Came for the wood, subbed for the beard! This was by far the most detailed tutorial for these trees that I've seen! Thank you for giving the precise measurements, angles, and tips for getting better joins!
Took my first leap into woodworking with this project, and I'm super happy with the results. Wish I could post a picture. I was really coasting until I had to use the brad nailer, lol. My advice practice on cheap lumber first, before you go strait for the oak (like me). I ended up doing the bases of my trees different opting for a more A-frame design using approx. 3" wide piece of wood for the bases (excluded completely the base tree trunk piece in the original tutorial), and used smaller 2" wide for the branches. I also used a semi-transparent white stain for a more modern danish look. Thanks again for this great tutorial! The white stain also really helps hide the brad nails and wood putty.
These are beautiful! My teenage son is learning basic wood working skills at school. We don’t have the equipment you have but do have a small hand saw, a sawzaw, staple gun & staples. I plan to purchase the wood glue, clamp and boards for the two of us to attempt making this beautiful tree and give as gifts. Thank you so much! 😊 🌲
I've several of these christmas trees of three sizes. I used all screws to join the pieces and drilled the screw holes fairly deep. I made all the hole from the outside of pieces, then covered all the scdew holes with dowel plugs, cut them off flush, and sanded. I think it looks pretty good. You barely notice the plugs after painting or staining and you don't see any screw heads.
I thought about using a jig, however home store pine is so variable in thickness and has lots of warped and twisted boards. Any jig would have to have enough play in it to work and not have big gaps in the joints.
@@biscuittreewoodworks Different suggestion: Do the top pieces first and the do the bottom. Then you aren't handling the bottom twice...would save a bit of time.
Perfect explanation and instructions. I did see a guy who created ‘clamp jigs’ to hold the pieces together on a “glue only” (no brad nails) version of the tree. I’m a “B” woodworker, I’m sure an “A” like yourself can whip that up in no time. Thanks for the tips!
The solid cherry looks amazing, nice work on the builds and explaining. I cover all the details in my builds as well so I can respect how much time this takes vs. just throwing together a build with music.
Great Video.....I made a bunch of these this year, and they sold out at markets. I really appreciate your tips and tricks for gluing and assembly. I also appreciate the detailed measurements. I will be making more of these for next year.
Unfortunately, I have ruined plenty of shorts in the shop! Table saw kickbacks, router table kickbacks, router bits coming loose while routing... after a while you just keep an extra pair in reserve!
Thanks for sharing. These look much better when the 4 “limbs” are cut as parallelograms rather than trapezoids. This also allows the addition of a couple of shelves across the inside.
You can do them that way if you prefer, but not all the pieces can be cut like that so you will be changing the setup a lot more or the tree won't go together.
I am in LOVE with the solid cherry! This video was so interesting and relaxing to watch. I want to explore woodworking SO bad, and this seems like such a good entry into it. Thank you!!
Hola! 🖐Great videos, thanks for taking the time to go through this a step at a time. My daughter-n-law just aske me to build a few of these, I'm glad I found your video. Take care and have a good one, Adios!👊
Enjoyed your video. Made a couple trial versions and they came out good. Being frugal, I ripped a standard pine stud in half & squared the rounded edges. Since thickness was less than 3/4” I adjusted the couple lengths that take the thickness dimension into account. Came out presentable (gift worthy), added an angel tree ornament in the center & gave to elderly widow next door. Made her holiday season 😊
It's not a problem with flipping the board. My issue is I keep cutting the board on the flat side. Totally screwed up on my part. Well, HD trip tomorrow 😂
Seems like I always end up making 2-3 trips to HD every time I start a new project! If it helps to visualize the parts, I have plans available you can print out and use in the shop! biscuittreewoodworks.com
I had a little trouble with some spring outs on some of the pieces I was nailing. Hoping my next set will be better, but overall these look great. Awesome tutorial!
Almost the same way I build them, but you will be faster using an additional clamp for the top piece instead of unclamping the bottom piece. You can also skip the center line marking by simply adding a visual guidance on your fence.
Have made several of the smaller trees about to make some of the larger trees. Will they nest together? I have a possible customer asking for trees that nest together. And what if I need a 3rd tree that is in proportion larger to have 3 nest together. Any idea how I can get the measurements for the 3rd size up?
If you build them the way I explain, yes they will nest together. If you want to build a larger tree that these will fit into, you'll have to calculate the size using some geometry, or trial and error.
