eigregor Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 I am new to the whole carpentry/wood working. I started late last year building a vanity for a bathroom remodel I am doing and have since started building the cabinets for that room and a make-up/art desk for my daughter. I would just like some input from those who have been doing this for some time and some advice to a newbie. Just keep in mind that the last thing I had built before doing this was a picture frame in wood class...some 15 years ago in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Welcome to the forums! For being away for so many years, it looks like you did a great job! You'll find several here that don't enjoy paints or stains but, those were appropriate for you, your family, and your stage in woodworking. I hope you stick around and show us more of your work and shop! Nothing to be ashamed of with what you've shown us so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eigregor Posted May 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Thank you for your response. It's kind of surprising how addictive wood working is. Once I started, all I can think of is the next projects that I want to do and then I start sketching them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 4 minutes ago, eigregor said: Thank you for your response. It's kind of surprising how addictive wood working is. Once I started, all I can think of is the next projects that I want to do and then I start sketching them out. It is addictive and expensive! It looks like you have a good base set of skills so, hope you keep at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eigregor Posted May 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Yes, it is expensive too. Not that I am anywhere near the point of selling anything that I make (having a full time job and a family I doubt I will ever be at that point), but how much do people sell pieces for? I am just wondering how anybody makes a living at doing this when it is so expensive and time consuming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 3 minutes ago, eigregor said: Yes, it is expensive too. Not that I am anywhere near the point of selling anything that I make (having a full time job and a family I doubt I will ever be at that point), but how much do people sell pieces for? I am just wondering how anybody makes a living at doing this when it is so expensive and time consuming. Depends on the piece and the circumstances. There's been a lot of discussion about this in the "going pro" section of the forums. Suggest giving that a read and then asking specific questions. Cabinets would be different that mirror frames, which would be different than X.. etc, etc, etc. Obviously, people do make a living doing this but most are just like you and I. We have day jobs that pay the bills and enjoy doing this in our off time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Great job on those projects. Looks like your not giving yourself enough credit. Woodworking definately can be addictive. When I'm deep down the rabbit hole on a project, it's about all I can think about. I also have the habit of going so hard so fast I burn out by the end of the project and don't want to build crap for a free weeks. All it takes to spin up again is the right idea, a unique piece of lumber or a honey do. Expensive.. yeah. Just don't tell my wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eigregor Posted May 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Yeah, the best part for me right now is the look on my soon to be 5 year old's face when she comes in the garage and sees how much of her desk is done so far. The bad part is that when we were looking at buying her a small wooden make-up desk around Christmas time and it was anywhere from $150-200, I thought...I can build something a lot nicer than that for that price. Soon it expands into an art desk end, electrical ran in it for power outlets, and the vanity light and so on. I couldn't even guess how much I have spent on it so far. The same was true when I planning out that vanity. The other bathroom that I had just done, I bought the vanity (about $1000 for it) and when redoing the half bath I though I can make one myself for pretty cheap (I was originally thing an open concept, floating shelves style). Then a couple sketches and redesigns later, now 3 drawers and 2 cabinet doors (all with the soft/auto closing feature), and a bunch of different tools, I can't even remember how much I ended up spending on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Welcome to the rabbit hole! On the bright side, your creations will last much longer than some Ikea crap! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 I will also compliment your work. The projects you posted have nice designs, and appear well executed. I think you have realized that "I can build it cheaper" is just a weak rationalization. I would focus more on knowing that you can build it BETTER that you can buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Good work. I really like incorporating electrical in to cabinetry, I've even done it on a few pieces of furniture. I've found that when i make NICE things the cost is about the same. The nice part about making things yourself is that they aren't crappy. I've seen what you get from store bought cabinets and it's disappointing. Do yourself a favor and move on from pine and stain. I started out with pine/oak and stain and now that i've started using Cherry, walnut ect things are much nicer to work with. Keep the pine around for practice and junk work though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eigregor Posted May 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 I will definitely with the next pieces that I do. The main reason I started