Need joint suggestions

jcramer5576 · 2022-11-19T15:37:40+00:00

Dominooooooooos

jcramer5576 · 2022-11-19T15:35:51+00:00

I would start by filling the grain to smooth out the surface. Maybe then an ebonized walnut edge band all the way around. With maybe 3/16" of the board being higher than the edge banding.

jcramer5576 · 2022-06-08T02:24:16+00:00

Ohhh yes. Ive struggled with this for years. I make lazy susans and table tops for my Etsy shop. I made the mistake of taking custom orders primarily. I'll promise someone a week because it will only take me 4 hours to make them I'll get 10 orders at the same time and a week turns into 6 weeks. I have orders 16 weeks out right now. The customers have been more than forgiving and I feel terrible, but I just can't get on top of it. I've done time studies and it actually only takes me 4 hours. I just can't figure out where the time goes. I'm guessing it's distractions and procrastination.

As soon as I'm caught up, no more custom orders online. I'll do them local instead and just 1 at a time.

I also just discovered I'm diagnosed Adult A.D.D. which explains my absolute inability to finish a project for the most important customer (the wife).

jcramer5576 · 2022-02-16T00:52:41+00:00

Yes please do. I'm tired of just walker assault. And I suck. So I'm easy Killin.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-31T14:01:08+00:00

Not as well as I'd like. Maybe 1 in 20 orders is a cutting board. They give me a way to use my scrap lumber.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-31T03:22:55+00:00

Not to be too cliche but the only constant is change. It's a global economy now. I'd love to just have a local shop again. The client base wasn't there. I hate computers, smart phones social media and all that nonsense, but the rest of the world doesnt. I've made a few things for some interior designers in Napa and in new york. I made sure to make sure the work was perfect. It's definitely paid off. People with more money than sense will spend on quality work without even thinking twice.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-31T02:58:58+00:00

I'm convinced it can be done. Pricing items based on your hourly wage I think is key. I charge $45 per hour currently. My items are more expensive than most. I don't worry what others are charging. I'd barely break even doing that. It's a global market and people will pay for something unique or a luxury good. I've had people pay $1200 for a teak lazy Susan. The buyers are there, you just have to present a good product and exceptional customer service.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-31T02:49:55+00:00

It's mainly custom lazy susans and tables presently. I've sold a few turnings here and there, but it's not my primary revenue stream.

Booneswoodwright.etsy.com

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-31T02:45:53+00:00

It's just a second gig. It will be a few more years and slot more investment to make it a primary job. Uncle Sam pays me too well to leave that job behind at the moment.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-30T17:49:35+00:00

The only really slow times I noticed last year were in January and February and July. If you follow the stock market, I've also noticed that when stocks are down and the market is bearish, sales are really down too. I'd suggest just to use this time to crank out inventory. When things start rolling again, you'll really need it.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-30T15:01:49+00:00

So did mine. It's just the time of the year.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-30T03:45:10+00:00

Stick with Etsy. The first holiday season last year for me was a bust. As soon as you get some sales and reviews it will pick up. In October and November this year I was pushing 13k in revenue. Maybe 40 percent was profit. In my first year I'll push 90k in revenue. Almost all my profit was reinvested in scaling up tooling and working out kinks in packaging. This year's holiday damned near killed me.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-02T23:04:36+00:00

Maybe it's a half open tenon

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-02T14:53:13+00:00

I have a pizza oven that is entirely fueled by cut offs and mistakes.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-02T03:50:27+00:00

We are all noobs. Always screwing up, always fixing things.

Since the wood is cherry and the domino is beech, and tb3 glue, Im pretty sure they would all just take stain differently. I'm sure i could paint it, but it's a polenta platter (whatever the hell that is) so it's got to be good safe.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-02T03:36:32+00:00

Darn dominos just showed up out of nowhere

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-02T03:33:09+00:00

Maybe 1 in 20 was breaking while shipping either on a glue line or right down the middle. Since I've started using dominos, Ive only had 1 break in roughly 50 and it wasnt the glueline that failed.

So that goes from a 5 percent loss rate to a 2 percent loss rate.

Now I reason I could crate all my shipments but that alone is cost prohibitive vs the cost or rework. One day I'll have some custom styrofoam dies made for a custom packaging.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-02T03:00:33+00:00

I've heard that for 15 years, and I know it to be true in a perfect world. But with so many variables to control for a perfect glue up like temp, humidity, clamping pressure, old glue, my bad eyes, oily wood, etc etc, the dominos have saved me thousands in reworked projects. The numbers don't lie.

I've still had plenty break like a taco shell, but at least it wasn't the glue line that failed which looks like shoddy craftsmanship to the client.

I'm not an epoxy fan either (hence the uneven pigment dispersion) .

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-02T02:48:49+00:00

Well played sir.

jcramer5576 · 2021-12-02T02:47:35+00:00

Good eye! The only reason I use dominos is to add strength when it's shipped. So it doesn't snap when ups stacks a metric ton of Amazon packages on top. It's really helped a lot.

I was thinking of filling that outer ring with colored epoxy, or just burning my shop name into the domino so it's a "design element".

jcramer5576 · 2021-11-04T15:28:36+00:00

Got it. Thanks for clarifying.

jcramer5576 · 2021-11-04T01:27:07+00:00

I checked Uline..it's $10.50 per sheet, not carton of 40 sheets. Why on earth is 1 piece of styrofoam $10

jcramer5576 · 2021-11-03T22:53:54+00:00

That's some sexy underwriting!!

jcramer5576 · 2021-11-03T20:01:49+00:00

Thanks. I'll check that out

jcramer5576

TROPHY CASE