Awesome! Lots of people love these! You can follow along with the video or I have plans you can print out with step-by-step instructions on my website. biscuittreewoodworks.com
Thanks for this video! I really appreciate dimensions in inches, I found a video that I used last year to make one tree for my grandmother, but the cut lengths were all in millimeters, which I could do, but wasn't the easiest (although he was at least still using a 1x3, or close enough that it's what I went with anyway) ;) (Also, I didn't have a miter saw last year, so it was all done with a circular saw... part of why I only got one done, instead of the 3-4 I was planning so I could *also* give ones to my mom and aunts.) I did the green paint, with a gold paint pen for like "Merry Christmas" and such on it, and used a Forstner bit to make a hole in the base for an electric tea light.
Very nice! I'm looking for a simple project to dip my toes into as a beginner and this looks like it will work nicely. Thanks for the great video and detailed explanation.
Awesome! Hope they turn out great! I have a few other beginner level projects on my channel you can try and another Christmas project coming out in about a week!
You don't need to, but highly recommended to apply at least some type of top coat whether it's lacquer, polyurethane, or spar varnish. If not, especially outdoors, the wood is going to start to weather and rot when it gets exposed to the elements.
I don't have a simple answer for you because pricing isn't a simple concept. And full disclosure, I'm not doing production runs on these because I just don't have the time for that anymore. I'm getting a lot more value and enjoyment with the time I'm spending teaching people about woodworking and helping them build better projects. So, your price will depend greatly on your COGS (cost of goods sold) and what the local market will sustain. Ideally you want to lower your COGS while simultaneously increasing price to maximize profit margin. Cost wise, cherry is not typically that much more expensive than pine. However, the quality of the final product, in my opinion, is much higher. If I was to sell a set made from pine for $50, for example, I'd list the cherry for around $65-70. You could also experiment with other hardwoods. I think walnut and quarter sawn white oak look amazing for these! The price for those materials can be 2-3 times the cost of cherry. Much more expensive materials and again higher quality product. I'd list those around $80-90 per set. These are just ballpark starting prices. If you are selling out faster than you can make them, increase prices! If no one is buying, you can try lower prices or the market just isn't interested. All that said, you need to understand your market. If your market can't afford to spend nearly $100 on a set of wooden display trees, then there's no point in making a bunch of them to sell. If your market loves to splurge on unique decor and cost is no objection, then go for it and rake in the cash by providing them with high quality items they can't find anywhere else. How you market and get the product in front of customers is also going to play a HUGE role! Take beautiful staged photos and lots of them! Dress them up with bows, ornaments, candles, ect. Make it look like they belong on the cover of Country Living Magazine! Don't try to sell to the general public with a photo of the trees sitting on your workbench with sawdust and tools laying around! That's how you sell to woodworkers, not soccer moms and little old ladies wanting to buy cute decor for the holidays! This is a complex topic, and I've only scratched the surface here, but I hope that helps!
I have a question for you. I used pine for my tree and of course when I stained it the ends where you see the wood grain is much darker. Any suggestions as to what I can do to have it blended?
End grain will soak up a lot of stain if you don’t do something to prevent it. The first thing I recommend is sanding the end grain one grit higher than the rest of the project. So if you sand to 180, go up to 220 on the end grain. The other thing is to use pre-stain conditioner before applying the stain. This helps even out the stain and prevent blotching. Another option if you don’t want to use the pre-stain conditioner is to mix some wood glue with water about 1:4 ratio. Brush it on the end grain and let it dry before applying the stain. Hope that helps!
No, you won’t be able to hammer in brad nails by hand. They are way too thin. Your alternative would be to use the CA glue trick I showed on the cherry version.
Like your plan/design, although mine don't seem to match up together nicely like yours. Not sure if my miter saw at 30 degrees is off a tad or not. Also, what is the overlap on the side pieces, 3/4" or 1"? Thanks!
The correct angle is very important! The overlap isn’t that crucial, it’s roughly 1”, but I don’t measure it. The way I build them it’s whatever is needed for the proper fit.
Great vid, thank you. I’m struggling to make the cuts all the way through because my mitre saw is much smaller and doesn’t quite get through the whole piece. When I used a friends bigger saw, I ended up making all the cuts 1/8 inch short because I couldn’t work out how to take the saw blade width into account. Any tips?! Cheers from the UK
1/8" should affect much as long as it's consistently the same between all the pieces. My advice is to setup a stop block like I did in the video and make a test cut to verify your measurements. You can always aim for the first cut to be a little too big then sneak up on the perfect cut.
