Paint part of the board inventory shelf red, then standardize the way you stack on and draw off inventory so that when the red surface is visible Production knows to make more boards. When your business volume changes so that your safety stock margin becomes a larger number of boards re-paint the inventory shelf to accommodate that change. This might force you into LIFO inventory management but your items are not perishable. You can always rotate inventory from time to time to put older items at the top of the stack.
Hey guys. Just a small time saving suggestion, build a little locating jig for your branding iron so that you know it's the same every time, it's quicker to place the iron and there's less chance of it moving. Love the channel.
Davis, Old woodworker here with all my digits so far. Notice when you were running the boards through the table saw you had your right thumb hidden on the end grain, Please keep all your fingers visible with that thumb on the "Top of the end grain" so you have a good reference of the blade and all your digits. I get it when we get going in production we can get carless and lose track. It just takes once, and it happens fast before you know it. Love the channel, nice watching you both grow.
You should really build some kind of holding jig for when you brand the boards. The current method looks pretty unstable, and is a burn waiting to happen.
Agreed, something with the brand mounted horizontally on the work surface so you can simply slide the edge of the board to be branded up to it nigh work
To help with speed, automation and safety, get some power feeders for the table saw and possibly the band saw. It helps to reduce the chance of kick back, keeps your hands out of the blades, and goes at a better speed so wood like cherry is less likely to get burn marks. For sanding, you need a drum sander. It may not make them perfect out of the machine, but a lot less to do especially since all of your boards grain is longitudinal.
Even if you use a drum sander you still have to hand or Mirka sand, plus is a good way to ensure quality as you need to inspect and touch every single board before it goes out, you want tor client to love it.
Hi from Australia I’ve just purchased a CNC router and would like to start a small business I’m finding it a little daunting at the moment but your videos are inspiring me to give it a red hot go I have experience manufacturing just not much in sales and business management so we will see
Love what you two are doing. I think you really need to set a standard production schedule. Produce 100 boards to cover a month then set the first and third week to produce 75 boards each week that covers your normal average sales plus can handle any bumps in sales increase. Increase or decrease production based on need. Use a spreadsheet to track sales and inventory both sides(sales and manufacturing) can make on the spot adjustments. Once your sales double and triple you will have no choice but schedule production that's business logistics.
I like the questions presented and introduction to terms (eg JIT) in the video. These are scalable up to my industrial environment such as the simple question of 'what is the systemic problem?'. I think visual management and gemba will go a long way in communicating the immediate status of inventory and pending orders without necessarily have to have a conversation.
In my life as a bartender, we had par levels for each item. That was the threshold to get to when ordering. So if my par level was 10 and I sold 7 this past week, I would order 7 more. Par levels are based on historical sales, meaning Christmas time would have higher numbers, So if you expect to fulfill about 50 a month, do another batch of 60 when you get under 50 on the shelves. This also gives you a buffer in case something else comes up and you can't dedicate the time to building the boards. Of course, adjust the numbers to fit your sitch
Stick a piece of cardboard "build time" between the boards that represent your comfortable lead time to make them. 50 boards a month, 1 week of lead time to make, 100 percent margin for exciting orders, so 2 weeks...put the card at the 14th to the last board in your stack...just like a deck shoe in Vegas. Just be sure to pull the boards in order.
Track your orders (per day) per week to monitor for growth in your "peak week" metric (or trailing 7 days) to keep the system up with your (inevitable) growth. Congratulations!
Love your videos. I saw a few other comments about safety and skimmed to see if someone else already pointed this out. Davis…. Please, please, please wear your safety glasses even when changing the band saw blade. Especially when you are coiling and uncoiling it. Lots of sharp metal near fragile eyes and that tension on the band can do wild things. You can’t make any more tables if you can’t see. Just a PSA. Keep up the great work! Edit: typo
I agree with HoustonSam61 as far as a standard way to stack your boards on your racks. Since you are so young, you should know how to do an excel sheet to track your inventory. Set it up like your Kanbon board. Ist column would be the total inventory you feel comfortable with. The second column would be the orders. The 3rd column is column 1 minus column 2. You will have to pick a number that will trigger the 1st column of your Kanbon Board
I would add a “par” rating for each item and put it on a label on the rack where you keep the item. The par needs to be your minimum stock level, then anytime you go below the minimum you know to build more. Great video!
Build and have on the shelf all the pre sold boards, so there isn't a chance for you to miss that shipment. Find what your 4 week average sell is and put that many on the shelf. Then once you have 1-2 weeks supply of them left build back up to your 4 week level. On Monday mornings some one does a inventory count and you know where you are at the start of the week. Just in time will bite you in the butt eventually. 30 years in manufacturing and have seen it happen many times and this is with a multi billion dollar company. Suggestion on your glue up put a piece of the packing material paper under the clamps when done roll it up and throw it away and no glue to clean off the table. enjoy your videos.
Appreciate your experience. And one question: Is getting ‘bit in the butt’ once every decade more profitable than paying higher rent and warehousing product the other 99% of the time? Our guess is: Probably. That’s why it’s still used as a strategy.
Set reorder points so if your doing 50 a month make about 150 when your inventory gets down to 50 your inventory program alerts you to build more boards.
Possible production enhancements: 1. For glue scraping - Use a bench hook from far side of table, or drop in stop block on the near side, to steady the boards vs using your off hand. (two dog holes & some scraps great stop block) 2. For branding board ends - It just looks like that process is screaming for some type of vertical press for the iron & work holding for the boards.
Fun video guys! Not sure if it's been said but what you're describing is an ERP system. The sooner you implement it into your business the less things you'll have to migrate over afterwards.
