Sunday, June 19, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Quick And Easy Hand Tool Cabinet
I've been rearranging my shop, doing some cleaning and organizing a better layout. I've got tools scattered just about everywhere, and I decided to make a quick and easy "cabinet" for my handplanes out of some scraps I had laying around.
The sides are pieces of oak leftover from my last pallet project (the planter, part one & part two). and the shelves are leftover pieces of oak plywood from the bookshelf cubby a few months ago.
Since I'm without a table saw and a miter saw at the moment, the entire thing was cut with handtools, with the exception of a couple of rips that I did with the bandsaw. Joinery is simply pocket screws, and I attached the entire thing to the 2x4 studs with screws as well.
I'm still debating whether to apply an edge banding to the plywood or to simply attach some hardwood to the edges and form a lip (to prevent one of the planes from falling out). Since it's just shop furniture, I could leave it like this and be okay with it, but it'll be in a lot of the shots I do in the future for my You Tube channel, so I'll probably do something to make it look "finished".
Overall, it took about an hour to make, so it wasn't too big of a project, but it solved a problem I was having. I am thinking about adding another similar cabinet/shelf to the right to hold things like my chisels, drill bits, router bits, and other misc. stuff that I use often but don't really have a home for at the moment.
Monday, May 2, 2016
Shop Update #12
Here is the link to the Go Fund Me Page mentioned in the video. I don't see me needing it for very much longer, and as soon as I hear back from this employer, I will remove it and close down the link. Anything you can donate is greatly appreciated to help us get over this hump.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Build A Keepsake/Recipe Box
Since Mother's Day is coming up, I decided to surprise my wife with this box. I knew she was wanting something along the lines of a recipe card box, so I designed this with that in mind. It can also double as a keepsake box as well.
I chose maple and mahogany for this, as I had some offcut pieces that were long enough to use, as well as some scrap pieces that I could get used up.
I chose to use dowels for the joinery, as I think it adds visual interest. As for the wood itself, normally I always stain mahogany, but my wife doesn't care for darker colors, preferring the look of natural wood. Since this will be hers and not mine, I chose to just give it a good sanding and a gloss coat of polyurethane.
I was going to put a knob on the lid, but chose instead to just leave it bare, as the lip of the box allows you to easily lift it off and get inside. Plus, I kind of liked the way it looked without it.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, or join me over on my Facebook page (I check that more often than the comments here).
Shop Talk # 11
Here is the link to the Go Fund Me Page mentioned in the video. I don't see me needing it for very much longer, and as soon as I hear back from this employer, I will remove it and close down the link. Anything you can donate is greatly appreciated to help us get over this hump.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Shop Talk #10
In this vlog, I discuss my most recent project, a few that are pending, and a couple of other issues, including lazy squirrels.
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Saturday, April 16, 2016
Laundry Shelf
We bought our house back in 2008. Ever since the first day, my wife has been asking me to remove this shelf that's in the laundry room because it's too high for her to reach the top shelf, and that's where she keeps the detergent and stuff (she has a step stool that she uses, but would prefer not to have to use it).
I was cleaning around the shop a week or two ago and was trying to find a place for some leftover plywood from the bookshelf cubby I built a couple months ago, then realized it would be the perfect material to use for a laundry shelf. I'd be getting rid of some clutter, and I'd be making her happy (one of my life's mottos is "Happy wife, happy life").
I designed the shelf in Google Sketchup, then exported the shots of the components of the entire thing, and converted those to PDF format. For me, it's just easier to read a plan in PDF format, rather than try and use Sketchup. In my opinion, making a design is easier in Sketchup, but harder to read, so I went this route.
Anyway, I made the initial cuts and was getting ready to set up my dado stack when my wife came down with a change of plans. Instead of replacing the old shelf, she decided she'd just like to have a new one that goes on a different wall. That wasn't a problem, but the other wall isn't as wide, so I had to do a little modification of the plan, and after getting some new measurements, I re-cut the pieces to their new length and resumed work on the rabbets. Since the shelf was going to be smaller, I didn't put in the middle divider.
Below is the video of the entire project. I was thinking of doing a stain, but on the bookshelf cubby project I didn't really like how the plywood took the stain, so I was thinking about just doing a clear coat of polyurethane, instead. My wife once again changed my mind, because she said she wanted it the same off-white that is in the laundry room now, so paint it was.
Continue Reading...
I was cleaning around the shop a week or two ago and was trying to find a place for some leftover plywood from the bookshelf cubby I built a couple months ago, then realized it would be the perfect material to use for a laundry shelf. I'd be getting rid of some clutter, and I'd be making her happy (one of my life's mottos is "Happy wife, happy life").
I designed the shelf in Google Sketchup, then exported the shots of the components of the entire thing, and converted those to PDF format. For me, it's just easier to read a plan in PDF format, rather than try and use Sketchup. In my opinion, making a design is easier in Sketchup, but harder to read, so I went this route.
Anyway, I made the initial cuts and was getting ready to set up my dado stack when my wife came down with a change of plans. Instead of replacing the old shelf, she decided she'd just like to have a new one that goes on a different wall. That wasn't a problem, but the other wall isn't as wide, so I had to do a little modification of the plan, and after getting some new measurements, I re-cut the pieces to their new length and resumed work on the rabbets. Since the shelf was going to be smaller, I didn't put in the middle divider.
Below is the video of the entire project. I was thinking of doing a stain, but on the bookshelf cubby project I didn't really like how the plywood took the stain, so I was thinking about just doing a clear coat of polyurethane, instead. My wife once again changed my mind, because she said she wanted it the same off-white that is in the laundry room now, so paint it was.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Pallet Planter Part Two
Part two of the planter built out of pallet wood.
Continue Reading...
Update: Plans are available for this project in the right sidebar.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Pallet Planter Part One
I had a lady contact me, asking me to build a planter out of pallet wood. She sent a single photo of what she had in mind, and gave me an idea of the dimensions, so I'm building this as I go (i.e., no plans or anything).
This is part one:
Continue Reading...
This is part one:
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Sunday, February 21, 2016
My Half-Scale Bowling Lane
I've been getting a lot of questions about this, so I figured I'd do a quick video....
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Thursday, February 18, 2016
Six Shop Projects I'd Like To Build This Year
I think every woodworker at some point in time says to himself that he needs to stop building furniture or knick-knack projects and build something useful for his shop. Whether it's a new bench, some jigs, a router table, or some kind of storage, tables, or cabinets, it's usually something he's put off until he can stand to be without them no longer.
What are mine? Glad you asked. Here are six projects that I'm thinking of tackling in the coming year or two:
1) A new workbench. The one I have is fine and has served me well. It's made out of common 2x4 construction lumber, it's sturdy, and I like it. But when I built it, I didn't take a few things into consideration. I'd like to build something bigger, beefier, and with more clamping/hold down capabilities. Not to mention, I need to build it a little shorter (I built it to accommodate my standing height, not realizing that I'd not always be standing at it). If I ever get a new table saw, I'd like to build the bench to serve as an outfeed table in addition to my main work surface.
2) A real, honest-to-goodness router table. I have a Bosch table now, but it's designed to be portable and to be clamped onto your bench top (or other stable surface). The table itself is great. The fence? Not so much. I'd like to build an actual standing cabinet to house my router bits and router accessories in. I'd also like to design it so that when I'm not using it I can wheel it out of the way. The router I currently have in it is easy to adjust from under the table, so I wouldn't really need a router lift unless I upgraded to a different router (which I very well may in the future). I'd cross that bridge if/when the time comes, though.
