Pick your path
Furniture Making
Custom dining tables, chairs, beds, cabinetry. $800-15,000 per commission. The classic woodworking-shop business model.
Cutting Boards & Kitchen
End-grain cutting boards, charcuterie boards, kitchen accessories. Etsy + farmers market + wholesale to gift shops. $40-300 per unit.
Custom Cabinetry
Kitchen cabinets, built-ins, closet systems. Contractor referral business, $5,000-50,000+ per project.
Turned Wood Bowls
Lathe-turned bowls, vessels, hollow forms. Gallery work + farmers market + Etsy. $80-1,500 per piece.
Strategy & business articles
Pricing woodworking honestly: why $200 cutting boards don't pay for the woodThe full cost stack — lumber, shop time, finishing, packaging. The honest pricing tier.Commission woodworking: the consultation-to-delivery workflowThe 6-step commission process that protects both you and the client. Deposits, change orders, delivery.Wholesale woodwork to gift shops and boutiques$40 retail = $20 wholesale. The volume math and the boutique-by-boutique outreach playbook.Building a contractor referral network for custom cabinetryHow custom cabinet makers actually get clients. The 6-month outreach that produces year-round work.Lumber sourcing: hardwood dealers vs sawmills vs reclaimedCost per board foot by source. Quality variation. The honest tradeoffs by project type.Scaling from solo to a 3-person shopThe first hire decision. Apprentice vs experienced. The shop reorganization required.Strategic conversations for woodworking-shop operators
Frameworks for woodworkers running real shops — pricing commissions, contractor referrals, retail vs wholesale, scaling. Reach out on LinkedIn.
Gear actually worth buying
Smart eBay searches we'd start with ourselves. We earn a small commission on qualifying sales through these links; the price you pay is the same whether you use them or go direct to eBay. Full disclosure.
Bench planes (#4, #5)A #4 smoother and #5 jack plane handle most surface and stock-removal work. Buy vintage Stanley Bailey or Lie-Nielsen for new; avoid the Harbor Freight clones.
Carbide router bit sets (1/4" shank)A 15-20 piece carbide set covers most joinery and profile work. Whiteside and Freud are the reliable mid-tier brands; Amana is the professional ceiling.
Japanese pull saws (ryoba)Gyokucho and Suizan are the two brands that give you real Japanese pull-saw performance at non-import prices. Ryoba blades do both rip and crosscut.
Wheel marking gaugesA wheel gauge scores cleaner than a pin gauge and doesn't follow grain. Veritas and Bridge City Tool Works are the precision references; Woodpeckers if you want domestic made.
Bench visesA leg vise or quick-release front vise makes hand-tool work tractable. Grizzly and Yost make cast-iron vises that outlast imported alternatives.