If you're running larger batches, consider a jig/press setup for the edge logo brand. 1) save time positioning the board 2) keeps the branding iron suspended away from everything else (reduced risk of fire) 3) enables future automation where you can run it off an air cylinder so you can load a board, push a button, and the timer/cylinder does the rest. Also re: inventory - you have to think visually. A line or paint on the shelf as others have suggested is the best way. Let the front office run the spreadsheets and figure out where that line needs to be, but out in the shop things need to be simple.
A fun workshop decoration idea? :: have a LED display showing the count on total number of products sold/built (over a year/month/whatever)! Then the building department can see in realtime/each day the impact of their work, even when the product shelf starts to go bare again. Just a fun way to show the growth and impact of the company over time. ♪
If you make a stopblock whyle scraping your blanks, you can do that 2 handed. Your scraper is also made for that. With that, you can probably make the sweep of 1 glueline in 1 go. Makes it more efficient.
I'm building a 3" thick 114" ×52" end grain reclaimed heart pine island countertop around 700 pounds! Fun! Biggest cutting board I've ever built! Great work!
Suggestion on the inventory levels. Put up a large monitor or tv screen and display the inventory levels there. You can use an spreadsheet to track for the display and keep it live. Not much to do other than a few keystrokes to keep it updated once you have it running.
Weekly checks is the easiest and cheapest way at this point in your business. Few years back I worked for a granite countertop fabrication shop that kept slabs, as well as, sinks and faucets in stock. I searched for a low cost solution to no avail.
White board on the build side of the shop with the number of board left and types. Updates upon your needs (daily, twice a week, weekly or bi-weekly) That way when they have free time they can see what they could start getting to work or if they're something you're very low on its the first priority
Granted we are tracking hundreds of items, but we use simple reorder cards that on flat stock (like your boards) we stick them in the stack with whatever amount we deem reasonable left under the card. Pull the item on top of the card and its time to reorder (or start building in your case). Its a super simple system that requires zero tech or expense.
Seems like you could add a note to the sales order for a "re-order" for stock inventory so that as one is ordered or sold, another is keyed for production and inventory count. :) Really love what you guys are about.
I have watched many of your videos and found them informative, but I would say this is definelty my favorite. If people pay attention, there is a ton of application that they can glean from this one video. I just sub!
I believe a a quick scan inventory RFID would be able to help you keep up with your board count. There are several inventory control software systems and you guys should be able to get one for a smaller business for a reasonable price.
Have you considered an approach like Lean manufacturing, using something like Kanban cards? Paul Akers' "Two Second Lean" is a good easily digestible book on the system.
I’m a new follower, but I’m really enjoying your videos. Your work ethic is incredible, which made sense when I heard you were Air Force reserves. 35 years and counting in the Air National Guard. Keep up the great work, and great videos. 🇺🇸
I'm not sure if you thought of this. But industrial cabinet shops use a tool called a wood welder. It uses microwaves to set the glue in seconds rather than hours. (The glue still needs to be cured overnight) but this could drastically increase your capacity and spend way less time in the glue-up process by not meaning with so many clamps.
Fairly easy really, you walk in, look at the shelf and if it looks low, you make more? Why complicate things? you are a small business and inventory should be easy.
If nothing else, buy a cheap marker board. Every Friday,before turning off the lights, do a quick inventory. That way,when you come in Monday, you'll know what to do. Seems too simple...
Jenny, you asked for ideas. Here's an old one from college inventory management class 30+ years ago. If you can't find it online, pick up a used inventory management textbook and study the section about EOQ or Economic Order Quantity. You can use these concepts to maintain your sales inventory as well as keeping your manufacturing raw material inventory adequately stocked. I hope this helps.
One option to maintain inventory and cover an expected amount of future sales pulls.... standardize a single day each week that boards are made. If it's only one or 2 steps that get done...fine... so long as at the end of 4 weeks, you have a 1 month supply of completed boards ready to resupply stock.
Great video. I suggest you get a manual countdown device and put the "reduce count" button next to the laser go button. Set the initial count to the number of boards in inventory, and count 'em down.
Thought of this too. Get a small tv that displays a worksheet. You can do a formula that would show days left of inventory. Inventory/avg daily sold = how many days before you run out. Then if you know it takes Davis 4 days to produce 60 boards you can set that threshold to inform him. Also if you use a sheet you can make the number turn colors for ease of identification.
Y’all need to find a good inventory tracking program that will allow use of bar codes. Put the bar codes on the shelf’s with the inventory. As you package and ship them out you can scan the item and keep up in real time of each item. Can use for all of your expendable items such as the shipping boxes, labels, supplies and what not. Also you need to either build a custom press to hold your branding iron or buy a cheep table top drill press and make a bracket to mount it to the arbor and use it as a press. Then build a jig to hold the board at the right spot and you can brand your boards much quicker, safer and more accurately.
Again a really good video. I have a small Tip, concerning the glue scraping: install a doghole quickclamp in the table to secure the boards, makes it much easyier to work on the surface without stressing your hands. It works for many uses and can be removed, if the table needs to bee cleared.
Add labels to the rack for each set of boards with min and max levels depending your turnover rate. If you sell 10 boards on average of one kind, set that as you min. If you want to maintain a 3 month inventory, have 30 boards as your max, this would be a 3:1 turnover rate. My guess is a 2-4:1 turnover rate is sufficient but this also depends on your products critical path and gets into lead times, which is a whole different discussion. Good luck.
