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Hi from London (UK)....

Billy Hall

Billy Hall

Member
Messages
2
Location
London, England
Hi. I just came acrooss your site whilst looking for things to make with my new found passion of working with wood! I suppose it's been said a thousand times before...but as I approach retirement (57), I could do with eeking out my pension a little in these credit crunch days.
Any suggestions welcome - I've managed to make and sell a few Scrabble turntables....but that's it so far!!
Great site, and so much of it.
Regards,
Billy
:wave:
 
Yes, I heard there was still a guy with dial-up. You must be him. ;)
Cheers and welcome.
Most of us are looking for things to sell. Many of us do with varying degrees of success and profit. I have been selling pens with unpredictable monthly results. Some months quite a few and some months none. Vaughn, OTOH, is getting rich selling turned bowls. Right, Vaughn?
 
Welcome Billy. Take a look at a site like Penn State or Woodcraft there are lots of goodies to make to look at selling. Depends on your market and your skill.

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/turning-project-kits.html

http://www.woodcraft.com/depts.aspx?deptid=1051&topnav=true

With the value of the Pound to the dollar right now you can pick up some of these things pretty cheaply for your market. Then there is always good old Lee Valley
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&cat=1,250&p=43298

These are some links to ideas where some of the material is available.

Hey whats your interests. What do your friends do?

All the best getting started. You will find tons of help from the guys on this forum. I am still overwhelmed by the availability of help and advice.
 
Hi Billy:wave: I'd like to see your scrabble turntable! I made a scrabble table with a built in turntable for my wife a while back, and it presented some challenges to say the least. I'll show mine if you show yours:D:rofl: Cheers, Barry
 
Welcome Billy

Hi Billy
Don't feel to bad we just converted from dial-up to cable internet. As far as this site goes this, in my opinion is one of the best group of people for help with anything wood related, so you've come to the right place. Glad to have you. One suggestion though if you mention your work attach a photo, we love to see all of it from start to finish.
Dawn
 
Frank Fusco said:
...Vaughn, OTOH, is getting rich selling turned bowls. Right, Vaughn?
Click to expand...
What's that, Frank? I can't hear you with all this money coming out of my ears. Heck, I can barely see my computer monitor due to all the stacks of $100 bills I have laying around here. :rofl:

Welcome to the clubhouse, Billy. :p :wave:

I've sold a few pieces, but I'm thankful that I'm not trying to do this to put food on the table. What you make for sale depends a lot on what you enjoy making. When I started back into woodworking a few years ago, I was making and selling quite a few cutting boards. At about the same time I was getting tired of making cutting boards, I started playing with a lathe, and got hooked on making round stuff. I sold quite a few pens at first -- paid for my first couple lathes with pen sales -- but they didn't hold my interest as much as bowls and hollow forms did. These days I primarily make (and try to sell) the bowls and hollow forms. I could likely make more money selling smaller, lower-priced items, but I wouldn't be enjoying my shop time as much.
 
Type of Lathe...

....and thank you for all your welcome messages. I think I've done the right thing here, even though I may be over the pond from you! And, the pound (not that horrible euro) isn't buying as many dollars as it was, sadly.
I know this is the introduction page but can I have a small bit of advice on my first lathe - one which may do pens and bowls if that's possible?
Thanks again for making me welcome.....
Regards,
Billy
:clap:
 
Billy Hall said:
...can I have a small bit of advice on my first lathe - one which may do pens and bowls if that's possible?...
Click to expand...
How much money do you have? :D

Seriously, most lathes that can turn a bowl can also turn smaller items like pens and bottle stoppers. The size of the bowl is limited by the size of the lathe, but even the small lathes like the Jet mini lathe can turn bowls...up to 10 or 12 inches in diameter, depending on the model. And keep in mind that the lathe usually ends up being only the beginning of the money spent. There are lots of additional pieces that add up in cost -- things like chucks, turning tools, sanding equipment, dust collection, etc.

A lot of folks start with the Jet mini lathe or something similar. Others start with a used lathe. You can often find bigger used lathes for about the same price as a new mini lathe. I started with a $99 Wilton mini lathe, then a few months later bought a used full-size Sears lathe for about $300. Made quite a few nice pieces on the Sears lathe. About 6 months later I was buying a Powermatic 3520B for about $3000. I've not added it all up, but I suspect I've spent more than that in additional turning equipment and electrical improvements to support the habit.
 
welcome billy,,i dont know if you heardor not but thw world is flat not round so with that bit of information you wont need a lathe,,just saws and chisels and drills..forget about the round stuff it is just a dream:):rofl: those folks are just in a vortex and are tryun to draw you in as well:rofl::thumb:
 
Annnnnnnd......a BIG Welcome from TEXAS, Billy. (Ya gotta watch out for them TURNERS, 'cause they'll SURE Spend your Money for ya if your not careful).:D
 
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