I made 3 of different heights using some old 1x oak I had laying around...problem I ran into was I just shortened every original dimension by 3 inches and it did not work. I had to make adjustments on the fly. How would you turn this into a BIG tree that could be placed ourdoors?
Because the boards overlap and thickness of the boards is a factor, you can't just scale the sizes up and down to make larger or smaller trees. The best way would be to draw it out to scale on paper or in a drafting program to get all the correct measurements. The other method is to do like you did and use trial and error until you get something that works.
It would need to be a small screw maybe some 1" #6 wood screws. Be sure to pre-drill if using screws or the wood will split. You'll still want to use wood glue in addition to screws.
I stopped selling these and a lot of other stuff I build because I'm focusing more on videos and providing education for others here on RUclips and don't have time to batch out lots of products. I really can't give you a set figure since the price you can get will depend on a lot of factors. Your market and your marketing skills are really going to determine how much you can sell them for. If you are really good at staging amazing photos and writing appealing descriptions then you can charge much higher than someone who just takes a quick photo in their shop or driveway and just puts "4 Sell" in the description. Your market can make a huge difference as well. If you have a local market with high end customers who are looking for unique, handmade decor and willing to spend a premium for it, then you can get a lot more than a market with customers who don't have much money to spend and just want something cheap. I know this doesn't really answer your question, but it's the truth. No one online is going to be able to give you a specific answer for this because it depends on so many things. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they are talking about or is just trying to fool you. I suggest figuring up what your total cost is to make the product, add your hourly rate, then add 30% profit. Start the price there and see how it goes. If you are selling a lot, increase the price until orders slow down. If all the customers say it's too much, then you need to cut your production cost to lower the price, or the market just isn't interested enough in the product to be worth while.
That is correct. If it’s any easier, I have plans for sale on my website. You can print them out with all the measurements and instructions! biscuittreewoodworks.com
18 gauge brad nails. Not sure what you are asking about on the board. Measurements and angles are listed in the video. Was there something else I didn't explain?
You can do them that way if you prefer, but not all the pieces can be cut like that so you will be changing the setup a lot more or the tree won't go together.
Two questions. Is there a reason you didn't miter the top so there would be a more precise point? Have you thought about painting them green or red? By the way, I do like the cherry and would love to see in walnut too.
If you miter the top you would have to change the angle for those two cuts only. This creates the opportunity for mistakes and adds additional steps in to the process. Also, most miter saws won't cut that angle so you would have to make a special jig to hold the pieces at an angle to the fence. So to keep things fast, simple, and reduce errors, all angles are at 30 degrees and you just overlap the top. If you want to paint them, you can. I just prefer the wood look. And yes, walnut would look awesome for these!
No reason you can't, it's just a little faster with the brad nails. Also the pine is more of a rustic look already and the nail holes aren't as off putting as on the hardwood.
It bonds almost instantly, but you can give it about 5 seconds or so to be sure. It's a fairly weak bond so be careful with it for about an hour or two until the wood glue dries. If you use CA glue and wood glue like I show, you don't need brad nails. The brad nails don't have any real strength in this application anyway, they just hold the parts together until the glue dries.
That’s because the dimensions and angles are made for 3/4” boards. If you change any dimensions, the joints will not align. If you want to use 1” material I recommend building the tree top to bottom and leave the bottom of the tree for last. Then you can measure the gap to cut a bottom to fit.
Yes they do, that’s how I store them! If you want downloadable plans, I’ll have them available on my website soon. Sign up for email alerts at biscuittreewoodworks.com
No, the CA glue eliminates the need for clamps in this case. If you plan on using clamps, you don’t need CA glue. However you are then waiting for the glue to dry in your jig and clamps before you can build another one. If you are only building one, that’s fine, but if you are building multiple trees it is really going to slow down your production.
@@biscuittreewoodworks Right. Effort vs Reward. The time spent making the jigs has to be less than the time saved using the jigs. Doing just a few wouldn't justify the time and materials. Making several, and maybe doing it every year, most likely. Thanks for responding. 😀
Great explanation. How would I go about calculating the pieces if I want to make a larger size, say twice the size of your large one. Double your measurements? Thanks.
No, doubling the sizes will not quite work since these pieces overlap each other, the math and angles just don't work out that way. The best way to do it would be to draw it out or use a CAD program. Other than that, trial and error.