Watched your last video about a boring business, it’s crazy how people criticize you guys about that. I’d rather having boring work and have stacks of 💵 💵 than be entertained and broke as a joke. Keep grinding.
So...inventory management for a "just-in-time" (JIT) system like ya'll said (in another video) that you're using would require you to have a good idea of the typical rate of use/sale, and how long it takes to replenish your stock. Let's say you make boards in batches of 100 (to make it easy), and it takes you a week (5 days) to make them. If you sell 10 boards/day, those boards will last you 10 days. Since in this example, it takes you 5 days to make 100 boards, and 10 days to sell them, you would want to set a reorder point at 60 boards remaining. This would allow 1 day's worth of safety stock (allows for a small delay in production). JIT systems are good for keeping overhead (inventory cost) low, but they also have a risk of being unable to meet demand if there are unexpected surges in sales. To allow for that, if you can produce larger batches in the same amount of time (improve efficiency), you can adjust your reorder point up or down (depending on circumstances). Since ya'll have been doing this for a while, you should have enough sales data available to determine what kind of seasonal variations there are, when they pick up and drop off, and how to plan for those variations. Also, in your new shop, take a look at your workflow like you did in the garage. Make sure you're not moving the material more than you need to to go from one station to the next as it transforms from raw material into cutting or charcuterie boards. When you have time, look into LEAN production methods, and see what you can do to improve efficiency and reduce waste (there's more than one kind of waste in production). You two are inspiring, and I'm glad to see that your business is doing well. God Bless you, and may your business continue to grow and thrive.
And I keep thinking about a scale type device per shelf since you seem to keep products on separate shelves and not clutter those shelves up. You could probably keep within a board or two of needs. The unfinished boards wouldn’t work but 99% finshined boards, could load into computer quickly.
Great video guys, quick question from a UK resident, how do you get $125 for these boards? In the UK one can pick one up for less than £25 delivered for free.
You should research Kanban processes. I worked for a large cabinet maker for a few years. It's a easy system to use and you don't cut or build if you don't need it.
What do you recommend for the band saw blades you are using? Great video and very inspiring/entertaining. I always learn something to add to my carpentry/woodworking knowledge each time I watch an online video.
Dont know if you have tried this in the past..it looks like the boards are face grain. If so, try building them 2x thicker than needed and then resaw in half (making two boards on one cut). Just be sure to plane both wide sides before resawing. Once cut in half, then you only have to finish the other side and it should speed up production significantly. Should also help with storage.
I have read multiple comments on the branding process. I agree that it needs a jig of some sort to ease the process. If you look at this video you will see the position your body is in. That is a repetive motion injury waiting to happen.
You need a jig, dog or lip on the edge of a work bench to help hold your boards in place while you scrape glue. Davis you're fighting yourself scraping with one hand while holding the board with the other.
Another great video !! Thanks! On board finishing, what do you recommend? I noticed that you guys sometimes seem to do just a mineral oil bath and sometimes the mineral oil/ bees wax blend, what determines this? I ask because I have my first big order(for me anyway 😄) of 30 boards and I was using Odies Oil but found that it is a lot of time and kind of tedious. More hands on time than I think I should have. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Great video. It is fun to watch you solve problems. First, some of the suggestions that talk about marking your low inventory threshold like reorder cards is probably the easiest solution. You could also have a digital board that tracks units sold and lowers the inventory on the shelf. I also think that you should have a months worth of inventory plus 10% glued up and ready to cut to size, sand and finish. While it is all a process that you guys do, it seems that if needed, you can take a board or ten from the post glue up position, finish and ship in short order if needed. Since the glue up portion is a spot where you stop and wait for the glue to dry, have that at the end of the routine. You do a month worth of boards from post glue up to inventory then go back and get another batch to that point so they are ready when you need them. Just my $0.02
A couple of questions - given the fact that you have such an awesome bandsaw with high cutting height capacity. 1 - Why don't you use wood twice as thick and then use the bandsaw to cut it in half? You'd be gaining efficiency with the glue work since you do it once and get twice the product. 2 - Why not use longer pieces of wood and then cross cut the boards from those longer strips? I could see this being restrictive in your garage - but with the new space, you should have plenty of room, no?
We tried the 2nd method in the Josh Weissman board video - there's a LOT more material waste when milling stock with that method and not enough time savings to make it worth it
The business itself isn’t boring. It’s the endless montages of making boards, boxing boards, finishing boards, etc. Those parts of your videos are incredibly boring. It’s on you guys to come up with some interesting content.
Thanks for this video. What wood are you using. I live in the UK and I am keen to get into making cutting and charcuterie boards? I would really appreciate your recommendation on your choice of wood you use. Thank you. Andy
Im sure you have thought of this...but, I wonder if a power feed on your table saw would be speed things up enough when cutting all the strips to really cut down on overall processing time?
Look at how you guys dip your boards, i do wonder if a vertical dish drying rack would help keep them off each other and dry evenly and quicker rather than stacking them directly
find out your minimum stock level on boards.. Add a visual component to the rack they are stored on.. no counting necessary.. just a simple visual that you are getting low on stock..
Is there a reason that you've included no overhead costs (building, heat 'n hydro, shop tools 'n supplies etc..) or have you included those costs in a lump sum somewhere? It looks like you've included the direct fixed costs associated with building the boards (materials, labor etc..) but none of the general operational costs of being in the building. I could have easily missed something though.
I have two answers for you. The simple one is that most of that is 'baked-in' to the Materials cost calculation. But some of that isn't included (like rent) because overhead expenses are largely fixed-costs which are totally unrelated to the number of items produced. Adding overhead costs in this calculation would be like including the cost of your mortgage into your landscaping expenses...
