As you may have noticed on my latest edition of the Woodworking News (March-April 2022) I’ve spent a considerable amount of cash on a new computer and monitor for editing videos. My old set up was just barely adequate for what I was doing and often I overtaxed that system. While the new computer is outstanding and much faster I need to recoupe some of that cost if at all possible. In case you’re wondering how much, just think of the cost of a fairly high end bandsaw like the one the Wood Whisperer and Fine Woodworking Magazine just added to their shops.

I’ve decided that getting any funding from YouTube at this point is rather futile. They keep adding advertising time to videos and increasing the requirements to get funds from the ads they run on my videos. They are doing all that while at the same time lowering the amount of ad money that videos make. Obviously the people at YouTube aren’t trying to help the creators who supply their content and those of us who are producing the content have less control on when and where videos appear in our videos. YouTube as a company is much more intrested in increasing their profits.

As a result I’m going to be looking for some other revenue sources. One of those sources is swag (woodworking theamed merchandise) for my channel. As of this writing the WB Fine Woodworking logo swag sales page on Spreadshop is now operational. You can show your support for my channel by purchasing something to wear or just a sticker. The link is in the website menu under “Shop.” As time passes I’ll be adding additional designs that are related to the channel and woodworking. Some of those designs are already in progress.

Another set of products should be coming to this website in the near future. Since I enjoy turning and can produce projects fairly quickly I’m planning on adding some turning projects for sale through the website. My biggest hurdle right now is getting all that set up, both making some inventory and figuring out how to sell the items including collecting money and shipping. I have some ideas about what needs to be done but getting everything set up is taking more time than I initially thought it might. The first products I plan to sell are cake/pie/pizza servers like the ones I made for Christmas presents this year. Eventually I may add pizza cutters and ice cream scoops too if there’s a market for them. The second product planned right now is a birdcage awl. I recently did a series of YouTube shorts on making one of these and I’ve found it to be extremely useful in the shop already. Which of these products actually appears first is still to be determined.

For those who are more into computers, tablets, smart phones and are involved in video production, especially using Apple gear, I’m going to be adding a new YouTube channel. It’s just in the planning statges right now but should start appearing as a second channel sometime this summer if all goes well. I’m doing this for two reasons. First of all It’s a subject that I’m very famaliar with especially for those just starting out trying to set up a YouTube channel or video editing for something else. In addition I have a lot of ideas for swag related to this subject matter and related topics that I think will sell well. Yes, I admit that I’m hoping to make some money through this channel.

I’m doing all this to assist me in making better content for my woodworking channel. What most people don’t realize is all the money and time required to run the channel. While most bloggers and YouTube creators don’t have expensive tools, machines and supplies over and above what they use to create their content for a channel like mine very little content gets made without spending a considerable amount of time out in my shop making things. All the necessary things for making objects from wood cost money in addition to what I need to spend to produce decent videos. The time required to make videos while working in my shop is greatly increased. To get all the necessary video clips for a decent video for the channel I need specific equipment and time to set up the different angles necessary to get the video clips I need for a video. If I don't I start bringing in some revenue from my venture to help offset all that expense I won’t be able to continue making content for the channel or making any improvements in the quality of that content.

A BIG thank you to all of you who have subscribed or even watch my video content on YouTube. You’re greatly appreciated. Hopefully I’ll be able to continue increasing the quality of that content with your continued support. Please chack out my WB Fine Woodworking swag page. Thank you.

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