Hi. Cherry, is the best IMO. Great video. I am new to Woodworking. I enjoyed watching so much that I subscribed. What is the Overlap for each "Branch" Thanks.
Sure, I use Stick Fast. I added a link in the video description for the kit. These aren't like the cheap superglue where the entire bottle dries out after only one use. I've had these for quite a while.
I’m not using 2x4 material. I’m using 1x4. If you want to build something similar with a 2x4 you will need to change up the measurements for all the parts.
GET THE PLANS!!! www.biscuittreewoodworks.com/products/p/wooden-christmas-trees-plans
Came for the wood, subbed for the beard!
This was by far the most detailed tutorial for these trees that I've seen! Thank you for giving the precise measurements, angles, and tips for getting better joins!
Awesome, thank you!
Took my first leap into woodworking with this project, and I'm super happy with the results. Wish I could post a picture. I was really coasting until I had to use the brad nailer, lol. My advice practice on cheap lumber first, before you go strait for the oak (like me). I ended up doing the bases of my trees different opting for a more A-frame design using approx. 3" wide piece of wood for the bases (excluded completely the base tree trunk piece in the original tutorial), and used smaller 2" wide for the branches. I also used a semi-transparent white stain for a more modern danish look. Thanks again for this great tutorial! The white stain also really helps hide the brad nails and wood putty.
That's awesome! Congratulations on finishing your project and so glad I could help!
Solid cherry of course
I’m going to stain the tree with a fir green and the base and trunk a darker stain- oh and I’m going to add some mini lights!
These are beautiful! My teenage son is learning basic wood working skills at school. We don’t have the equipment you have but do have a small hand saw, a sawzaw, staple gun & staples. I plan to purchase the wood glue, clamp and boards for the two of us to attempt making this beautiful tree and give as gifts.
Thank you so much! 😊 🌲
That’s awesome! You certainly don’t need everything I have to build great projects! Good luck and enjoy the process!
I've several of these christmas trees of three sizes. I used all screws to join the pieces and drilled the screw holes fairly deep. I made all the hole from the outside of pieces, then covered all the scdew holes with dowel plugs, cut them off flush, and sanded. I think it looks pretty good. You barely notice the plugs after painting or staining and you don't see any screw heads.
That's a great option as well! You could even play around with the materials and have contrasting plugs!
I made 1 yesterday using your technique but made up my own base. Wish I could send you a picture - thank you for your videos!!! Merry Christmas 🎄
That's awesome! I'd love to see it, but RUclips makes it difficult!
Thank you for the clear directions.. just knowing which way to cut the boards made all the difference !!!
Awesome! Glad it helped!
Suggestion, make a jig to fit all of your pieces so all you have to do is glue and nail them, and it will also increase production
I thought about using a jig, however home store pine is so variable in thickness and has lots of warped and twisted boards. Any jig would have to have enough play in it to work and not have big gaps in the joints.
@@biscuittreewoodworks Different suggestion: Do the top pieces first and the do the bottom. Then you aren't handling the bottom twice...would save a bit of time.
Perfect explanation and instructions. I did see a guy who created ‘clamp jigs’ to hold the pieces together on a “glue only” (no brad nails) version of the tree. I’m a “B” woodworker, I’m sure an “A” like yourself can whip that up in no time. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you and thanks for watching!
The solid cherry looks amazing, nice work on the builds and explaining. I cover all the details in my builds as well so I can respect how much time this takes vs. just throwing together a build with music.
Thank you!
Really enjoyed this. Aspiring woodworker here. Great job spelling things out.
Awesome, thank you!
Great Video.....I made a bunch of these this year, and they sold out at markets. I really appreciate your tips and tricks for gluing and assembly. I also appreciate the detailed measurements. I will be making more of these for next year.
Awesome! Glad it was helpful!
I can't wait to try making these. Never made them before, but with your detailed directions, it should e easy.
You can do it! If you have questions just let me know!
The cherry Is my pick ! beautiful work, Sir. Recommendable instruction ! Thank you !
Awesome! Thank you!
Pine with darker walnut stain trees are my favorite
Thanks! The dark walnut is nice!
“ and probably run another pair of shorts”. Another? Someone has been through this before! Haha. Great video, thanks!!
Unfortunately, I have ruined plenty of shorts in the shop! Table saw kickbacks, router table kickbacks, router bits coming loose while routing... after a while you just keep an extra pair in reserve!
Excellent work and presentation!
