sam_cal

NewGuyInMass,
I had recently been in the market for a plane about the size of a #5. This was to be my first really good plane so copious amounts of deliberation ensued. The Lie-Nielsen #5 and their Low Angle Jack were at the top of the list primarily because of their quality and because they were American made. Ultimately, the Low Angle Jack format won me over. I looked at other manufacturer’s planes and none of the others except the Veritas Low Angle Jack generated any excitement. I then began to dissect both the L-N and Veritas planes. Even though I was predisposed to the L-N, the Veritas’ construction and features made more sense to me; specifically the location of the blade in the body, overall length of the body, and the mouth adjustment system. I received my Veritas Low Angle Jack plane about two weeks ago and could not be more pleased.

I am not suggesting that you would want a Veritas plane rather that a plane is a very personal choice and that sometimes what you think you want may not be the best solution. Look at a number of planes. Think about how you would use them, adjust them and how they would feel in your hands. If possible find someone that has a plane like the one you want and ask for a demo and test drive. But when you lay your money down for a plane, know your personal reasons for that purchase.

With respect to the #51 L-N plane: Do you need a dedicated shooting plane? Do you already have a large format plane for bench work? Will it get used every time you hit the shop? If not, it might be difficult to justify. Personally, I’d prefer something with a bit more versatility.

Hello MattCustomMade, Thank you for addressing the SSL Certificate issue. Since reading your post, I have tried it again and there were no problems.

I apologize for my level of skepticism, but in your last post you wrote:
"Currently our website allows for consumers to contact artisans directly. We are also in the process of developing ways on how to better facilitate transactions between artisans/woodworkers and interested consumers."

This sounds like CustomMade aspires to become a middle-man or broker for artisans and craftsmen. And in doing so it is only logical that you will take some percentage of the sale. Is this a fair interpretation of your statement? If so it changes the relationship dramatically.

I like your current concept and feel it has potential to benefit CustomMade as well as the artisans. However if you intend to put CustomMade between the customer and the artisan it destroys their relationship and the artisan's independent business model. It moves the artisan into dependence on CustomMade and in essence the woodworker becomes the distributed production arm of CustomMade Corp. I am not sure this is what folks have in mind when they consider working in their own business.

Regards,
Sam

I view this news with mixed emotions. Information about the business aspects of a wood working business can be invaluable to those so inclined (myself included). But the point of Fine Wood Working, as the self-described premier wood working magazine, has been to advance the craft. This move could easily distract the FWW staff as well as yield magazine and web space originally dedicated to wood working education and techniques to articles on marketing and generating hype. While a certain amount of marketing must be done, at the end of the day if we don’t learn and grow as craftsmen we won’t have anything worth selling.

The partnership with CustomMade.com also gives me pause. At present and for a while CustomMade may and likely will provide some benefit to those who subscribe. The problem is, as with all web properties, that it becomes a virtual junkyard full of outdated content and less than reputable advertisers. And from what currently appears on the site, there does not seem to be much of a way to differentiate yourself – views of content from one maker are presented in the same manner as all others. Granted this levels the playing field and it is up to the user to post compelling content, but it really seems to have a corporate site feel to it. One note of interest on CustomMade: it is not very confidence inspiring when you visit the site and click the “learn more” button about subscribing only to find that the ssl certificates are invalid or have expired.

There’s little doubt that this deal will benefit Fine Wood Working and CustomMade. But, I sincerely hope that FWW remembers who their real partners are and how they got where they are.

Thanks for your thoughts. It is completely understandable that one must be a business person first and a craftsman second. But, I wonder if you could expand on what you mean by "be entrepreneurial". I often see this advise given and understand what the term means. However it remains somewhat abstract. Would you be willing to offer an example of an entrepreneurial action you took in your business?

And what did you do to move beyond taking those projects that did not interest you? I know the obvious answer is stopped taking them, but I'm more interested in what you did to replace that work with something you wanted to do.