Building The Inventory Up
It’s been a cold week and today we have our first snow on the ground. What better way to spend the week than in a warm shop making sawdust. I goofed off for the past three weeks, but I’m working hard to make up for my transgression.
The piles of boards are starting to grow around the shop and I’ve got to find a stopping point so I can oil the cutting boards and get a clear coat on the lazy susans. Right now I am experimenting with different designs for the lazy susans. This is a new product for this year and I need to standardize on two or three designs. When cranking out new items, I have a tendency to get carried away and make too many different designs before testing the waters to see what sells the best. It all eventually sells, but some not as fast as others.
The lazy susans are an exciting new project. I’m still tweaking my processes to speed up production. Quality is always the first consideration, but second to that is production speed. The faster I can complete them, the lower my labor cost, which results in a better price for the customer. Lazy susans are more labor intensive than cutting boards. They are essentially two boards consisting of a top and a base. Unlike cutting boards, these have a hardware component which is the actual lazy susan bearing assembly that mounts between the top and base. Finally, they are finished with three coats of a wipe on clear, oil-based finish.
This is a small sampling of some of the face grain items that are waiting for oil or clear finish.
Today my Daughter emailed me a picture of her Christmas gift that I made for her new apartment in NY State. She wanted to hang wine glasses on the wall and I came up with this design made out of walnut. It was designed to hang on the wall with no visual brackets using a hidden cleat which makes it look like it’s floating.
Not Enough Wood and Not Enough Time
I’ve had enough down time over the past couple of weeks and it is time to get back into the shop and be productive. My inventory is pathetically low, and even though my first show of 2010 is three months away, it will be on me before I know it.
I had plans this weekend to get a lot of boards in the clamps, but discovered that I am out of walnut, which is used in just about everything I make. Since the lumber yard was closed this weekend, I had to make do with what little I had laying around. These are three 20”x7” boards that will probably end up as bread boards. I say probably because the bread boards and dipping boards are both the same size, and even though I sold out of both this month, I decided to build up the bread board inventory first since I can make them quicker.
December orders just flat ran me out in many categories. I need more dipping boards, wine snack trays, and the small end grain cutting boards. These were the biggest Christmas sellers this year with many people ordering multiple boards. This situation is actually freaking me out a little because I want to get started on the lazy susans. I already have one customer who wants two of them, but I have none made up right now. On top of this, I have a large, 16 foot long built-in entertainment center that I have to start next week for a customer. It looks like 2010 is going to start out with a bang.
It’s Getting Close To Christmas
I’ve been remiss in blog updates. December has been a little busy with online and custom orders, and I have been completely detached from blogging. So, this is my catch up entry.
A few years ago, the kids talked me into buying some of those animated Christmas decorations for outside. These things are starting to show their wear and tear. When I put them up last year, parts were falling off and a lot of lights were not working. I got them back out this past weekend and spent about 5 hours working on them in the shop and now they are almost like new with everything working. I particularly like Frosty.
Shop time this week has been spent working on some Christmas gifts, as well as a few custom orders. This is a face grain board that has just been oiled and waiting for it to dry a little before packaging and shipping. This one is sized to fit over the grill side of a Jenn-Air stove. The customer requested the wood combination and placement.
I also got my first lazy susan almost done. I finally got over to Rockler today and picked up the lazy susan bearings. This afternoon I did a test fit and got a first coat of clear finish on it. It will probably need at least three coats. This thing looks real good and I am going to make up a few more to take to shows next year and see how they do. I’ll put up a picture after I get the clear coats done and re-assembled.
I have been burning through the dipping boards at an unbelievable pace. Orders have been flowing and I am almost out of them. I went over to a customer’s home Monday to install a tie rack in one of her closets and happened to mention the craft business. A few hours later I got an order from her for 4 dipping boards. Three were in stock and the forth one is already in the clamps waiting for the glue to dry, along with some other designs. It’s not cost effective to make one. I always make a minimum of four at a time.
This is what is currently in the drying stage. The lazy susan is in the foreground. The small one on the left is the base and the large on on the right is the top. The dipping boards in the background are for a local customer.
The Week in Review
This is the first week of the year that I feel that I have accomplished very little in the shop. Holiday weeks are a good excuse for me to catch up on a good novel, or get a few rounds of golf in with my friends. What little time I did spend in the shop was spent working on some new jigs for projects that I have been wanting to build. I plan to add lazy susans to my product list for next year and I had to build a jig for my bandsaw that allows me to cut circular disks. I actually got some circles cut out today using the new jig and I believe it will work fine for my application.
I also finished the oak serving tray for a customer. I’ve never done one of these, but it was a fun project and a welcome diversion. I think I am going to make up some more using a mix of contrasting woods, possibly for gifts. I really don’t know where I would put them in my show booth if I tried to sell them. But who knows, I may find a spot.
I mitered the corners and added a walnut key in each outside corner to add a little interest, as well as additional strength. Once the glue dried, I cut the walnut flush with a Japanese trim saw and sanded them smooth with a random orbit sander.
The good news is tomorrow is golf day with my Son-In-Law and another good friend of mine. The weather is suppose to be nice and we should have a great day.
Thanksgiving Week is Here!
I hope this will be a quiet week. Last week was a little intense preparing for a large closet installation and then getting it installed on Friday. Online sales are up right now so I am content to pack and ship this week. I also have a custom order butler tray that I am working on for a repeat customer. Time in the shop when there are no pressures or deadlines is something I rarely get to experience.
I’m also listing my entire inventory on Etsy in anticipation of Black Friday. I usually list three or four items each day, but still have a lot of items to go. These are products that were hot sellers at my shows this fall, but have never been listed online. I never felt that I needed to sell them online because I keep selling out at shows. I replenished my stock after the last show and now it’s time to see what they do will do online. They are mostly face grain boards of different sizes and wood combinations.
In 28 years, our family has never had Thanksgiving at our home. We have always spent this holiday out of state at one of two different relative’s homes. We are staying home this year, so I am cooking my first turkey for my family. I’m use to going to relatives and kicking back all day, but now I get to work this year preparing a meal that I have never done before. Actually, it’s the clean up I hate. But, maybe if I take a nap after the meal, it will all go away by itself. Happy Thanksgiving!!
