# Woodworking out of a space in the barn....



## Danny Bo (Dec 14, 2012)

I've been a woodworker/butcher for a lot of years, around 40 or so, but it doesn't take a lot to get started. Mostly it is the time and patience to get the right equipment and then deciding on what to make.

Now, granted, I do some custom furniture pieces but have found that I make quite a bit more creating things that are commonplace that homesteaders and farmers in our area cannot make or simply don't have the time tools for it.

I made a neighbor farmer a couple feed bins and before I knew it i am making them on a regular basis. They're simple, don't require a lot of material and I can usually turn out 2 a day or more if need be. I thought that idea would dry up soon but now I get out of state orders all the time. Criteria for that is I have to have at least 5 going to the same area(within 50 miles or so) or the shipping is prohibitive. Reason...I deliver them myself.

I have bartered my experience for animals, alive or cut up, old furniture pieces that I can refinish...just about anything you can imagine.(including some pretty expensive dental work for a 7 drawer chest...and he bought the mats  )

Its not rocket science. If you can read a tape you can do woodwork. The learning curve is the shortcuts you learn without compromising the quality of your work. Anything I make I will fix/repair...as long as you didn't run over it with a tractor.

Springtime I start making outdoor furniture, bird houses out of hollow logs and other crafty items. Then get a space at our local farmers market and sell them. I designed a double chair settee with a table in between for outdoor use. One neighbor of the one I sold saw it and wanted one...needless to say, that summer I was one busy boy.

Our needs are simple. We are rich in the love we have for each other and all the critters on out little farm(7 acres) We produce more than we can use so we spread it around to neighbors, family and friends. The shop just lets me get more of the toys I like to play with. ound:


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## Centralilrookie (Jul 12, 2012)

Sounds like a good deal. Would enjoy seeing a picture.


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## fransean (Dec 21, 2002)

Thanks for the ideas. My DH has the equipement but we don't have it set up yet.

I was thinking that if I could only come up with an idea or something he could make out of wood that could be sold at the farmers market and/or shipped. He loves working with wood and takes the time to do things well.


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

Look around the area and see what unique or different shelfs, cupboards, etc. Make one and see how it sells.

Advertise (preferably just free ads in) in local horse trader type bulletins. Advertise that you do woodworking, and can build or repair just about anything. (I'm sure there are many people out there with old furniture that can't be used anymore - but you would be able to fix and restore so it can be used.)

Do you have any local beekeepers in the area? Bee hive bodies and such are expensive to buy and shipping can eat whatever savings the beekeeper thought he was getting. (Check out Mann Lake on the internet for prices of both unassembled and assembled bee hives and supers.)

I recently got into beekeeping a few years ago, and buying hive bodies was an expensive requirement. I had a call for a swarm to a guy who turns out was a woodworker and he looked at the hives I had brought and said "I can make those." He started out making me some pretty much just for the fun of it (he only charged me for the wood). Lately, he has started charging some labor too, but I can still buy them cheaper from him than through Mann Lake - even with the free shipping.


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## Danny Bo (Dec 14, 2012)

Advertise :shocked: ...oh my no. I did that for a while by just printing my own business cards and handing them out at the farmers market, I ended up with way to much work and, as my wife says, I have a hard time saying no to people.

I have a farm to run, critters to take care of, a 1905 farmhouse that's still (and prolly always will) need to be finished or fixed somewhere. My prices are extremely reasonable because I am 60+ years and I just don't want or need any more work. 

I do the things I do because someone wants it and I know that what I make won't fall apart in a couple years. I do it for my own satisfaction and to keep myself busy but I have to set limitations on my busy-ness.

We live on a fixed income. We have no bills except phone, gas and electricity. We planned it that way so that anything extra we wanted we had to put out the effort to make something extra. 

Mostly, I like it when someone comes to the shop and helps me in making something they need/want. Do I charge for that? No. I love the look on their face when they see something they have had a hand in creating...something in their home or on the farm and can truly say that they built it. The only thing I won't let anyone do in my shop is operate anything that has a sharp blade...I do all the cutting. 

Retirement just means that you work harder than you ever did because everything you do is by choice with no one hanging over your shoulder or micro-managing you.

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade here...if I were even 10 years younger I would create a hell of a business and probably have a great time doing it. Want to learn a bit about woodworking? Come on out with a couple ideas (not plans...just ideas ) bring a tent and set up in the pasture or the woods out back and spend a few days.

Fransean - I get small tree branch's and cut them short...get little bitty funnels...add a few bits and pieces to make them look woodsy...paint a door and a window...stick a piece of a toothpick somewhere for a perch...add a string on top and sell them as christmas ornaments. I realize this may be seasonal but when you can make 10-20 in a day and sell them at farmers markets for $5-20 bucks it adds up pretty fast. Last winter I premade around 50 and sold the all at the last farmers market...which was in September. Big birdhouses made in the same fashion are a little bit more complicated but I sell them from $35 up past 100....The more unique they are the more they cost. I also make the from pvc pipe and glue river rock to them...they sell for 50 to 100. I got so tired of making birdhouses one summer I thought I was gonna scream .

I can't speak for anyone's market cause you do have to find out what sells. Don't think that farmers won't but things like feeders or grain bin storage boxes cause they usually have more than enough to do just farming and don't have the time to do the "little" things that they need. I built my neighbor 2 bat boxes to attract them to his barn area in an effort to keep the mosquitoes down (that method actually does make a difference BTW). All from scrap...he wanted to pay me and I said absolutely not. Tonight he brought over 2 of the sweetest deer tenderloins I've seen in a long time. Tomorrow I go over to help butcher 4 hogs...my payment will be in some of the finest pork you will ever taste. Its a wonderful lifestyle that I wish I had found about 40 years ago.

Sorry to ramble on...next time I'll try to keep it a bit shorter...heh.


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## clovis (May 13, 2002)

Great Posts, Danny!!!!

Like many others, I've struggled with figuring out what to build. I'm thinking about building some benches based on a style that my dad created.

These benches are rugged and heavy duty, but I'm not sure that they will sell at a price that will make it worth my while.


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