@@jennieanddavis - got it, "don't sweat the small stuff" in other words. My point was that those overhead/fixed-costs are just that - costs and as such impact profit. Without taking them into account in some way - bake 'em into materials cost, shop supplies, a general overhead allocation charge, whatever - then you're inflating your profit calculations. No biggie. Something that chartered accountant you've recommended in previous videos would no doubt calculate.
I can’t tell you how much I look forward to your videos. Your videos are very uplifting, I bet you didn’t know that. Can’t wait to see you with your third channel and 100 employees making the best high end furniture in the south! (I say that because hopefully by then I’ll have the north locked down.. lol) seriously you guys are great and I look forward to seeing a video every week!
Not sure if anyone has talked about using excel for keeping track of each board, and as they are sold fulfilment department can subtract each board using a purchase order name and date. Let excel automatically do the math. Once you hit your threshold that you want to create to make more you will know immediately. Just my 2 cents. Love watching you guys keep it up...
Zapier can be your friend when you use it to search for specific information in spreadsheets and then perform an action depending on what it finds. And, you can use the free version of Zapier for quite a while before you have to start paying the small fee for it. Win/win.
You guys are a cute couple and do nice work! Just be careful with PPE. Not seeing a lot of hearing protection but that could be just in the video clip. My own biggest fear is wood dust. Even with a dust separator and a Wynn filter I still seem to generate a lot of fine dust in my shop and probably do not wear my respirator nearly enough. Be careful hunting them hurricanes!
Nice work, just a tip to the ones looking at starting something. You don't need a production facility to make a living, you can produce less at higher wood quality and make the same margins (although a higher end product is harder to sell quantities) Anyways, Kudos to you guys making a go at this, Love from Canada Eh!!
You can use a Kan ban system, withe red cards. When reaching a red cards, the building department has to start the next production. For growing phase of your company, the number has to be reevaluated every 2 months. Depending of the need of the pacjing department.
that's way I follow you! to learn all can about the growth of my business. plz think of a solution... soon?. can't thank you enough though. still thank you a bunch for all hard work.
Sounds like you need to establish a min/max number on your inventory. But that’s a hard number to set when the business is growing so fast. Honestly, I was surprised by the $6000 figure. It seems low to me. I suppose that’s relative compared to the timeframe it was earned in. Inflation is high. Your cost will be going up. Your retail price must go up as well. Good luck. I enjoy watching the story of your business unfold.
That’s profit for the business, I think your missing the fact that they’ve already took labor out and a commission for a sales rep.. so honestly 6k profit for the business ain’t bad at all
That’s profit for the business, I think your missing the fact that they’ve already took labor out and a commission for a sales rep.. so honestly 6k profit for the business ain’t bad at all..
Hey, just wondering where you can your packaging for your boards? I am looking to start the realtor supply chain too but am finding it difficult to get the packaging stuff down. Thanks for the information and another great video.
I was thinking of something similar. But my mind was thinking of a DIY for the drill press part of your suggestion. A square piece of wood (or 80-20 extruded aluminum) for the vertical "track", a bit of cord from the carriage that holds the branding iron that loops over the top through a pully down to another carriage with a counter-weight that is a little heavier than the iron. Gravity pulls the iron back up and only takes a token force to pull it down. Might want to add in some sort of shield/guard over the resting position of the iron so the operator doesn't bump into it when changing boards in the jig. This would also keep the iron in a safe place if one forgets about it and doesn't notice the disco lights when closing up the shop for the night. ;-)
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Paint part of the board inventory shelf red, then standardize the way you stack on and draw off inventory so that when the red surface is visible Production knows to make more boards. When your business volume changes so that your safety stock margin becomes a larger number of boards re-paint the inventory shelf to accommodate that change.
This might force you into LIFO inventory management but your items are not perishable. You can always rotate inventory from time to time to put older items at the top of the stack.
Hey guys. Just a small time saving suggestion, build a little locating jig for your branding iron so that you know it's the same every time, it's quicker to place the iron and there's less chance of it moving. Love the channel.
100% thinking the same thing
Or make the iron stationary and the jig guide the bord to the iron, that would eliminate the double handling.
I had exactly the same thought. A homemade drill press-like mechanism wud be killer for this purpose.
thinking the same thing brother but still great video dont think any differently
Davis, Old woodworker here with all my digits so far. Notice when you were running the boards through the table saw you had your right thumb hidden on the end grain, Please keep all your fingers visible with that thumb on the "Top of the end grain" so you have a good reference of the blade and all your digits. I get it when we get going in production we can get carless and lose track. It just takes once, and it happens fast before you know it. Love the channel, nice watching you both grow.
You should really build some kind of holding jig for when you brand the boards. The current method looks pretty unstable, and is a burn waiting to happen.
Ditto. I have burned myself working with hot tools on unstable items.
Agreed, something with the brand mounted horizontally on the work surface so you can simply slide the edge of the board to be branded up to it nigh work
You should look into Lean manufacturing practices. Fast Cap has a lot of youtube videos on their process.
use ur sawdust as mulch in the garden. itl rot and encourage mycellium and your plants will benefit so well.
To help with speed, automation and safety, get some power feeders for the table saw and possibly the band saw. It helps to reduce the chance of kick back, keeps your hands out of the blades, and goes at a better speed so wood like cherry is less likely to get burn marks.
For sanding, you need a drum sander. It may not make them perfect out of the machine, but a lot less to do especially since all of your boards grain is longitudinal.
