Very cool piece. I'd rather build than buy. My Son and his Wife wanted a large butcher block dining table out of walnut, oak, and tiger maple. Over $3,000 from a store. I built them one for just under $500 by sourcing the wood from a local sawmill. You just proved you can make a show piece out of construction lumber. Fantastic job, thanks for sharing.
Now add that to the cost of a miter saw, a table saw, a router to trim the edges, a workbenh, a few chisels, I could go on. I GETS CHEAPER as you build more things.
I'm not sure how much it had cost me, but about 4 or 5 years ago I built my wife a rustic king-size bed for Christmas. (I found plans online.) It was my first major woodworking project. The thing still holds up and I've had complements on it.
You have a lot invested in your woodworking tools. Any furniture making shop does as well. The cost of that equipment and workspace get included in the cost to make furniture. Also the cost of labor. People don’t work for free. Overall cost is more that just material cost.
True, but those tools can be used over and over for years or even decades. Buying $5000 worth of tools to save $5000 on furniture doesn't make sense if you're only doing it once. If you do it twenty times, you'll save a fortune.
Let’s see spend $5k on a table you have a table. Spend $5.1k on materials and tools you have a table and $5k worth of tools. I buy tools all the time because I use them more then once even if the tools are 20% more then buying something.
Always depend on the project and the money you spend on materials. You can realize 95% of projects with a circular saw with rails, router and drill. You don't need more powertools to start woodworking.
Depends on what you might buy at the furniture store, compared to what type of wood and how fancy you’re going to make it. Time is valuable too. You have to figure your labor just as you would for a customer build.
I’ve been woodworking for over 45 years and I have to say that it’s been a life saving hobby for me over the years. But, it’s an expensive hobby. If you want pieces in beautiful timbers and to fit a certain pace, you need to go bespoke. Getting one piece made bespoke is cheaper than buying the tools, learning the skills and making that piece yourself. The equation balance alters if you want many pieces and you enjoy working with wood. If you want cheapest - certainly here in the UK - buy at auctions. You can get exquisite antique pieces for (almost criminally) low prices. George II sideboards in beautiful flame mahogany for £50; oak long case clocks for £80. Why? Because the styles and the “brown” furniture are just not fashionable. Try and buy a 1960’s teak coffee table and you’ll pay hundreds. Look for an antique flame mahogany Demi lune table, £50? Taste is personal. I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s and those mid century pieces don’t attract me.
@@theofarmmanager267You have way more woodworking experience than I do, but you are right about woodworking being an expensive hobby, but that's true for any hobby, depending on how serious and often you do it. Even the simple sport of running can be pricey.
@@Abenteuerlich77 I’d partly agree. At one level, buying used hand tools and cheap timber (such as pallets), it can be a low barrier entry hobby. However, as soon as you start getting the bug, yes, the cost rises. And rises. And rises. Where my fears lie is that newcomers are either put off taking up the hobby or think that they have to spend a fortune to get started. I’m afraid I started when there were no electric tools available for hobbyists (even before electric drills were commonly available), adhesives could be home made (boiling up hides and bones) and abrasives could be made from dried fish skin (we used dog fish skin which a member of the shark family). So my cost entry was about as low as you can get. Of course, I’d rather have today’s situation where good tools don’t have to cost much. As you say, it’s like any hobby
I have often heard the myth that you have to figure your time also. Maybe if you are a doctor making a $100 an hour or someone who can simply work as many hours as they wish or can work extra jobs. This implies that if you were not making something to avoid buying it then you would still be making money, but for most this doesn't happen. If instead you are sitting at home watching YT then it is cheaper to build something than to buy it.
I thought you were going to say..... "I went to the dealership and saw inflation on car prices, so I went to the auto parts store bought the parts and made my own truck" 😂
@@DesignsbyDonnie most of us are just dreaming... you spent 110 to make a 5,000 table, and you did a super fantastic job! Wait for it, you know it's coming, wait for it!........ BUT!!! you got 20-30,000 in equipment that us dreamers can't afford. Then there is KNOWING how to use that equipment without killing yourself, or a family member (now we are getting into woke territory). Not to mention SKILL (and I don't mean the saw); you simply have a talent that many never will. In my life I have rebuilt motors, transmissions, differentials, and transfer cases, electrical, A/C and more... but to build the entire truck, I could, but it just wouldn't be practical. I'm sure you could build an entire house, maybe even do the plumbing and electrical too. From the table, I'd say you could finish cabinets with great detail, but would it be practical? Love your work guy! Maybe you could build me a house, and I'll build you a truck... LOL!!!
I did the same thing with an 8x10 Douglas fir beam that I bought off Facebook marketplace for $80. Took me about 3 hrs to make it. Only used a hand saw, angle grinder, radial saw, oscillating tool, and some chisels. Got a result that looks almost identical to the same picture you showed of the $5000 one.
That is not 30k worth of tools. Also, don't make excuses. He probably didn't start with the very best stuff. He got it over time. Lastly, even if you don't have all the same tools, part of being a woodworker is finding creative solutions.
@@philkugler2429that’s not the point. The point is he is claiming how much money he is saving when his set up is really nice. And he found literally the most expensive sofa table available. The sofa table his wife wanted wasn’t even 5k you can find it on arhaus. It costs 4k on sale for 2.7k. I’m not saying his furniture isn’t amazing but he is way over estimating the money he saved
I was taught millwork by my great grandfather, born in late 1800’s, using his antique tools. He had a bandsaw, table saw and jointer for power tools. Planing, decorative trim was accomplished with hand planes. As he said, I was lucky to have the power tools (had to the motor from station to station). Nice modern tools make the job quicker but not necessarily better.
