Have you thought of how to make money from woodworking in your own garage?
Imagine having a workshop in your garage or backyard for woodworking projects and making money out of that as a side hustle
Shaping and sanding your wood to finish your piece of furniture instead of buying it
You’ll save 80% of its money who knows maybe sell your woodworking for an extra income
Sounds interesting and eager to know how to make money from woodworking in your garage
Can you make money woodworking at home?
Yes making money woodworking in garage or any unused room at home is possible
Especially if you start with small scale with one or two woodworking projects
Start with one woodworking project and try to market it
You master these woodworking pieces so you can produce them in bulk
Later on you can take orders then produce your woodworking piece
Is woodworking a good side job?
Woodworking is an easy to learn hobby
You need to learn how to hold firmly the tools and practice extreme cautions
Any mistake with saw can cause God forbids injury
The good news is that woodworking is a multi level projects where you can start right away with beginners projects
You can upgrade yourself as you go further with your projects trying new things
I recommend when you create any woodworking project to try to promote it
And create few pieces as the learning curve to create extra copies take less time than when creating the original woodworking piece
What tools should you buy to get started?
You can start buying few tools to get you ready and productive
Later on if it goes really well, you may need to upgrade the tools
Keep in mind you’re working as a one man show so the below are the best to start with
Circular saw – you need it if you are cutting wooden bars in straight lines
Cordless drill – definitely you need a portable easy to move around without the wire cable
Orbital jig saw – essential if you are cutting share like circular or oval into the wood
Random orbit sander – easy to smooth the wood instead of wasting time with sand papers
RIDGID wet/dry vacuum – I decided to add this one later as you need to clean after yourself
All the above components are less than $250 and you will be ready on the way of how to make money from woodworking in your garage or backyard
How much does it cost to start a woodworking at home?
As I said earlier with less than $200 you can buy all the above tools without RIDGID wet/dry vacuum
You can start doing many simple woodworking projects using the above tools
Before working on any woodworking project compare how much money you will invest in lumber for each project and how much you would sell it for
I recommend you choose the wooden project that costs you less lumber especially if the selling price is not that low
Where to buy your wood for your woodworking projects?
You need a wood that should be almost ready to use
If you buy wood from lumber store you will buy rough wood
You need to smooth its ends and use the orbit sander to smooth its surface
I know it would be good to use lumber as is if you are using it for rustic signs the one you place at the front door
But that’s not the case for most of the woodworking projects
In this case, you need to buy what is called S4S which stands for Surface 4 Sides
Which means the lumber is treated on all the 4 sides and ready for you to use it
There is also S2S – Surface 2 Sides and S3S – Surface 3 Sides
Most lumber stores like HomeDepot or Lowes have sections for S2S, S3S and S4S but they are expensive than lumber as it will save time for you
With how To make money with woodworking in your garage, you have to be smart and use the right type of surface sides wood
For example, if you are making rustic table you can use S3S as you don’t need to smooth underneath the table wooden board
How much do self employed woodworkers make?
It is very tough question as any self employed job relies on the owner’s reputation and how smart he/she is in managing the business
I can tell you those who work in woodworking companies earn an average between $39,000 and $72,000
First you start making money with your woodworking project in garage as a part time
Then if it is making you good money in a sense like 2 hours a day brings you half of what you make from your full time job
You would start to think about turning it to full time and switching your current job to part time to minimize the risk
What is hourly rate for woodworking?
According to FDMC’s pricing survey the average hourly rate in U.S. and Canada is between $35 and $85 per hour
Keep in mind woodworking projects vary in price according to wooden items being made and quality of finished materials
Which woodworking projects are easy to do in your garage right away?
Simple dinner table as you see the table below does not have any curves, grooves or wood carvings
Just a table board and four simple legs
Shelf to hand on the wall enough to carry books or place antiques on
It doesn’t require lot of work
Keep in mind that you have to cut the horizontal bars from the two sides and the middle to inject the 3 vertical wooden bars
Outdoor bench that you can place in your backyard or at your door front
Indoor or outdoor chairs that doesn’t require any grooves or wood carvings
Simple two steps stair to store in your walk-in closet or washroom
Side table with few wood carvings but also you can make it with simple wooden bars
The above recommended tools cannot do the wood carvings
Garden plant basin that you can make from any lumber so materials are cheap
Shoe rack which looks like a bench with no back but with middle rack to store more shoes
Wooden ladder it can be used as a decorative item or to hand the towels in your washroom
Coat Rack keep it simple similar to the one you hand on your doors but surround it by 3 wooden sides one on top and two on both sides
Rustic candle holder this woodworking project won’t take any time and you can produce it in bulk items easily
Picture frames this is the easiest woodworking project you can start with
Wooden trays for coffee/tea or for decorations
How do you price your woodworking products?
