget for to start with. If you're selling retail, you can figure that out by looking on-line or by going to craft fairs that sell what you want to make and see the going rate. So, let's say I can sell a widget for $250. I know I can make four a week (maybe I can make 10 in two weeks). That's $1000 (or $1250), subtract out expenses, and decide if I can live on the remainder.

  15. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Engel View Post
    What tickled me is advocating taking a very serious financial plunge based on your own very unique opportunity, one he certainly can't build a business model on.
    This is why I said what I said.

    No one is saying you can't make a living in ww'ing all they're saying is "don't quit your day job", that's all. Sorry if I offended.
    Thanks for that. I don't think my situation was unique, to be honest. My employer, Irion Company Furnituremakers, made a very good living in this area making 18th century reproductions and antique restoration. Many of the people that left the company did well on their own, some very well. I found clients quickly, was used to talking to clients (I was lead salesman for Irion) and got more than a few high dollar pieces. I worked in a garage too and found that there were some advantages to a one man shop but many disadvantages as well.

    I think that part of the problem with this discussion is a lack of perspective. How many people here know what the OP can and wants to make? How many are willing to work for only $30-40,000 a year? How many have ever given pro ww a try? Giving advice about a subject you know little about and have never tried is easy but...not worth much.

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