Frequently Asked Questions


Do you review products that you receive for free?

Yes. As a very small company, we do not have the resources to purchase the latest and greatest products for review. After all, our job is making educational videos, not reviewing tools. But we are fortunate enough to receive products from various companies who are looking for some kind of exposure on our show. Ultimately, if the product is good enough and if the situation calls for it, these products may be seen in use on The Wood Whisperer. And if I am so inclined (and when requested by viewers), I may even post my experiences with the product as a review on the website. I am a straight shooter when it comes to product reviews and I have burned a few bridges with my honesty. Just because I receive a product for free does not in any way predispose me to presenting a positive review.


How do you price your work?

Over the last few years of running this website and doing my show, I have been asked one question repeatedly: “Why don’t you ever shave?” And a close second to that question is: “How do you price your work?” I am more than happy to share my method with everyone, with the understanding that I am NOT a business consultant. I don’t claim to know what’s best. I only know what worked for me. And like all things in woodworking, there are many “correct” ways to get the job done. So after reading this, I hope you’ll share your own pricing strategies in the comments section below.

Pricing can be done in many ways. And no, taking 2X or 3X the material cost is not good enough. Wood can vary in price from $1/bf to $50/bf, so you can see how that system falls apart quickly. But for many hobbyists who are selling pieces to family and friends, with no real concern for profit, that system is better than nothing. But as a business, pricing based solely on material cost is incredibly inaccurate and it isn’t really fair to you or your clients. My pricing strategy, like many things in my life, is based on the K.I.S.S theory: Keep It Simple Stupid! As a one man shop, a simple and flexible system is just what I need. But if you are pricing jobs as a full-scale cabinet shop, you will need to streamline things and come up with some sort of linear foot pricing strategy that includes all of your overhead (something I know nothing about).

If you are a hobbyist selling projects on the side, I still recommend learning how to price accurately, and then making the “common sense adjustment”, as I like to call it. If you are building for family, friends, or the church, you are probably not going for maximum profit. But you will at least have an idea of how much of a “discount” you are giving these folks. Plus, you’d be surprised at how helpful pricing the job can be in keeping the project organized on the whole.

Every bid starts with materials, and I have two methods for estimating how much wood I will need for a given project. The quick and dirty method involves getting an approximate total board foot count for the entire project and adding 20% as a buffer for waste, error and selectivity. Then I head to the lumber yard and pick up the material based on that calculation. The risks you run here are being stuck with less than ideal stock and possibly having to make a second trip to get more wood. So this one could very well bite you in the butt!

The second, and more accurate method is to sketch out the project completely and generate a rough cut list ahead of time. Realistically, you need to do this to build the project anyway. So why not use it to estimate your materials? Now you’ll know exactly how many board you need and you can even pick out specific boards for specific parts when you are at the lumber yard. This is by far the better method and your projects will look better as a result. But it does take more time and effort. I may also buy one or two extra boards, just in case I screw something up. But for the most part, there is no reason to purchase an additional 20% stock, because you are buying exactly what you need. One thing to keep in mind is that this method also requires patient lumber yard workers. Some yards will NOT let you dig through a pile to pick the perfect boards.

Regardless of which method you choose, both will yield a materials cost. I usually take that number and add 10% to cover any miscellaneous costs: extra boards, gas money, your time at the lumber yard, etc.

Now comes the hard (and most important) part: estimating your time. I suggest breaking the project down into separate parts to create a workflow. For example, a simple cabinet could be broken down into 8 sections: cutting carcass and door parts, joinery for the case, assembly of the case, joinery for the door, assembly of the door, edge treatments, finishing, and hardware installation. Now look at those tasks and estimate how much time you expect each activity to take (being honest with yourself). You’ll get better at this over time, but if you are anything like me, you will always underestimate. Clearly, I am under the illusion that I am much faster than I truly am!

The final thing to consider is your hourly rate. How much money do you want to make? Alas…..if it were only that simple! I used to have a stated shop rate of $50/hr. But every time I would price out a job, I would get to that final number and realize there was no way the client would accept the bid, so I would make “the common sense adjustment”. Eventually, I realized that one of two things had to happen: I either needed to work faster, or I had to lower my hourly rate. $35-$40/hr turned out to be a much more appropriate number. With the pace I work, $50/hr was just wishful thinking. One other thing to keep in mind is that this number is also where the overhead costs live. Electricity, rags, and sharpening services have to be paid for somehow. But since these are part of every job, I factor them into my hourly rate.

To sum up, here is my simple formula: materials cost (+10%) + (hourly rate x project hours)


Will you ever do a show on TV?

Well before I go any further, I should probably mention that we are already on television. Our show is syndicated by over 80 public access channels around the country. Check your local listings to see if they are playing The Wood Whisperer. In addition, our show can be viewed on many set top boxes like Tivo, Roku, and AppleTV.

Now if you are talking about producing our show specifically for television, here are my thoughts. I am not opposed to the idea, but I don’t think its feasible for us at this time. Making a show “the old fashioned way” is very expensive. In today’s economy, finding sponsors for such a production would be very difficult and the process would completely dominate my time. To do something like this TheWoodWhisperer.com and The Wood Whisperer Guild would have to be put on hold. Frankly, this is something I don’t relish doing.

So as I see it, TV represents an uphill struggle that will result in a watered down 20-minute version of our show that will most likely lack the “real” elements you know and love about The Wood Whisperer. In contrast on the web, we maintain complete control over content, humor, and the length of the show. On the internet, I have an international audience and because I make my own schedule, I can be an active member of the community. These are things that I would never want to give up and a career in television would most likely require me to sacrifice this community aspect to a great extent.

So I can’t say TV will never be in our future. In fact, we have turned down a few offers that just didn’t feel right. So for right now, I just can’t see any compelling reason to pursue that path.


