what pays thge bills... (well, mine anyhow)

[Ajcoholic]

Just thought I'd share some of what I do on a daily basis with the rest of you. I enjoy seeing other's work, and I hope someone does so, mine :)

I just finished a pretty big (for me) job, built-in style cabinets along a very long wall (about 28 feet) with a fireplace in the center. The home was renovated a few years back, and I had to tie in with the existing design, and trim work, etc. The ceilings are nearly 9feet, which made the end cabinets quite large. But, with everything in place it looks great, customer is happy and I am happy!

Behind the doors, are 16 solid wood trays on full extension accuride self closing slides. Lots of storage space for the families three kids' worth of stuff. Also, there is LED lighting in the cabinets all connected to a remote dimmer/on-off.

It took me about three weeks to build everything, finish it (I used white post-cat lacquer) assemble and install. I work alone by the way, and am able to handle jobs like this with some ingenuity and a young back!

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0890.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0886.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0888.jpg

[Ajcoholic]

While I was at the home, I took some pictures of previous work I have done over the past few years. Same family, so these pics are lived in... :)

A bedroom set for their young daughter...

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0906.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0903.jpg

[Ajcoholic]

A bathroom vanity - and upper mirror and cabinet work. The vanity was fun, I like doing stuff out of the ordinary. The curved doors would have been easier now with the shop bot :)

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0896.jpg

[Ajcoholic]

A small home office...

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0899-1.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0897-1.jpg

And some cabinets for their son's room (two boys, there are identical units for each)

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/IMG_0894.jpg

[Ajcoholic]

I really enjoy working for customers over the years, they get to know you and your work - and there is very few if any issues.

Actually, they trust me enough to work on time and material, I dont even have to quote the job.

Being in business, and having both the enjoyment of crafting furniture, for people who really appreciate your work, is what makes my job (to me) the best thing in the world!

I hope with the shop bot, I will be able to do more, and offer more choices.

AJC

[kevin]

Thanks for the pics looks good .not to many cabinet guys post

Just one stupid question its obovious your making cabinets how come you didn.t get a 4 by 8 shopbot for making cabinets

[Ajcoholic]

Thanks for the pics looks good .not to many cabinet guys post

Just one stupid question its obovious your making cabinets how come you didn.t get a 4 by 8 shopbot for making cabinets

Because I have a 10 foot carriage sliding panel saw for cutting parts.

Most of what I do is "one of". I still think it is faster for me to cut up sheet stock on the big saw, and I have a 10" saw to do all my dadoes and rabbets. It goes quickly... I can cut up all the parts for a complete kitchen and do all my grooving, in about a day's work.

I do a lot of "wood" finish stuff too by the way. Just the case that this family likes solid colours.

Even with the solid colour finishes, I construct everything from hard maple and maple veneers. I do sometimes also incorporate American poplar (for instance, for the crown trim and bases) as well.

If my Buddy serves me well over the next few years, there is no reason I can't "upgrade" to a larger machine down the road. I certainly have room yet in the building, I would just have to close in another room in the uninsulated part of the building. But, no plans to go bigger yet ;)

AJC

[Ajcoholic]

Also, my work is at least 50/50 cabinets and furniture. The nbext few jobs I have are all stuff like dining room table & chair sets, other tables, a big desk, etc.

If I were doing strictly cabinets, I'd probably consider a larger machine. But I do a lot of other stuff.

AJC

[kevin]

Just curios also its nice to see someone doing well in Northern Ontario I know you been hit hard the last couple of years

Newfoundland is a have province :eek:

[myxpykalix]

Andrew,
Absolutely beautiful stuff, you do great work. Too bad you are so far away, or i'd come and hang out in your shop and hope some of that expertise would rub off on me:rolleyes:

good job!:)

[CNYDWW]

Outstanding work. Most of the cabinet jobs i get asked to quote on have one main goal. Beat Lowe's Prices. I tell them I can't, first of all because i'm not going to show you 1/2" case cabinets and deliver 3/8" to your door. :D I used to work for the company.

Regards
Randy

[Ajcoholic]

Outstanding work. Most of the cabinet jobs i get asked to quote on have one main goal. Beat Lowe's Prices. I tell them I can't, first of all because i'm not going to show you 1/2" case cabinets and deliver 3/8" to your door. :D I used to work for the company.

