Hey everyone! New member here..I'd like to start by tipping my hat to other members and the old guard around here. Also, not sure if this is right place to post this..so sorry if it belongs somewhere else.
I've grown up doing a lot of small projects (some zebrawood picture frames, small tables, Adirondack chairs from cypress, pressure treated, and redwood, and some other random projects) and I'm always reading something woodworking related so I have quite a bit of know-how and experience when it comes to making things..at least for my age, 21.
The reason I've come here for help is these two words: mass production. I'm working with a friend on designing and manufacturing a product whose sales would go to support one or more causes. Not sure yet on the causes we want to support, but I would like to support something local and something international (one idea for international we have thought about is supporting the construction of schools in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan..provides education to those who otherwise would not receive it and it offers an alternative to radical Taliban schooling).
Anyways, I have drawn the design many times tweaking and retweaking it and I have finally come up with a design I like which is a good balance of design and practicality to manufacture. I don't want to give too many details about the design since we will be making and (hopefully) selling it and supporting things that will make the world a better place, but I'll try to give you guys enough info so you can understand what we are trying to do and offer up some suggestions.
It is going to be a hard cover bound (like a book) wooden case. The wooden case will divide right down the middle (like you were opening up to the middle of a book). When you open it up there is storage on each side for two predetermined items. Rough dimensions for the finished product are 8"x6"x1". I would like to use one piece of wood for the whole thing and bookmatch it on either side. It seems like everything that is mass produced out of wood these days is getting cheaper and cheaper in quality and it would be awesome to be able to offer a quality woodworking product that can also meet a need for a lot of people. So here are the two things I need help with, so far at least, haha:
1. Wood selection: I want to use as nice of a wood as possible given the price restraints of making a product that will be sold. Also, it needs to be strong along the grain. I need something that will be fairly strong (it will have the hard cover binding so it will have some help) when it is only about 5 inches wide and 3/32"-1/8" thick. I picked up some hard maple at Capitol City to make a candle centerpiece that was featured in a Woodsmith a while back and will experiment with that..seems to be a pretty solid wood for a reasonable price. It's not very figured, but it's still better than most wood that is used for mass producing stuff. Any advice out there for wood selection? I'd like to try several so I can choose what is best. I'd also like to buy locally.
2. Manufacturing: If I was just making one or two or even 100, I would make some router templates and get to work. But IF there ends up being a lot of demand (we will advertise thru a website and Amazon) I can't continue to make them. I've never done anything with a CNC but I think it should be able to do the job. Does anyone know anybody local who does CNC work?
Well I think that's about all my brain can handle for right now. I know there is more info I will need, but there will be plenty of space for that later on! Again, the main goal of this is to support several causes and not necessarily turning a profit. Whenever possible I would like to support local guys, whether it is purchasing lumber or manufacturing so that we can have something to be proud of.
Thanks in advance! I'll check back later tonight.
I've grown up doing a lot of small projects (some zebrawood picture frames, small tables, Adirondack chairs from cypress, pressure treated, and redwood, and some other random projects) and I'm always reading something woodworking related so I have quite a bit of know-how and experience when it comes to making things..at least for my age, 21.
The reason I've come here for help is these two words: mass production. I'm working with a friend on designing and manufacturing a product whose sales would go to support one or more causes. Not sure yet on the causes we want to support, but I would like to support something local and something international (one idea for international we have thought about is supporting the construction of schools in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan..provides education to those who otherwise would not receive it and it offers an alternative to radical Taliban schooling).
Anyways, I have drawn the design many times tweaking and retweaking it and I have finally come up with a design I like which is a good balance of design and practicality to manufacture. I don't want to give too many details about the design since we will be making and (hopefully) selling it and supporting things that will make the world a better place, but I'll try to give you guys enough info so you can understand what we are trying to do and offer up some suggestions.
It is going to be a hard cover bound (like a book) wooden case. The wooden case will divide right down the middle (like you were opening up to the middle of a book). When you open it up there is storage on each side for two predetermined items. Rough dimensions for the finished product are 8"x6"x1". I would like to use one piece of wood for the whole thing and bookmatch it on either side. It seems like everything that is mass produced out of wood these days is getting cheaper and cheaper in quality and it would be awesome to be able to offer a quality woodworking product that can also meet a need for a lot of people. So here are the two things I need help with, so far at least, haha:
1. Wood selection: I want to use as nice of a wood as possible given the price restraints of making a product that will be sold. Also, it needs to be strong along the grain. I need something that will be fairly strong (it will have the hard cover binding so it will have some help) when it is only about 5 inches wide and 3/32"-1/8" thick. I picked up some hard maple at Capitol City to make a candle centerpiece that was featured in a Woodsmith a while back and will experiment with that..seems to be a pretty solid wood for a reasonable price. It's not very figured, but it's still better than most wood that is used for mass producing stuff. Any advice out there for wood selection? I'd like to try several so I can choose what is best. I'd also like to buy locally.
2. Manufacturing: If I was just making one or two or even 100, I would make some router templates and get to work. But IF there ends up being a lot of demand (we will advertise thru a website and Amazon) I can't continue to make them. I've never done anything with a CNC but I think it should be able to do the job. Does anyone know anybody local who does CNC work?
Well I think that's about all my brain can handle for right now. I know there is more info I will need, but there will be plenty of space for that later on! Again, the main goal of this is to support several causes and not necessarily turning a profit. Whenever possible I would like to support local guys, whether it is purchasing lumber or manufacturing so that we can have something to be proud of.
Thanks in advance! I'll check back later tonight.