@@JSaltyfabricator TF are you talking about? The video title suggests it might be cost effective to build stuff but if you dont already have tools / equipment you cant build it. How did this woooosh you?
Absolutely! I designed and built an entire dining room set complete with a 42” x 99” table, full length benches, end chairs, and a sideboard out of construction grade lumber for $500. Yo buy something similar would cost at least $10,000.
Here's the thing: If you are as good as this guy, and have a lovely workshop, then yes, it is cheaper to build good furniture than it is to buy it ! But if you build a set of night tables with one drawer each, out of pinewood, and say it cost you $200 for materials, and you spent at least 10 hours on labor, do you think for a minute that if you tried selling them, someone will pay you $175 for each table ? No sir, they will likely offer you $75 each, if they even came to look at them !
@@Aidencros It is about if a person can build furniture cheaper. A person with basic tools and desire could fit their house out with $100000 worth of furniture.
Bro, it’s his work, he already has the tools. If you don’t there are a lot of maker spaces around these days that have the tools. You could also do it with hand tools but planing the boards by hand to that degree of flatness for a seem-less glue up involves skill and time. Same for making the mortise.
Most furniture these days are the carpentry equivalent of Taco Bell (barely functioning garbage). That said, sometimes an IKEA desk at $100 is everything that you need, even if it is pretty trash. It's sometimes neither economical nor practical nor time effective to do it yourself. Wire storage units have their place, too. As big box retailers continue to mindlessly drain value from their products, yes, you may need to DIY at some point in the future. But not everyone is suited to making something with their hands. Basic woodworking skills are no longer commonly taught at schools - just like Home Economics, Shop class became an "extra". The wife can't cook, and hubby can't build. I do not fault these people, as no one can do everything well. Let them hire out to them that can. And those of us that can, well, I like quick easy cheap effective solutions - when they are available, which isn't always.
Stock Ikea can be pretty trash, although I have never had any of their stuff break. That being said, if you're creative, you can usually reinforce it in ways that doesn't destroy the look while making it easier to assembled and disassemble. Threaded inserts are an absolute god send in terms of taking one of their tables and allowing you to disassemble and reassemble it when you're moving.
Great job and finished product! It helps “DIY” projects come out so nice when you have experience, a shop full of expensive Bessey clamps, commercial size planer & jointer, power saws, cordless plunge router & bits, Lexan templates, a shop or garage to work in, etc. Hopefully you won’t get any twisting, warping or splitting of that big-box dimensional lumber. Not being critical; I’m impressed!
Bro that's amazing and seemed like something anyone can tackle with few tools. I appreciate you for the idea and the inspiration. Don't listen to all the negative Nancy's. I'm thankful you shared. Keep.up the great work.
You don't tell the whole story. The raw material is cheaper than buying new. And it's more flexible, if you need specific dimension, colour, finish, you are in control. And there is that pride thing of having built it yourself which is a non neglectable bonus. In the equation, there is the cost of opportunity. It's awesome to have skills in life. The time you spend learning woodworking is time not spent learning electricity, 2nd language, computer coding, investment, etc. No one can learn everything and at some point you will need the help of others, sometimes at a cost. Any skills is a hell of a lot better than to become an expert at video games. In the equation, there is also the cost of space and tools. If woodworking is your business, you need it anyways. Otherwise, unless you furnish the whole house DIY style, the price difference is not that straightforward. And let's face it, not every weekend woodworkers are frugal when comes time to equip the garage. So yes, time, space and tools are not free. But some poor souls don't get to have a hobby in life. It's a blessing of having the luxury of having hobbies and I am grateful for it. And I can think of some hobbies that are crazy expensive comparatively.
This dude convinced his wife that a 5000 dollar jointer was a better investment and made the table for a couple hundred bucks. That’s a dad win if I’ve ever seen one.
Love this video, yeah DIY is so much cheaper, i used to think the opposite even with a really good salary that I would just buy services but even half assing DIY is so much cheaper and better than paying someone. Knowledge is so much more accessible now thanks to videos like this :) be careful you are basically putting yourself out of business... kidding i know you'll get tons of business from people watching as well :)
As a bookkeeper, I have to point out that you shouldn't be excluding your wages from the calculation when determining whether it's less expensive or not. If you're not really that good, you can easily spend an hour or two for what might take a professional a half hour to do. And a typical pro isn't going to be wasting a lot of time developing plans, if it's a common project, they likely already know most of the pitfalls before starting. DIY if you like, but just realize that it's typically more about the character of the project, the ability to customize it to exactly what you like and the general experience of it more than the savings.
That looked awesome!!! Will attempt on a similar one with materials found free on iternet and the tools that I have! People need to understand such videos showcase a lot of techniques and give inspiration to yourself to find your way around with what you have! If you keep paying for expensive stuff they will keep getting more expensive, special tools are there just to save time!
Great job point the table looks amazing. Could you please make a tutorial video on how to achieve that weathered look and the products that you use to achieve it. Thank you for this video.
The possibility of it costing more to do it yourself is there. However, the satisfaction, pride and experience you get out of making it yourself is priceless. That's something you will never have buying it from a store.
Unless you've already got the tools or are using the tools to sell products you've made, you're probably better off not doing this for yourself if it's purely about money. If you're going to do it yourself, self-satisfaction is probably a better reason, especially when there might well be a shop near you that can CNC most of the wood and get the job done in a fraction of the time it would take.