Of course cherry is the best second would be walnut .
Thanks! Those are my choices as well!
Fenomenal, simples e elegante. Parabéns pelo seu trabalho e obrigado por compartilhar.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing. These look much better when the 4 “limbs” are cut as parallelograms rather than trapezoids. This also allows the addition of a couple of shelves across the inside.
haha, I literally said the same thing and didn't see this comment
You can do them that way if you prefer, but not all the pieces can be cut like that so you will be changing the setup a lot more or the tree won't go together.
All you have to do is not flip the board 180° before making the 2nd cut, on the 4 branches. Not additional set up required….
Solid Cherry every time
I agree! Love cherry!
Definitely the cherry! Nice dude!
Thanks! That’s my favorite!
I am in LOVE with the solid cherry! This video was so interesting and relaxing to watch. I want to explore woodworking SO bad, and this seems like such a good entry into it. Thank you!!
You can do it!
Just start with some basic tools.
Walnut! I do love my dark woods. Especially for something like this.
Right on!
I really like the look of the solid cherry ones!!
They are nice! Thanks!
Hola! 🖐Great videos, thanks for taking the time to go through this a step at a time. My daughter-n-law just aske me to build a few of these, I'm glad I found your video. Take care and have a good one, Adios!👊
Glad it was helpful!
Great video! Will be giving this a try this weekend. All are beautiful but my fav is the cherry wood. Thank you!
Go for it!
Enjoyed your video. Made a couple trial versions and they came out good. Being frugal, I ripped a standard pine stud in half & squared the rounded edges. Since thickness was less than 3/4” I adjusted the couple lengths that take the thickness dimension into account. Came out presentable (gift worthy), added an angel tree ornament in the center & gave to elderly widow next door. Made her holiday season 😊
That's really awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Cherry, my husband likes to work cherry wood, the cherry one is our favorite
Mine too! I love working with cherry!
Thank you
Walnut!
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
It's not a problem with flipping the board. My issue is I keep cutting the board on the flat side. Totally screwed up on my part. Well, HD trip tomorrow 😂
Seems like I always end up making 2-3 trips to HD every time I start a new project!
If it helps to visualize the parts, I have plans available you can print out and use in the shop! biscuittreewoodworks.com
That’s exactly the way I’ve recently built mine, ca glue for the win 👍😂.
I guess it's true what they say, great minds think alike!
Thanks for teaching how to do the trees.
My favorite is the cherry.
That’s my favorite too! Thanks for watching!
Great video and excellent advice on everything. I love the cherry. It's a pleasure watching your methods.
Thank you so much!
Good job and project thx for sharing enjoyed it Keep building God Bless
Thanks 👍
Cherry…thanks for this video, can’t wait to build one!!
My favorite as well! Have fun building!
All look good, Great Job!!
Thank you!
I had a little trouble with some spring outs on some of the pieces I was nailing. Hoping my next set will be better, but overall these look great. Awesome tutorial!
Focus on getting the angles right like I show and the rest should fall into place!
Good stuff. I like the results!
Thank you!
I really like the cherrywood.. thank you I might make a couple of these for Christmas presents this year. Great work my friend 🎁
Awesome! Thanks! If you want the plans to print out, they are available on my website! Biscuittreewoodworks.com
@@biscuittreewoodworks Thank you. Much appreciated 👍
I like the solid Cherry best.
Thanks, me too!
and now people cant stop making them!
They are incredibly popular and easy to make!
Almost the same way I build them, but you will be faster using an additional clamp for the top piece instead of unclamping the bottom piece. You can also skip the center line marking by simply adding a visual guidance on your fence.
Thanks for the tips
Nice video. Thanks for sharing your version.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
@biscuittreewoodworks Hey, I had a problem with the top not fitting
It should fit together just like the video. It’s 3/4 of an inch longer than the other side pieces so you get the overlap on top.
@@biscuittreewoodworks thanks
Wonderful video
Very informative and educational
As to which tree/wood is my favorite ?? They all are
Thank you and God Bless
Thank you!
Legend man! Great tips in there! I especially like how you show all the parts!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!
Wow, nice video! I can see you have definitely upped your game, good job
Thank you! Trying to get a little better every time!
They are all great thanks 😂 from Wales UK
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this video to me your video is the best one on how to make these trees
Awesome! Glad you like it!