Regards
Randy

I realized years ago, that in a small custom shop, trying to compete with mass produced "garbage" is impossible. And, not where I was trying to take my business.

A lady came to me a while ago, and had a photo printed off from the Home Depot of a linen cabinet. It was about $300 if I remember. She wanted it made "better", yet incorporate all the detail, applied carvings, etc (which would all have been made from real wood) etc. Basically a custom shop piece at a bargain price. My cost was $1800. She decided not to get it from me.

That being said, I am generally working 4 to 8 months behind (depending upon the size of the job) and turn away a lot of work. Hardly anyone here is doing custom wood working. There are a LOT of places doing melamine cabinets, and buying in prefinished doors or vinyl wrap stuff. (note: I have nothing against that business model, it is just not what I prefer to do. I also know the guys doing more mass produced non-wood stuff are making a lot more $$ and can much more easily hire people to run machinery, but again thats not my thing)
But, doing what I consider real woodwork, is sadly a very rare thing up in my part of the country. That is also why finding even a half experienced woodworker is impossible.

There are some other shops like mine, small custom woodworking outfits that do pretty much any type of woodwork - within a 3 or 4 hour radius. I know for a fact the guys doing good quality work, are also very busy and very behind. I guess it's a good problem to have...

Northern Ontario is actually doing pretty well. The main industry - mining - is obviously on a good level right now. The lumber industry sucks, but people are still spending $$. Even in the poor times though, we managed to stay busy. That is what being "adaptive" and not focusing on one specific product can help with.

As you can see, I also love talking shop.. :)

AJC

[bruce_taylor]

really nice looking stuff!! I do things people typically can't buy from the retail environment. I can compete with custom countertops the big box stores do on price and more importantly time. I enjoy making dreams come to life, I have done a little furniture but not alot. I have done a few built-ins and really appreciate the one that you have shown here. I am going to do a custom mantel for myself when I get a chance and have a harder time designing for myself than for the people I work for.

[CNYDWW]

I realized years ago, that in a small custom shop, trying to compete with mass produced "garbage" is impossible. And, not where I was trying to take my business.

A lady came to me a while ago, and had a photo printed off from the Home Depot of a linen cabinet. It was about $300 if I remember. She wanted it made "better", yet incorporate all the detail, applied carvings, etc (which would all have been made from real wood) etc. Basically a custom shop piece at a bargain price. My cost was $1800. She decided not to get it from me.

That being said, I am generally working 4 to 8 months behind (depending upon the size of the job) and turn away a lot of work. Hardly anyone here is doing custom wood working. There are a LOT of places doing melamine cabinets, and buying in prefinished doors or vinyl wrap stuff. (note: I have nothing against that business model, it is just not what I prefer to do. I also know the guys doing more mass produced non-wood stuff are making a lot more $$ and can much more easily hire people to run machinery, but again thats not my thing)
But, doing what I consider real woodwork, is sadly a very rare thing up in my part of the country. That is also why finding even a half experienced woodworker is impossible.

There are some other shops like mine, small custom woodworking outfits that do pretty much any type of woodwork - within a 3 or 4 hour radius. I know for a fact the guys doing good quality work, are also very busy and very behind. I guess it's a good problem to have...

Northern Ontario is actually doing pretty well. The main industry - mining - is obviously on a good level right now. The lumber industry sucks, but people are still spending $$. Even in the poor times though, we managed to stay busy. That is what being "adaptive" and not focusing on one specific product can help with.

As you can see, I also love talking shop.. :)

AJC

It's not that i'm trying to compete with the mass produced products out there. Everyone expects the hand made to be cheaper when the materials cost more then the mass produced product. I've been working with a local discount supplier to produce some products out of exterior grade materials. They're the ones i usually get the short run molding jobs from. The local mill work company charges $100 just to make knives to match a profile. I usually charge $10 a LF and make it on the machine. I do have to say it's been about a year till i actually had the capability again.


Regards
Randy

[michael_schwartz]

Nice work by the way.