Looks great. Nicely done. I can tell you why that table cost 5 grand. Its a hand hewed beam from a log done with a broad axe. Close to 100 years or so ago. But very nicely done on the table that you built
I built the same style table, my wife saw it at some fancy furniture store for like 5k for a 6ft long. I built an 8.5 ft for a fraction, i wish i would have seen this video then. I worked 2x4 and 6x6 but it was a pain to chisel out 8 inches of wood on each side. The result was a very nice solid table but also very heavy. Like i said i wish i would have seen this method then. And to all the people talking about tools. What are you doing watching DIY videos if you dont even own tools. It is definitely cheaper to buy your tools and make you own customized furniture than buying it. I started with some very basic tools and i am not a carpenter by any means, but i love woodworking.
Looks great 👍. I would do it myself, but im more into auto fab and mechanics. The hardest part of a project is usually convincing yourself you can do it. Just keep trying and you will get it done. Definitely appreciate it when things fall into place on the first try 😅 if you get frustrated just take a break 😁
To answer your question. It depends. If you are just looking for some basic furnishings to fill your first apartment.....then it's cheaper to go to Ikea or Costco. You would probably spend more on just materials trying to build it yourself even if you already have the tools. But if you are trying to build heirloom high-quality pieces it's usually cheaper to build. This is especially true if you are doing custom work like kitchen cabinets, built-in shelving, or a custom pantry or closet.
When the time comes for the wife and I to buy a house I intend to make nearly every piece of furniture myself 👍 plus it'll give me excuses to buy more tools
Study arts and crafts. Brent Hull has some amazing TH-cam videos on classical design. If you study Roman design from 2000 years ago you’re going to have an advantage over many people in the crafts.
I’m a framer by trade his planner set up costs more than my 05 beater, he’s clearly an independent contractor writing off his tools and saving $- I can’t afford 4 days off of recovery after cutting in and sheeting a roof, love to see if he could bang nails on a rough frame in CO in the winter.
You can do that project with a nice worker stanley #7 handplanes, sandpaper, titebond 3, franing square, decent handsaw and most expensive the clamps. Doesn't really take much to make furniture or even fine furniture. Having a nice laguna bandsaw, tablesaw, chopsaw and planner are nice but you don't need them. You really don't need 20 grand in tools to make nice things. Nice build Really like the design.
I built a steampunk sofa table using a chopsaw, drill, and sander. I won’t rag on you and over all your power tools because you use them on your job. I’d love to see more videos like yours doing copycat reproductions of high end furniture using basic off the shelf wood. Oh by the way, I built my sofa table using reclaimed, massive industrial pallet lumber so it already had the proper texture. I just added stain and iron pipe hardware. You rock sir, and I bet your wife agrees because size does matter.
The working class furniture store is called "Ikea" and if you're willing to do a little bit of work the stuff you buy there can be extremely durable. I haven't personally had any issues with it, but with some creativity and some threaded inserts and possibly a bit of extra scrap lumber in the right places, you can make the stuff a lot stronger. Honestly, I'd rather have stuff hand made with a few power tools because it's often the best, but realistically, that can be unaffordable and is often times far more work than it's really worth.
I wanted to build the most basic table ever with cheapest plywood available. I made the calculations, went to IKEA. Bought a laminated table with cable tray, metal adjustable legs and looks good. It was cheaper than buying the plywood only. With the crazy hike in wood prices, it is almost always cheaper to buy.
You can do the same thing with a few hundred bucks in tools. And guess what... you can keep making more after that. The machines aren't actually disposable!
@@SeraphsWitness Nice try, but that's not what's in question here. IT gets cheaper IF you decide to build things. And it's relative to what you're purchasing and how much it cost.
Greetings from South Africa 🇿🇦. Man you really nailed this project ✌️. Kudos to you for not getting caught up in this purchase world of high inflation. Definitely I would D.I.Y. it. Well done it looks amazing. Love the weathered old age look 👍
Let me make this simple for everyone. Yes it is cheaper but not efficient. The time spent will cost you more money that you could’ve earned to spend on getting the item yourself. Things are usually cheaper to do yourself but that doesn’t mean you get the quality doing it yourself. It’s like with cooking a lot of people can cook but not everyone has the spare time to make large batches of stuff that is better quality than store bought.
Whether you have tools or not this table can be made for less than $5000 if you have an area to work. This table can be made with hand tools which will cost way less than buying
$5,000 and I’ll build a room. Just in clamps I bet you are close to $1,000 I watch Japanese joint making that they do with hand tools. I feel confident saying I could build something a little different but very similar for around $200.
"Since when in life did inflation get so expensive and through the roof to buy a simple table in a furniture store was going to cost 5000$? This is crazy but pushing these blocks through the planer..." Meanwhile me sitting in my rented 23m² apartment...
Nice Shop, I couldn't do that in my shop without a "LOT" of Hours and Labor, all I have is a TableSaw and a Chopsaw and lots of cheap Ryobi tools for wood working, No CNC , No Planer, No Jointer, Its a Nice finished product I'll give you that
Everyone crying about the planer and bandsaw price. I have a 10HP 24” planer that I bought from a high school wood shop for a few hundred dollars. Before I purchased that, I used a router sled to flatten anything larger than my 12 planer could handle. My shop is full of commercial grade equipment. The only think in my shop that purchased new was my sawstop table saw. If you can’t build this using inexpensive tools found at a big box store, you shouldn’t try it.