3) Storage cabinets and shelves. I think this is always on every woodworker's list of things to do, but in my case the need is growing. Whether it's for storing and sorting sandpaper, something to sort and store your hand tools on, or simply something to keep all the drill bits, screws, nails, and other small parts and pieces, storage and organization is always a huge plus in any shop. I don't know how many times I've needed a certain size screw and can't find the box I'm looking for, because one week it's on this shelf and the next week I moved it to another shelf without remembering that or misplaced it completely. It'd be nice if I had a place to put everything, but the trick is to make sure I keep it there. Easier said than done.
4) A lumber rack. I have a long shelf that I currently use to store my lumber, but it's a pain to keep sorted and organized. Nine times out of ten the board I need is all the way to the back and buried under a bunch of other stuff. I'd like to build either a rolling cabinet that also holds sheet goods, or come up with a new and better way entirely. I don't have a lot of space in my basement shop, so I'll have to come up with an idea at some point in time.
5) A miter saw station. The bench I have my miter saw on right now is a hulking table I built when we first moved into this house in 2008. It currently shares this space with my spindle sander and benchtop drill press. At some point in time, I'd like to build a station that's better suited to make use of this saw. I use it quite often, it's reasonably accurate, but I know it would be dead-on if I built something that had a way to set stops and kept everything aligned perfectly.
6) A long cabinet/workbench for my benchtop tools. As I mentioned above, my drill press and spindle sander share the same space as my miter saw. My jointer is on a rolling cabinet over by my dust collector, and my planer is on a stackable shelf next to it. I'd like to free up that space along the wall, build a long bench along it (at a lower height than normal), and put all of these on it so they're all in one area and my workflow can improve. I'm not all that certain, however, that the wall in question is long enough to do this and even if it is, then the next question is where would I put my dust collector?
When I set up shop in my basement, I was aware that I'd be facing space limitations and various challenges as the shop grew. Trying to overcome those challenges is what I'm going to be focusing on in the next year or so.
Continue Reading...
What are mine? Glad you asked. Here are six projects that I'm thinking of tackling in the coming year or two:
1) A new workbench. The one I have is fine and has served me well. It's made out of common 2x4 construction lumber, it's sturdy, and I like it. But when I built it, I didn't take a few things into consideration. I'd like to build something bigger, beefier, and with more clamping/hold down capabilities. Not to mention, I need to build it a little shorter (I built it to accommodate my standing height, not realizing that I'd not always be standing at it). If I ever get a new table saw, I'd like to build the bench to serve as an outfeed table in addition to my main work surface.
2) A real, honest-to-goodness router table. I have a Bosch table now, but it's designed to be portable and to be clamped onto your bench top (or other stable surface). The table itself is great. The fence? Not so much. I'd like to build an actual standing cabinet to house my router bits and router accessories in. I'd also like to design it so that when I'm not using it I can wheel it out of the way. The router I currently have in it is easy to adjust from under the table, so I wouldn't really need a router lift unless I upgraded to a different router (which I very well may in the future). I'd cross that bridge if/when the time comes, though.
3) Storage cabinets and shelves. I think this is always on every woodworker's list of things to do, but in my case the need is growing. Whether it's for storing and sorting sandpaper, something to sort and store your hand tools on, or simply something to keep all the drill bits, screws, nails, and other small parts and pieces, storage and organization is always a huge plus in any shop. I don't know how many times I've needed a certain size screw and can't find the box I'm looking for, because one week it's on this shelf and the next week I moved it to another shelf without remembering that or misplaced it completely. It'd be nice if I had a place to put everything, but the trick is to make sure I keep it there. Easier said than done.
4) A lumber rack. I have a long shelf that I currently use to store my lumber, but it's a pain to keep sorted and organized. Nine times out of ten the board I need is all the way to the back and buried under a bunch of other stuff. I'd like to build either a rolling cabinet that also holds sheet goods, or come up with a new and better way entirely. I don't have a lot of space in my basement shop, so I'll have to come up with an idea at some point in time.
5) A miter saw station. The bench I have my miter saw on right now is a hulking table I built when we first moved into this house in 2008. It currently shares this space with my spindle sander and benchtop drill press. At some point in time, I'd like to build a station that's better suited to make use of this saw. I use it quite often, it's reasonably accurate, but I know it would be dead-on if I built something that had a way to set stops and kept everything aligned perfectly.
6) A long cabinet/workbench for my benchtop tools. As I mentioned above, my drill press and spindle sander share the same space as my miter saw. My jointer is on a rolling cabinet over by my dust collector, and my planer is on a stackable shelf next to it. I'd like to free up that space along the wall, build a long bench along it (at a lower height than normal), and put all of these on it so they're all in one area and my workflow can improve. I'm not all that certain, however, that the wall in question is long enough to do this and even if it is, then the next question is where would I put my dust collector?
When I set up shop in my basement, I was aware that I'd be facing space limitations and various challenges as the shop grew. Trying to overcome those challenges is what I'm going to be focusing on in the next year or so.
My Wish List As A Woodworker
I've been woodworking for just over two years now. In that time, I've built up a collection of better tools and better skills, but the further I get along with both, the more I realize that I'd like to go even further.
Most of my projects that I choose to do are what I call "skill builders", i.e., there's at least one thing about it that will challenge me to try something new, whether it's a new tool or a new technique. For example, last spring/early summer I purposely built a couple of tables to teach myself joinery, such as mortise and tenons and dovetails. I got the mortise and tenon aspect of woodworking down, but dovetails? Yeah, I am still relying on a jig for that. Not for lack of trying, I've made several attempts and let's just say that they fell short of expectations.
I was sitting at my computer today, thinking (okay, dreaming!) of what I could do or what I could purchase to get me to the next level and I came up with this list. I'm sure if you compare notes with many woodworkers, their list will be very similar.
1) A bigger, better table saw. If you've watched my videos or read my table saw review, you'd know that while I'm not unhappy with my saw, I'm fully aware there are things about it that are lacking. Mainly the size of the table top, but there are a couple of little things about it that I wish were better, such as what the top is made of and how big/tall the fence is (it limits me as to what I can use for attachments). I've been looking around for something to upgrade to, but haven't found anything in my budget that has a reputation I can trust.
2) Let's face it....I've tried I don't know how many times to cut dovetails, and I more than likely will continue trying, but it's a skill that is probably either beyond my grasp or, at best, years away from being able to do it and not have people say "Well, at least you tried..." I've tried a couple of jigs, and although the one I have now is ok, I really don't like the "this is the size you are stuck with" part of it. I'd much rather have something I can use and make the size of my dovetails look like, well, actual handcut dovetails.
3) Better handsaws. I have a rip cut saw, a crosscut saw, a panel saw, and a couple of small backsaws that I purchased at the local home center. They get the job done, so I can't complain, but they do leave the cut edges rough and I have to clean them up. Oh, and maybe a dovetail saw, just in case I ever do master dovetails (see #2).
4) Upgrade to 1/2" shank router bits instead of the mix of 1/4" and 1/2" I currently use. I think the 1/2" are safer and more reliable, but finding them in my area is next to impossible.
5) A good set of forstner bits. The ones I have are good, but they don't sell a complete set in my area, so I've purchased them on an "as-needed" basis. I have what I need so far, but I dread the day I have to make a special trip to go purchase a $40 bit just because I have to cut a certain size hole.
6) A couple of nice spokeshaves. I bought one for about $5 a few months ago, because I needed one to shape the legs on the highboy I'm building. It did the job ok, but keeping it locked in on the setting I want is a problem, so I'd like to eventually buy a quality set (one with a flat sole, another with a curved sole).
7) Card scrapers. I modified a broken putty knife to use as one, and it works ok, but leaves a lot to be desired. I'd like to upgrade to a nice set at some point in time to finesse my surfaces.