Even if you use a drum sander you still have to hand or Mirka sand, plus is a good way to ensure quality as you need to inspect and touch every single board before it goes out, you want tor client to love it.
Hi from Australia I’ve just purchased a CNC router and would like to start a small business I’m finding it a little daunting at the moment but your videos are inspiring me to give it a red hot go I have experience manufacturing just not much in sales and business management so we will see
Love what you two are doing. I think you really need to set a standard production schedule. Produce 100 boards to cover a month then set the first and third week to produce 75 boards each week that covers your normal average sales plus can handle any bumps in sales increase. Increase or decrease production based on need. Use a spreadsheet to track sales and inventory both sides(sales and manufacturing) can make on the spot adjustments. Once your sales double and triple you will have no choice but schedule production that's business logistics.
I like the questions presented and introduction to terms (eg JIT) in the video. These are scalable up to my industrial environment such as the simple question of 'what is the systemic problem?'. I think visual management and gemba will go a long way in communicating the immediate status of inventory and pending orders without necessarily have to have a conversation.
In my life as a bartender, we had par levels for each item. That was the threshold to get to when ordering. So if my par level was 10 and I sold 7 this past week, I would order 7 more. Par levels are based on historical sales, meaning Christmas time would have higher numbers,
So if you expect to fulfill about 50 a month, do another batch of 60 when you get under 50 on the shelves. This also gives you a buffer in case something else comes up and you can't dedicate the time to building the boards.
Of course, adjust the numbers to fit your sitch
Stick a piece of cardboard "build time" between the boards that represent your comfortable lead time to make them. 50 boards a month, 1 week of lead time to make, 100 percent margin for exciting orders, so 2 weeks...put the card at the 14th to the last board in your stack...just like a deck shoe in Vegas.
Just be sure to pull the boards in order.
Super low cost, super reliable. We do this and it works great!
Track your orders (per day) per week to monitor for growth in your "peak week" metric (or trailing 7 days) to keep the system up with your (inevitable) growth.
Congratulations!
Love your videos. I saw a few other comments about safety and skimmed to see if someone else already pointed this out. Davis…. Please, please, please wear your safety glasses even when changing the band saw blade. Especially when you are coiling and uncoiling it. Lots of sharp metal near fragile eyes and that tension on the band can do wild things. You can’t make any more tables if you can’t see. Just a PSA. Keep up the great work!
Edit: typo
I agree with HoustonSam61 as far as a standard way to stack your boards on your racks. Since you are so young, you should know how to do an excel sheet to track your inventory. Set it up like your Kanbon board. Ist column would be the total inventory you feel comfortable with. The second column would be the orders. The 3rd column is column 1 minus column 2. You will have to pick a number that will trigger the 1st column of your Kanbon Board
You should build a jig that holds your stamp vertically and pulls down to burn your logo, something like a drill press.
I thought about that myself! A simple arbor press system would do the trick. Even if it has to be custom made
I would add a “par” rating for each item and put it on a label on the rack where you keep the item. The par needs to be your minimum stock level, then anytime you go below the minimum you know to build more. Great video!
Build and have on the shelf all the pre sold boards, so there isn't a chance for you to miss that shipment. Find what your 4 week average sell is and put that many on the shelf. Then once you have 1-2 weeks supply of them left build back up to your 4 week level.
On Monday mornings some one does a inventory count and you know where you are at the start of the week.
Just in time will bite you in the butt eventually. 30 years in manufacturing and have seen it happen many times and this is with a multi billion dollar company.
Suggestion on your glue up put a piece of the packing material paper under the clamps when done roll it up and throw it away and no glue to clean off the table.
enjoy your videos.
Appreciate your experience. And one question: Is getting ‘bit in the butt’ once every decade more profitable than paying higher rent and warehousing product the other 99% of the time? Our guess is: Probably. That’s why it’s still used as a strategy.
Should add a tray on the side of your table to slip the board into for easier branding with the iron
Set reorder points so if your doing 50 a month make about 150 when your inventory gets down to 50 your inventory program alerts you to build more boards.
Possible production enhancements:
1. For glue scraping - Use a bench hook from far side of table, or drop in stop block on the near side, to steady the boards vs using your off hand. (two dog holes & some scraps great stop block)
2. For branding board ends - It just looks like that process is screaming for some type of vertical press for the iron & work holding for the boards.
Your business is definitely NOT boring. Much continued success!
Fun video guys! Not sure if it's been said but what you're describing is an ERP system. The sooner you implement it into your business the less things you'll have to migrate over afterwards.
If you're running larger batches, consider a jig/press setup for the edge logo brand. 1) save time positioning the board 2) keeps the branding iron suspended away from everything else (reduced risk of fire) 3) enables future automation where you can run it off an air cylinder so you can load a board, push a button, and the timer/cylinder does the rest.
Also re: inventory - you have to think visually. A line or paint on the shelf as others have suggested is the best way. Let the front office run the spreadsheets and figure out where that line needs to be, but out in the shop things need to be simple.
A fun workshop decoration idea? :: have a LED display showing the count on total number of products sold/built (over a year/month/whatever)! Then the building department can see in realtime/each day the impact of their work, even when the product shelf starts to go bare again. Just a fun way to show the growth and impact of the company over time. ♪
If you make a stopblock whyle scraping your blanks, you can do that 2 handed. Your scraper is also made for that. With that, you can probably make the sweep of 1 glueline in 1 go. Makes it more efficient.
I'm building a 3" thick 114" ×52" end grain reclaimed heart pine island countertop around 700 pounds! Fun! Biggest cutting board I've ever built! Great work!
