How To Save Enormous Costs On Wood, Tools and Woodworking Supplies

How to save enormous sums of money on woodworking tools, wood and other materials…

You will be surprised at how much more money you can make for yourself if you cut down costs. When we say cut down costs we never imply compromising on quality. That just won’t do & will harm your business more probably in the long run.

These are some effective areas where you can cut down costs:

• Raw materials
• Tools
• Time & technique

Wood is your single large cost in woodworking. If you are a hobbyist and your need for wood is not too high, you probably buy it at the local home store. Regardless of whether your demand is high or low, these are the ways to save money on wood.

1. Find a lumberyard.
2. Shop online. ( This one may sound strange, but hear us out).
3. Plan your purchase & shop on offers & discounts.
4. Build a relationships with a local vendor.
5. Substitute with high quality board & veneer.

You will be surprised that the lumberyards & online retailers are willing to fulfill even small orders. You can get a lot of help at the lumberyard. Wood is already cut & stocked according to grade & size. It is here that you will find the maximum variety as well as the best price.

Online retailers are very helpful too. You can simply ask for the specifications you are looking for & they will send it to you. They commonly take orders over the phone as well.

When they wood is delivered to your doorstep you can inspect it & on the rare occasion something is not what you ordered you can return it for a free exchange.

Ordering wood online & over the phone seems strange at first. But it can begin to workout very well very quickly. You can avail great discounts with this method of ordering & it soon becomes a convenient way of doing business.

SAVING ON TOOLS

The first method of saving on tools is not to buy ones you do not require in the first place. Choosing the right woodcrafts to make & sell is a big step in this direction.

We spoke about this in the first email.

Power tools save time & effort & increase your productivity. They should be used wherever possible & viable, although they are definitely not a pre-requisite for starting out.

The thing is, there are some neat tricks you can use whenever you are in the market for some power tools.

The first one is a pretty staple one.

Look for online sales, discounts & discount vouchers in woodworking magazines.

However, it is still a very effective tip. You get some really big discounts online. So what you need to do is join the newsletter of all the major woodworking tool websites & opt-in to be notified whenever any promotions come up.

Your second best option is to buy refurbished tools. We don’t usually recommend second hand tools. We’ll come to that in a minute.

Refurbished tools are pre-owned tools that have been restored to new like condition by the company selling it. This could be the original manufacturer, an online store or local hardware store that deals in refurbished tools. So look around & see where all you can find them. Many major online stores have a section for ‘refurbished tools’. It won’t be in your face but you need to find it.

Coming to 2nd hand tools, we don’t recommend them in most circumstances.

In most cases you don’t know anything about the tool. You can’t see any wear & tear that’s not apparent to the naked eye. And that’s the kind of wear & tear that counts. You do not know if the tool has previously been repaired. And in case it has you can be sure that it’s life has been greatly shortened. Getting it repaired again will cost you more money & won’t be worth the use you get from it.

There is usually no guarantee on 2nd hand tools whereas the refurbished ones almost always come with one.

Buy a 2nd hand tool if the source is a very reliable one and you are getting it quiet cheap.

Use Superior Accessories

Now this is a great way to get more out of your existing woodworking tools. It is also a cost effective technique to make cheaper consumer power tools give industrial grade results. By using high quality accessories like router bits, you can get better, faster & more accurate results.

Parts like router bits will wear out less and give you the finish of more expensive power tools as long as you use high quality ones even in your lesser power tools. High grade accessories make your tools last longer because they cut, grind & finish with a greater degree of ease, thereby putting lesser strain on your machinery.

We highly recommend downloading Wood Profits for hundreds of products you can start making & selling without the need for expensive tools.

Time & Money Saving Techniques

It is more or less obvious if you can save time when making a woodcraft, you are making more money. This is where we tell you to use techniques that are faster.

There are faster ways to do joinery, install drawers etc. Woodworkers take pride in doing some things the classic way. But look at it this way. Additional time spent on a project raises the cost of the project, which the customer is required to pay for ultimately. Save on that time & pan on the added benefit both to the customer & yourself. There are plenty of consumers ready to appreciate a well-built project of good quality.

Once again, we come back to one of our golden mantras to make more money with your woodworking effort… Make easy, simple & high in demand woodcrafts. 

Even if you usually work on larger projects, include smaller woodcrafts in your work plans. It will make a huge different to your overall income.