10 Money Saving Tips for Woodworkers: Learn from My Mistakes
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- Опубліковано 3 кві 2021
- #woodworking #savemoney #topten
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In this week’s video, I talk about ten money saving tips for woodworkers. These money saving tips are mostly based on mistakes that I have already made. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: My videos are for entertainment purposes only. Do not attempt to do anything that is shown in my videos. Woodworking and Metal Working are very dangerous activities and should only be performed by trained professionals.
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Excellent suggestions. After a full year in this hobby, I found myself nodding along with most of your recommendations. I would add two more...1) Plan your projects (pen and paper, Sketchup, SOMEthing) to visualize a project and develop at least a rough list of materials. "Winging it" is wasteful. 2) Get organized in your shop. Know what tools you have to prevent buying duplicates; collect tools together in logical groups (drill press accessories, table saw accessories and jigs, drills/impact drivers/bits/batteries); clamps in racks). Thanks again!
Awesome tutorial my friend. I’m 64 yrs. old with a a late start in wood working. I believe in everything you teach. All you youngsters pay attention here. Eric knows best.
Thanks Pal.
Thanks Tom! Cheers🙂
I'm at 4 mins. and I feel I have to get my 2 cents in before I even listen to the rest. I 'm listening to no.10...this is the most honest, truthful and accurate piece of woodworking advice I have heard! You do not get what your project is worth and you always get beat-down! It is a big risk giving up your day job to do woodworking full time...it may work for some people but it is still a huge risk! They want "custom" at factory price!
Thank Juliet! Yes, you only have to go through that experience a couple of times before you realize that you are barely breaking even (if you're lucky). No one on YT seems to mention wood prices, and they seem to make everything out of solid walnut. Cheers🙂
In regard to your last suggestion, I have over the years bought several tools for a fraction of their original cost, someone returned the tool because they said it did not work. I would take it home and spend a hour or so repairing something simple or align the adjustments and now I had a tool which I am still using productively for several years and saved a lot of money.
Making your own jigs is a HUGE money saver - it's amazing what you can make out of scrap wood. Many vendors out there charge $$$ for a jig you can make for $10-15 of hardware and scrap wood just lying around. It also helps improve your woodworking skills.
I'm pretty sure the only reason people buy those festool boxes is because they are festool. I'm glad you were honest about how much of a PITA they are.
Besides their expense, many Festool boxes won't hold the extra-cost accessories that make those tools valuable in the first place. Once you've outfitted your shop with tools that always stay there Festool boxes are best used as background for UA-cam content providers.
Great video for beginners. I’m a tight-wad by nature and have a nice shop set-up. New Dewalt saws, sanders, planer etc.. Jointer, drill press and bandsaw are older, much sturdier than what are offered now and I’ve got less than $600 in all 3. Refurbed them and they’re awesome. Lucky to have a couple of local affordable mills to get hardwoods. All of my tables and storage are self built as well.
Wonderful advice, Eric.😁👍a lot of valid points raised there. I can relate to most of them, like one of my friends asked if I could build her a dining table. I said it would be around £1,600 for a white oak one. For that she replied "but i can get a dining table from Ikea for £300. I thought this would be cheaper as you are making it" 🤣🤣..
Ahh well!
That sounds familiar😀
I'm in the process of setting up my wood shop . Small scale to start. I was fortunate to pick up several base and wall mounted kitchen cabinets from someone that redid there kitchen. Great storage space for me.
Old kitchen cabinets are excellent shop storage. I had a couple of them in the shop at my old house. I also had an old wooden dresser that someone threw out on garbage day. Works great for storing hardware and hand-held tools.
Eric thanks for taking the time to put this vlog together over everything else. A great deal of none sexy but very prudent advise for all, wether we are new to woodworking or, indeed are ‘old’ hands 👌
Thanks for your insights. Here's my list of the most important things you mentioned. #1- DON'T BUY FESTOOL! It is a fad and way over priced for things you can do a different way. #2 - Don't start a business. Selling items to help pay for tools etc. works well, but if you are going to be in a "woodworking business" you need to be building cabinets with plywood in a very large shop that includes someone that can do the cost analysis for you. As soon as you add the word "business" it changes from being allowed to "fail forward" into "requiring success now". #3 - Make small things. Small things can be made out of scrap and pieces of wood you find. After trying to start a woodworking business and failing I developed a list of more than 50 items that would sell well. I titled the list "Small wood projects that I could sell". Selling stuff is different than starting a business. I love woodworking and so I am not concerned with an hourly wage. If I can sell it for more than the cost of materials and power I win. I'll make my income another way so I can come home to the wife and woodworking I love.
I really appreciate the wisdom in your videos, especially this one. Excellent!
Well done Eric, love the content you hit the mark. Thanks
Thank you Eric! Greatly appreciated
High quality tools can often be had used. My table saw is a rebuilt cast iron 60’s Craftsman that I rebuilt and modified new fence, motor, mite gauge total price under $500 extremely accurate and stable.
Some of the tools from cheap tool stores are a really good buy others are dumpster fill.!
It was a lot easier to find cheap / free stuff when I lived in a big city. People would put stuff to the curb on garbage day, such as old tools, furniture, etc. That's how I got my bench vise. It was attached to a rotten bench that someone was throwing out. Now that I live in a rural area, it is a lot harder to find used stuff. Although, sometimes at a flea market I can still get a deal.
