What can I make from wood to sell online?

March 12, 2009 3:03 PM

What can I make from wood to sell online?

I like to make things out of wood and want to make more things, but I don't have the space to keep anything I make. So I thought I might try to make things to sell online. Maybe through ebay. What sort of wooden things do you think are in demand that are not too big to go in the post?

My skills are fair but my tools are at present, limited to hand tools.

posted by jcwilliams to work & money (17 comments total)

There are a lot of ideas if you type "woodwork" in etsy.com
posted by bensherman at 3:10 PM on March 12

Raised feeders for tall dogs sell well. I bought mine on Etsy.
posted by BostonTerrier at 3:28 PM on March 12

Hardwood piercing jewelry doesn't seem like it would pose any insurmountable challenges. And the money seems pretty good, though the market probably isn't all that large.

(If you decide to go this route, MeMail me and I'll buy your first pair.)

Or be like Lester Freamon, and make dollhouse furniture.
posted by box at 3:30 PM on March 12 [1 favorite has favorites]

Bat houses?
posted by spilon at 3:33 PM on March 12

Charging Stations seem to be the new hotness, can be quite simple (or quite elaborate) and you could ace out the commercially sold models with the following simple things that they don't provide:

- power-strip or power-squid already installed, thus allowing for
- installed exterior master on/off switch, (because the charging devices that the user will put in it all waste phantom power when off)
- customer choice of wood colour and finish. And perhaps how many bays it has.

Charging stations benefit a bit from being custom made for the space/area the person wants to put them, and matched to their decor, so consider going the etsy route, or otherwise setting yourself up so that people can commission a work from you, rather than trying to find a buyer who likes your arbitrary choice of features.
posted by -harlequin- at 3:39 PM on March 12

Pens?
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:46 PM on March 12

turgid, pay attention, he said he has access to hand tools at the moment, not a lathe.
posted by MLIS at 4:35 PM on March 12

Headphone stand? Two prongs to wrap the cord around would be a nice feature too. Not sure what tools you might need, just an idea :)
posted by extramundane at 4:54 PM on March 12

Briefcases. The fifties are on the way back....
posted by IndigoJones at 5:29 PM on March 12

Remote control organizers/stands.
posted by torquemaniac at 6:40 PM on March 12

Nutcracker.

Might involve a little metalwork to put a plate at the end of the pressing piece, but this type of screw-style nutcracker works *really* *really* well and after you figure out the mechanics, you can play around with the ergonomics (or different sizes for different sized hands/nuts).

--

Make people wooden keyboards? Replace the plastic bezels of LCDs/HD TVs with hardwood?
posted by porpoise at 7:16 PM on March 12

Did someone say charging stations made of wood? I made some (the original; the MkII). Tough to sell. Easy to give away.
posted by notyou at 7:55 PM on March 12

Do you own a lathe? I used to make pens and pencils- they can be quite high-end gifts when you make them properly. People love them. You can buy the kits at woodworking stores. It is not very difficult to do. I miss my lathe!
posted by Piscean at 8:55 PM on March 12

Oh I misread - you do not own a lathe. Too bad.... but the other ideas listed are quite interesting.
posted by Piscean at 8:56 PM on March 12

You can easily make high-quality chess/checker and backgammon boards (Heck, backgammon sets.).

I'd buy those in an instant.
posted by unixrat at 9:08 PM on March 12

Chopping boards?
posted by primer_dimer at 5:13 AM on March 13

Pipes. For smoking. Ahem. tobacco.
posted by Muirwylde at 4:29 PM on March 17