Do you want to make $140/hour?

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
See more from mmayo

mmayo

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
2,957
Location
Tehachapi, CA
I do!

This natural abalone blank run ms $40 and an upgraded Triton convertible fountain pen and rollerball runs $32. I buy both from Exotic Blanks. I sell them often for $150. They take me 30 minutes to make. šŸ˜
 

Attachments

  • 04791EAB-2B17-4F6B-8A40-4D187285C79B.jpeg
    04791EAB-2B17-4F6B-8A40-4D187285C79B.jpeg
    323.7 KB · Views: 139
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

mmayo

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
2,957
Location
Tehachapi, CA
How many customers per hour , per day ?
I sell at least 12 per year of this combo. If you add easy and quick to make flag, military and opal effects blanks that number goes up near fifty. At less than 30 minutes of work per pen that's real money. Some folks work all day to make one pen.

Your mileage may vary and some will have little interest.

For me it means a new SawStop saw with a router extension and router dust collection. I'm a fan.
 

wood128

Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2006
Messages
1,532
Location
Cocoa Beach, Fl, USA.
I can teach my church youth how to make the pens , but where and how do they sell them. Many years ago I made pens and sold them on-line and to friends , but found that selling the wood was a better deal. I don't need the income now , so just trying to share my skills with the young folks. By the way, you said you have or will have one of those SawStop table saws. Are they really that safe ? I have watched the demo of a guy cutting a hot dog !!!
 

mmayo

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
2,957
Location
Tehachapi, CA
I can teach my church youth how to make the pens , but where and how do they sell them. Many years ago I made pens and sold them on-line and to friends , but found that selling the wood was a better deal. I don't need the income now , so just trying to share my skills with the young folks. By the way, you said you have or will have one of those SawStop table saws. Are they really that safe ? I have watched the demo of a guy cutting a hot dog !!!
I'll tell you when I get it, but I've seen 20+ demos (many hot dogs) and heard quite a few testimonials of saving fingers. When I sell it is obvious that I am a woodworker and a pen turner. I've seen my share of customers with missing fingers indicating they did NOT have a SawStop. I still have all fingers and needed a new saw having run my Delta constructor saw into the ground. I figured "what's a finger worth?" Probably more than the $1,000 difference. Their router extension and dust collection for the router sealed the deal.
 

InkyMike

Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
403
Location
Maple Valley, WA
I'm genuinely curious - what are your avenues for selling? And how much do you invest in sales, marketing, show/both fees, website, etc?

Michael
 

Woodchipper

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
5,122
Location
Cleveland, TN
I can teach my church youth how to make the pens , but where and how do they sell them. Many years ago I made pens and sold them on-line and to friends , but found that selling the wood was a better deal. I don't need the income now , so just trying to share my skills with the young folks. By the way, you said you have or will have one of those SawStop table saws. Are they really that safe ? I have watched the demo of a guy cutting a hot dog !!!
I use a $2 knife to cut a hotdog.
 

wimkluck

Member
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
287
Location
Gaanderen Netherlands
Anyone who works can make a mistake. And if you saw a lot, you sometimes make a mistake. Usually that ends well. I also stroked the saw blade once. Only the epidermis was off. No blood. It humbled me. My next saw will probably be a saw that has these options.
 

bsshog40

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Messages
2,352
Location
Omaha, Tx
I'm not arguing with anyone. I use to be a safety in cable tv and the oilfield. Mistakes are one thing and accidents are another. Accidents Are Preventable!
 

mmayo

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
2,957
Location
Tehachapi, CA
This month I have been blessed with $8,000 in sales. As a one man shop ANY AND ALL shortcuts that produce quality items that sell are welcome. The abalone blanks, flag blanks, military blanks and steampunk blanks meet that need. They all are unique, high end and sell surprisingly well for me. They curiously take very little of my time and produce a great profit.

As to an earlier post asking where and how I sell
No website, no Etsy, no internet sales for pens and most of what I sell right now. I go to several hand made craft fairs (booth fees range from $10-$250) and have daily presence at a cooperative store in my town call Gallery n Gifts. The store sold $250 of my stuff today while I worked in my shop.

As to the sawstop - don't buy it if you don't like it. I have mine on order and have yet to have an accident so I believe in safety. I always try to follow safe practices. I will now have a bit more safety to go with my safe practices. Last year my wife bought me AirPods with a noise canceling feature. They sound amazing! I was listening to music and decided to cut a blank. All went well until I came back by the saw and noticed visually that it was running. No more AirPods with the table saw.
 
