Hello Everyone.

[Steve Lawrence-Hill]

Hello to everyone here.
My name is Steven Lawrence-Hill and i live in Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire.
Ive been a lorry driver for 26 years now but that is all to change now i have bought my first lathe, Its a Charnwood W820 and it is going to be the start of my new carreer in woodcraft, I will be turning what ever i learn to turn and building small items of furniture up to the size of coffee tables etc.
So far i have only had about an hours practice on the lathe because i dont have a shed or workshop as yet but i have done a simple candle stick and tried a few shapes.
Is there any one local enough to me to perhaps offer a small amount of workshop space so i can get started to turn bits and bobs to take to local markets and boot sales and hopefully to gain enough experience to become a full time turner and build up my own small cottage business. I can pay a small amount in rent to start and as things progress i will pay more.
For me this is a massive thing to change my whole life whilst supporting a wife and 3 children so any help and advice will be greatfully received.
Thanks for your time and hope to hear from you soon.

 

[NeilO]

Cant help out with th shop space Steve, but welcome to UKW Forum and I hope you enjoy your stay here..
Im sure someone may be along and can help you in locating some kind of space and hope your plans come to fruition.
you may want to post in the woodturning section for advice on turning as we have several members that are prolific in the amount and speed they seem to turn stuff out ( no pun intended).

Again Welcome...

 

[Benchwayze]

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the forum and the world of wood.

As Neil said you will get more specific advice from the experts in the turning section, but you will find loads of help and support anywhere in UKWorkshop. I am too far from you to assist with space, but all the same Good Luck in your future efforts; I'm sure you know; the harder you work; the luckier you get.

Regards
John

 

[BradNaylor]

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the forum, and to the world of woodworking.

While I admire your enthusiasm, I would I would temper it with a little caution. Making a good living out of wood-turning is not easy. At every craft fair there seem to be dozens of retired blokes displaying their wares, and hardly ever selling anything! And these are blokes who don't have a family to support - they can view these events as a hobby and a social gathering!

As in any other field of commerce, imported finished goods from China and other Asian countries are freely available at a fraction of the price that a maker in this country would have to charge. In order to break through this barrier, one has to be making and selling very special individual pieces at a high price. The skill levels neccesary to accomplish this kind of work take years to develop, and require a high degree of artistic talent to begin with.

I would urge you not to burn your bridges with paid employment just yet. Pursue woodworking as a hobby, improve your skills, and identify the areas in which a living can be made.

I really don't want to pi$$ on your parade Steve, and I wish you every success. However, as someone who makes a living out of woodworking I know how hard it can be to find one's niche. It has taken me ten years and two failed enterprises finally to get it right!

Oh, and I've never even had a go on a lathe!

:lol:

Cheers
Dan

 

[Benchwayze]

Hi Dan,
And sometimes I've seen retired blokes at these fairs, offering novice-built, 'country-furniture', and it's flying out of the doors!
There's no justice...



Regards
John

 

[Steve Lawrence-Hill]

Hi all and thanks for all the kind words.

My wife and i have worked out i can work with an Agency for 3 days of the week to keep our heads above water so i can spend 2 days practacing and we both love doing boot sales and markets anyway on a Sunday so we will not suffer in any way we can only benefit as time goes by.
I will Start on woon collected free from local craftsmen and saw mills as off cuts and sold at the markets at a reduced rate as to try to be in competition with the imported gear. Fliers will be distributed at the fairs as a way of getting Commision wk were more premium prices can be charged as i gain experience. I hope it all works out as long as we do not go short at home it can only go one way. Im never going to be rich but i will be happy.

 

[Benchwayze]

Im never going to be rich but i will be happy.

More the power to your elbow Steve. You might be the exception to prove the rule?
John

 

[Gary S]

Hi Steve,

Firstly well done on being so brave!! It's something many people on this forum would probably love to do but don't have the cahunas (if that's how you spell it?!) to do it.