Good advice. Applies to more than just woodworking.
An excellent video with tons of great advice. Thanks for sharing !!
I take broken tools from work and other people. Some I have fixed and still use. Often it's just a switch or a bad cord. It also nice to have backup tools for parts or giving away to a carpenter who needs one.
excellent info! thank you.
Great video Eric! I made a few of those mistakes when I initially set up shop. Starting small & working your way up is always the best way to go. And if you can make something rather than buying it, that's always the best way to go because it also becomes a great learning experience! 👍👍😉😉
Thanks Steve! That is truly the key! Start small, start slow and of course build what you can. I don't really understand folks who buy their work benches... It should be your first project🙂
Maintenance of tools also includes cleaning, which in my opinion should be done at the end of the day of use.
I have found that sawdust from pine boards gums up things very quickly. Especially saw blades.
Yes! I spend a good deal of time cleaning - it's never ending. Also, the reason I don't have a "tool wall" for my power tools like a lot of other UA-camrs, is because I store them in cabinets to keep the residual dust off of them.
Thanks Eric. I always watch your videos and see what is new. This was very helpful.
Thanks Saman! Cheers🙂
Thanks for this video......never to old to learn a new trick....
Great tips!! Appreciate your channel
Great content on some cost saving measures. It is VERY easy to get lured into the Festool/ Laguna/ Sawstop rarefied air of tool product, but most will never need that price point of tools.
Fixing up cheaper tools is very true. I bought a used HF 14" bandsaw from an electrician's shop that was moving. These idiots used a 1" STEEL cutting blade on it and it didn't work because it would never get tensioned high enough. I cleaned and tuned it up, bought a good quality 6tpi- 3/8" blade and it works AWESOME for lightweight stuff and cutting curves. Total cost was $45.
Really fantastic tips, Eric! Thanks a lot! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Sage advice!
Good stuff! Gracias
Great to know information. Always great content.
Great info!
Very practical and prudent video.
Well said.
Such a great video. I am a novice woodworker, and this is exactly the kind of video that is a really big help to me. Thank you so much for all your hard work. Keep up the great work!
Great video! Some really helpful thoughts on shop setup and cost control! The way I look at a shop, it should show the wood workers capability. When a customer walks in, it is the first place they see. Clean and in order.
The jigs are well made and displayed. The tools that are hand made are finished ✅ Such a a 28” drum sander that mounts on a ShopSmith Mark V.
GREAT VIDEO THANK YOU VERY MUCH
супер. хорошая и красивая работа.
Good information...thanks
I really like to follow you and watch your videos. During lockdown and also because of illness, I have been at home for a long time. I decided to take up woodworking rather late in my life (I am 52), but i have always loved the idea of creating stuff. I agree that making furniture for money can be hard as people normally dont appreciate the time and money you put into it, but how about those awesome jigs you make ? For beginners like myself, they would be great addition to the newly established workshop.
Thanks Jan! Most of my jigs are pretty simple to make, or at least I try not to make them too complicated. There's also the opportunity to make a better version of my jigs, as I'm sure many people have done🙂
Great video with friendly advice. I've done it wrong, you don't have type advice. Honest, to the point and cost saving. Thank you
Another great video with practical advice. Thanks and I bought you a beer. Cheers.
Thanks Roger! Greatly Appreciated🙂. Cheers🍺
it was handful of good advises
for the beginners, aiming for the big bucks from building custom pieces is definitely going to hit a reality check very very quickly.
however, I know few people around me, who have endless lists of rich customers waiting for their turn to get their piece.
but it took them few decades to build their reputation, and the customers can be 100% sure they won't sub-contract the waiting list to someone else, to make more money (but risking their reputation)
I think it works similarly in every industry. I know some Japanese katana swords black smiths who have guaranteed work till they die and beyond.
so my advice is:
1. don't rush to make "more" money now. work slowly and deliver only the top quality workmanship at all times, no exceptions.
2. build your reputation and brand name, and put it as #1 on all of your your lists.
yes you might need another source of income, while building your reputation in a new area, but if you can sustain for few years, you will eventually raise your new area to a reasonable income levels, and then you can even make it your main source.
When you find a supply of hardware that is a great value - buy in a large quantity. Years later when you are using it- and it’s been paid for for years - use current costs when pricing it out- it’s a hidden source of profit.
Excellent advice! Cheers🙂
Great tips as usual sir. I installed a couple of kitchen uppers and a pantry I got from the re-use store for about $60 total. Buy the tools as you NEED them not as you want them no matter how hard it is not to was a great tip as well. How do you like the Festool Dust Extractor? I'm looking at it and the Bosch.
Thanks Jeff! I like the CT36 dust extractor , however I will need to get a cyclone separator for it which will be another $400 down the road. The bags are pricey - so if you plan to use it a lot, factor in the cyclone system (cheaper in the long run).
It's not the vacuum that is remarkable, it's the hose. The FT hoses are amazing, especially when you've got a sander attached to it.
Thank you for a straight forward and informative video!
That Windsor plywood shot looks familiar, are you located in Edmonton Alberta
LOL - No. I'm on Vancouver Island. But their stores pretty much all look the same.
I think I prefer my cheap Dewalt TSTAK tool box modules over those overpriced, ridiculous Festool storage boxes. They're much cheaper and you don't have to juggle the crap on top to get to the bottom. What a ridiculous design.
Would you share where you acquired your branding iron?
brandingirons.com