Need a Timber Machining Service?

[joiner_sim]

Hello everyone,
I'm thinking about topping up my earnings... However I have a few things I need to consider..... permission from my company to use their machines & be able to order materials thru them.

I am really just putting the idea out there for the time being to see if it is worth doing...

Who would really be interested in being able to order timber and sheet materials cut/ finished to specified sizes? And what sort of amounts could I expect in one order?

I don't have my own transport really (not large enough for more than 1.5metre lengths) so I'd have to consider couriers unless you was able to collect from the stourbridge, midlands area.

I would try and keep prices as low as possible. Is this an idea that someone on here would find helpful?

 

[dickm]

Might be worth attaching a poll to your post?
I wouldn't be interested in such a service, as I have my own machinery, but am guessing that there would be quite a few who aren't in that position and need good quality dimensioned stock.

 

[wizer]

Good idea Simon. I thought about doing this myself once. It would certainly be useful to beginners. People making small boxes, etc. Even small tables could see you machining the timber and sending it on.

Good luck, could be a winner.

 

[Doctor]

Worth a try to see if there is a market for it, you must have a very easy going boss.

I have a rule in my company, employees aren't allowed to make anything or buy anything through the company.

One rule, very simple to understand, no confusion.

The reason I implement this rule is because when I worked for my last employer, I asked to build a small table, no problem, within 5 years I had refitted my whole house (kitchen, 3 bedrooms etc etc) because he just did not and could not say no as it would appear unfair, to one employee or other.

I didn't pay for half the materials, glue, screws, electric plus half the timber was only "little bits" so no point in paying for that.

I don't want my employees taking advantage of me, I would rather pay them a bit more.

 

[joiner_sim]

Might work, but would need permission off my directors first...

If I can't get the permission, I will wait til I get my own house and workshop, I think dimensioned timber and cut to size sheet materials might be a good way to first start up in business.... with a nationwide delivery via courier or something..... that would possibly be where costs would rise without my control....

 

[Anonymous]

Not one to dampen your idea, but any good timber merchants will do what you are offering, I had thought of this exact idea a few years ago, but i never went any further with it.

However i reckon there might be a service, to a fashion where someone sends you a drawing or sketch with overall dims of say a tv cabinet, you work out the cutting list, price it, cut it and send it back.

just a thought

 

[joiner_sim]

Worth a try to see if there is a market for it, you must have a very easy going boss.

I don't know yet, as I've said would have to ask permission to use their workshop outside of normal working hours and I would not let them let me use materials for free.....

My last boss used to let me usethe machinists in work time to dimension all my timber up for furniture I would make at home, the materials were always free of charge lol.

But my new employer would not let me have materials for free, that I know. Not sure about using their machines though.....

 

[wizer]

Mark, in my experience, those good timber merchants can be hard to find. Most will just do 'PAR', which is literally just planed all round, not properly dimensioned.

 

[Anonymous]

i reckon i am just lucky then

 

[JohnBrown]

Also not wishing to dampen anything, but isn't one of the reasons that people have their own P/Ts because pre-dimensioned timber only works if the humidity doesn't change?

 

[Benchwayze]

i reckon i am just lucky then

I don't need this service as a rule.

But yes Mark, we are lucky in having a local yard that provides material to a cutting list. And a whole lot more besides.

If anyone in or near the West Midlands would like the name of at least one company, PM me.

John

 

[BradNaylor]

Most timber yards already offer this kind of service, so long as the quantities are sufficient. Many big kitchen manufacturers do not machine their own timber for cabinet doors etc, instead buying in PAR grooved to their own spec and then chopping it to the required lengths. I have bought this way myself on occasion and for a big job it saves a lot of time and can be worth the extra cost.

Timber yards do not generally offer this service for small quantities however; the reason must be that it is not profitable. If it was, they'd do it.

Sheet materials are a slightly different matter.

I was chatting to Karl about exactly this yesterday. He told me of a supplier close to us who is offering a cutting service on veneered MDF at what seems to be a very reasonable price. They operate 2 big computerised Altendorf saws and the results are far better than I can obtain from my old panel saw. The idea of being able to email them a cutting list of a bedroom full of veneered panels and getting all the pieces delivered a couple of days later is very attractive, and could potentially increase the production capacity of our tiny workshop considerably.

Offering this service definitely has legs. The investment necessary in the equipment and space needed however, is vast!

The trouble is as well though, that the end user still needs to have all the necessary machinery. Even if I bought in all the veneered panels I need for bedroom or kitchen carcasses I would still want to be able to cut my own door panels and drawer fronts so that I could select and match the grain pattern. So I still need a panel saw!

 

[devonwoody]

Only a couple of days ago I thought I would like another good quality shed (the cabin type with 30mm thick timber T & G) then wondered where I would get good quality timber machined to that thickness.
The trade seem to get the good quality stuff but buying this type of timber at a local timber merchants and asking to be machined is not the same quality in my opinion.

I think you would have the same problem unless you are buying direct from importers in large quantities and graded.

 

[Benchwayze]

Hi DW,

John,

I like to 'over engineer' at times, but that's heavyweight T&G you are after. That's the kind of material the Victorians used for industrial wooden buildings and I think Railway rolling stock was built with that kind of section too.

I would have thought that 18mm would be ample for a home shed, (Still thicker than the B&Q Rubbish) Even 25mm would seem like overkill to me. The 18mm might enable you to afford something like Cedar-wood which of course is very durable. Yes it would be expensive, but it would last.