Last edited:

Woodchipper

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
5,122
Location
Cleveland, TN
Now if they can make Carstop to prevent auto accidents. I have a hard time figuring why you have something in your ears that produces sound in your ears while blocking machine noise.
Edit: I retired in 2012 and almost went into fulltime building custom fishing rods. Had a market picked out but scratched it as I didn't retire to work full time. As is it said, I quit the rat race because the rats kept winning. The $140 sounds good but not for me.
 

wood128

Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2006
Messages
1,532
Location
Cocoa Beach, Fl, USA.
You have not mentioned your very well designed and constructed fishing tackle boxes . They are outstanding work and probably keep you busy. How much ?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
 

penicillin

Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2019
Messages
1,036
I can teach my church youth how to make the pens , but where and how do they sell them. Many years ago I made pens and sold them on-line and to friends , but found that selling the wood was a better deal. I don't need the income now , so just trying to share my skills with the young folks. By the way, you said you have or will have one of those SawStop table saws. Are they really that safe ? I have watched the demo of a guy cutting a hot dog !!!
I have owned a SawStop table saw for years. I have also given the hot dog demo several times (and no, not on my own saw). I have the basic PCS (110v) cabinet saw. I am so glad I bought it - it is a very good woodworking table saw. You see that a lot of careful thought went into its design.

The brake system works very well, but you should operate a SawStop with all of your best safety practices anyway, just like any other table saw. For one, if you trigger the brake, it will cost you $80, err $100 for a replacement brake, plus the cost of a new blade. Other than giving demos, I have never triggered the brake. Not ever. And I hope I never do.

I think of the safety brake as an insurance policy. I hope I never need it, but will be very glad to avoid a trip to the emergency room if I make a mistake. As we age, we make more mistakes. It is a fact of life. You pay more for a SawStop, but that's the cost of the "insurance" and I am okay with that. For the number of years I intend to use it, it is worth it to me.

A SawStop table saw will not prevent kickback injuries, which can be severe. Regarding kickbacks, a SawStop saw is no different than any other table saw. That may be something to consider if you let young people use your table saw.

I can post a lot more about SawStop saws, but you get the idea. If you have questions, or want to know which options are "must haves" and which are not, drop a message at me.
 

mmayo

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
2,957
Location
Tehachapi, CA
You have not mentioned your very well designed and constructed fishing tackle boxes . They are outstanding work and probably keep you busy. How much ?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I'm trying to end my affair with tackle boxes. They have been a great learning experience and I've grown as a woodworker because of them. That said, they take a very long time to finish and I make nearly slave wages to produce them. With a pen you could lose a day's work and $50 on an expensive pen- with a tackle box you could lose hundreds of dollars and weeks of worth with a screw up. A friend loves Watco finish. I built him a big beautiful African mahogany tackle box. When I started applying Watco it started oozing through the pores in the wood. In essence I was finishing the outside and the inside at the same time! It was going everywhere at once. I freaked out thinking I had ruined a box I'd spent weeks building to perfection. It worked out luckily. No more Watco on big projects.

My boxes are now $1100 and $1200 in African mahogany. The figured cherry shown on my avatar cost my friend $400, my cost.

Merry Christmas to you and all.
 

Woodchipper

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
5,122
Location
Cleveland, TN
A SawStop table saw will not prevent kickback injuries, which can be severe. Regarding kickbacks, a SawStop saw is no different than any other table saw. That may be something to consider if you let young people use your table saw.
I don't stand in line with the wood in case of kickback.
 

penicillin

Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2019
Messages
1,036
I can teach my church youth how to make the pens , but where and how do they sell them. Many years ago I made pens and sold them on-line and to friends , but found that selling the wood was a better deal. I don't need the income now , so just trying to share my skills with the young folks. By the way, you said you have or will have one of those SawStop table saws. Are they really that safe ? I have watched the demo of a guy cutting a hot dog !!!
P.S. Added a day later:
@wood128 asked about SawStop table saws and you saw my reply a few posts above this one. What I failed to mention or address was his comment about sharing his skills with "young folks." and I want to correct that now. I do not know what age "young folks" are, but:
  • Young folks are individuals. Some of them can follow safety guidelines and instructions, while others cannot. The reasons vary as well - some are not mature enough to learn (yet), some can't maintain the proper attention and focus, and others may be rebellious and ignore or refuse to follow instructions.
  • Pen turning on a lathe has risks, but as long as you are limited to turning pens, the risks are reasonable and the types of resulting injuries are unlikely to be very serious. That assumes that the young folk have proper eye protection, no loose clothing, etc.
  • Operating a table saw is far more dangerous than pen turning, in my opinion. I believe that a young folk who can do penturning safely may not be old enough or ready to operate a table saw safely, even if the table saw is a SawStop.
  • With today's litigious society, I would be very careful to check my insurance coverage to make sure it is sufficient and applies to the activities you plan to do. A parent may be your best friend or close family. If anything happens, perhaps something minor, and you may never hear from them again, only their attorney.
 

Gregf

Member
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
597
Location
Richwood, OH
I'll tell you when I get it, but I've seen 20+ demos (many hot dogs) and heard quite a few testimonials of saving fingers. When I sell it is obvious that I am a woodworker and a pen turner. I've seen my share of customers with missing fingers indicating they did NOT have a SawStop. I still have all fingers and needed a new saw having run my Delta constructor saw into the ground. I figured "what's a finger worth?" Probably more than the $1,000 difference. Their router extension and dust collection for the router sealed the deal.
Jason Rose that runs Speakeasy Pen recently posted pictures, his Sawstop probably saved his hand.
 
Top Bottom