If it is out there make it out of wood

[genek]

Some of you wonder where i come up with the ideas and plans that i do. Well simply put if there is a need, i make it. If it is being made in plastic and people like make it out of wood. Almost anything that is needed can be made by you and your shop bot. All you have to do is make it.
Here are some pictures of a hair beret. I drop the berets in sections of wood that would normally be waste. Most often one or two of the drop ins will pay for the whole board.
The berets were cut as i cut out my run of bread knives.

[dlcw]

Very cool Eugene.

Where do you get the hardware that attaches to the wood parts you make? The issue I always seem to run into is needing to purchase hundreds or thousands of the hardware parts to get a price point that enables me to make some money.

Are there wholesalers that allow you to purchase in smaller quantities so person can test the local markets to see if an idea is viable? So far I've struck out on this... :(

[genek]

Don you are right in order to get parts at affordable price you have to buy 100 even 1,000. What i do is pay the price for the few, set my price and see if they will move at that price. If they do, i then order in bulk. Sometimes i make due with something else to see if people are interested or use a cheaper part. One way to get cheaper parts to try out is to go on e-bay, they may not be top quality but it gets you the test. Sometimes i have to bite the bullet, and hope for the best.

The bread knife i found prices from $5.00 to $6.00 retail.. I bought a few to test the quality, and came up with the blade i liked i ended up having to order 2,000 blades to get the price down.
Some companies will send you a few samples to try some will not even talk to you unless you buy several thousand.

Most often i can find what i need on e-bay to try.. Then from there it is a fishing game to find the best at the cheapest.
The jewelry is a new line of product. I made a few prototype and made the mistake of showing them to tina before i had the bugs worked out and the parts located. She sold 72 of one style and 150 of another. Luckily i was able to find my parts cheap and of good quality.
Sometimes i call factories that make items and ask them where they get their parts some will tell you some will tell you where to get off at.