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My tools are paid for several times over. My skiing habit, however, is a bottomless pit but as addictive as drugs. I blame testosterone and blonde women in stretch ski pants in the 70's for the start of that addiction. I married one of them. Now I blame powder.
John
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Location: Orlando, Florida
It's always been a hobby for me, so my return on investment is the satisfaction of using them to make things for myself and my friends. I have, on rare occasions, been paid for things I've made, but not nearly enough to pay for any of my major purchases. And it doesn't matter.
To paraphrase:
The cost of all my tools: $20K.
The satisfaction I get from woodworking: Priceless.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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I paid for all my tools with my first commission. I started out in 2008 with basically a bunch of contractor type tools. I had a Ryobi router mounted in a piece of plywood, a Ryobi tabletop saw, a Ryobi chop saw and a Rigid planer. A few I bought and quite a few were hand me downs. Completing the commission with those tools was quite the adventure. As soon as I was paid for my first major commission which was a large custom bar I sold almost everything in my shop and replaced it with most of the tools I have today. I basically went out and spent $15k in women's shot. The people at Woodcraft loved me. I have bought some additional tools over the years and upgraded some as my needs changed but it was always factored into a job. I was always very conscious about the return on my investment. Like Joe, I make a living with my tools so every purchase has to be a worthwhile expense. I did have a time in the beginning where I bought tools just because I wanted them and didn't worry about making money. To be honest I liked being able to do that but at this point even if I could buy any tool that I wanted there really aren't that many I would buy.
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(02-04-2017, 04:33 PM)AHill Wrote: It's always been a hobby for me, so my return on investment is the satisfaction of using them to make things for myself and my friends. I have, on rare occasions, been paid for things I've made, but not nearly enough to pay for any of my major purchases. And it doesn't matter.
To paraphrase:
The cost of all my tools: $20K.
The satisfaction I get from woodworking: Priceless.
This......
Ed
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Location: Carson Valley, NV
I never intended woodworking to be a money making endeavor. However I have earned some money for commissioned projects. And what I have earned pales in comparison to the money spent on tools.
And woodworking is not my only hobby. I also spend a significant amount on photography, shooting sports and recreational activities.
I enjoy doing all of them and like any other activity you spend money on them according to the enjoyment and pleasure you receive.
To me approaching woodworking as a money making activity takes from the satisfaction you receive in building "things"
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(02-03-2017, 09:05 PM)toolmiser Wrote: I've probably paid for them, don't know if I've made money. I know we have nicer things than I would or could have paid for.
(02-03-2017, 09:43 PM)MsNomer Wrote: How do you put a value on enjoyment, peace, pride, satisfaction, etc?
Both of those observations are mostly true for me.
Once you are a homeowner, and have a few basic skills, which can become more sophisticated over time, it's not even close.
ie, the pleasure and satisfaction of doing, and the use of things built/made/improved - stretching over years... Big plus.
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Posted by wood-chips - 11 hours ago
I never intended woodworking to be a money making endeavor. However I have earned some money for commissioned projects. And what I have earned pales in comparison to the money spent on tools.
And woodworking is not my only hobby. I also spend a significant amount on photography, shooting sports and recreational activities.
I enjoy doing all of them and like any other activity you spend money on them according to the enjoyment and pleasure you receive.
To me approaching woodworking as a money making activity takes from the satisfaction you receive in building "things"
This^^^^^^
I just enjoy building "stuff". Also have picked up many tips here. One of those being the saying "fast, good, cheap, pick two". Whenever someone wants something I tell them there is no time schedule. Typically something that should take a day or two takes me a week or three. If shop time starts to feel like a job, I'll take a day or two off. I also avoid weekend work and Wednesdays (shooting day). That my friends is the beauty of retirement, you just do what inspires you today.
Ken
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Location: Centre County Pennsylvania
pretty sure I've made money with my carpentry tools. Probably never will with my woodworking tools. Ok, so the idea of me making money with my woodworking tools borders on the laughable. I like buying tools.
One of my wife's colleagues just spent $7000 doing what I'm doing in our basement. So far I have about $1k into it and it might cost $1500 by the time I'm done. Getting my mom's house ready to sell like I did would have cost many thousands of $ that didn't make sense to spend, because it would have been a dead loss. Hard to guess how much money that was.
Can't think of similar savings with my mechanics tools, but those are in use just about constantly. Generally, I would prefer to hire work out if I can, but a lot of times what really needs to be done is something nobody is going to want to do correctly.
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I've been doing cabinetmaking for a living since 1985. Ever since, I've accumulated tools for both work and home. At one time, I had 2 sets of tools. Since the end of 2013, I've had them all at home. Probably this Spring, I'll downsize since it doesn't look like I'll ever work in a shop again. Because of the fact that I mostly used my tools at work, yes, they have been paid for, many times over. When you factor in the work I've done on my own houses, the payback increases. When you also factor in the side work that I've done, more payback. I usually bought specialty tools when needed. Theses have come in handy on future projects so they get paid for quickly in time saved.
I no longer build museums but don't want to change my name. My new job is a lot less stressful. Life is much better.
Garry
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(02-04-2017, 08:30 PM)wood-chips Wrote: To me approaching woodworking as a money making activity takes from the satisfaction you receive in building "things"
I can understand that point of view. But I have to say, I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction in building things people are willing to pay me for. And doing that has forced me to become a better woodworker and especially a better finisher. Challenging myself to learn new skills keeps woodworking fresh for me. You certainly don't have to be paid for it to learn those skills, but I doubt I'd have enough motivation to do it just for myself. It also makes new tools easy to justify to management.
That's the beauty of woodworking. There are many paths we can take to enjoy our time in the shop.
John
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