10 Tips for Starting A CNC Business | Wood CNC Router Business

These 10 tips will help you jumpstart your CNC Router business and save you time and money, Ryan goes over things he wishes he would have known before starting a CNC woodworking business. These tips he learned so far in his career and hopes that they can help you out in yours.

#1 Your CNC's Competitive Advantage - 1:04
#2 Understand Your Competition - 3:05
#3 The CNC is Only a Tool - 5:41
#4 Programming Skills? - 6:55
#5 Know Your Product - 8:36
#6 Know What You Are Getting Into - 10:04
#7 Barriers To Entry - 11:43
#8 How Much to Charge Per Hour - 13:02
#9 Feeds and Speeds - 14:54
#10 Never be Satisfied - 16:19

About Cutting It Close:
Our goal is to help aspiring craftsmen do what they love for a living! Through training videos, CNC router techniques, unique projects, and practical applications, we hope to share our knowledge in the woodworking field and CNC routering.

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[dwlister]

Something to add to feeds and speeds. We can machine through 3/4" sheets in two passes, the machine can do it. But if we do, our industrial dust collection leaves so much to clean up that 5-10 mins are taken clearing the bed for the next sheet so vacuum hold-down is effective. There are numerous factors that factor into programming decisions. Some great tips all round though.

[bgfunbear]

U have all the fundamental business knowledge one would ask for to start a CNC biz. Very well presented, and spot-on!

[treydrewett]

I love all your advice. I just launched my woodworking business last fall, and my CNC arrives next week! The learning curve looks really steep, but I'm up for a challenge.

[cecilferris]

Definitely some great tips, thanks for making this video. Keep up the great work.

[nelsonribeiro]

Actually I do have a suggestion for a new vid in continuation of this one. You could make one talking about the actual price you are asking per hour of the CNC and how much profit you think is reasonable to put on the top of that(profit part). Where to find your clients. Tell more about your competitors, how do they exactly relate with you. And how to find the best wood suppliers, how to negotiate with them, how to find them, because there's a huge importance in the quality/price of the wood you buy. Thank you!

[carolinaworkshop]

I have watched a handful of your videos and I really appreciate the information you have put out. Very useful!

[pawpawscustomcreations]

I like it. You get what you put In it.

[artmckay]

Thank you!
All good advice born of experience - invaluable! :)

[paramtrx]

That was a great video thx. I disagree with #4 tho.. As your competitor, I already have a huge advantage over you where as customers know I can take a complex 3d model, nest and cut the parts. You should be learning as much as you can in terms of software.. it never ends. Fusion 360 and Autocad light will get you through any job.

[StevenDavisPhoto]

A giant one is ok for engravings too if u wanna do a bunch at once and just let the job run. Depends.

[makingaiworkforyou]

Great advise for starting any business!

[dal]

Really getting a lot from these types of videos. Im actually working all night in my own shop tonight so your videos have been autoplaying lol. Heres a suggestion for a video: Id love to hear you talk about the process you went through of overcoming a lot of those mistakes you mentioned you made as youve grown your business. I am stuck in the very infancy of my business with this big cnc having said yes to everyone and now im absolutely bigged down with custom woodworking jobs that are taking forever and all the while my machine is sitting still too often. I am just now seeing my mistake, but its in real time lol. So id be interested to hear more about the lessons you learned and some of the specific hard situations you got in and how it all worked out.

[pg]

I've built a few diy hobby cnc's. A couple of mills and a 5c cnc metal cutting lathe. I'm in the process of building a 19"x48" router for aluminum and wood that will be chain driven on the x and y axis. Wish I could go bigger but don't have the space. I have several other small manual lathes and mills that need cnc conversion but don't have the time. These were excellent tips. That I could use to sell some ideas for cars, kitchens, desk art, toys etc. It's taken me years to get where I am at and I haven't sold anything. People that I share my machines and what I'm doing are highly interested though, I just can't start because it's so easy to reproduce anything I can imagine. That I would be priced out quickly. My only hope is to make enough quantities to be satisfied to make a profit so I can keep going. And move on to the next idea.

[anthonyferreira]

This is great, thanks for these. Some of the tips hit home and was spot on for me. Following from southern Africa.

[markriley]

UK subscriber here! As a business in the US are you seeing the unprecedented rise is wood based products as we are over here, and as a business how do you cope with this! For example in the last year plywood of all types is up 30% that's if you can get it. quality is also dubious! Its not just ply but most construction type materials. Now why'll I'm not in the CNC world I've had to revert back to doing what I know in industries that were allowed to keep working in our lockdown world! And for the future Wood CNC is something I would be looking at!

[RichACV]

Love this channel....thank you for this and all your videos, well done!!

[NWGR]

Thanks for this. I've been woodworking for 17 years and I'm finally getting a CNC for my shop to expand things a bit. The advice is very helpful.

[kyleshill]

Hi there
I'm in the UK just got a cnc machine, love your advice, I'm hoping to make camper kitchens for vw transporter and what ever else I can do 👍

[arshadmalik]

Great video coupled with some great tips.

Can you please advise or point me in the right direction where to procure the right CNC machine for cutting marble or salt stones?

[ProspectivePlans]

These are the business tips I needed in my life! 💫 Keep rising to be who you want to be! 💫 #keeprising #risingtobe #aswerise #riser