Where I live (outside of the U.S.) unmilled hardwood is .92 cents per board foot for Cedar and Teak. Making all off my own furniture for the house I´m building. Couldn´t afford to do this if I still lived in America.
It's funny re-watching this and seeing that Denali/Work truck - Mostly retired contractor here, have had a fleet of trucks, but my 2006 GMC Denali is still sitting out there on the drive. Box trucks, service trucks, truck bodies of all types and you will get robbed. But somehow that Denali with tinted windows looking like a desert runner holding 20k+ of dryout, hvac, pick your trade never got broken into. Change the oil ever 3k miles, brakes every two-three years and tires every five what's not to love. Those are respectable motors and awd, there is quite the aftermarket for folks that convert them to over landers when you sell. Even beat to shit its a solid 5k.
Everyone is talking about the price of the equipment used. My shop is full of woodworking tools. I have everything he used. I've been using these for around 4 years, and they have more than paid for themselves by, not only things built for my house, but pieces I've sold. And, full disclosure, I have maybe $2000 in tools. You don't need high priced, top of the line tools to build beautiful furniture.
Working class? Dude that is tens of thousands of dollars in industrial woodworking equipment. Not knocking you for having it or using it, but this is kind of the ship owner pretending to be a deckhand. Either way, seems like a cool project.
In all fairness, my Dad was a carpenter until he retired and he had a bunch of tools in his basement. I'm not sure what the inflation adjusted price on it would be, but it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't a good chunk of what's in that workshop.
If I had the luxury of a workshop space and all the fancy tools and equipment like you do, then yes, it may be cheaper. It certainly won't be cheap setting up shop to get to that point, so I guess for me, its cheaper and quicker to buy furniture from a store.
Very cool piece. I'd rather build than buy. My Son and his Wife wanted a large butcher block dining table out of walnut, oak, and tiger maple. Over $3,000 from a store. I built them one for just under $500 by sourcing the wood from a local sawmill. You just proved you can make a show piece out of construction lumber. Fantastic job, thanks for sharing.
Now add that to the cost of a miter saw, a table saw, a router to trim the edges, a workbenh, a few chisels, I could go on. I GETS CHEAPER as you build more things.
@@TechieTard
You do not need those machines. A simple set of tools and a sander could produce that with just 5 hours of work.
@@Art-is-crafthi can you please provide a tool list?
@@MrXlee1967
Chisel, hammer, saw and hand plane.
I'm not sure how much it had cost me, but about 4 or 5 years ago I built my wife a rustic king-size bed for Christmas. (I found plans online.) It was my first major woodworking project. The thing still holds up and I've had complements on it.
Inviting a lot of people into your bedroom?
@@angellover02171 😄Not really. Usually, it's someone that repairs something (water softener, windows, etc.) or the kids' friends.
@@Abenteuerlich77 I'm glad you can take a joke
And you didn't need expensive tools to make it.🎉
For $5,000 that table at the store better come with a time share, cruise tickets for 2, and a set of Hidari Ichihiro oire nomi chisel set 😂
lol 😂 right? I agree with you! $5k it better come with a lot of awesome stuff.
No kidding. 😳
You have a lot invested in your woodworking tools. Any furniture making shop does as well. The cost of that equipment and workspace get included in the cost to make furniture. Also the cost of labor. People don’t work for free. Overall cost is more that just material cost.
True, but those tools can be used over and over for years or even decades. Buying $5000 worth of tools to save $5000 on furniture doesn't make sense if you're only doing it once. If you do it twenty times, you'll save a fortune.
Let’s see spend $5k on a table you have a table. Spend $5.1k on materials and tools you have a table and $5k worth of tools. I buy tools all the time because I use them more then once even if the tools are 20% more then buying something.
The tools eventualy pay for themselves once you make a few pieces and sell them or make a bunch of cheap furniture.
@@jasmindataylor5180 Sort of. If you're selling what you made, then yes. If you're just building stuff to "save money" probably not.
Always depend on the project and the money you spend on materials. You can realize 95% of projects with a circular saw with rails, router and drill. You don't need more powertools to start woodworking.
Can be done with less than $1k in tools. Standard hobby woodworking stuff. Just different techniques.
Great build. I loved the buildup of color. Massive saving too
Thank you. I had so much fun making this piece and I agree, the finish came out better than I expected 👍👍
Excellent work. I also love Wood, particularly that aged timber, and I’m so impressed with your style.
Would I DYI it? If had all that equipment. But I don't think a lot of people would have access to kind of equipment you have.
Get a circular saw and a drill, plus a good attitude.
It'll take more skill then I have to cut those dovetails with just a circular saw. Not to mention hand planeing all those boards flat.
@@TheGhost00sm get a hand planer. Stop making excuses.
Build your tools one at a time. Start with a circular saw and a drill…you would be surprised what you can build with just that.
@@SeraphsWitness what are you talking about, if you calculate the tools and the hours, DIY is definetly more expensive.
Depends on what you might buy at the furniture store, compared to what type of wood and how fancy you’re going to make it. Time is valuable too. You have to figure your labor just as you would for a customer build.
Thank you so much and yes you’re right 👍
I’ve been woodworking for over 45 years and I have to say that it’s been a life saving hobby for me over the years. But, it’s an expensive hobby. If you want pieces in beautiful timbers and to fit a certain pace, you need to go bespoke. Getting one piece made bespoke is cheaper than buying the tools, learning the skills and making that piece yourself. The equation balance alters if you want many pieces and you enjoy working with wood.