Kanban cards! They’re made for exactly this purpose!!!
Simple short term thought you could put a reorder slip of paper in each cutting board stack. When you reach that number of boards start building.
Suggestion on the inventory levels. Put up a large monitor or tv screen and display the inventory levels there.
You can use an spreadsheet to track for the display and keep it live.
Not much to do other than a few keystrokes to keep it updated once you have it running.
Weekly checks is the easiest and cheapest way at this point in your business.
Few years back I worked for a granite countertop fabrication shop that kept slabs, as well as, sinks and faucets in stock. I searched for a low cost solution to no avail.
White board on the build side of the shop with the number of board left and types. Updates upon your needs (daily, twice a week, weekly or bi-weekly) That way when they have free time they can see what they could start getting to work or if they're something you're very low on its the first priority
Granted we are tracking hundreds of items, but we use simple reorder cards that on flat stock (like your boards) we stick them in the stack with whatever amount we deem reasonable left under the card. Pull the item on top of the card and its time to reorder (or start building in your case). Its a super simple system that requires zero tech or expense.
A good way to keep track and make sure you don't run out is make double the average monthly sales numbers and double and when you use half restock
Seems like you could add a note to the sales order for a "re-order" for stock inventory so that as one is ordered or sold, another is keyed for production and inventory count. :) Really love what you guys are about.
I have watched many of your videos and found them informative, but I would say this is definelty my favorite. If people pay attention, there is a ton of application that they can glean from this one video. I just sub!
I believe a a quick scan inventory RFID would be able to help you keep up with your board count. There are several inventory control software systems and you guys should be able to get one for a smaller business for a reasonable price.
This was really helpful! Thanks for the explanation!
@@jennieanddavis my pleasure. I am always excited to see people succeed! The world needs more people like you two 😎
Have you considered an approach like Lean manufacturing, using something like Kanban cards? Paul Akers' "Two Second Lean" is a good easily digestible book on the system.
I’m a new follower, but I’m really enjoying your videos. Your work ethic is incredible, which made sense when I heard you were Air Force reserves. 35 years and counting in the Air National Guard. Keep up the great work, and great videos. 🇺🇸
I'm not sure if you thought of this. But industrial cabinet shops use a tool called a wood welder. It uses microwaves to set the glue in seconds rather than hours. (The glue still needs to be cured overnight) but this could drastically increase your capacity and spend way less time in the glue-up process by not meaning with so many clamps.
Butcherbox and you guys are a great match up. Well done on securing such a great fit for sponsership.
Fairly easy really, you walk in, look at the shelf and if it looks low, you make more? Why complicate things? you are a small business and inventory should be easy.
Exactly, or you know, talk to each other occassionally.
If nothing else, buy a cheap marker board. Every Friday,before turning off the lights, do a quick inventory. That way,when you come in Monday, you'll know what to do. Seems too simple...
Jenny, you asked for ideas. Here's an old one from college inventory management class 30+ years ago. If you can't find it online, pick up a used inventory management textbook and study the section about EOQ or Economic Order Quantity. You can use these concepts to maintain your sales inventory as well as keeping your manufacturing raw material inventory adequately stocked.
I hope this helps.
One option to maintain inventory and cover an expected amount of future sales pulls.... standardize a single day each week that boards are made. If it's only one or 2 steps that get done...fine... so long as at the end of 4 weeks, you have a 1 month supply of completed boards ready to resupply stock.
Great video. I suggest you get a manual countdown device and put the "reduce count" button next to the laser go button. Set the initial count to the number of boards in inventory, and count 'em down.
Thought of this too. Get a small tv that displays a worksheet. You can do a formula that would show days left of inventory. Inventory/avg daily sold = how many days before you run out. Then if you know it takes Davis 4 days to produce 60 boards you can set that threshold to inform him. Also if you use a sheet you can make the number turn colors for ease of identification.
Y’all need to find a good inventory tracking program that will allow use of bar codes. Put the bar codes on the shelf’s with the inventory. As you package and ship them out you can scan the item and keep up in real time of each item. Can use for all of your expendable items such as the shipping boxes, labels, supplies and what not.
Also you need to either build a custom press to hold your branding iron or buy a cheep table top drill press and make a bracket to mount it to the arbor and use it as a press. Then build a jig to hold the board at the right spot and you can brand your boards much quicker, safer and more accurately.
Again a really good video.
I have a small Tip, concerning the glue scraping: install a doghole quickclamp in the table to secure the boards, makes it much easyier to work on the surface without stressing your hands. It works for many uses and can be removed, if the table needs to bee cleared.
Look into kanban cards and boards. Lean and 5s will do wonders for you.
Add labels to the rack for each set of boards with min and max levels depending your turnover rate. If you sell 10 boards on average of one kind, set that as you min. If you want to maintain a 3 month inventory, have 30 boards as your max, this would be a 3:1 turnover rate. My guess is a 2-4:1 turnover rate is sufficient but this also depends on your products critical path and gets into lead times, which is a whole different discussion. Good luck.
Watched your last video about a boring business, it’s crazy how people criticize you guys about that. I’d rather having boring work and have stacks of 💵 💵 than be entertained and broke as a joke. Keep grinding.
So...inventory management for a "just-in-time" (JIT) system like ya'll said (in another video) that you're using would require you to have a good idea of the typical rate of use/sale, and how long it takes to replenish your stock.
Let's say you make boards in batches of 100 (to make it easy), and it takes you a week (5 days) to make them. If you sell 10 boards/day, those boards will last you 10 days.