these first few with pine was cost. I figured if I screwed up it would be a little easier on my wallet than if I was working with the nicer woods. A couple questions though. Do you guys purchase your wood through just local home improvement stores (like Lowe's and Menard's) or have you guys found better sources? Also, as far as prep design / draw up, do you guys have any preferred format on design or design software? All I've been doing so far is draw up a couple sketches like the one's below and then I just jump right in. I guess the last thing is, what do you guys tend to do to finish a piece? Do you just use a sealer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 http://www.woodfinder.com/ That link might help you find a hardwood dealer. I have a cabinet shop in town that sells good quality hardwoods for better prices than any box store could offer, the material is much better as well. I range from hand sketches to 3D models, there is information on this site for the 3D models. Most people use sketchup, i use autodesk products because i have them at work for free and they really are better (opinion). Finishing is a can of worms with more options than you can probably imagine. Biggest use is probably Arm R Seal (ARS), which is an oil based poly i believe, i don't have access to it and use all minwax products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eigregor Posted May 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Awesome info, thank you. I am in Northwest Indiana, so that one list will be great. All I have used so far is the least crappy boards that I could find at Lowe's and Menard's and cut them as need to have the best usable boards. I will definitely look into those for my next projects though. I will also start looking I to the different software products too. The only benefit that I kind of have, which is why the sketches work, is that I am kind of an art guy, I used to really like to do sketches/portraits when I was in high school. This kind of allows me to visualize it in my head before drawing up the sketch. The sketch is nice because it helps me verify the sizes on all my pieces and to verify that the piece will fit in the room properly. My fiancee can't even visualize it with the sketch in front of her, which is why the software would be a nice addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Most here use Sketchup so, you can get a lot of help with that here. It's a free download.. Just hit google up, you can't miss it. Sounds to me like Mike's list may work out well for you.. Just a little toll road away! Definitely find yourself a good hardwood dealer! Get to know them and you'll see better prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Welcome to the forums. You have already received a lot of good information here. You post caught me right when you said that you thought to yourself that you could build it nicer for the same price. That is the same thing that I told my wife when we were looking at dressers for our oldest daughter back in the early 80's and it has been fun and $$$$ ever since. So strap in and enjoy the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 I go old school and draw full size on a sheet of 1/4" MDF. Full size drawings lets you see the proportions and find areas that may be difficult to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eigregor Posted May 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 I will keep that in mind on drawing it out on MDF to scale. When I start my next project I will definitely start hitting up some of the local hardwood dealers and I will download that software later tonight when I get home from work. I already plan on building a couple dressers and bed once I start redoing our bedroom...currently MDF dressers that barely stand up straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 There's a good dresser build on the Guild site.. Yes, it's a paid site but, the videos will walk you thru the build and give you the sketchup file to work from. There's a bed build over there as well. Also, Marc put a bed build on the free site recently that may be helpful to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 56 minutes ago, eigregor said: I will keep that in mind on drawing it out on MDF to scale. When I start my next project I will definitely start hitting up some of the local hardwood dealers and I will download that software later tonight when I get home from work. I already plan on building a couple dressers and bed once I start redoing our bedroom...currently MDF dressers that barely stand up straight. Mattias Waddell had a good series on youtube of using sketchup for building woodworking projects. He does still use some off screen command prompts but it's one of the better ones I learned from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post eigregor Posted May 30, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted May 30, 2016 With my brother's help, I was able to get the desk in her room today. My daughter immediately started putting her stuff on it and making it her own. Thanks again for all of your input and I will start looking into getting some better wood for my next projects. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 30, 2016 Report Share Posted May 30, 2016 That's awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eigregor Posted May 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2016 Thanks, she's loving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted May 30, 2016 Report Share Posted May 30, 2016 Came out great, nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted May 30, 2016 Report Share Posted May 30, 2016 When the customer is happy, you've been well paid! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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