If you want cheapest - certainly here in the UK - buy at auctions. You can get exquisite antique pieces for (almost criminally) low prices. George II sideboards in beautiful flame mahogany for £50; oak long case clocks for £80. Why? Because the styles and the “brown” furniture are just not fashionable. Try and buy a 1960’s teak coffee table and you’ll pay hundreds. Look for an antique flame mahogany Demi lune table, £50?
Taste is personal. I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s and those mid century pieces don’t attract me.
@@theofarmmanager267You have way more woodworking experience than I do, but you are right about woodworking being an expensive hobby, but that's true for any hobby, depending on how serious and often you do it. Even the simple sport of running can be pricey.
@@Abenteuerlich77 I’d partly agree. At one level, buying used hand tools and cheap timber (such as pallets), it can be a low barrier entry hobby. However, as soon as you start getting the bug, yes, the cost rises. And rises. And rises. Where my fears lie is that newcomers are either put off taking up the hobby or think that they have to spend a fortune to get started. I’m afraid I started when there were no electric tools available for hobbyists (even before electric drills were commonly available), adhesives could be home made (boiling up hides and bones) and abrasives could be made from dried fish skin (we used dog fish skin which a member of the shark family). So my cost entry was about as low as you can get.
Of course, I’d rather have today’s situation where good tools don’t have to cost much.
As you say, it’s like any hobby
I have often heard the myth that you have to figure your time also. Maybe if you are a doctor making a $100 an hour or someone who can simply work as many hours as they wish or can work extra jobs.
This implies that if you were not making something to avoid buying it then you would still be making money, but for most this doesn't happen.
If instead you are sitting at home watching YT then it is cheaper to build something than to buy it.
What color paint and stain did you use? It’d be nice if you mentioned those!
I'd definitely DIY it, especially with all those professional woodworking tools!
I thought you were going to say.....
"I went to the dealership and saw inflation on car prices, so I went to the auto parts store bought the parts and made my own truck" 😂
lol 😆 now that would be awesome. Don’t think that I have those skills but I can dream tho
@@DesignsbyDonnie most of us are just dreaming... you spent 110 to make a 5,000 table, and you did a super fantastic job! Wait for it, you know it's coming, wait for it!........ BUT!!! you got 20-30,000 in equipment that us dreamers can't afford. Then there is KNOWING how to use that equipment without killing yourself, or a family member (now we are getting into woke territory). Not to mention SKILL (and I don't mean the saw); you simply have a talent that many never will. In my life I have rebuilt motors, transmissions, differentials, and transfer cases, electrical, A/C and more... but to build the entire truck, I could, but it just wouldn't be practical. I'm sure you could build an entire house, maybe even do the plumbing and electrical too. From the table, I'd say you could finish cabinets with great detail, but would it be practical? Love your work guy! Maybe you could build me a house, and I'll build you a truck... LOL!!!
I did the same thing with an 8x10 Douglas fir beam that I bought off Facebook marketplace for $80. Took me about 3 hrs to make it. Only used a hand saw, angle grinder, radial saw, oscillating tool, and some chisels. Got a result that looks almost identical to the same picture you showed of the $5000 one.
Ok "working class" how much $$$ for the tools in the shop???
At 02:10, he states that he is a carpenter.
Dude you are working with $30,000 worth of equipment to make a $5,000 table.
That is not 30k worth of tools. Also, don't make excuses. He probably didn't start with the very best stuff. He got it over time. Lastly, even if you don't have all the same tools, part of being a woodworker is finding creative solutions.
@@philkugler2429that’s not the point. The point is he is claiming how much money he is saving when his set up is really nice. And he found literally the most expensive sofa table available. The sofa table his wife wanted wasn’t even 5k you can find it on arhaus. It costs 4k on sale for 2.7k. I’m not saying his furniture isn’t amazing but he is way over estimating the money he saved
A poor craftsman blames his tools. An incompetent craftsman blames others tools.
I was taught millwork by my great grandfather, born in late 1800’s, using his antique tools. He had a bandsaw, table saw and jointer for power tools. Planing, decorative trim was accomplished with hand planes. As he said, I was lucky to have the power tools (had to the motor from station to station). Nice modern tools make the job quicker but not necessarily better.
@@JSaltyfabricator TF are you talking about?
The video title suggests it might be cost effective to build stuff but if you dont already have tools / equipment you cant build it. How did this woooosh you?
Absolutely! I designed and built an entire dining room set complete with a 42” x 99” table, full length benches, end chairs, and a sideboard out of construction grade lumber for $500. Yo buy something similar would cost at least $10,000.
Wow! Now that’s an awesome savings, good for you. I love hearing things like this. Well done 👍
Here's the thing: If you are as good as this guy, and have a lovely workshop, then yes, it is cheaper to build good furniture than it is to buy it ! But if you build a set of night tables with one drawer each, out of pinewood, and say it cost you $200 for materials, and you spent at least 10 hours on labor, do you think for a minute that if you tried selling them, someone will pay you $175 for each table ? No sir, they will likely offer you $75 each, if they even came to look at them !
With just 2 hand saws, 5 chisels, hand plane and an orbital sander sander a person could produce $50000 worth of furniture.
@@Art-is-craftdoesn't mean you'll get that money and actually sell the furniture.
@@Aidencros
It is about if a person can build furniture cheaper. A person with basic tools and desire could fit their house out with $100000 worth of furniture.