The irony of it all is that that half the time Home depot, and Lowe's can't even order the correct boxes. Don't even get me started about lack of fillers, and scribes, etc... Then they leave people in the dark for a month with no kitchen, when the cabinets fail to arrive when scheduled or the installer is nowhere to be found. By the time they re-order the correct parts, boxes and necessary fillers another month has passed. People get what they pay for, and I think that will work against the "box stores", and "kitchen showrooms" in the long run.

Making boxes is the least exciting part of any job. I enjoy making doors, drawers, and other solid wood components. I even enjoy sanding, because thats a chance to really take things to another level. Finishing is fun part.

While everybody else devalues their own product and lowers their standards to compete with everybody else who is doing the same thing, I think the right thing to do is just to try to do the best work that you can.

[michael_schwartz]

It's not that i'm trying to compete with the mass produced products out there. Everyone expects the hand made to be cheaper
Regards
Randy

I encounter this quite often. I don't know where this thinking originates from.
I am glad I am not the only one who runs into this. People probably got this idea from watching too much HGTV, or from the many craft artists who practically give their work away for pennies on the dollar taking in consideration the time, and skill that goes into what they make.

[Ajcoholic]

Nice work by the way.

The irony of it all is that that half the time Home depot, and Lowe's can't even order the correct boxes. Don't even get me started about lack of fillers, and scribes, etc... Then they leave people in the dark for a month with no kitchen, when the cabinets fail to arrive when scheduled or the installer is nowhere to be found. By the time they re-order the correct parts, boxes and necessary fillers another month has passed. People get what they pay for, and I think that will work against the "box stores", and "kitchen showrooms" in the long run.

Making boxes is the least exciting part of any job. I enjoy making doors, drawers, and other solid wood components. I even enjoy sanding, because thats a chance to really take things to another level. Finishing is fun part.

While everybody else devalues their own product and lowers their standards to compete with everybody else who is doing the same thing, I think the right thing to do is just to try to do the best work that you can.


I genuinely enjoy every part of my job. I dont mind cutting, and assembling cases (boxes) when I am doing case goods. It is but one part of the job. Same with making doors, drawers, trim, finishing, assembly, etc.

WOuld I want to be cutting up sheet stock 10 hrs a day, day after day? Nope. But, the sme can be said about any part of wood working.

The beautiful part of custom work, for me, is that each and every day is completely different than the next. There is never a time to get bored. Also, your mind is constantly working. When I am doing the stuff that takes less concentration - I am generally planning another job in my head or thinking about how I will tackle some other project, etc.

One thing about sanding... I have heard many a woodworker say they dislike sanding. That is one thing I dont, and probably never will, understand. I really enjoy it, as it is the last step of the process before finishing. It is when things start to look "good" and the anticipation of getting the goods into the finishing room takes over...

If there is one portion of my job I dont like, it is probably pricing out work and doing quotes. It is the only part of the job that forces me to sit behind a desk.. and it is the only part when I am not making anything! :)

AJC

[Ajcoholic]

I encounter this quite often. I don't know where this thinking originates from.
I am glad I am not the only one who runs into this. People probably got this idea from watching too much HGTV, or from the many craft artists who practically give their work away for pennies on the dollar taking in consideration the time, and skill that goes into what they make.

Up here where I live it is the opposite. The majority of people think that custom made is WAY more $$ than store bought.

But, when you look at the "higher end" kitchens, and furniture sold - a small custom shop like mine can generally provide a similar or better product for a similar price, or better.

AJC

[michael_schwartz]

But, when you look at the "higher end" kitchens, and furniture sold - a small custom shop like mine can generally provide a similar or better product for a similar price, or better.

AJC

I have noticed this as well. The kitchen I will be working on this spring, was like this. I am planning on working on a catalog to print, and distribute locally at select venues that will feature a small selection of furniture, and pricing but I have to build, and photograph a couple more pieces, first.