How do you make money?

In order to keep our content free, the The Wood Whisperer receives support from several sources: sponsorship (equipment and funding), viewer support, and ad revenue. Sponsors are specifically selected by me, based on the fact that I like their products. This is critical since sponsors frequently send us products that are used on the show, and I will not use a product I do not like. Viewer support comes in the form of product sales, Guild memberships, and our affiliate programs with Rockler.com, Woodcraft.com, and Amazon.com.

A fourth source of support is my wife Nicole’s job. Without her financial support, this little dream of mine would never be a reality!


How do I enter the giveaways?

All you need to do is comment on one of our posts. Every month, we’ll pick the random winner(s) from the comment section of our blog posts. So the more posts you comment on, the better chance you have to win. And no forms to fill out!! Just an FYI, only real constructive comments will be considered. Things like, “Here’s my entry! will not win. For more details, see Giveaway Page.


Is that really your garage and how big is it?

Many of our early videos were filmed in our old house, which had an attached 1500 sq. ft. garage. Our current, and hopefully temporary, setup is a standard 3-car garage. I prefer to call it a shop though. :)


What’s your favorite glue?

Well, my favorite glue depends on the application. I like Titebond II and III for most standard indoor/outdoor projects. For veneering I like to use Unibond 800. Truthfully though, epoxy is my favorite adhesive. Unfortunately, because of its price, its impractical to use in every application.


What respirator do your wear/recommend?

This is by far the most comfortable unit I know of. Comfortable enough to wear all day if need be. With a down-firing exhaust, you will never fog up your glasses or eye protection again. 3M Resipirator


What equipment/software do you use to make your shows?

I am a Mac enthusiast and I create all of my podcasts using Final Cut Studio, GarageBand, and my Mac Pro. My camera is a Panasonic HMC-150. My lavalier microphone is a Shure SM-11. My podcasting microphone is a Heil PR-40. Our lighting setup consists of two light boxes from Steve Kaeser Lighting and Accessories, although we rarely use these in our videos.


Why does my computer freeze up on your site?

This is a very complicated thing for us to troubleshoot, but most of the time its due to outdated software or components on your system. Doing the following things will resolve the problem for the majority of users:
Download the latest version of your browser or just try a different browser, such as Firefox.
Download the latest version of Flash.
Download the latest version of Java.


What’s your story?

I would be more than happy to give you some insight into how I got where I am. And believe me, I still have a long way to go. So grab a cup of coffee and get ready for a long story. I started out working in biotech right out of college. Like many of you, I had a good career ahead of me…….and hated every minute of it. I had a horrible commute, a bad relationship with my boss, and my love for science was quickly diminishing. Now on the other end of the spectrum, my woodworking hobby was getting more and more serious. I just couldn’t get enough shop time. In fact, my wife started getting quite annoyed with me because I wanted to spend all of my free time working in the garage. I loved spending time with my wife, but there was just something about being in the shop that really healed the wounds of the work day.

I started doing jobs here and there for friends and neighbors, which really planted the seed for my thoughts of starting my own business. After a while, we decided to move from Southern California to Arizona. Since I needed to quit my job anyway, my wife suggested I take some time to apprentice with David Marks (that’s a whole other story). After the short term apprenticeship (and I use this term loosely), we made the decision to start the business. I had to start from scratch. But I had two things going for me: a nice big garage for a shop and my wife makes a healthy salary. Things were tight for a while, but I managed to get by with only a few jobs here and there during the first year of business. During that time, I started to offer woodworking classes out of my shop. I also started shopping myself around as a woodworking instructor and scored a few jobs at woodworking schools around the country.

So by the end of the first year, I had a good website, lots of business cards, lettering on my truck, but not enough business to pay the bills. In order to help out, I got a full-time job with an engineering company here in Phoenix. I still ran the business on the side and I learned a few lessons. First, I was reminded how much it sucks to work 9-5. I also learned that I would be miserable doing anything other than following my dreams. So once we got through the rough patch, I decided to double my efforts and go back into woodworking full-time. And just to make things a little easier, I started working for a refinishing shop in Phoenix a few days a week. I had a steady flow of customers and felt pretty comfortable for a year or so.
And of course, in November of 2006, we started The Wood Whisperer. Nothing has been the same since. What started as a fun little side project has taken over my life and career and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We are still evolving as a business, but one thing is clear: The Wood Whisperer is our future.

So at this point I may not be the best person to give advice on how to make the jump to woodworking full-time. Clearly I am taking a different path that I originally anticipated. But if could give any advice it would be this: Build up the business while you have the security of a steady paycheck. Start doing some advertising. See what kind of prices you can command for your work while it really doesn’t affect you or your family. I would also suggest not limiting yourself to just building custom furniture. Build anything and everything people are willing to pay you to build. Don’t turn down refinishing jobs. They are a great way to make a quick buck with very little material investment. Also, if you are so inclined, consider submitting articles to magazines. The more you spread yourself out, the less likely you are to fall on your face. If one part of the business is slow, you can always rely on the others. By the time you have more business than you can handle in your spare time, its time to crunch the numbers and see if you could survive doing the woodworking full time. That’s the system that worked for me, and consequently that’s the system I recommend to others. Results may vary. :) In my opinion, this is the safest way to make the shift.

So its not easy, but its not impossible. You need three other things: skill, luck, and a VERY supportive spouse if you have one. If your spouse doesn’t share your dream, then you are dead in the water. There will be times that you have to make sacrifices as a family, and if your spouse is not on board, this can put alot of pressure on the marriage. Fortunately, the business was my wife’s idea and she has supported me every step of the way and continues to be an integral part of The Wood Whisperer. I hope my experience will help you in achieving your dream.