It doesn’t make sense to assign a specific amount to your finished wooden product less than the item price in the marketplace, it doesn’t work like that
The right way is to calculate the following to come up with the right price
1- Materials
Materials are crucial factor and tricky for how to make money from woodworking project from your garage but why?
Well, you have to make sure to cut lumber into pieces that can save you money
Even if you cut a piece that you can use in another woodworking project
Same thing when buying your lumber where you can buy shorter wooden bars and get rid of their leftovers
This is better than buying longer wooden bars which are more expensive
2- Labor – how many hours on your side
When you start you can take 8 hours in one single woodworking project
Later on it can take you 5 hours but it will never go less than that
I meant you have to calculate optimum hours you put in any woodworking project
Next step is to charge an average rate for woodworking job not too low or high
3- Overhead costs
Come up with rent and utilities for your workshop
I know we are talking about how to make money from woodworking in your owngarage
But keep in mind you are using electricity and space in your home dedicated to your woodworking projects
I would say come up with the average workspace percentage your whole property
Then calculate your overhead costs by dividing your utility bills by the percentage of your workshop space and then by the percentage of the total hours to all the hours you can work part time during any given month
For example, if you use your garage which is 5% of your entire property space and you need 8 hours to complete your woodworking project
Assume you work 20 days in any given month with 2 hours each day
So you divide your bills let’s say $100 by 5% = $5 by 8 hours/20 days x 2 hours each day
This is equal $5 by 8/40 ~ $5 by 20% = $1
4- Advertisement
Ask yourself if you need to advertise on Facebook or any social media like Instagram
How can you market your woodworking business?
If you really want to make money advertising your woodworking project from your garage then you will have to follow all the methods below
Prepare the perfect shots for your woodworking project
Whatever your woodworking project is perfect and master piece
You have to prove it with the perfect shots
To take the perfect shot you need a good camera like Nikon D750
If you feel it is expensive you can look in the Nikon family for a cheaper one
What is more important is the background or staging environment
I mean like when you put your woodworking project on a table you don’t want a reflection or showing your room in the background
That’s why photography table is a good fit for your perfect shots
Create brochure or flyer with all your woodworking projects
I recommend to build a website for your business and add your woodworking projects there and expected time to send ship your items
But if you are not willing to do that then create brochure or flyer with all your woodworking projects
Start selling in antique stores
Look for stores that are not chain stores like Pier1
Negotiate with the owner to list your woodworking projects with what you intend to sell your items for and they can adjust their prices to make profit from your items
Sell your woodworking on Etsy
Etsy is a well equipped platform that helps you sell to your customers as most users who visit Esty stores are looking for candles, wood crafts and decorating items
This means you are in the perfect platform promoting the perfect niche
You can also create a Pinterest account and link your woodworking projects to your Etsy store
Sell in your neighborhood
What I meant by neighborhood is all the apps that can reach your neighbors in the city where you live in like Facebook Marketplace or an app called Nextdoor
Also you can try to open new market on eBay and Craiglist
Build social media accounts
Woodworking projects are a good fit on social media like Pinterest and Instagram
Focus on the above social media accounts but also you can establish your woodworking projects on Twitter and Facebook
Buy advertisement in woodworking or home design magazines
You have to test different magazines that have good number of readers
Keep in mind these magazines have to be highly relevant
Test sending direct mails in your neighborhood
Post mailing service can send flyers that can reach every mailbox in your area
Or you can choose a newly constructed area where the demand on your woodworking projects is high
Rent booth space in any trade shows
Apply the same concept to what I suggested to social media accounts
I mean choose relevant trade shows like home remodeling or antique shows
What handmade wood items sell best?
Below are not only best handmade wood items to make money from woodworking in your garage but also the simplest and most convenient woodworking products
Why? because you don’t need any talented skills to cut the wood in round or oval lines
- Coat racks
- Tea or coffee trays
- Picture frames
- Garden plant basin
- Wall shelves
Is woodworking a dying trade?
Woodworking is not a dying trade at all
On the contrary, it is an original trade that will continue to develop as home owners started to add new product lines to the market
Think about IKEA and how they get their designers to create innovative woodworking products every season
Where can I get free woodworking plans?
That’s a very good question
Actually there are so many sites like Free Wood Working Plan
Another site I found it to be useful is Wood Workers Workshop