You just need 20,000.00 in tools to do it.
No you don't. It can be made using only hand tools. How do you think people built things before electricity was a thing?
You're right, I don't need my car either. I'll just walk.
@@8FunGuy8😂
Exactly how much for the tools? And don't forget the shop space.
Bro, it’s his work, he already has the tools. If you don’t there are a lot of maker spaces around these days that have the tools.
You could also do it with hand tools but planing the boards by hand to that degree of flatness for a seem-less glue up involves skill and time. Same for making the mortise.
Most furniture these days are the carpentry equivalent of Taco Bell (barely functioning garbage). That said, sometimes an IKEA desk at $100 is everything that you need, even if it is pretty trash. It's sometimes neither economical nor practical nor time effective to do it yourself. Wire storage units have their place, too. As big box retailers continue to mindlessly drain value from their products, yes, you may need to DIY at some point in the future. But not everyone is suited to making something with their hands. Basic woodworking skills are no longer commonly taught at schools - just like Home Economics, Shop class became an "extra". The wife can't cook, and hubby can't build. I do not fault these people, as no one can do everything well. Let them hire out to them that can. And those of us that can, well, I like quick easy cheap effective solutions - when they are available, which isn't always.
Stock Ikea can be pretty trash, although I have never had any of their stuff break. That being said, if you're creative, you can usually reinforce it in ways that doesn't destroy the look while making it easier to assembled and disassemble. Threaded inserts are an absolute god send in terms of taking one of their tables and allowing you to disassemble and reassemble it when you're moving.
What about the machine you used? How much would that cost🤔 ??
Great job and finished product! It helps “DIY” projects come out so nice when you have experience, a shop full of expensive Bessey clamps, commercial size planer & jointer, power saws, cordless plunge router & bits, Lexan templates, a shop or garage to work in, etc. Hopefully you won’t get any twisting, warping or splitting of that big-box dimensional lumber. Not being critical; I’m impressed!
Bro that's amazing and seemed like something anyone can tackle with few tools. I appreciate you for the idea and the inspiration. Don't listen to all the negative Nancy's. I'm thankful you shared. Keep.up the great work.
You don't tell the whole story.
The raw material is cheaper than buying new. And it's more flexible, if you need specific dimension, colour, finish, you are in control. And there is that pride thing of having built it yourself which is a non neglectable bonus.
In the equation, there is the cost of opportunity. It's awesome to have skills in life. The time you spend learning woodworking is time not spent learning electricity, 2nd language, computer coding, investment, etc. No one can learn everything and at some point you will need the help of others, sometimes at a cost.
Any skills is a hell of a lot better than to become an expert at video games.
In the equation, there is also the cost of space and tools. If woodworking is your business, you need it anyways. Otherwise, unless you furnish the whole house DIY style, the price difference is not that straightforward.
And let's face it, not every weekend woodworkers are frugal when comes time to equip the garage.
So yes, time, space and tools are not free. But some poor souls don't get to have a hobby in life. It's a blessing of having the luxury of having hobbies and I am grateful for it. And I can think of some hobbies that are crazy expensive comparatively.
Actually a great idea, this table is super popular, and yours looks just as good
Stunning piece, Donnie! Truly amazing work! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Thank you!! Super cool piece to build
This dude convinced his wife that a 5000 dollar jointer was a better investment and made the table for a couple hundred bucks. That’s a dad win if I’ve ever seen one.
2:50 I was waiting for you to say you decided to build a new truck.
Love this video, yeah DIY is so much cheaper, i used to think the opposite even with a really good salary that I would just buy services but even half assing DIY is so much cheaper and better than paying someone. Knowledge is so much more accessible now thanks to videos like this :) be careful you are basically putting yourself out of business... kidding i know you'll get tons of business from people watching as well :)
As a bookkeeper, I have to point out that you shouldn't be excluding your wages from the calculation when determining whether it's less expensive or not. If you're not really that good, you can easily spend an hour or two for what might take a professional a half hour to do. And a typical pro isn't going to be wasting a lot of time developing plans, if it's a common project, they likely already know most of the pitfalls before starting.
DIY if you like, but just realize that it's typically more about the character of the project, the ability to customize it to exactly what you like and the general experience of it more than the savings.
That looked awesome!!! Will attempt on a similar one with materials found free on iternet and the tools that I have!
People need to understand such videos showcase a lot of techniques and give inspiration to yourself to find your way around with what you have! If you keep paying for expensive stuff they will keep getting more expensive, special tools are there just to save time!
That is a beautiful piece! It was well worth the time effort and love you put into it! What a great avenue of expression!
I'm going out right now to get all of the equipment I'll need.
Great job point the table looks amazing. Could you please make a tutorial video on how to achieve that weathered look and the products that you use to achieve it. Thank you for this video.
The possibility of it costing more to do it yourself is there. However, the satisfaction, pride and experience you get out of making it yourself is priceless. That's something you will never have buying it from a store.
Unless you've already got the tools or are using the tools to sell products you've made, you're probably better off not doing this for yourself if it's purely about money. If you're going to do it yourself, self-satisfaction is probably a better reason, especially when there might well be a shop near you that can CNC most of the wood and get the job done in a fraction of the time it would take.
Looks great. Nicely done. I can tell you why that table cost 5 grand. Its a hand hewed beam from a log done with a broad axe. Close to 100 years or so ago. But very nicely done on the table that you built
Knocked it out of the park! Looks awesome! If you don’t mind me asking, how thick did you make the legs? The proportions are spot on!
