Who is a pro?

[John Mihich]

I'm not but my brother is. Been doing it for - probably 25 years. Cabinet maker. I get his little jobs from time to time; mostly refinishing and repair work.

[packerguy®]

Im in my 9th year of making urns. I have built up to 250-300 a month. Id consider myself a pro at this point

[RLMillard]

WaterlooMarc,

For years I've been saying, I can make anything out of wood, but a living. It used to be funny, not so much anymore.

I do not have a day job and make most of my very modest income from woodworking. I could never support a family on what I make, hell I can barely feed my cats. Still I'm not the most motivated person either, so I could do better. I'd gladly trade some of my innate woodworking abilities for some marketing abilities.
Rob Millard
www.americanfederalperiod.com

[WaterlooMarc]

Wow Rob. That is some incredible work!

[daddo]

05 mustang said:

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I am a cabinetmaker.
I have worked for over 30 years with 2 different companies building & installing cabinets & millwork.
Currently work as a cabinet estimator since recently the arthritis in my knees has gotten worse.

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When my joints started getting stiff and achy, I stopped eating sugar/sweets, dairy, breads and fried foods and it improved greatly!! I make Kefir and eat more salads and take minerals. Maybe it will work for you.

[Joel H.]

WaterlooMarc said:

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Wow Rob. That is some incredible work!

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You ought to see it in person, he's an amazing woodworker.

Joel

[Scoony]

I do have a custom furniture business and have made some money from it, but I consider it my hobby business. I need to keep the day job to pay the bills, but I am hoping that someday I can quit that and focus on building furniture.

[bigbob]

I have made my living doing custom furniture for over 25 years. Now I sell more lumber then furniture. Tastes have changed. I did traditional work most of those years. Now its more contemporary. Some mission style as well. Marketing is a huge challenge.

[MsNomer]

Rob, I feel your pain. I was a pretty decent lawyer, but I could have made about as much money as a day laborer. The skills required to make money doing X are not usually the skills required to do X.

[Dave Diaman]

As someone has already pointed out I make my living in a shop since 2008. I'm fairly young and I think we are a dying breed. I don't know many people my age or younger making their living as a furniture maker. My bread and butter is reproduction and period furniture but I do build a kitchen or two a year. I don't like it but high end cabinetry pays really well and it is easy money for the most part. As I believe it has been stated being a talented craftsman and a successful business man are two totally different skill sets. There are not that many people who have enough talent in both areas to run a successful lucrative business. If they can make a living you can bet they are not afraid of hard work. I always say the greatest thing about working for yourself is you can work any 16 hrs of the day you want. Throw a wife and two young children in the mix and it gets that much more complicated. All I can say for anyone who wants to try to make a go of it is you better REALLY love what you do.