Still, a 30mm thick shed wall does sound as if it might deter all but the most determined 'shed-breakers'.

Have you read 'Sheds' a DIY Guide? By a guy named Stiles. A great read, even if some of his design fall into the 'dream-shed' range here in UK!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sheds-yourself- ... 770&sr=1-1

Regards
John

 

[Anonymous]

Most timber yards already offer this kind of service, so long as the quantities are sufficient. Many big kitchen manufacturers do not machine their own timber for cabinet doors etc, instead buying in PAR grooved to their own spec and then chopping it to the required lengths. I have bought this way myself on occasion and for a big job it saves a lot of time and can be worth the extra cost.

Timber yards do not generally offer this service for small quantities however; the reason must be that it is not profitable. If it was, they'd do it.

Sheet materials are a slightly different matter.

I was chatting to Karl about exactly this yesterday. He told me of a supplier close to us who is offering a cutting service on veneered MDF at what seems to be a very reasonable price. They operate 2 big computerised Altendorf saws and the results are far better than I can obtain from my old panel saw. The idea of being able to email them a cutting list of a bedroom full of veneered panels and getting all the pieces delivered a couple of days later is very attractive, and could potentially increase the production capacity of our tiny workshop considerably.

Offering this service definitely has legs. The investment necessary in the equipment and space needed however, is vast!

The trouble is as well though, that the end user still needs to have all the necessary machinery. Even if I bought in all the veneered panels I need for bedroom or kitchen carcasses I would still want to be able to cut my own door panels and drawer fronts so that I could select and match the grain pattern. So I still need a panel saw!

I was thinking just that in my van dropping the wife off to work, as i felt bad about dampening slims idea, then it occurred to me not everyone will have a scribe blade, so actually if that was offerred at a good price i would probably use it too to free up my time for construction. but the service for me would need to be ideally cheaper than what i would do it for so i could still make profit on that side of things too, would that be achievable?? i am guessing it might well be as you would probably end up with bigger and better buying power than i would.

Benchswayze - i take it you are referring to GBS? I prefer the service of wheelers timber in erdington but ive been going there for years.

 

[devonwoody]

Benchwayze, It has got to match up to an existing cabin already in the garden which is also in full view of our living quarters hence the quality requirement. That existing cabin is 27mm thick timber which would need to be 30 to 33mm thick for replacement to match.
An 18mm timber would look a poor cousin next to it, if I was a young man I would dismantle the present cabin and go for a 24ft length and sell the present one which is now 12 years old and seems to be wearing well.

 

[markymark12]

I cannot see much of a market myself. Everyone will moan about how much it costs, well almost everyone, how many times do you see people commenting on how dear this or that is. people are too tight in the main. If you had a good enough response, how much time will you boss allow? a few hours here and there is one thing but more than that, i would not be happy myself, he is the one paying the bills for the tooling, knifes, etc.
Then the cost and time of sending, what if it gets lost? or damaged, a few pieces twist and they want replacements, you could be out of pocket very quickly.
I would think there is a very small market at best.
Sorry to rain on it, just being honest in my view. People are just too skint or tight. The others mostly enjoy the process themselves as part of the build.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Can't see it working. People will only want to use the service if it is cheap (but they'll expect a tip-top service :wink: ), but if it's cheap it won't be worth your while.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[wobblycogs]

I think a cutting / machining service could work but not the way you are currently planning it. The problem is that it would only be worth your while if you can get the volume high enough and refine your process enough that you can take advantage of economies of scale.

Nearly all of us struggle with full sheets of material, they are a pain to transport and cutting solutions generally seem to range from tricky to down right dangerous.

Personally I would like to see a service like this: all the service does is cut and ship sheet goods. It would be 100% on-line, I would submit (through the web site) a list of pieces that I need. The site would automatically lay them out and give me an instant price. I press buy button and a couple of days later the correctly dimensioned pieces of material arrive (along with the scraps from sheets that were used).

From a business point of view I see a warehouse with sheets of MDF and ply and an automated full sheet laser cutter or similar. Accuracy is really important but so is speed. The process needs to be as simple as throwing a sheet on the machine, pressing go then collecting the cut bits 5 minutes later.

Since the process would be so heavily automated the cost difference between just buying sheets and buying cut sheets should be fairly small, not more than a few pounds for most sheets (e.g. 15p/cut).

 

[beech1948]

I would'n initially say no.

I think there might be a business in cutting up sheet materials to a specific finished size cutting list. The business model will depend upon the following:-
1) Quality to product. No fuzzy edges, no mistakes,
2) Customer service. How to cope with damaged components, dented packs, lost packs, etc etc. The agreement with the transport carrier would be an essential start point to get them to manage the delivery as you would wish.
3) Access to space and suitable equipment. You might fairly quickly need to store 50 sheets of ply and MDF and you will need a moderate but accurate saw to cut sheets. It may be possible with Festool but possibly not due to handling issues.

The second part of the business model is if you are providing sheet cutting then why not also provide the biscuit cuts, drill holes etc etc and move into the added value "kit" approach to small furniture.

The task next is to determine the ideas. To one by one create a business model so that you can see the costs and income and determine the breakeven you need to make it a possible winner.

Suitable models might be some of the USA companies which provide furniture components or Uk companies which provide panel components.

good luck regards
Alan