bread and butter

mickboyce | Posted in Business on July 22, 2002 01:16am

i am interested in starting a small scale woodworking shop. what sort of products make bread and butter in a small shop? picture framing, furniture, decorative boxes? do any forum members make a primary living this way?

Replies

sschefer | Jul 22, 2002 07:31pm | #1
Mick, I am starting a small business also and after doing the market research I decided that the quickest way to get going was cabinetry.

Steve - in Northern California

mickboyce | Jul 22, 2002 08:57pm | #2
done any picture framing? it seems small scale enough, in terms of the tools necessary, and yet repetitive (production-wise) and potentially lucrative. i have not done any research on the market at all. given the economy lately, building cabinets for new construction seems iffy. any thoughts?

right now i'm a union electrician. i would certainly like to get out of industrial construction before i'm 50. the beauty, true craftsmanship of woodwork and the potential independence of a small shop are very appealing to me.

sschefer | Jul 22, 2002 09:44pm | #3
I have two good friends that are picture framers. They used to make their own frames and then mount the pictures. The business it seems is a one stop deal if you intend to make money. Today, there are large production shops that make masive quantities of picture frames and sell them for far less than you can make them, (materials and labor). Occasionally, they will still do a custom frame if the customer demands it but its pretty rare.Steve - in Northern California
forestgirl | Jul 23, 2002 08:10am | #4
I have an employee who used to own her own framing shop. In addition to the information Steve passed along (above), I would add that from the tales she tells, the customer relations can be pretty trying. Also, if you're in business making the frames, you'd probably be involved in matting and mounting also. Woud you really enjoy that?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

woodshaver | Jul 24, 2002 08:15am | #5
mick, to get started, and keep food on the table , its been my experiance to do cabinets, not just kitchens,computer, and entertainment cabinets,and a variety such as fireplace mantles. and staircases. the market for kitchen cabinets is huge and is my best source for profitable income, just remember if new construction is slow , remodeling is likely busy. best of luck.

Sancho | Jul 28, 2002 08:43pm | #9
Yea one thing I was looking into was for custom built bath vanities along with matching medicine cabs. There are some sizes that are just not available. Ya cant just go to the Home Dildo,or Blowes and get a 45 1/2 " long vanity. The average person buys them and uses filler pieces. Then tries to match it with a medicine cab. So anyway thats one of the ideas Ive been playing with. Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"

sschefer | Jul 28, 2002 11:20pm | #10
Ron, I just got job with a 49 1/4 vanity yesterday. There is a market most definitely but its mostly in remodels where homeowners are trying to squeak that last 1/4" out of a bathroom or kitchen. I love em, cuz you are right, can't get em anyhere but a custom shop.Steve - in Northern California

Sancho | Jul 30, 2002 03:48am | #11
Now ya got to talk to them about a matching medicine cabinet and maybe some decorative shelving or display cabs. Mention you'll be using the same stain and other things that will make it difficult to match it exactly in the future. Take pics and use them for a porfolio. I did on my kitchen remodel and some other cabs that I built for customers. Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"

AJinNZ | Aug 01, 2002 08:38am | #12
Funny you mentioned the bathroom cabinets Ron, I am in the process of pricing mirror cabs cos the manufacturers are taking forever to deliver. The dealers are getting peeved.

I already decided I would do custom stuff, but at a higher price of course. Like you said, everything is standard, most older house arnt.

Home Dildo and Blowes???? Haahaahaahaa, nice one. LOL

Wood Hoon

SlyTheCat | Aug 01, 2002 04:38pm | #13
Steve or anyone,

I am a novice woodworker - I am starting to get into it because I think I'll enjoy it - but I've also been wondering if I can make a living at it - and I think in my area there would be a demand for cabinetry - kitchen and bathroom.

I do remember that at a Marc Adams demo at the WW show he said there were something like 1500 cabinetmakers out there. So my first question is how tough do you find the competition?

My second question is, what type of revenues and margins are out there if you are good and know how to market yourself? Are we talking about scraping by, or are we talking vacation to Hawaii?

AJinNZ | Aug 02, 2002 10:51am | #14
ST, if you post your question in either the General Discussion board, or under in the Business section as a new thread, you will get some answers.

Sorry i cant help wih some hard info

Wood Hoon

eddiefromAustralia | Jul 24, 2002 03:41pm | #6
Hi Mick,

Good luck in the venture.

For what it's worth, here are some 'trinkety' ideas that may be able to be sold profitably, summarised from an article in the Australian Wood Review, vol 33. The key word, from reading the article, is MAY - a lot of work - need to do your market research thoroughly

1) Leaf-shaped letter openers, with the leaf turned on two axes and the stem turned on the true axis - aimed at the corporate gift market (perhaps not as profitable as it would have been before the recent news on the stock markets)

2) Laminated salad servers

3) Multi-axis turned salt and pepper shakers

4) Serving trays, bases built from slats that interlock with cross-halving joints

From reading the other responses, looks as though custom cabinetry may be more profitable.

Cheers,

Eddie

Edited 7/24/2002 8:45:31 AM ET by eddie
dhpascoe | Jul 25, 2002 04:34pm | #7
I just framed 11 pictures for my own house and can tell you that it is FAR too time consuming to profit from unless you want to work for 50 cents/hr. Even if you set up production runs, you still have to compete with the molded plastic and foam stuff that is far cheaper and actually looks good. A retail framer has equipment that will do the job in about 1/10 the the time I can.

I too, made decorative boxes for a while but in my area the market was saturated with them and better work than I was doing. I now have a house full of decorative boxes that I give away to business clients as Christmas presents. All was not lost!
DaveHeinlein | Jul 26, 2002 01:00am | #8
My bread and butter is residential cabinets, custom and reproduction millwork, and comissioned furniture. Every now and then I have time to make a small piece for gallery sale, but not often. If the bread and butter was there, that's what I would do. The craft market is too shakey for me to bet my bacon on it, but it seems to be getting better. Until then, I'll do what I know will get me work.