8) Mortise and tenon equipment. I tried the General Tools mortise and tenon jig and didn't much care for it, so I've been cutting tenons mainly on my bandsaw (see #1 as to why I don't usually cut them on the table saw), and I cut the mortises on the router table. It's a pain in the rear to set up for the cuts and, unless I'm cutting several all at once, it's time consuming. I'd much rather have either a mortiser with a tenoning jig. If I could justify the insane expense, I'd love to have a Festool Domino (they're crazy-expensive, so I don't see me ever getting one) or something similar to it.
So those are the things that are currently on my "wish list" and, like I said, I'm sure that most woodworkers have a similar list (feel free to share it in the comments below). Now don't get me wrong, I can make do (and have been) with what I currently have, these are more along the lines of "things that will make my woodworking life a lot easier" than anything else.
P.S.: Not a "tool" wish at all, but I certainly wish I had a bigger and better shop setup. Short of building on to my house, it's not gonna happen anytime soon.
Continue Reading...
Most of my projects that I choose to do are what I call "skill builders", i.e., there's at least one thing about it that will challenge me to try something new, whether it's a new tool or a new technique. For example, last spring/early summer I purposely built a couple of tables to teach myself joinery, such as mortise and tenons and dovetails. I got the mortise and tenon aspect of woodworking down, but dovetails? Yeah, I am still relying on a jig for that. Not for lack of trying, I've made several attempts and let's just say that they fell short of expectations.
I was sitting at my computer today, thinking (okay, dreaming!) of what I could do or what I could purchase to get me to the next level and I came up with this list. I'm sure if you compare notes with many woodworkers, their list will be very similar.
1) A bigger, better table saw. If you've watched my videos or read my table saw review, you'd know that while I'm not unhappy with my saw, I'm fully aware there are things about it that are lacking. Mainly the size of the table top, but there are a couple of little things about it that I wish were better, such as what the top is made of and how big/tall the fence is (it limits me as to what I can use for attachments). I've been looking around for something to upgrade to, but haven't found anything in my budget that has a reputation I can trust.
2) Let's face it....I've tried I don't know how many times to cut dovetails, and I more than likely will continue trying, but it's a skill that is probably either beyond my grasp or, at best, years away from being able to do it and not have people say "Well, at least you tried..." I've tried a couple of jigs, and although the one I have now is ok, I really don't like the "this is the size you are stuck with" part of it. I'd much rather have something I can use and make the size of my dovetails look like, well, actual handcut dovetails.
3) Better handsaws. I have a rip cut saw, a crosscut saw, a panel saw, and a couple of small backsaws that I purchased at the local home center. They get the job done, so I can't complain, but they do leave the cut edges rough and I have to clean them up. Oh, and maybe a dovetail saw, just in case I ever do master dovetails (see #2).
4) Upgrade to 1/2" shank router bits instead of the mix of 1/4" and 1/2" I currently use. I think the 1/2" are safer and more reliable, but finding them in my area is next to impossible.
5) A good set of forstner bits. The ones I have are good, but they don't sell a complete set in my area, so I've purchased them on an "as-needed" basis. I have what I need so far, but I dread the day I have to make a special trip to go purchase a $40 bit just because I have to cut a certain size hole.
6) A couple of nice spokeshaves. I bought one for about $5 a few months ago, because I needed one to shape the legs on the highboy I'm building. It did the job ok, but keeping it locked in on the setting I want is a problem, so I'd like to eventually buy a quality set (one with a flat sole, another with a curved sole).
7) Card scrapers. I modified a broken putty knife to use as one, and it works ok, but leaves a lot to be desired. I'd like to upgrade to a nice set at some point in time to finesse my surfaces.
8) Mortise and tenon equipment. I tried the General Tools mortise and tenon jig and didn't much care for it, so I've been cutting tenons mainly on my bandsaw (see #1 as to why I don't usually cut them on the table saw), and I cut the mortises on the router table. It's a pain in the rear to set up for the cuts and, unless I'm cutting several all at once, it's time consuming. I'd much rather have either a mortiser with a tenoning jig. If I could justify the insane expense, I'd love to have a Festool Domino (they're crazy-expensive, so I don't see me ever getting one) or something similar to it.
So those are the things that are currently on my "wish list" and, like I said, I'm sure that most woodworkers have a similar list (feel free to share it in the comments below). Now don't get me wrong, I can make do (and have been) with what I currently have, these are more along the lines of "things that will make my woodworking life a lot easier" than anything else.
P.S.: Not a "tool" wish at all, but I certainly wish I had a bigger and better shop setup. Short of building on to my house, it's not gonna happen anytime soon.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
An Open Letter To People Who Want To Hire Others To Build Stuff For Them
An honest question, here: Why is it that if someone wants to have some work done around the house and can't do it themselves (whether it's a case of not enough time or that they don't know how to do it or simply don't have the tools), they are comfortable having contractors give them a bid/quote and don't go off the deep end when that bid/quote is presented to them, yet when they want something custom built by a woodworker they raise a tremendous fuss when the price is quoted to them?
Both situations are very similar in a lot of ways. With both the contractor and the custom woodworker, the potential client checks the references, past work, weighs the time-frame he says he'll have it done in, the price quoted, etc., and then make their decision based on that. However, with a contractor, it is understood that not only is there the price of materials involved in such a bid, but that the cost of labor, time, craftsmanship, and experience play as much, if not more, of a role in the final price as anything. Yet with a custom woodworker, people don't take any of those things into account, as if it doesn't matter or is totally irrelevant to their situation. I think it has as much a role as anything else, if not more so.
Think about it. The custom woodworker is approached to build something nice, usually out of solid wood. and usually with the prospective client only having a vague idea of what they want it to look like or what they want it made out of. Making it usually takes time, sometimes hours, sometimes days, sometimes even weeks or months. There is a lot of skill involved in turning a chunk of wood into something nice. There's also the tools involved and the dangers that go along with them, the delivery of the finished product, the cost of finishing, and a host of other miscellaneous expenses involved. Yet if you don't quote them a price that falls right at the amount the wood costs, they go crazy and start lecturing you on how they can get it cheaper at one of the Big Box stores (more on that later).
Not only does the custom woodworker have to build something, they have to sand the wood to get a nice surface for finishing. They have to clean off any glue that has squeezed out so as not to ruin that finish. They have to account for wood movement. They have to be certain that any joints go together nicely and that they will hold together for a long, long time. They have to clean up any tearout of the woodgrain. They have to make sure their work area is climate controlled (to a large degree) so that the finish cures properly. They have to go pick up materials for the project, bring them to their shop, cut and shape them, and dispose of any leftover pieces that can't be used in the future. They have to sharpen and maintain their tools, purchase screws, nails, glue, sandpaper, and heaven knows what else. The list goes on and on.
I know people are in what I call the Big Box Store mindset, and I certainly don't begrudge anyone from shopping around for the best deal or price. If there's anything distinctly American, it's the penchant for finding the best deal possible. But that's not what this is about. What it is about is people who think, for whatever reason, that unless the cost that is quoted to them is just a few pennies above the cost of materials, then somehow they're getting screwed over and taken advantage of.
If you're one of those people, let me explain something to you. Wood is not cheap. Neither are the tools it takes to turn that wood into something useful. And how can you put a price on skill, craftsmanship, and experience? You can't.
