Turning 1 board feet of wood into $740+ profit

I would think something like a extremely good carving from a well known craftsman would sell for that. There is not really much you can make from 1 bf of wood that would fetch a decent price. I can cut one 8”x11”x1/4” board of oak or maple into a $40 portrait using a scrollsaw, and I can turn a 3/4”x3/4”x5” piece of wood into a pen (with a pen kit) rangeing from $15 to $50 (depending on the wood and pen kit used) (These are becoming difficult to sell in my area), I have seen some pens made by really good pen turners go for more than $200 and portraits from better scrollers than me go for high prices too, but I have never seen something made from 1 bf of maple sell for over $700. I’m interested in what other LJs will say.

-- Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein

I think anything that is too good to be true…usually is.

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

maybe he’s using a 1 bdft piece of maple to break out car windows and steal the stereos

Toothpicks – $1 each – heck maybe even $0.50 each

-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive

I am torn between designer toothpicks, and some sort of criminal tool. Both are excellent sugestions, with lots of potential.

Bent i must confess your statement is interesting….does make one wonder doesn’t it?

-- Chris Harrell - custom callmaker "Quacky Calls" Eastern NC. http://www.quackycalls.com

Could have been a scam, like “Congratulations, you have won an iPod”...
If I could turn a board foot of maple into a $740 profit, there’s no way I’d sell my business.
Did he have a premium rate phone phone number?

-- Do or do not, there is no try

It’s his friend, who’s name is Maple. He has a board for a foot, you pay him a buck and he lets you see it.

-- http://www.niceashplanes.com/ http://www.efcabineture.com/

that is a very intriguing statement.. probably says he’ll tell you his secret until you’ve signed the papers and then come to find out there was no secret.

-- Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember, from time-to-time, that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. -Wilde

well what did he say are you buying his tools

-- when I am not on Lumberjocks I am on @ http://thisoldworkshop.com where we allow free speech

I’ll happily sell you my woodworking “client list” for 250-Gees.
Send me the check and I’ll send you the list

If the guy is really capable of doing thousand dollar work on a single piece of wood than there’s probably not one chance the next guy with that list will also be able to do so because odds are it’s all in the personal artistry.

I’d not believe a single word until after I saw his tax returns, invoices, and sales receipts.

-- When the moderator chooses sides, his site sucks.

Bookmarked, spalted or burled maple veneer, on the right table top – could do it for the right customer. Other than that, if I am going to create my own company, I want to grow into it. Buying someone elses company without a complete audit and financials – not this week.

If you have the money and want to buy a company, that is one thing – identify the company and industry you want and go for it but beware and be very careful. THere is a lot you are not being told on this one.

-- David in Damascus, MD

I am very curious about his story and process, but to sell the information makes me roll my eyes. I’ve turned 1 board foot into $700… as art work.. after hard work … but I need someone to define “Profit” ... I work all the time (at home, at the studio, drawing, sculpting samples, etc) ... I know I earn money… it comes in, I buy things… it goes back out. Like an illusion or some kind of happy dream! If I paid myself the money I wanted to earn hourly.. I’d be bankrupt… I can’t afford myself … So what exactly is Profit to someone like me? I went to art school not business school I am not even sure what “capital” is. All I know is that I make pretty things…. and I wake up happy each day.

-- ~ Eric P Jorgenson: Jorgenson Design

It sounds lie a come-on to get someone to bite and buy the business. Have you see the products he makes? Are they high end? It is possible if you find the right buyer to do that but you must have to sell it for a lot more to make that kind of profit. I’d be leary!!

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!!

I sense a riddle that we are unlikely to guess.