Since in this example, it takes you 5 days to make 100 boards, and 10 days to sell them, you would want to set a reorder point at 60 boards remaining. This would allow 1 day's worth of safety stock (allows for a small delay in production). JIT systems are good for keeping overhead (inventory cost) low, but they also have a risk of being unable to meet demand if there are unexpected surges in sales.
To allow for that, if you can produce larger batches in the same amount of time (improve efficiency), you can adjust your reorder point up or down (depending on circumstances).
Since ya'll have been doing this for a while, you should have enough sales data available to determine what kind of seasonal variations there are, when they pick up and drop off, and how to plan for those variations.
Also, in your new shop, take a look at your workflow like you did in the garage. Make sure you're not moving the material more than you need to to go from one station to the next as it transforms from raw material into cutting or charcuterie boards.
When you have time, look into LEAN production methods, and see what you can do to improve efficiency and reduce waste (there's more than one kind of waste in production).
You two are inspiring, and I'm glad to see that your business is doing well.
God Bless you, and may your business continue to grow and thrive.
Kanban is a great min max solution for inventory management
And I keep thinking about a scale type device per shelf since you seem to keep products on separate shelves and not clutter those shelves up. You could probably keep within a board or two of needs. The unfinished boards wouldn’t work but 99% finshined boards, could load into computer quickly.
For the inventory issue, maybe you can find a way to scan the boxes when they are packaged? Like in a warehouse.
Do you guys use the side off cuts to make other products to minimise waste, maybe glue together to make matching coasters??
What types of wood do you use? Maple and cherry?
I'm curious about the approximate hours it takes to build the boards? For instance, how many combined hours to build 50 cutting boards? Thanks!
Great video guys, quick question from a UK resident, how do you get $125 for these boards? In the UK one can pick one up for less than £25 delivered for free.
You should research Kanban processes. I worked for a large cabinet maker for a few years. It's a easy system to use and you don't cut or build if you don't need it.
What do you recommend for the band saw blades you are using? Great video and very inspiring/entertaining. I always learn something to add to my carpentry/woodworking knowledge each time I watch an online video.
Dont know if you have tried this in the past..it looks like the boards are face grain. If so, try building them 2x thicker than needed and then resaw in half (making two boards on one cut). Just be sure to plane both wide sides before resawing. Once cut in half, then you only have to finish the other side and it should speed up production significantly. Should also help with storage.
Lol the woodworking asmr clip is hilarious bc im not sure if y’all are kidding or not. And that makes it funny. Love y’all.
I have read multiple comments on the branding process. I agree that it needs a jig of some sort to ease the process. If you look at this video you will see the position your body is in. That is a repetive motion injury waiting to happen.
You need a jig, dog or lip on the edge of a work bench to help hold your boards in place while you scrape glue. Davis you're fighting yourself scraping with one hand while holding the board with the other.
That's what I was thinking. Just screw a chunk o' maple to the workbench. Or put one in a workbench vise and raise it up a little to act as a dog.
Another great video !! Thanks! On board finishing, what do you recommend? I noticed that you guys sometimes seem to do just a mineral oil bath and sometimes the mineral oil/ bees wax blend, what determines this? I ask because I have my first big order(for me anyway 😄) of 30 boards and I was using Odies Oil but found that it is a lot of time and kind of tedious. More hands on time than I think I should have. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
when do you guys treat your boards to prevent warping?
Just establish "Build-to" levels. periodic observations of inventory against build to levels will tell how many of which boards to build.
Great video. It is fun to watch you solve problems. First, some of the suggestions that talk about marking your low inventory threshold like reorder cards is probably the easiest solution. You could also have a digital board that tracks units sold and lowers the inventory on the shelf. I also think that you should have a months worth of inventory plus 10% glued up and ready to cut to size, sand and finish. While it is all a process that you guys do, it seems that if needed, you can take a board or ten from the post glue up position, finish and ship in short order if needed. Since the glue up portion is a spot where you stop and wait for the glue to dry, have that at the end of the routine. You do a month worth of boards from post glue up to inventory then go back and get another batch to that point so they are ready when you need them. Just my $0.02
Your shop is so clean!
A couple of questions - given the fact that you have such an awesome bandsaw with high cutting height capacity.
1 - Why don't you use wood twice as thick and then use the bandsaw to cut it in half? You'd be gaining efficiency with the glue work since you do it once and get twice the product.
2 - Why not use longer pieces of wood and then cross cut the boards from those longer strips? I could see this being restrictive in your garage - but with the new space, you should have plenty of room, no?
It takes a long time to bandsaw something 10-12 inches high. The idea sounds efficient in theory but it would actually take longer.
We tried the 2nd method in the Josh Weissman board video - there's a LOT more material waste when milling stock with that method and not enough time savings to make it worth it
@@jennieanddavis Nice to know you guys tried it. Thanks for the response!
Inventory control clearly equals build, build like the wind:)
The business itself isn’t boring. It’s the endless montages of making boards, boxing boards, finishing boards, etc. Those parts of your videos are incredibly boring. It’s on you guys to come up with some interesting content.
Thanks for this video. What wood are you using. I live in the UK and I am keen to get into making cutting and charcuterie boards? I would really appreciate your recommendation on your choice of wood you use. Thank you. Andy
Im sure you have thought of this...but, I wonder if a power feed on your table saw would be speed things up enough when cutting all the strips to really cut down on overall processing time?
Look at how you guys dip your boards, i do wonder if a vertical dish drying rack would help keep them off each other and dry evenly and quicker rather than stacking them directly
What type of wood are you using for your cutting boards?
find out your minimum stock level on boards.. Add a visual component to the rack they are stored on.. no counting necessary.. just a simple visual that you are getting low on stock..
Is there a reason that you've included no overhead costs (building, heat 'n hydro, shop tools 'n supplies etc..) or have you included those costs in a lump sum somewhere? It looks like you've included the direct fixed costs associated with building the boards (materials, labor etc..) but none of the general operational costs of being in the building. I could have easily missed something though.
I have two answers for you. The simple one is that most of that is 'baked-in' to the Materials cost calculation.
But some of that isn't included (like rent) because overhead expenses are largely fixed-costs which are totally unrelated to the number of items produced. Adding overhead costs in this calculation would be like including the cost of your mortgage into your landscaping expenses...
@@jennieanddavis - got it, "don't sweat the small stuff" in other words. My point was that those overhead/fixed-costs are just that - costs and as such impact profit. Without taking them into account in some way - bake 'em into materials cost, shop supplies, a general overhead allocation charge, whatever - then you're inflating your profit calculations. No biggie. Something that chartered accountant you've recommended in previous videos would no doubt calculate.
I can’t tell you how much I look forward to your videos. Your videos are very uplifting, I bet you didn’t know that.
Can’t wait to see you with your third channel and 100 employees making the best high end furniture in the south! (I say that because hopefully by then I’ll have the north locked down.. lol) seriously you guys are great and I look forward to seeing a video every week!
Hahaha I hope we can be business rivals one day! Thanks for watching faithfully!
Not sure if anyone has talked about using excel for keeping track of each board, and as they are sold fulfilment department can subtract each board using a purchase order name and date. Let excel automatically do the math. Once you hit your threshold that you want to create to make more you will know immediately. Just my 2 cents. Love watching you guys keep it up...
Love watching you guys grow👍👍
What were you dunking the boards into ?
Zapier can be your friend when you use it to search for specific information in spreadsheets and then perform an action depending on what it finds. And, you can use the free version of Zapier for quite a while before you have to start paying the small fee for it. Win/win.
You guys are a cute couple and do nice work! Just be careful with PPE. Not seeing a lot of hearing protection but that could be just in the video clip. My own biggest fear is wood dust. Even with a dust separator and a Wynn filter I still seem to generate a lot of fine dust in my shop and probably do not wear my respirator nearly enough. Be careful hunting them hurricanes!
Nice work, just a tip to the ones looking at starting something. You don't need a production facility to make a living, you can produce less at higher wood quality and make the same margins (although a higher end product is harder to sell quantities) Anyways, Kudos to you guys making a go at this, Love from Canada Eh!!
hi guys, love watching your stuff.
quick question,,did you drop your boards in water or mineral oil? or do you oil them before they leave?
You can use a Kan ban system, withe red cards. When reaching a red cards, the building department has to start the next production. For growing phase of your company, the number has to be reevaluated every 2 months. Depending of the need of the pacjing department.
that's way I follow you! to learn all can about the growth of my business.
plz think of a solution... soon?.
can't thank you enough though.
still thank you a bunch for all hard work.
I love what you guys are doing. I’m a retired manufacturing consultant. There’s a few things you could do to improve the process. Let’s talk…
Pragmatic idea...put some tape on the shelf, when the boards go below, shout to Davis...build more boards😁
Or Davis can just walk past the inventory shelf and see that it's low and build more boards.
Love the visual control. Probably should you have a max inventory level. Overproduction is the first waste in lean manufacturing.
Sounds like you need to establish a min/max number on your inventory. But that’s a hard number to set when the business is growing so fast. Honestly, I was surprised by the $6000 figure. It seems low to me. I suppose that’s relative compared to the timeframe it was earned in. Inflation is high. Your cost will be going up. Your retail price must go up as well. Good luck. I enjoy watching the story of your business unfold.
That’s profit for the business, I think your missing the fact that they’ve already took labor out and a commission for a sales rep.. so honestly 6k profit for the business ain’t bad at all
That’s profit for the business, I think your missing the fact that they’ve already took labor out and a commission for a sales rep.. so honestly 6k profit for the business ain’t bad at all..
Hey, just wondering where you can your packaging for your boards? I am looking to start the realtor supply chain too but am finding it difficult to get the packaging stuff down. Thanks for the information and another great video.
An junk drill press and a jig to hold the boards on edge would make it much easier to brand them with the iron.
I was thinking of something similar. But my mind was thinking of a DIY for the drill press part of your suggestion. A square piece of wood (or 80-20 extruded aluminum) for the vertical "track", a bit of cord from the carriage that holds the branding iron that loops over the top through a pully down to another carriage with a counter-weight that is a little heavier than the iron. Gravity pulls the iron back up and only takes a token force to pull it down. Might want to add in some sort of shield/guard over the resting position of the iron so the operator doesn't bump into it when changing boards in the jig. This would also keep the iron in a safe place if one forgets about it and doesn't notice the disco lights when closing up the shop for the night. ;-)
Did you drip oil the boards before sanding and hot branding or was that just editing? I had have problems with doing either and why asking.
Great video, what kind of boards do you use to make the cutting boards?
Out of curiosity, does your cost breakdown include overhead expenses - utilities used, replacing that bandsaw blade, other consumables?
I would love to see how do you apply "Just in Time" I just had one lesson about it on College
What type of wood do you use?
I get the feeling the next video will be about kanban.
Good luck on finding your new notification system!
Lol never heard that word until this video - that's exactly what we use for board fulfillment!
I noticed you said those 60 boards were pre sold. What type of customer base are you pre selling to? Great video