You are lucky your job allows you to go half way into it - keep doing agency work to pay the bills but go headlong into your hobby to bring in some extra money and massive enjoyment!

Be positive, but be realistic - that would be my advice for what it's worth! Don't expect it to make you a rich man and you won't go too far wrong!

I have loads of english oak that's been air dried for a couple of years now - if you'd like to cover postage costs I could send you some of the offcuts when I have them? I've got dozens of 'sticks' used to stack the oak - it's about an inch square and about 3 foot long, not sure how useful this would be cut into, say, 6"-9" pieces for you to practise on? I'm not really a turner, so someone else could say how appropriate this would be for someone starting out and practising their skills.

It wouldn't be a massive, constant supply but the offer's there if you want it! Alternatviely, you could come and pick some up - I'm in Hertfordshire so we're not a million miles away from each other.

Cheers

Gary

 

[Benchwayze]

Steve,

Gary has a point there.
I am reorganising my shop at the moment and I am going to have a lot of scraps that might well be useful to a turner. So the same offer applies from me.

When I have things under control, I'll take some pics of what I have and if it's suitable, let me know.

Regards
John

 

[Steve Lawrence-Hill]

Thanks to every one. If you could pm me contact details i will be in touch as soon as i can find some dry storage space.

 

[lurker]

Steve,

Welcome to the site.

I'm afraid I have to agree with Dan.

I was looking as some really nice turned bowls ( in a display case in Wick airport) only yesterday afternoon and thinking whoever had made them (assuming the wood was free) was paying themselves about £2 per hour at the price he was selling at. And that assumed every job turned out OK.

 

[Escudo]

Welcome aboard Steve,

Good luck with your new venture. I think I generally speak for everyone in that it would be nice to be able to give up our day jobs (which we may or may not like) to pursue a career in woodworking.

Philly has real experience of this jump. Quite a challenge for sure.

However, to my mind it is very difficult to make an acceptable living unless you have outstanding skills, years of experience, wealthy patrons and clients. (or you like doing kitchens?)

This site is evidence alone of the number of seriously skilled amateurs who will happily take a commission for family or friends and work at cost, perhaps with a small margin to replace and buy tools. It is very hard for professionals like Dan to compete with these individuals on a like for like basis (overheads, time resources, business red tape etc.)

I think you are very wise to keep options open, do a bit of agency work while you learn new skills and find a market for your wares. Incidentally I have a client who makes a little (tiny profit) from doing bird boxes / tables, rabbit hutches, chicken runs etc. That is not a bad way to start as skill levels are not that demanding and materials can be found on the cheap.

All the best and good luck.

Regards, Tony.

 

[Bodrighy]

Professional turners make their money in several ways

• Teaching
  Demonstrations
  Gallery type work
  Commission

Selling things via galleries, craft sales etc is not usually profitable unless you are either a known name or living in America. There are a few pros on here that may come in with some stats. Teaching and demos seem to be a good way but you need to be good, and ideally have some experience of teaching. Commisssions can be profitable but again, making 200 rails or stair balustrades could take the fun out of it. Have a look here at some of the ideas and recommendations. I, and a lot of us amateurs sell our stuff to finance our addiction but few of us have the guts (cajones) to go as far as you, Keep us up to date with how it goes, maybe your expeience will give some of us the shove we need to jump in the deep end

Pete

 

[Steve Lawrence-Hill]

Just going out for a ride in the car this morning has bagged me a 20ft Container in a farm yard with power for £23.50 per week plus Lecky. I just have to pass it with the Mrs and for her to let me use the Plastic to get what i need to get started like Timber for workbench, Chisels, and a new Chuck 3/4" 16pti if anyone has a spare going for peanuts lol.

 

[neilyweely]

excellent behaviour steven.

My name is Neil, and I am in Bedford.

Look forward to picking your brains.

cheers

 

[Digit]

Well you're off to a good start so the best of luck.

Roy.