Hardwood Costs?

[bannerd]

Hey all, been sawing wood for 11 years and figured with the amount of hardwood I have drying I would try and make things with it. So I made a few cutting boards and butcher block tables, charcuterie boards.

A lot of people will tell me that I'm a rip off or $100 cutting board is a joke.. My PTSD kicks in and I remember the day the dust was flying, sawmill was idling and I was struggling with a cant hook to roll this 3000lb log onto the sawmill.

I'm use to selling rough cut lumber but it takes me awhile to plane and sand these things. I'm very new to doing this side of the woodworking but how do you determine the cost of something? Cheers!

 

[K13]

What are your boards like? I can buy basic, hand made, built in Canada maple or walnut cutting boards for under $40.00 Cdn (which is under $30 USD)but there are also fancy ones out there that run hundreds of dollars. Seems like a pretty flooded market these days so customers have a lot to choose from. You obviously have to price them so you are profiting but also need to take into account there are tons of people doing this. A basic google search to see what others are making and selling for will give you an idea of what the market is like and where you need to be priced based on what you are building to compete.

 

[legenddc]

Just go on Etsy or Facebook marketplace and you can see how much people are listing their products for. I see some by me listed anywhere from $65 for a plain 10"x16"x2" cherry cutting board to a $100 end grain white oak and walnut 11"x17"x1" with a juice groove.

Having a story behind your boards might help them sell better, i.e., this board was made by trees in Upstate County, NY.

I've seen boards so cheap sometimes on Facebook marketplace that I've thought about buying them as presents and using my free time for something else.

 

[Renegade1LI]

Rough sawn is cheap and plentiful i can't believe how cheap but seems a lot of guys bought saw mills. I almost made the mistake of buying a mill, as much as I would like to have one i don't see a profitable market. Not saying your times not worth it, but as a hobbiest it's probably cheaper to by the woods. I bought a trailer load of oak and poplar that will last me a long time, for cheap. Meanwhile, go to HD and buy a piece of 1 x 4 oak it's like 4$ lin ft.

 

[dcg9381]

My brother is in the "business" and owns a huge sawmill. In Texas, he pretty much gets raw materials at his "his cost" of removal, meaning the cost to own/maintain and operate heavy equipment and the truck to transport it.

He either builds very very high end commercial size tables out of the slabs or recently he's been "wholesaling" out vast quantities of raw slabs for others to finish. The power alone that is required to properly heat, dry, and have a "raw slab" that isn't cracked or warped is substantial.

It's different up north where you pay good money for the right tree. Here people pay to have them removed. And it's not cheap. He picks and chooses select trees with "historical / sentimental" value. Most of these trees are dead, dying, or are being removed due to the process of civilization.

A lot of people will tell me that I'm a rip off or $100 cutting board is a joke.. My PTSD kicks in and I remember the day the dust was flying, sawmill was idling and I was struggling with a cant hook to roll this 3000lb log onto the sawmill.

I was just at an "vendor fair" where similar cutting boards were being offered in that range. She didn't look like someone in the sawmill business to me, so I asked her about it: She doesn't harvest wood or process wood at all. She buys "blanks" and then does minor laser etching and her own finishing. But yea, the time it takes to turn a raw log into something pretty is very substantial.

I milled a few logs about 2 years ago, we had someone with a portable sawmill come out on site. It was very hard work. Then you sit and wait for them to dry after stacking them properly, which requires a ton of space.

 

[jar944]

Rough sawn is cheap and plentiful i can't believe how cheap but seems a lot of guys bought saw mills. I almost made the mistake of buying a mill, as much as I would like to have one i don't see a profitable market. Not saying your times not worth it, but as a hobbiest it's probably cheaper to by the woods. I bought a trailer load of oak and poplar that will last me a long time, for cheap. Meanwhile, go to HD and buy a piece of 1 x 4 oak it's like 4$ lin ft.

For some reason locally at least small band mill guys were trying to sell air dried un graded lumber at 150% of what retail yards were selling kiln dried FAS for. I'm not really sure what they were thinking, but they don't seem to be selling anything anymore.

 

[gba2331]

I have a mill and have made cutting boards that I considered selling, then ran into this situation. I don’t have a solution other than that my boards would be boutique vs commercial. It’s not worth my time commercially and when I give them away I include the story of the trees.

 

[The Cobbler]

we are in a society where things are mass produced & we cannot buy the material for the cost of the mass produced item.
Many years ago I was making wooden crates for CD's & DVD's , the time alone to make a nice job if billed at $30 per hr, I wouldn't be able to sell them. never mind the cost of the wood & consumables.
They were Christmas gifts so it didn't matter, but it wouldn't have been a money maker unless I sourced cheap wood & much faster production .

 

[ScepterToad]

I don't personally think $100 for a cutting board, especially it's it's nicely made (and custom really), is out of line.

I was at a craft fair last year and an old guy was selling his bowls that he turned on the lathe. VERY nice work, nice wood, the whole bit. I was shocked that he was selling for around $35 per bowl for a medium size. You could tell that he really loved doing it just by talking to him. Couldn't pass it up at such a reasonable price.

 

[gmcgeo]

Depends on the board, if you are just cutting a slab and sanding down then the $100 isnt worth it.

If you are taking time to make custom boards with patterns that take multiple glue ups and hours of sanding for the end grain boards. they can go for 100s.


Post up some of the boards you're making

 

[tyyost]

The market will bear what the market will bear. While I don’t think you are out of line it seems cutting boards have become a niche all thier own. With the advantage of CNC routers and lasers in your home Shop, the customization and personalization of common goods is becoming a marketing strategy of its own. I’d second the take a look at what similar products are selling for in your area.

I have seen cutting boards selling at what you’re asking and beyond locally in different locations, but I’ll never see anyone buying them. As the others have said, post up some pictures and let us see what you’re doing.

 

[Dagny]

I would not cut anything on something that pretty. nope could not do it.

 

[RonnieC]

I would not cut anything on something that pretty. nope could not do it.

Yeah I made some small cutting boards for family members for Christmas a few years back. I included a fairly nice paring knife and a small bottle of cutting board oil. Everyone liked them but no one used them because they were “too nice.” And they were no where close to the pics posted above.

 

[legenddc]

Yeah I made some small cutting boards for family members for Christmas a few years back. I included a fairly nice paring knife and a small bottle of cutting board oil. Everyone liked them but no one used them because they were “too nice.” And they were no where close to the pics posted above.

I had to convince my in-laws to use theirs. I said if it gets messed up I can make them another. If not I was just going to use it the next time I was there.

 

[gmcgeo]

A quality made hardwood end grain should not damage easily. It should be able to be used for years if taken care of

 

[gba2331]

Yeah I made some small cutting boards for family members for Christmas a few years back. I included a fairly nice paring knife and a small bottle of cutting board oil. Everyone liked them but no one used them because they were “too nice.” And they were no where close to the pics posted above.

I tell them to use it and if it gets rough I can resand it. No takers yet but at least they have been told.

 

[rust in the eye]

Not knowing the type of board or quality of your work I submit that NICE boards ARE expensive; https://www.johnboos.com/

 

[NUTTSGT]

Are you able or winning to take a CC for payment ? If you can, it'll open you up to a larger market. .. those that don't see the cash leaving their hand. People will buy anything they can if they can use plastic.

 

[My Old Tools]

I have a couple i made, walnut with cherry strips, nothing fancy at all, but pretty big. We use the hell out of them and they are very scared up. They still work great. One is big enough for a 16" pizza.