Yes, more often than not you can go to one of the chain stores and buy that same bookshelf or entertainment center for a lot less. But look at what you're getting. It's cheaply made, out of cheap materials (usually compressed cardboard, cheap plywood, or MDF), and it's not designed to withstand the test of time. It usually is something that you have to put together yourself, held together by screws and other various kinds of hardware. It's meant to be built, put in its place, and then never, ever moved. If you take exceptional care of it, it could last you a few years, certainly. But is it something you can pass down to your children, or their children? Most likely, no. It's massed produced, usually overseas, and when the time comes that it needs disposed of (and that time will come, you can count on it), it goes to your landfill and sits there, slowly rotting and releasing who knows what kind of chemicals and pollutants into the environment.
That same bookshelf or entertainment center, when built by a custom woodworker with experience and skill, will almost always be made personally by him alone, and out of solid wood. There are exceptions, don't get me wrong, where a customer will ask for plywood with a veneer or something like that, and that's fine, but usually that is the exception, not the rule. This craftsman will devote many hours, days, weeks, maybe even months, to your project. He will design something and work with you to make certain it's what you want, help you pick the materials and the finish, and usually load it up and deliver it to you once it's complete. He'll build something for you that you can proudly display in your home, knowing that it will be there long after you and he are both gone, and that your children will enjoy it and pass it down to their children, and maybe even their children.
He does all of this not out of the goodness of his own heart, he does it for the financial reasons (we're talking not about the hobbyist, but the serious woodworker, the people who do this for a living or, at the very least, to make some extra money to buy new tools and stuff). Yet people behave as if some sort of crime has been committed because the craftsman had the nerve to make a profit.
It's a curious situation in that you rarely see or even hear of others in similar lines of work getting this type of response. You shop around for the best price, naturally, but when you are hiring someone to make something for you that you can't make yourself (whether it's that you don't have the time, the tools, or the skills), of course it could get expensive. Believe me, the custom woodworker wants your business. He wants to build something nice for you, and he doesn't take any great joy in quoting you a price that you cringe at. He does, however, take great joy in that he has made something that you are happy with. He loves the fact that he's made something for you that will be enjoyed for years -- maybe even decades! -- to come by you and your posterity.
Yes, there are some scam artists out there who will slap some wood together with some nails or screws, call it a coffee table, and take you to the cleaners, but that's why you check references and stuff like that. If he's good and his creations are worth it, you will never regret paying for it.
Continue Reading...
Both situations are very similar in a lot of ways. With both the contractor and the custom woodworker, the potential client checks the references, past work, weighs the time-frame he says he'll have it done in, the price quoted, etc., and then make their decision based on that. However, with a contractor, it is understood that not only is there the price of materials involved in such a bid, but that the cost of labor, time, craftsmanship, and experience play as much, if not more, of a role in the final price as anything. Yet with a custom woodworker, people don't take any of those things into account, as if it doesn't matter or is totally irrelevant to their situation. I think it has as much a role as anything else, if not more so.
Think about it. The custom woodworker is approached to build something nice, usually out of solid wood. and usually with the prospective client only having a vague idea of what they want it to look like or what they want it made out of. Making it usually takes time, sometimes hours, sometimes days, sometimes even weeks or months. There is a lot of skill involved in turning a chunk of wood into something nice. There's also the tools involved and the dangers that go along with them, the delivery of the finished product, the cost of finishing, and a host of other miscellaneous expenses involved. Yet if you don't quote them a price that falls right at the amount the wood costs, they go crazy and start lecturing you on how they can get it cheaper at one of the Big Box stores (more on that later).
Not only does the custom woodworker have to build something, they have to sand the wood to get a nice surface for finishing. They have to clean off any glue that has squeezed out so as not to ruin that finish. They have to account for wood movement. They have to be certain that any joints go together nicely and that they will hold together for a long, long time. They have to clean up any tearout of the woodgrain. They have to make sure their work area is climate controlled (to a large degree) so that the finish cures properly. They have to go pick up materials for the project, bring them to their shop, cut and shape them, and dispose of any leftover pieces that can't be used in the future. They have to sharpen and maintain their tools, purchase screws, nails, glue, sandpaper, and heaven knows what else. The list goes on and on.
I know people are in what I call the Big Box Store mindset, and I certainly don't begrudge anyone from shopping around for the best deal or price. If there's anything distinctly American, it's the penchant for finding the best deal possible. But that's not what this is about. What it is about is people who think, for whatever reason, that unless the cost that is quoted to them is just a few pennies above the cost of materials, then somehow they're getting screwed over and taken advantage of.
If you're one of those people, let me explain something to you. Wood is not cheap. Neither are the tools it takes to turn that wood into something useful. And how can you put a price on skill, craftsmanship, and experience? You can't.
Yes, more often than not you can go to one of the chain stores and buy that same bookshelf or entertainment center for a lot less. But look at what you're getting. It's cheaply made, out of cheap materials (usually compressed cardboard, cheap plywood, or MDF), and it's not designed to withstand the test of time. It usually is something that you have to put together yourself, held together by screws and other various kinds of hardware. It's meant to be built, put in its place, and then never, ever moved. If you take exceptional care of it, it could last you a few years, certainly. But is it something you can pass down to your children, or their children? Most likely, no. It's massed produced, usually overseas, and when the time comes that it needs disposed of (and that time will come, you can count on it), it goes to your landfill and sits there, slowly rotting and releasing who knows what kind of chemicals and pollutants into the environment.
That same bookshelf or entertainment center, when built by a custom woodworker with experience and skill, will almost always be made personally by him alone, and out of solid wood. There are exceptions, don't get me wrong, where a customer will ask for plywood with a veneer or something like that, and that's fine, but usually that is the exception, not the rule. This craftsman will devote many hours, days, weeks, maybe even months, to your project. He will design something and work with you to make certain it's what you want, help you pick the materials and the finish, and usually load it up and deliver it to you once it's complete. He'll build something for you that you can proudly display in your home, knowing that it will be there long after you and he are both gone, and that your children will enjoy it and pass it down to their children, and maybe even their children.
He does all of this not out of the goodness of his own heart, he does it for the financial reasons (we're talking not about the hobbyist, but the serious woodworker, the people who do this for a living or, at the very least, to make some extra money to buy new tools and stuff). Yet people behave as if some sort of crime has been committed because the craftsman had the nerve to make a profit.
It's a curious situation in that you rarely see or even hear of others in similar lines of work getting this type of response. You shop around for the best price, naturally, but when you are hiring someone to make something for you that you can't make yourself (whether it's that you don't have the time, the tools, or the skills), of course it could get expensive. Believe me, the custom woodworker wants your business. He wants to build something nice for you, and he doesn't take any great joy in quoting you a price that you cringe at. He does, however, take great joy in that he has made something that you are happy with. He loves the fact that he's made something for you that will be enjoyed for years -- maybe even decades! -- to come by you and your posterity.
Yes, there are some scam artists out there who will slap some wood together with some nails or screws, call it a coffee table, and take you to the cleaners, but that's why you check references and stuff like that. If he's good and his creations are worth it, you will never regret paying for it.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Bosch 4100 Jobsite Table Saw Review
I don't have a lot going on in the shop this week, so I thought that as I did my cleaning and maintenance, I'd do some reviews of the tools I own and currently use.
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Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Chicago Electric/Harbor Freight 12" Sliding Dual Bevel Miter Saw Review
I don't have a lot going on in the shop this week, so I thought that as I did my cleaning and maintenance, I'd do some reviews of the tools I own and currently use.
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WEN Benchtop Drill Press Review -- Brian's Workshop
I don't have a lot going on in the shop this week, so I thought that as I did my cleaning and maintenance, I'd do some reviews of the tools I own and currently use.
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Rikon 14" 10-321 Bandsaw Review
I'm spending a week cleaning my shop and doing maintenance, so I decided to do some quick tool reviews of what I currently own and use.
Here is my 14" Rikon bandsaw, model # 10-321.
