Thread: Selling Brushes?

I think at 13 your primary focus should be his becoming a good ethical person, not so much the return on investment. Which I think it is, so as people before me already posted don't worry about how much it will cost or whether there will be profit or loss, as long as you are spending quality time with your son and doing something both of you enjoy it is very much worth it.

I think it is a great idea...

Whether or not he turns a profit, he will gain far more value from the experience. Learn from both his gains and losses.

Depending on price and shipping, Id be happy to commission a brush made by him. You could have him open communication, qualify the buyer, build a buyer/seller contract and rapport, find shipping quotes/costs to Australia, seek post-purchase feedback, and asking for testimonial or referral of new business. Great lessons to be learnt in all these steps.

By all means, teach him how to turn.Is nothing more gratifying than making a usefull item out of a pce of raw material.
Just looking at your finished item will bring much happiness to you both,above all, have fun

I'm 60 years old and I've been working outside of the home since I was 11 years old! I was pulling weeds, shoveling snow off of walkways, mowing lawns etc! That's not counting the 'Chores' I had at home!

I see nothing wrong with encouraging a young man to learn to use his hands at a trade and do so with 'Skill'!!!

I am the proud Past State President of Washington States VICA (Vocational Industrial Club of America) at the Community College Level. When you really think about it, if it wasn't for those who work in a hands on job everything would just stop! You can put every Admiral in the Navy on a Battleship and they can't take it out of Port! Man it with Chief Petty Officers and they can sail it around the world!

I wish the young man well on his endeavor!

Good on you Dad for showing him the way!

Hopefully he'll turn not only some brush handles but a little Profit along with gaining some Pride In His Work and a Sense of Accomplishment!

I don't remember half the things I made as a kid but appreciate the "tools" I learned and passion that keep me tinkering.
Like others have said I think that's the real profit to be had.
I'm happy to essentially break even on materials with practically free labor in the few things I've sold. I like how it gets the juices flowing in the brain.
I've never felt guilty in spending money on tools that'll keep your creativity up. It's very satisfying. Go for it. It's not like there's a bunch of capital expense involved.

Originally Posted by Splashone

As pixelfixed points out, like most "hobby produced" items, it is likely that you can recover costs and earn not much.

God yes.

If you want to go down this route, the ONLY reason would be that you love the activity and may as well make some money off of it to recover costs. Case in point is myself. I make blades. Mostly razors and kitchen knives. I only started doing it because I love doing it, not to make money. And while I do make some money, most of it is spent again on more stock, more handle material, the anvil, the belt grinder (1600 euros or something in that region), the drill press, the smithy I built, the sanding belts, etc etc.

Looking at the overall picture and looking at the investments I made, I am still in the hole for a lot of money. I'll get out of it eventually and might even make a side business of it eventually. Just because I love it. It is great that you want to learn your son the value of making stuff. If anything, it'll teach him just how much effort does go into making something. And he'll learn to use certain tools which is valuable experience for life. And you'll spend quality time with him which is priceless. But unless he becomes a famous brushmaker, doing this for profit is a bit unrealistic. Crafts are about passion, not making money.

Like Mike blue once said to me: the only way to end up with a small fortune as a blacksmith is to start off with a big fortune.

Bruno,

Many years ago I needed a bookshelf. Everything I found was either (turn on the scottish accent) ccrrrrrrrraaaaapppp, or way too expensive.

I decided to save money by building my own. When I was done, my wife added up the cost of all tools, lumber, and time, and quipped, "gosh honey, it's beautiful. And it should be, it's the most expensive bookshelf on the planet!"

Originally Posted by jgjgjg

Bruno,

Many years ago I needed a bookshelf. Everything I found was either (turn on the scottish accent) ccrrrrrrrraaaaapppp, or way too expensive.

I decided to save money by building my own. When I was done, my wife added up the cost of all tools, lumber, and time, and quipped, "gosh honey, it's beautiful. And it should be, it's the most expensive bookshelf on the planet!"

The lesson I get from this is to buy quality tools that last and you don't have to write off after one project!

Back in 1968 when I was 14 years old I worked for a friend's father who owned a machine shop! His name was Bert Lewis.

He had a lathe that had a 72" throw YES! 72"s!!!

He told me that there was a job out for bids and he'd figured that from what the work would provide he could buy the lathe to do the work and still turn a little profit! He'd then have the lathe for future jobs and turn more profit!!

He said he submitted his bid and was told that the job was his so he purchased the lathe only to be told later that the job was given to someone else!!

I only saw him use that lathe once and I was scared to death! He was turning down the pivots of the hydraulic cylinders from a Caterpillar Dozer. Those huge rams were spinning and he was just calmly standing on the platform working away!

While he didn't get the job he was later able to use it for other project! I doubt that the lathe ever paid for itself but it did on occasion provide income for Bert!

When I look back and remember Bert telling me about how he had acquired that huge lathe I think that what impressed me was that he didn't sound 'Bitter' he was telling me the history of the lathe!: