My wife and I got a CNC machine about 8 months ago. We did not have a lot of experience with wood working and finishing, but still had visions in our head about starting a home based business. One thing I learned quickly was that there are a lot of people with CNC machines out there. A lot of people making beautiful projects, especially those with several more years experience than us. We also discovered that the price competition can be difficult to keep up with (I really think a lot of CNC'rs undersell themselves). One thing we didn't know CNC machines could do was photo carving. I decided to get the Photo Vcarve software to play around with. I actually became somewhat obsessed with the software, the machining, and the finishing. I don't even have a clue how many hours I spent practicing, experimenting with different tools and different settings, different sanding techniques, different stains, etc, until I finally was happy with the product that we could make. Instead of trying to compete with our competition, I worked on developing a product with a different look and feel than what other people were doing in the hopes of producing another option for customers who are looking for photo carvings. I do have to admit that we have to charge more than what I've seen other people charge because the finishing time is greatly increased, which puts us out of the price range of some potential customers, but little by little we are finally getting a customer base. I finally feel like we have found our own little niche in the CNC world. Here is one of my favorite carvings that we've done.
[url=http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/wainw ... n.jpg.html]
Focusing on photo carving
- scottp55
- Vectric Wizard
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Re: Focusing on photo carving
That's Gorgeous!!
Going to make a lot of people Jealous
Price so you can stay in business and keep making beautiful stuff!
Forget E-bay---Think Etsy!
Top Notch Work!
scott
Going to make a lot of people Jealous
Price so you can stay in business and keep making beautiful stuff!
Forget E-bay---Think Etsy!
Top Notch Work!
scott
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
R.N.
R.N.
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Re: Focusing on photo carving
That is awesome! What are details? (Line spacing, depth,etc) I've always said if I wanted to work for nothing I would work for my wife You are not going to get all the jobs, most folks are out there looking for a deal. I give a price and stick with it because if I budge they go for more!!!
Bob
Bob
- martin54
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Re: Focusing on photo carving
Great looking carving, as for your other comments well just forget about what other people are doing & what they are charging, concentrate on high quality & charge what you feel is appropriate for the work you are doing. You will get the right sort of customers that way, not everyone looks at price alone, quality is important to a lot of people & they are prepared to pay more providing the service & quality are consistent.
Try competing on price alone & one of 2 things will happen, you will either become a very busy fool where you make nothing at all or you will be turning out inferior work because you aren't taking the time required to do the job properly. Don't forget not everyone does this sort of thing to make money, some do it just for the love of it which you can't do if you are running a business.
Where you sell will make a big difference as well, you can't expect to make good money at flee markets or on places like ebay.
Other thing is to look at doing things that others are not & don't copy what you see other people selling but be prepared to have your stuff copied if it is any good
Best of luck with it all anyway.
Try competing on price alone & one of 2 things will happen, you will either become a very busy fool where you make nothing at all or you will be turning out inferior work because you aren't taking the time required to do the job properly. Don't forget not everyone does this sort of thing to make money, some do it just for the love of it which you can't do if you are running a business.
Where you sell will make a big difference as well, you can't expect to make good money at flee markets or on places like ebay.
Other thing is to look at doing things that others are not & don't copy what you see other people selling but be prepared to have your stuff copied if it is any good
Best of luck with it all anyway.
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Re: Focusing on photo carving
Beautiful work , that is some great finishing detail. And like others have said pricing depends on were you want to take it. When I first started a lot of people wanted a little bit of everything but wanted to pay box store prices . So I set my prices were I wanted and the people I do sell to now are mostly repeat clients or sent to me by there friends and price isn't an issue because they want hand made for them items . I mostly do free gifts for my family and friends now and sell enough to pay for my hobby and toys . I guess I'am saying don't under sell your work unless it's necessary. pop's
POPS1964
SHOPBOT Buddy BT-32
SHOPBOT Buddy BT-32
Re: Focusing on photo carving
Thank you all. As for tools and such, I tend to stick with engraving tools for making photo carves, but if they aren't highly detailed images, I'll sometimes use a V bit to cut down on carving times. Generally carving down to .03 depth. I do recommend when you are rendering a photo in Photo Vcarve, to render it at 100% first, because it will give you the best idea of what your photo will look like when its carved as far as how well the depth and shading will appear, then render again at your preferred line spacing (whether you are going for a complete clean out like some people do at 10-15% or just tighter lines at 50-70%). I know if I go straight to rendering at line spacing below 100%, its really difficult to see how the final product is going to look (at least for me). I hope some or all of that makes sense.
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Re: Focusing on photo carving
Wow that is nice! I, too, am trying to find a niche as well. Not a lot of CNC's in the area that I am aware of so I have that advantage, but still trying to work on how to make it pay for itself.