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Here is my 14" Rikon bandsaw, model # 10-321.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Build A 12 Cubby Shelf
I had a customer come to me a few weeks ago, asking if I could build a cubby bookshelf. Initially they wanted 9 slots to hold the fabric cubes they wanted, but eventually decided they wanted 12. Other features were that they wanted a half-inch of space on each side of the cubes, and that it could be stood up two different ways (i.e., it could stand on one end and be shorter, then turned on the other side and be taller). This was mainly because there was a child in the house and, as he grew, they wanted to be able to place certain things out of his reach by turning it on end.
Also, at first, they wanted it to not have a back and to have a solid wood face frame. They eventually decided that, to make it more stable, a back would be best, and that they would skip the face frame and just do an iron-on edge veneer. They also selected the stain to be used, and wanted it made out of oak plywood.
So, I set to work drawing some sketches, calculating some measurements, and so forth. I eventually came up with a plan that I could use.
I decided to do dado joinery for the internal parts of the case, but pocket screws to join the sides to the top and bottom. This is mainly because my table saw is a small contractor's saw, and cutting rabbets on a long piece, like these would be, is risky. Not only is there a risk of kickback (due to trying to manhandle a large panel across a small saw), but there was a risk that the rabbet would not be cut square or at the right depth.
I rough cut the plywood pieces to length and width, then used the table saw to cut everything to final dimensions. I then laid out the dado slots for the shelves, and cut those out. I purposely cut the top and bottom pieces a little long so that if I had miscalculated on what their length should be, I had room for correction (it turns out my math was correct, so I just cut them to size as planned).
Assembly wasn't too difficult, other than just the sheer size of the piece was sometimes difficult to manage. I don't have clamps that are long enough to be used on this, so I glued everything together and used brad nails (and, in some cases, the weight of the cabinet itself) to hold everything in place. I made sure to clean up any glue squeeze out.
After the case was assembled, I laid it on the floor, checked for square, then measured for the back. As I said earlier, cutting large sheet goods isn't really an option on my table saw, so I glued and tacked it onto the back in one sheet and then took my panel saw and rough cut it to fit the back. I then took my router with a flush trim bit and cleaned up the edges.
As you can see by the photo, my measurements were pretty accurate, so I went ahead and applied the edge veneer. It's very simple to apply, you just get a household iron, heat it up, cut the veneer to the length you need, lay it on the wood, and run the hot iron over it. Press it down and smooth it out while it cools off, to avoid it raising back up.
After the veneer was in place, I gave everything a good sanding down through the grits (since this plywood was pre-sanded, I started at 120, then went to 180). I took my dust collector and cleaned up all the dust from sanding, then turned on my shop's air filter and let it run for several hours overnight, so that it could collect whatever dust was in the air. I came down the next morning and did another cleaning with a tack cloth, and was ready to begin the finishing process.
The customer wanted a dark walnut stain. I applied the first coat to the insides of the cubbies, and started seeing problems with the color and with blotching. I'm fairly sure it was the plywood itself, it just didn't seem to want to accept the stain very well. But the odd part was that when I did the outside of the case, it came out perfectly. So I let the first coat dry, did a light sanding, and applied another coat to the insides of the cubes, this time letting the stain sit longer. When I wiped it off, there was virtually no change to the appearance, except that it was slightly darker. I did two more coats on top of that, trying to get it darker, but to no avail. The blotch, thankfully, didn't get worse with each coat. I showed some pictures to the customer and asked if they'd like me to use a different stain, but they said it was ok, since the problem areas were going to be filled with those cloth cubes anyway.
As long as the customer is happy, I'm happy, but I will admit I was a little disappointed in how the stain turned out. I'm pretty sure I didn't mess anything up but just to be sure I'm going to take a piece of scrap from this project and do a little testing, to see what the problem is, exactly, so that I can avoid it in the future. But by all means, if I do go to do another piece like this, I will test the stain out on the scraps beforehand, and I'd suggest doing the same thing yourself. That, or paint it and avoid it altogether.
All in all, this project took about three days to build, and most of that time was in letting the glue and stain/finish dry. It's a pretty simple project if you have the space to build it (I was really pushing the limits in my small basement shop), and you can build it without a lot of the tools I mentioned. Pocket screws would be just fine in a project like this, although getting the screwgun into the cubbies could be tricky at times. A circular saw and a straight edge can make the cuts you need if you don't have a table saw.
If you decide to build one like this, I'd love to see it. Either email me or share it on my Facebook page.
Continue Reading...
Also, at first, they wanted it to not have a back and to have a solid wood face frame. They eventually decided that, to make it more stable, a back would be best, and that they would skip the face frame and just do an iron-on edge veneer. They also selected the stain to be used, and wanted it made out of oak plywood.
So, I set to work drawing some sketches, calculating some measurements, and so forth. I eventually came up with a plan that I could use.
I decided to do dado joinery for the internal parts of the case, but pocket screws to join the sides to the top and bottom. This is mainly because my table saw is a small contractor's saw, and cutting rabbets on a long piece, like these would be, is risky. Not only is there a risk of kickback (due to trying to manhandle a large panel across a small saw), but there was a risk that the rabbet would not be cut square or at the right depth.
I rough cut the plywood pieces to length and width, then used the table saw to cut everything to final dimensions. I then laid out the dado slots for the shelves, and cut those out. I purposely cut the top and bottom pieces a little long so that if I had miscalculated on what their length should be, I had room for correction (it turns out my math was correct, so I just cut them to size as planned).
Assembly wasn't too difficult, other than just the sheer size of the piece was sometimes difficult to manage. I don't have clamps that are long enough to be used on this, so I glued everything together and used brad nails (and, in some cases, the weight of the cabinet itself) to hold everything in place. I made sure to clean up any glue squeeze out.
After the case was assembled, I laid it on the floor, checked for square, then measured for the back. As I said earlier, cutting large sheet goods isn't really an option on my table saw, so I glued and tacked it onto the back in one sheet and then took my panel saw and rough cut it to fit the back. I then took my router with a flush trim bit and cleaned up the edges.
 |
| Cabinet assembled, before stain and finish was applied.
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After the veneer was in place, I gave everything a good sanding down through the grits (since this plywood was pre-sanded, I started at 120, then went to 180). I took my dust collector and cleaned up all the dust from sanding, then turned on my shop's air filter and let it run for several hours overnight, so that it could collect whatever dust was in the air. I came down the next morning and did another cleaning with a tack cloth, and was ready to begin the finishing process.
The customer wanted a dark walnut stain. I applied the first coat to the insides of the cubbies, and started seeing problems with the color and with blotching. I'm fairly sure it was the plywood itself, it just didn't seem to want to accept the stain very well. But the odd part was that when I did the outside of the case, it came out perfectly. So I let the first coat dry, did a light sanding, and applied another coat to the insides of the cubes, this time letting the stain sit longer. When I wiped it off, there was virtually no change to the appearance, except that it was slightly darker. I did two more coats on top of that, trying to get it darker, but to no avail. The blotch, thankfully, didn't get worse with each coat. I showed some pictures to the customer and asked if they'd like me to use a different stain, but they said it was ok, since the problem areas were going to be filled with those cloth cubes anyway.
As long as the customer is happy, I'm happy, but I will admit I was a little disappointed in how the stain turned out. I'm pretty sure I didn't mess anything up but just to be sure I'm going to take a piece of scrap from this project and do a little testing, to see what the problem is, exactly, so that I can avoid it in the future. But by all means, if I do go to do another piece like this, I will test the stain out on the scraps beforehand, and I'd suggest doing the same thing yourself. That, or paint it and avoid it altogether.
 |
| Cabinet after stain and finish applied. |
If you decide to build one like this, I'd love to see it. Either email me or share it on my Facebook page.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Shop Talk Episode 7
Weekly shop update, what's going on in the coming week, what I did the past week, etc.