[kevin]

Also when big box stores install they charge by the hour . Usally comes out to 3000.00 a kitchen they nickel and dimne

[CNYDWW]

Well on this thread with the last few posts there's too much to respond too. Heh! I will say one of the things i've been considering offering now that i have a machine that will cut full sheet. Standardized and custom case kits. Mainly for the DIY guy that just can't afford or doesn't have the space for all the larger tools he thinks he needs to cut the case goods. That way he can use his little chop saw and folding table saw to make the doors, drawers and face frames. Honestly, I got paid minimum wage to work for this one cabinet shop as an "apprentice" for a while years ago. In this shop the "panel saw" was a good circular saw and a straight edge with a couple clamps. It was actually my first experience with building anything out of sheet. Before that it was all mill work with solid hardwood and rustic out of cedar and pine. I learned a lot of interesting skills from the old guys. The one old delta table saw was reserved for dadoes and I wasn't allowed to touch it.

As far as the big box stores, i've worked for both at one time or another. I know all about the headaches they run into. Another question i get now and then is if i can match their work. Followed by the story that they're a couple cabinets short. As far as furniture, yes i can be compete with their regular prices but not their "sale prices". We have Hardens Furniture up here that has over the top prices for what you get. I also have an unfinished corner curio cabinet in the shop from them someone wanted fixed. They got it at the "Seconds" store where they sell their broken unfinished furniture. I kind of opened their eyes about the quality when one of the parts broken was the main shelf. It was 5/8" thick with 3/8" glued dowel pins on three corners. No dadoes, just free to crack and break with too much load. The local refinisher wont even touch anything made from them after 1950.

Regards
Randy

[joe]

Thanks for posting Andrew,

It's always good to see creative fellows carrying on. A one person shop work best when the skill levels are at their best. That's what we're seeing here.

Keep up the good work, we're with you.

Joe Crumley

[Ajcoholic]

Thanks for posting Andrew,

It's always good to see creative fellows carrying on. A one person shop work best when the skill levels are at their best. That's what we're seeing here.

Keep up the good work, we're with you.

Joe Crumley

Joe, I really appreciate it.

I have to say, I have one person in particular to thank for my very enjoyable life... my father, Joe Coholic. My whole life, I watched my dad (who came to Canada in the 1950s without a dollar in his pocket, and unable to speak any English) build a successful business and teach me how to be a hard working, dedicated and responsible person. My dad was trained in Europe as a mill wright, and then started his own woodworking business in the early 1970's right after I was born. His father was the village carpenter back in Croatia where he is from (at the time, Yugoslavia). I was lucky I was able to learn from him both mechanical and woodworking skills. My dad is 81, and still does a lot of woodworking. He is the reason I do what I do! Thanks, dad! :)

AJC

[myxpykalix]

I like to hear stories like that. Now you can pass that craft down to your children and grandchildren. I am a bit philosophic about woodworking and trees. I had a big oak tree in the way of expanding my shop and wouldn't dare cut it down for about 10 years till it started to die.

Has anyone thought about any other god given resource that man uses for so many things in life and how not one twig from a tree should be wasted and can be used for something. It has hundreds of uses....what would we do without them? Thanks God!;):D:p

[Ajcoholic]

I like to hear stories like that. Now you can pass that craft down to your children and grandchildren. I am a bit philosophic about woodworking and trees. I had a big oak tree in the way of expanding my shop and wouldn't dare cut it down for about 10 years till it started to die.

Has anyone thought about any other god given resource that man uses for so many things in life and how not one twig from a tree should be wasted and can be used for something. It has hundreds of uses....what would we do without them? Thanks God!;):D:p

Jack,
My son just turned one two weeks ago. I can only hope that (as I did) he takes some interest in my work, and wants to grow up knowing how to make things, and work with his hands (as well as get a good education in school).

I went to university for three years studying math & physics mainly, before deciding to follow my love for wood working. I did not return to complete my 4th year and therefore did not get my degree. I then went to woodworking college for a three year stint... learned a lot, then I went to work for the family business. As for my university degree, never looked back... and no regrets not having completed it.

It is a very rare thing to completely love what you do to earn a living. I see that every day. But as much as I love what I do, and have the respect for my father, and his father - I would never push my son to follow. That is a decision he will have to make on his own, as my father allowed me to do.

AJC

[myxpykalix]

Well if he's only one, you have a while to nurture it in him. I have always thought that "if you teach a man a trade, the only tools he needs is his hands and his mind and he can earn a living anywhere"....

I just made that up myself, wow i'm a fee-los-ofer! gooooleee:D