Shopsmith Forums

Kevin,

I usually start with an idea of what I want to build. Those ideas can come from anywhere. After working it out in my head I either sketch a simple drawing with measurements or draw it to scale for more complex projects. Those High School Drafting skills come in handy sometimes.

Gosh RF Guy... a lot of things I hadn't considered. But this is exactly why I posted this thread was to see if this was even feasible to do. I'm beginning to think my skills my be better suited in the garage making stuff for family and friends and leaving the side hustle out of it.

KCollins wrote: ↑Thu Oct 27, 2022 2:35 pm Gosh RF Guy... a lot of things I hadn't considered. But this is exactly why I posted this thread was to see if this was even feasible to do. I'm beginning to think my skills my be better suited in the garage making stuff for family and friends and leaving the side hustle out of it.

Kevin,

Yeah, I didn't want to discourage you which is why I didn't post initially. My father-in-law never broke even with his business, but he was retired and just enjoyed tinkering in his shop. I know some woodworkers make enough money to break even and even make a small profit selling on Etsy, but it takes A LOT of volume so they have to do more production woodworking techniques to not be in the shop 24/7. Or they invest in CNC's and keep them running. There are lots of ways to make money woodworking, but NONE of them are easy from what I understand. I would focus on doing what you enjoy/love and then see if there are opportunities to make money at it (unless you are trying to replace your primary employment). Another thing to consider is what demand isn't being met locally for you. In some areas of the country you can make money just building corn hole boards, or picnic tables, etc., but in other parts of the country there is either too much supply or no demand. IF you can find that one area of demand, then you can create a successful woodworking business. A thread from a couple of years ago might have some interest. The thread was more specifically about starting up a YT channel, but you may find it of interest.

viewtopic.php?p=267294#p267294

P.S. Definitely check out Bourbon Moth woodworking (Jason Hibbs). His story is kind of interesting. He and his wife created a silk screen business printing t-shirts and other items. He took some of the profit from that business to get into woodworking to do stuff around the house and decided to enter the bespoke furniture business, but he had no portfolio to show clients. So, he offered his labor for free to 5 clients and asked them to just pay the lumber costs. After building for those 5 clients he had created enough of a portfolio to show future clients and his business really took off. Of course, he got semi-famous with his YT channel and I don't think he takes many clients anymore. Many of these social media influencers tend to become a cult of personality at a certain point for better or worse. This is one of the few success stories I have heard of a woodworker entering the bespoke furniture market...

It’s safe to bet that everybody on here is more experienced at woodworking than I am… but maybe that makes me your target audience? I’ve been watching YT videos of woodturning, hobby woodworking and resin/woodwork projects since the start of ‘rona, and I’ve finally pulled the trigger. I just bought a brand new Mark 7 (gotta love Black Friday); I’m still waiting for it to arrive.
And with any project I see on YT and like, one of the first things I’m doing is looking to see if there are links to plans AND any tools or consumables I’m hearing referenced frequently. BUT I’d also be in the market for plans that included any necessary hardware or consumables beyond the basics (drawer slides or lighting or hinges or whatever’s required). Package it as adult (not kiddie/crafter) “intermediate woodworking projects (because nobody wants to admit to being a beginner). Adding $5 worth of hardware is worth $20 -30 it me if I don’t have to go and get it when I’ve finally carved out some time for myself in the workshop. It’s easy to forget that not everybody’s been stocking their shops over years of projects. Some shops start completely from scratch (like mine).
Frankly, I think SS misses a valuable market: it’s forgotten its’ roots. It should be marketed to professionals with discretionary income who want to get into woodworking - a hobby after work - and see SS as a broad, general platform for all of the core hobbyist woodworking functions.

Marketing plans with the necessary extras (plus a shopping list/cut list) that the buyer can source themselves is a market that seems underserved, especially for people with more interest than time, who would value convenient project sourcing.

pdavis1814 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:58 am Frankly, I think SS misses a valuable market: it’s forgotten its’ roots. It should be marketed to professionals with discretionary income who want to get into woodworking - a hobby after work - and see SS as a broad, general platform for all of the core hobbyist woodworking functions.

Marketing plans with the necessary extras (plus a shopping list/cut list) that the buyer can source themselves is a market that seems underserved, especially for people with more interest than time, who would value convenient project sourcing.

I guess I would have to ask who exactly do you think SS is marketing their products to then? The Mark 7 is a $5k machine and out of reach for many at this price point IMHO. At $5k for just one machine, this sure seems like they are marketing it to "professionals" with A LOT of discretionary income. This doesn't even count adding a dust collector, bandsaw, jointer, planer, clamps, hand tools, lumber, etc., etc. that one needs to get started in woodworking. I can't speak to what SS roots were, but back then I thought the product was priced and marketed to the average homeowner who had "some" discretionary income. JMO.

I am not sure I understand your last comment, but there are quite a few woodworking influencers on YT, IG, etc. that not only sell plans, but project hardware, templates and even partner with lumber yards to sell entire kits of lumber for their projects. IF someone is looking for a turnkey solution to a woodworking project, there are quite a few options out there. Literally you can throw a dart at the wall and hit quite a few online woodworking influencers that peddle this stuff.

So just join the spammer parade.

You know what they say ,,,, the money isn't in doing the work, its in selling the tools and supplies , if your ideas are good and the plans are accurate and original folks will buy them , if not ,, well you get the picture, JMO . you might be better off selling a kit that can be assembled by a novice ? good luck on your adventure .

RFGuy wrote: ↑Fri Dec 09, 2022 1:13 pm

pdavis1814 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:58 am Frankly, I think SS misses a valuable market: it’s forgotten its’ roots. It should be marketed to professionals with discretionary income who want to get into woodworking - a hobby after work - and see SS as a broad, general platform for all of the core hobbyist woodworking functions.

Marketing plans with the necessary extras (plus a shopping list/cut list) that the buyer can source themselves is a market that seems underserved, especially for people with more interest than time, who would value convenient project sourcing.

I guess I would have to ask who exactly do you think SS is marketing their products to then? The Mark 7 is a $5k machine and out of reach for many at this price point IMHO. At $5k for just one machine, this sure seems like they are marketing it to "professionals" with A LOT of discretionary income. This doesn't even count adding a dust collector, bandsaw, jointer, planer, clamps, hand tools, lumber, etc., etc. that one needs to get started in woodworking. I can't speak to what SS roots were, but back then I thought the product was priced and marketed to the average homeowner who had "some" discretionary income. JMO.

RFGuy to be fair you have to remember that you can purchase a base model Mark 5 from SS for $3500 to make it more affordable. Not to mention with some patients and negotiation you can get all the SPT's for a very affordable price. I think the most I spent for an SPT was $200 bucks and I now have all of them. I have 3 SS's... Two of them are Mark 5s and I paid $100 for each of them. And you are getting 5 machines not one for that price. FB is your friend guys.

Bargains can be had and for the average homeowner with SOME discretionary income a SS can be had.

My two cents.

JPG wrote: ↑Sun Dec 25, 2022 1:20 pm So just join the spammer parade.

I don't follow JPG? Are you saying this thread is a spammer parade?

KCollins wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 6:16 pm

JPG wrote: ↑Sun Dec 25, 2022 1:20 pm So just join the spammer parade.

I don't follow JPG? Are you saying this thread is a spammer parade?

NO! However a now deleted post was making it so.