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Sunday, January 24, 2016
Reclaimed Wood Projects
A gentleman contacted me a few weeks ago, saying he had a bunch of reclaimed barn wood that he'd like to use for a coffee table and some end tables, and if I thought I could build them for him. Below are the videos of those builds.
To start with, the wood he provided me was in rough shape. It was old, very dry, cracking, and prone to splitting and splintering. To further complicate matters, he and his wife had decided they wanted to preserve the look of the old, weathered wood, which meant they did not want me to resurface the boards in any way, shape, or form. That mean I couldn't run them through the planer or do any sanding.
Since I couldn't alter the wood, I had a difficult task when it came to joinery. Wood glue will not stick to dirt, and this stuff had plenty of dirt, grime, old paint, and who knows what else on it. I could have went with mortise and tenons with wedges, but I've never really done anything like that before. And I also wasn't too sure how well this wood would have held up to being cut that way (the wood, being as dry as it was, could very well split when I went to drive a wedge in). Basically my only other option was pocket holes, so that's the route I took.
The first step I took was to make the table tops and shelves. I did defy them in one regards, I had to joint the edges of two large boards in order to glue them up into one big piece to make the top for the coffee table. My concerns about the condition of the wood was justified. When I ran them over my jointer, I got some splintering, so I used my hand planes, instead (I did the same for the large shelf that was to go on the coffee table). Glue up went smoothly, so I moved onto the leg construction.
They had some 4x4 posts they wanted to use for the legs of all three tables, so I cut four legs and left them at that size for the coffee table, and took two more 4x4 blanks and resawed them into legs for the end tables (I basically cut the pieces in half, then cut them in half again).
I moved onto making the aprons (or rails, or stetchers....whatever you want to call them, they're the pieces of wood that join the legs together and hold the tops/shelves in place). Again, not trusting the condition of the wood, I did a rough cut of these on my bandsaw, and then used my crosscut sled on the table saw to cut them to exact length. I drilled the pocket screws in each piece and set them aside, and prepared to assemble the tables.
Assembly went pretty good, I only had a couple of issues overall with keeping everything square (remember, I couldn't mill the wood up, so there was bound to be issues of proper alignment).
It was at this stage that they informed me that instead of putting on a clear coat of finish, they'd just leave them as is, mainly because I mentioned that with the wood being dirty and still having residue on it (as they requested), then any finish more than likely would start to come off over time. I also mentioned to them that in cutting the wood, I had exposed fresh wood on some of the edges, and gave them some options for me to try and get these edges to match the original look. Staining was out of the question, as I couldn't find anything that matched. I tried to use the baking soda trick and vinegar and steel wool, but neither produced the results I needed. So instead I mixed up two different colors of stains (water-based), diluted them, then lightly brushed it on. I did this in several passes, letting it dry between coats, and that seemed to do the trick. I did make a suggestion to them that, when they got around to it, they could coat them with some kind of penetrating oil, like Tung oil or Danish oil.
I delivered the tables and they loved them. Would I build something like this for my own home? Probably not, as they're not my style and would also look awkward in a 115-year old Victorian home. Will I build something like this again? It depends, really, on what condition the wood is in. I certainly would not attempt to do this again with wood like what I just used, I will say that.
Coffee table
End tables
Continue Reading...
To start with, the wood he provided me was in rough shape. It was old, very dry, cracking, and prone to splitting and splintering. To further complicate matters, he and his wife had decided they wanted to preserve the look of the old, weathered wood, which meant they did not want me to resurface the boards in any way, shape, or form. That mean I couldn't run them through the planer or do any sanding.
Since I couldn't alter the wood, I had a difficult task when it came to joinery. Wood glue will not stick to dirt, and this stuff had plenty of dirt, grime, old paint, and who knows what else on it. I could have went with mortise and tenons with wedges, but I've never really done anything like that before. And I also wasn't too sure how well this wood would have held up to being cut that way (the wood, being as dry as it was, could very well split when I went to drive a wedge in). Basically my only other option was pocket holes, so that's the route I took.
The first step I took was to make the table tops and shelves. I did defy them in one regards, I had to joint the edges of two large boards in order to glue them up into one big piece to make the top for the coffee table. My concerns about the condition of the wood was justified. When I ran them over my jointer, I got some splintering, so I used my hand planes, instead (I did the same for the large shelf that was to go on the coffee table). Glue up went smoothly, so I moved onto the leg construction.
They had some 4x4 posts they wanted to use for the legs of all three tables, so I cut four legs and left them at that size for the coffee table, and took two more 4x4 blanks and resawed them into legs for the end tables (I basically cut the pieces in half, then cut them in half again).
I moved onto making the aprons (or rails, or stetchers....whatever you want to call them, they're the pieces of wood that join the legs together and hold the tops/shelves in place). Again, not trusting the condition of the wood, I did a rough cut of these on my bandsaw, and then used my crosscut sled on the table saw to cut them to exact length. I drilled the pocket screws in each piece and set them aside, and prepared to assemble the tables.
Assembly went pretty good, I only had a couple of issues overall with keeping everything square (remember, I couldn't mill the wood up, so there was bound to be issues of proper alignment).
It was at this stage that they informed me that instead of putting on a clear coat of finish, they'd just leave them as is, mainly because I mentioned that with the wood being dirty and still having residue on it (as they requested), then any finish more than likely would start to come off over time. I also mentioned to them that in cutting the wood, I had exposed fresh wood on some of the edges, and gave them some options for me to try and get these edges to match the original look. Staining was out of the question, as I couldn't find anything that matched. I tried to use the baking soda trick and vinegar and steel wool, but neither produced the results I needed. So instead I mixed up two different colors of stains (water-based), diluted them, then lightly brushed it on. I did this in several passes, letting it dry between coats, and that seemed to do the trick. I did make a suggestion to them that, when they got around to it, they could coat them with some kind of penetrating oil, like Tung oil or Danish oil.
I delivered the tables and they loved them. Would I build something like this for my own home? Probably not, as they're not my style and would also look awkward in a 115-year old Victorian home. Will I build something like this again? It depends, really, on what condition the wood is in. I certainly would not attempt to do this again with wood like what I just used, I will say that.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Lessons Learned The Hard Way
I recently completed a commissioned project that, much to my chagrin, taught me a few lessons when it comes to doing woodworking for pay.
A lady contacted me for an "L"-shaped desk for her craft room (video is here). After discussing the basics of what she was looking to do, I went over to her house, took some measurements, and discussed in more detail what the desk was going to be used for. This was so I could get an understanding of how it should be built and what it would have to withstand in its day-to-day use (and abuse).
I went home, priced some materials, did a few sketches, figured out the joinery, and so on, and then went back over to her house to present her with the plan and a couple of quotes based on different materials (I priced oak, maple, pine, hickory, and even plywood). She decided on the pine option, as she was going to have me paint it anyway. We looked over the sketches, and I got her final approval (and a deposit), so I went home and got to work.
It didn't take long before the messages started coming in, asking for changes to the design. At first, it was a concern about the height of the desk. She had initially said she wanted it at 27 inches, but after thinking it over for a bit, she decided that perhaps that wouldn't give her enough leg room, so she asked for it to be 30 inches tall, instead. Since I hadn't started on the legs yet, I said it would be no problem, and that was my first mistake. By agreeing to the late change, I opened the floodgates to further design changes down the road that would, unlike this change, delay the completion of the project, set my schedule back (which interfered with other projects I had lined up), and ate into my time.
By the second day, she had contacted me asking for that the corner piece be a stand-alone unit, also. When I showed her the plans, I offered her the option of having it a table in and of itself, or it could just be a top that dropped into place and bolted to the other two portions of the desk. She opted originally for the dropped in unit, but now she had decided that she wanted it to be its own table, as well. So that meant making more legs and adapting the already-constructed top to take them. That wasted another day of my schedule.
On the fourth day (remember, if I had been able to stick to the plan, this would have been the final day and would be ready for delivery) she contacted me yet again. She had asked me to send pictures as the build progressed, and I did that. When I presented the plans to her, there were rails/stretchers under the table tops, but she decided against those, citing the leg room concern. I had told her that without them, the drawer runners would be exposed and there would be a certain loss of sturdiness and stability to the overall tops. She said she understood. Now, having seen the pictures, she decided I was right, and asked that I at least put a rail/stretcher on the portion with the smaller drawers. Since the runners were already glued and screwed in place, I couldn't remove them without damaging what I had already built, so I had to come up with a workaround plan, which I did. It took me another day, basically, to complete this simple task. Had I been allowed to just do it from the start, it wouldn't have taken any time at all.
On the fifth day, she decided she wanted a special kind of paint, instead of the semi-gloss white I told her I had on hand, so I had to go get it. And this is where I decided it was time to stop this endless changing of the plan. I told her, as politely as I could, that after I had the paint, I would do no more alterations to the plan. Once I started the painting, I was not going to cut back into the wood to add or remove something from the desk. That, as they say, was that, and I finished it up five days after I started, and delivered it the next day.
The entire project was supposed to take me three days, four at the very most, but by allowing her to make changes to the plan, I ended up extending the build time to five days, plus an extra day for painting and allowing it to dry. It set me back in my schedule, as I have other projects lined up for people that I was supposed to start on after this was complete. So I learned my lesson: once the plan is finalized and the deposit paid, make it abundantly clear that once that first cut is made, no more changes will be allowed to the project from that point on. In doing so, you allow the customer to eat into your precious time and your costs could very well rise. If you have set the price in stone, that means your profit will fall as a result. I was fortunate in that I did tell her early on that this was merely a quote, that the final price could be higher (it was, but that was due to her changes, not due to my actual figuring the cost of materials).
Your time is probably your most valuable commodity. I spent about 60, perhaps even 70, hours on this project, and even though I made a decent profit on it, it certainly wasn't enough to pay me for the amout of time I spent on it. It's just me in my shop, and in order to make it worth my while, I either have to charge more or crank out projects as fast and as efficiently as I can, or a certain combination of both. By allowing her to dominate my time, it seriously impacted my bottom line when I did my week-ending analysis. My original plan, as I said, was to do her project and immediately move on to a less-involved project, thus completing two in one week. Those two combined would have paid enough to make it worth my time, but spending the entire week on one project, and only getting paid for one project, made it not really worth the effort.
Continue Reading...
A lady contacted me for an "L"-shaped desk for her craft room (video is here). After discussing the basics of what she was looking to do, I went over to her house, took some measurements, and discussed in more detail what the desk was going to be used for. This was so I could get an understanding of how it should be built and what it would have to withstand in its day-to-day use (and abuse).
I went home, priced some materials, did a few sketches, figured out the joinery, and so on, and then went back over to her house to present her with the plan and a couple of quotes based on different materials (I priced oak, maple, pine, hickory, and even plywood). She decided on the pine option, as she was going to have me paint it anyway. We looked over the sketches, and I got her final approval (and a deposit), so I went home and got to work.
It didn't take long before the messages started coming in, asking for changes to the design. At first, it was a concern about the height of the desk. She had initially said she wanted it at 27 inches, but after thinking it over for a bit, she decided that perhaps that wouldn't give her enough leg room, so she asked for it to be 30 inches tall, instead. Since I hadn't started on the legs yet, I said it would be no problem, and that was my first mistake. By agreeing to the late change, I opened the floodgates to further design changes down the road that would, unlike this change, delay the completion of the project, set my schedule back (which interfered with other projects I had lined up), and ate into my time.
By the second day, she had contacted me asking for that the corner piece be a stand-alone unit, also. When I showed her the plans, I offered her the option of having it a table in and of itself, or it could just be a top that dropped into place and bolted to the other two portions of the desk. She opted originally for the dropped in unit, but now she had decided that she wanted it to be its own table, as well. So that meant making more legs and adapting the already-constructed top to take them. That wasted another day of my schedule.
On the fourth day (remember, if I had been able to stick to the plan, this would have been the final day and would be ready for delivery) she contacted me yet again. She had asked me to send pictures as the build progressed, and I did that. When I presented the plans to her, there were rails/stretchers under the table tops, but she decided against those, citing the leg room concern. I had told her that without them, the drawer runners would be exposed and there would be a certain loss of sturdiness and stability to the overall tops. She said she understood. Now, having seen the pictures, she decided I was right, and asked that I at least put a rail/stretcher on the portion with the smaller drawers. Since the runners were already glued and screwed in place, I couldn't remove them without damaging what I had already built, so I had to come up with a workaround plan, which I did. It took me another day, basically, to complete this simple task. Had I been allowed to just do it from the start, it wouldn't have taken any time at all.
On the fifth day, she decided she wanted a special kind of paint, instead of the semi-gloss white I told her I had on hand, so I had to go get it. And this is where I decided it was time to stop this endless changing of the plan. I told her, as politely as I could, that after I had the paint, I would do no more alterations to the plan. Once I started the painting, I was not going to cut back into the wood to add or remove something from the desk. That, as they say, was that, and I finished it up five days after I started, and delivered it the next day.
The entire project was supposed to take me three days, four at the very most, but by allowing her to make changes to the plan, I ended up extending the build time to five days, plus an extra day for painting and allowing it to dry. It set me back in my schedule, as I have other projects lined up for people that I was supposed to start on after this was complete. So I learned my lesson: once the plan is finalized and the deposit paid, make it abundantly clear that once that first cut is made, no more changes will be allowed to the project from that point on. In doing so, you allow the customer to eat into your precious time and your costs could very well rise. If you have set the price in stone, that means your profit will fall as a result. I was fortunate in that I did tell her early on that this was merely a quote, that the final price could be higher (it was, but that was due to her changes, not due to my actual figuring the cost of materials).
Your time is probably your most valuable commodity. I spent about 60, perhaps even 70, hours on this project, and even though I made a decent profit on it, it certainly wasn't enough to pay me for the amout of time I spent on it. It's just me in my shop, and in order to make it worth my while, I either have to charge more or crank out projects as fast and as efficiently as I can, or a certain combination of both. By allowing her to dominate my time, it seriously impacted my bottom line when I did my week-ending analysis. My original plan, as I said, was to do her project and immediately move on to a less-involved project, thus completing two in one week. Those two combined would have paid enough to make it worth my time, but spending the entire week on one project, and only getting paid for one project, made it not really worth the effort.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Making A "L" Shaped Desk
Recently I had a lady contact me about building an "L"-shaped desk to use in her craft room. I sketched out some rough details with her, took some measurements, and came up with an idea of what she wanted. She gave the go-ahead, and this is the build (sped up, of course....took me several days to build).
Monday, January 11, 2016
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Build A Quick And Easy Marking Gauge
I uploaded this video a while back after hearing/seeing something on You Tube by Paul Sellers It's really ingenious because of its simplicity.
All you need is a hole saw, a drywall screw, and perhaps a file or some way to sharpen the edge of the screw:
Continue Reading...