Thank you. This project was literally a blast to make. I really enjoyed it. Oh, and the legs were 7.5” thick by 14” deep by 32” tall
@@DesignsbyDonnie thank you sir! Got my template ordered and will be knocking one of these out soon.
@@DesignsbyDonniethanks for the dimensions, ordering this template and planning to build one of these
dude that is nice I'd argue its better than the original. great work definitely a new sub
I built the same style table, my wife saw it at some fancy furniture store for like 5k for a 6ft long. I built an 8.5 ft for a fraction, i wish i would have seen this video then. I worked 2x4 and 6x6 but it was a pain to chisel out 8 inches of wood on each side. The result was a very nice solid table but also very heavy. Like i said i wish i would have seen this method then. And to all the people talking about tools. What are you doing watching DIY videos if you dont even own tools. It is definitely cheaper to buy your tools and make you own customized furniture than buying it. I started with some very basic tools and i am not a carpenter by any means, but i love woodworking.
Your truck is dirty, not to bad of shape, you should take better care of it
Nice work! Finished product looks amazing!
Beautiful work!
Thank you 😊
Looks great 👍. I would do it myself, but im more into auto fab and mechanics. The hardest part of a project is usually convincing yourself you can do it. Just keep trying and you will get it done. Definitely appreciate it when things fall into place on the first try 😅 if you get frustrated just take a break 😁
To answer your question. It depends. If you are just looking for some basic furnishings to fill your first apartment.....then it's cheaper to go to Ikea or Costco. You would probably spend more on just materials trying to build it yourself even if you already have the tools. But if you are trying to build heirloom high-quality pieces it's usually cheaper to build. This is especially true if you are doing custom work like kitchen cabinets, built-in shelving, or a custom pantry or closet.
When the time comes for the wife and I to buy a house I intend to make nearly every piece of furniture myself 👍 plus it'll give me excuses to buy more tools
Study arts and crafts. Brent Hull has some amazing TH-cam videos on classical design. If you study Roman design from 2000 years ago you’re going to have an advantage over many people in the crafts.
I would also recommend the new Yankee workshop. They're posting some videos on TH-cam finally. A show from the 90s but amazing skill and narration.
This is great. Just wish I had a planer and sander like your's.
I’m a framer by trade his planner set up costs more than my 05 beater, he’s clearly an independent contractor writing off his tools and saving $- I can’t afford 4 days off of recovery after cutting in and sheeting a roof, love to see if he could bang nails on a rough frame in CO in the winter.
You can do that project with a nice worker stanley #7 handplanes, sandpaper, titebond 3, franing square, decent handsaw and most expensive the clamps. Doesn't really take much to make furniture or even fine furniture. Having a nice laguna bandsaw, tablesaw, chopsaw and planner are nice but you don't need them. You really don't need 20 grand in tools to make nice things. Nice build Really like the design.
I built a steampunk sofa table using a chopsaw, drill, and sander. I won’t rag on you and over all your power tools because you use them on your job. I’d love to see more videos like yours doing copycat reproductions of high end furniture using basic off the shelf wood. Oh by the way, I built my sofa table using reclaimed, massive industrial pallet lumber so it already had the proper texture. I just added stain and iron pipe hardware. You rock sir, and I bet your wife agrees because size does matter.
Thanks for sharing. Working on a similar project.
Nice, very nice. I am going to build a bench with the same kind of dovetail joinery.
The working class furniture store is called "Ikea" and if you're willing to do a little bit of work the stuff you buy there can be extremely durable. I haven't personally had any issues with it, but with some creativity and some threaded inserts and possibly a bit of extra scrap lumber in the right places, you can make the stuff a lot stronger. Honestly, I'd rather have stuff hand made with a few power tools because it's often the best, but realistically, that can be unaffordable and is often times far more work than it's really worth.
I’ve built a few of these from 12x12 beams. Your’s looks just as good and looks way easier to build #awesome 👍🏽👊🏽
I wanted to build the most basic table ever with cheapest plywood available.
I made the calculations, went to IKEA. Bought a laminated table with cable tray, metal adjustable legs and looks good.
It was cheaper than buying the plywood only.
With the crazy hike in wood prices, it is almost always cheaper to buy.
Challenging but definitely super appreciated project!
Yeah, but how much did all those machines cost you?
You can do the same thing with a few hundred bucks in tools.
And guess what... you can keep making more after that. The machines aren't actually disposable!
@@SeraphsWitness Nice try, but that's not what's in question here. IT gets cheaper IF you decide to build things. And it's relative to what you're purchasing and how much it cost.
@@TechieTard Well, duh. Why would someone buy the equipment if they didn't intend to build things?
This is not the slam dunk you think it is.
@@TechieTard
It can be done with just a handful of tools. $200 of would could produce $10000 with of projects.
@@SeraphsWitness I couldn't have explained it better.Negative commenters are just envious.
Beautiful ! I would DIY it but it wouldn’t be as nice as yours . Great job man 👍
Greetings from South Africa 🇿🇦. Man you really nailed this project ✌️. Kudos to you for not getting caught up in this purchase world of high inflation. Definitely I would D.I.Y. it. Well done it looks amazing. Love the weathered old age look 👍
How did you make the template? That would have been GREAT information.
industrial sand blaster will work well to remove soft grain and age the wood
Let me make this simple for everyone. Yes it is cheaper but not efficient. The time spent will cost you more money that you could’ve earned to spend on getting the item yourself. Things are usually cheaper to do yourself but that doesn’t mean you get the quality doing it yourself. It’s like with cooking a lot of people can cook but not everyone has the spare time to make large batches of stuff that is better quality than store bought.