All you need is a hole saw, a drywall screw, and perhaps a file or some way to sharpen the edge of the screw:
Monday, January 4, 2016
Shop Talk Episode 4
I talk in this video about what's going on in the shop and also a little bit about potential clients, which kind of ties in nicely with my previous article.
Continue Reading...
Friday, January 1, 2016
Can You Make Money Off Of Woodworking?
As I've mentioned before, I got started in woodworking about two years ago. In that time, I've built several projects, and made some money off of them. The question I've seen asked most often of other woodworkers is "can you make money off of doing this?" They've given various answers, all of which are valid and very insightful. My answer? A qualified "absolutely".
By "qualified", I mean yes, you can make some spare cash from doing things like this. But can you make an actual living doing it? I'd have to say that depends on several factors.
First, where do you live? If you live in a rural area or an area without much of a customer base, then you're going to have a rough time of it, unless you can market yourself and ship your items (or even deliver) to your customers. I live in such an area, and the customer base just isn't there to support a family, let alone the hobby in general, so if I ever did decide to go full time, I'd have to consider marketing outside my local area and either shipping or delivering my finished product.
Second, what kind of customers are in your area? Lower, middle, or upper income? Upper income clients are ideal, because they have the disposable income to throw money at someone willing to build them that custom-made garlic crusher out of some exotic wood that nobody's ever heard of. Middle income are more selective in what they purchase. They will weigh the pros and cons of spending, say, $400 on a hand-made oak dresser, as opposed to going to a big box store and purchasing them pre-fabricated and ready to assemble. Lower income, not to disparage anyone, will not usually purchase something from a woodworker, because they just don't have the disposable income to spend on stuff like this, regardless of how long it will last them.
Third, how good are your skills? Have you developed into a master craftsman, or are you simply screwing two boards together, slapping some paint on it, and calling it done? If you can build quality items, then yeah, you have a marketable skill that people will, usually, be willing to pay a little extra for.
Fourth, what is your source for materials? Are you able to buy directly from a lumber mill, or do you have to go to a home center or something like that? If you can get wood from a lumber mill, not only will you have a wider selection available to you (which translates into offering something more to your customers), your costs will be significantly lower, as well. If you can cut and mill your own wood, even better.
Finally, do you have other sources of income to fall back on? If you're trying to make a living as a woodworker, sometimes clients thin out and work becomes scarce. If you have other sources of income, related to your overall work, then that makes it easier to weather any storms. For example, you can cut down trees and turn them into usable lumber for other woodworkers. Or you can have a website, make videos, etc., and make a small income online (not that there's a lot of money in it, but every little bit helps). You could also do furniture repair or refinishing.
Before you leap into trying to make this a career, you should first have a way of figuring out what prices you need to charge to make an actual living. Not only do you have the cost of wood, you have to factor in your time, any extra supplies you need to make the project (such as stain, finish, hardware, etc), delivery costs, overhead, etc., and then see how much of a profit you have to make per month to keep the lights on (not just in your shop, but in your house, too). Don't be surprised when some people balk at what you end up quoting them.
The mentality these days is "why should I pay that when I can go get it at the Big Box Store for a fraction of that cost?" That's when you need to be able to market yourself and explain why they should buy from you, rather than go the cheaper route. I always explain that yes, they could go to the BBS and get it for a lot less, but they should expect to replace it within a few years, because nothing beats real wood and solid construction, and that's the service you're offering.
The key to making a living by doing woodworking is to know your customers, what the local market will tolerate in the way of prices, what sells and what doesn't, and what you can do to supplement the business income in case things go south. In any case, don't expect to get rich off of doing this.
Like I've said many time in the past, I don't make a living doing this, nor do I expect to right now because my skills are just not at that level. Currently, any money I make with the shop, goes back into the shop. Still, I have made a decent amount of money from this, and it's allowed me to invest in more tools and expand my horizons. I've learned more skills by building things for other people than I probably would have learned had I simply stuck to making stuff for my own family and close friends. I know that right now I couldn't make a living at this for most, if not all, of the reasons above. But there may come a day in the not too distant future when I could actually consider it and not laugh myself silly, and it's nice to know ahead of time what you need to be aware of should you choose to go that direction with your life and career.
Continue Reading...
By "qualified", I mean yes, you can make some spare cash from doing things like this. But can you make an actual living doing it? I'd have to say that depends on several factors.
First, where do you live? If you live in a rural area or an area without much of a customer base, then you're going to have a rough time of it, unless you can market yourself and ship your items (or even deliver) to your customers. I live in such an area, and the customer base just isn't there to support a family, let alone the hobby in general, so if I ever did decide to go full time, I'd have to consider marketing outside my local area and either shipping or delivering my finished product.
Second, what kind of customers are in your area? Lower, middle, or upper income? Upper income clients are ideal, because they have the disposable income to throw money at someone willing to build them that custom-made garlic crusher out of some exotic wood that nobody's ever heard of. Middle income are more selective in what they purchase. They will weigh the pros and cons of spending, say, $400 on a hand-made oak dresser, as opposed to going to a big box store and purchasing them pre-fabricated and ready to assemble. Lower income, not to disparage anyone, will not usually purchase something from a woodworker, because they just don't have the disposable income to spend on stuff like this, regardless of how long it will last them.
Third, how good are your skills? Have you developed into a master craftsman, or are you simply screwing two boards together, slapping some paint on it, and calling it done? If you can build quality items, then yeah, you have a marketable skill that people will, usually, be willing to pay a little extra for.
Fourth, what is your source for materials? Are you able to buy directly from a lumber mill, or do you have to go to a home center or something like that? If you can get wood from a lumber mill, not only will you have a wider selection available to you (which translates into offering something more to your customers), your costs will be significantly lower, as well. If you can cut and mill your own wood, even better.
Finally, do you have other sources of income to fall back on? If you're trying to make a living as a woodworker, sometimes clients thin out and work becomes scarce. If you have other sources of income, related to your overall work, then that makes it easier to weather any storms. For example, you can cut down trees and turn them into usable lumber for other woodworkers. Or you can have a website, make videos, etc., and make a small income online (not that there's a lot of money in it, but every little bit helps). You could also do furniture repair or refinishing.
Before you leap into trying to make this a career, you should first have a way of figuring out what prices you need to charge to make an actual living. Not only do you have the cost of wood, you have to factor in your time, any extra supplies you need to make the project (such as stain, finish, hardware, etc), delivery costs, overhead, etc., and then see how much of a profit you have to make per month to keep the lights on (not just in your shop, but in your house, too). Don't be surprised when some people balk at what you end up quoting them.
The mentality these days is "why should I pay that when I can go get it at the Big Box Store for a fraction of that cost?" That's when you need to be able to market yourself and explain why they should buy from you, rather than go the cheaper route. I always explain that yes, they could go to the BBS and get it for a lot less, but they should expect to replace it within a few years, because nothing beats real wood and solid construction, and that's the service you're offering.
The key to making a living by doing woodworking is to know your customers, what the local market will tolerate in the way of prices, what sells and what doesn't, and what you can do to supplement the business income in case things go south. In any case, don't expect to get rich off of doing this.
Like I've said many time in the past, I don't make a living doing this, nor do I expect to right now because my skills are just not at that level. Currently, any money I make with the shop, goes back into the shop. Still, I have made a decent amount of money from this, and it's allowed me to invest in more tools and expand my horizons. I've learned more skills by building things for other people than I probably would have learned had I simply stuck to making stuff for my own family and close friends. I know that right now I couldn't make a living at this for most, if not all, of the reasons above. But there may come a day in the not too distant future when I could actually consider it and not laugh myself silly, and it's nice to know ahead of time what you need to be aware of should you choose to go that direction with your life and career.
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