Amazing!
How do you make the template?
Whether you have tools or not this table can be made for less than $5000 if you have an area to work. This table can be made with hand tools which will cost way less than buying
$5,000 and I’ll build a room.
Just in clamps I bet you are close to $1,000 I watch Japanese joint making that they do with hand tools.
I feel confident saying I could build something a little different but very similar for around $200.
The 2 minutes I watched really irritated me.
This looks great 👍
"Since when in life did inflation get so expensive and through the roof to buy a simple table in a furniture store was going to cost 5000$? This is crazy but pushing these blocks through the planer..."
Meanwhile me sitting in my rented 23m² apartment...
Because the business has rent, bills, staff and countless insurances to cover. Do not understand estimate cost induced by government regulations.
Love it and the aged look. But you never mentioned what paint color was used to paint over the stain? I would love to know, thanks
Complaining about money when you have a 15000 planer and jointer! Priceless. Lol
The machines are not required but I bet you he has work in his house done with those that would cost $100000 to buy out of shops.
Just wondering where i can get the template you’re using????
Hi, here is the link to the templates designsbydonnie.com/templates/
Love the build! great video too, i like your editing style. Gosh i wish i had a jointer and planer of that size in my shop
I like the finish. After the stain, what paint did you use?
Thanks for the wire wheel tip for weathering. I was wondering how to get that effect on some pine baseboard trim in my basement. I'll try that.
Nice Shop, I couldn't do that in my shop without a "LOT" of Hours and Labor, all I have is a TableSaw and a Chopsaw and lots of cheap Ryobi tools for wood working, No CNC , No Planer, No Jointer, Its a Nice finished product I'll give you that
Please share the paint colors !!! Thanks !!!🎉
Excellent!
Thank you! Cheers!
Stellar work sir, did you just use a gel stain, and a latex wash coat? Did you water it down or anything?
What stain and paint did you use? Did you dilute the paint with water?
wow, nice work!!
Amazing work on this one, definitely giving me ideas for my next build.
Everyone crying about the planer and bandsaw price. I have a 10HP 24” planer that I bought from a high school wood shop for a few hundred dollars.
Before I purchased that, I used a router sled to flatten anything larger than my 12 planer could handle.
My shop is full of commercial grade equipment. The only think in my shop that purchased new was my sawstop table saw.
If you can’t build this using inexpensive tools found at a big box store, you shouldn’t try it.
Nice work. Can you please share the stain and paint colors you used?
How did you make the template?
Good thing you already spent 5k plus on all those tools to pull it off.
Well done, personally i am the dark colour fan, so i would have made it darker but all in all, very cool project 😊
Can you give details or links on the two part stain that you used? Thanks!
Where I live (outside of the U.S.) unmilled hardwood is .92 cents per board foot for Cedar and Teak. Making all off my own furniture for the house I´m building. Couldn´t afford to do this if I still lived in America.
It's funny re-watching this and seeing that Denali/Work truck - Mostly retired contractor here, have had a fleet of trucks, but my 2006 GMC Denali is still sitting out there on the drive. Box trucks, service trucks, truck bodies of all types and you will get robbed. But somehow that Denali with tinted windows looking like a desert runner holding 20k+ of dryout, hvac, pick your trade never got broken into. Change the oil ever 3k miles, brakes every two-three years and tires every five what's not to love.
Those are respectable motors and awd, there is quite the aftermarket for folks that convert them to over landers when you sell. Even beat to shit its a solid 5k.
Looks awesome. What color was the paint you used?
What is this kinda of piece called?
Everyone is talking about the price of the equipment used. My shop is full of woodworking tools. I have everything he used. I've been using these for around 4 years, and they have more than paid for themselves by, not only things built for my house, but pieces I've sold. And, full disclosure, I have maybe $2000 in tools. You don't need high priced, top of the line tools to build beautiful furniture.
have to admit...you did well! No nails used.
Good work!
We all dream with the RH console… but its soooo heavy too…
The store bought $5000 table was made from sold pieces of wood. You used cheap pieces of wood glued together. Not even the same quality or color.
What were the dimensions of the legs and top? I have some reclaimed 6x12 cedar beam peices i want to build some similar things with.
Working class? Dude that is tens of thousands of dollars in industrial woodworking equipment. Not knocking you for having it or using it, but this is kind of the ship owner pretending to be a deckhand.
Either way, seems like a cool project.
In all fairness, my Dad was a carpenter until he retired and he had a bunch of tools in his basement. I'm not sure what the inflation adjusted price on it would be, but it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't a good chunk of what's in that workshop.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade sure, but a career carpenter with a full workshop built up over said career is not a “do it yourself-er”.
You don't need industrial grade equipment to build this. They make it easier, for sure, but you can get this done with less than $1,000 in tools.
@@brianyates7641 sure, but that’s not how he’s displaying it.
Dude it looks so awesome!!👌
Great Job!!!!😀
If I had the luxury of a workshop space and all the fancy tools and equipment like you do, then yes, it may be cheaper. It certainly won't be cheap setting up shop to get to that point, so I guess for me, its cheaper and quicker to buy furniture from a store.
We dont have all your expensive equipment. Youre not in the same realm as joe blogs
May not always be cheaper but you'll always get exactly what you want.
do you use a cnc to build your templates
What stain and paint did you use? I love the end color.