Have made several of the smaller trees about to make some of the larger trees. Will they nest together? I have a possible customer asking for trees that nest together. And what if I need a 3rd tree that is in proportion larger to have 3 nest together. Any idea how I can get the measurements for the 3rd size up?
If you build them the way I explain, yes they will nest together. If you want to build a larger tree that these will fit into, you'll have to calculate the size using some geometry, or trial and error.
Nice video. I've been wanting to make these and your video was clear, concise and now I am going to the store to get the lumber. Thanks.
Awesome! Let me know how they turn out!
Excellent job. Great content and explanation. Easy to follow.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for shring! I wonder what size of the brad nail did you use? Thank you.
1” - 18 gauge
I love the CHERRY
Thanks, me too!
LOVE THIS. I have someone wanting some of these. Great video. I shall save and refer back to it. ✌️
Awesome! Lots of people love these! You can follow along with the video or I have plans you can print out with step-by-step instructions on my website. biscuittreewoodworks.com
@@biscuittreewoodworks awesome, thank you ✌️
Best video I’ve seen. I’m brand new to woodworking. Only question I have is what is the measurement in inches where the sides overlap together?
I don’t measure it. Just get the angles right and the overlap will fall in place where it needs to be for no gaps. It’s going to roughly be 3/4”-1”.
Thanks for this video! I really appreciate dimensions in inches, I found a video that I used last year to make one tree for my grandmother, but the cut lengths were all in millimeters, which I could do, but wasn't the easiest (although he was at least still using a 1x3, or close enough that it's what I went with anyway) ;) (Also, I didn't have a miter saw last year, so it was all done with a circular saw... part of why I only got one done, instead of the 3-4 I was planning so I could *also* give ones to my mom and aunts.) I did the green paint, with a gold paint pen for like "Merry Christmas" and such on it, and used a Forstner bit to make a hole in the base for an electric tea light.
Awesome! Hope this video helps you make even more of them even faster this year!
Very nice! I'm looking for a simple project to dip my toes into as a beginner and this looks like it will work nicely. Thanks for the great video and detailed explanation.
Awesome! Hope they turn out great! I have a few other beginner level projects on my channel you can try and another Christmas project coming out in about a week!
Cherry = the best ! I don’t like the dark-stained version though..sorry ! Nice video, thank you ! 👍🪵👍
Not a problem! I'm not a fan of stained pine in most cases which is why I did one in cherry!
Those look great! Thanks for the video.
Thanks for watching!
Nice video ,, Hope to make the Xmas trees very soon. Thanks.
Awesome!
Question. Do I need to spray with lacquer? They’re going outside. Thanks.
You don't need to, but highly recommended to apply at least some type of top coat whether it's lacquer, polyurethane, or spar varnish. If not, especially outdoors, the wood is going to start to weather and rot when it gets exposed to the elements.
Great video it is the best I've watched
Wow, thanks!
I agree! 😊
Thank you for the video! How much more do you sell the cherry wood for compared to the pine? What is the standard price on these? Thanks in advance!
I don't have a simple answer for you because pricing isn't a simple concept. And full disclosure, I'm not doing production runs on these because I just don't have the time for that anymore. I'm getting a lot more value and enjoyment with the time I'm spending teaching people about woodworking and helping them build better projects.
So, your price will depend greatly on your COGS (cost of goods sold) and what the local market will sustain. Ideally you want to lower your COGS while simultaneously increasing price to maximize profit margin.
Cost wise, cherry is not typically that much more expensive than pine. However, the quality of the final product, in my opinion, is much higher. If I was to sell a set made from pine for $50, for example, I'd list the cherry for around $65-70. You could also experiment with other hardwoods. I think walnut and quarter sawn white oak look amazing for these! The price for those materials can be 2-3 times the cost of cherry. Much more expensive materials and again higher quality product. I'd list those around $80-90 per set. These are just ballpark starting prices. If you are selling out faster than you can make them, increase prices! If no one is buying, you can try lower prices or the market just isn't interested.
All that said, you need to understand your market. If your market can't afford to spend nearly $100 on a set of wooden display trees, then there's no point in making a bunch of them to sell. If your market loves to splurge on unique decor and cost is no objection, then go for it and rake in the cash by providing them with high quality items they can't find anywhere else.
How you market and get the product in front of customers is also going to play a HUGE role! Take beautiful staged photos and lots of them! Dress them up with bows, ornaments, candles, ect. Make it look like they belong on the cover of Country Living Magazine! Don't try to sell to the general public with a photo of the trees sitting on your workbench with sawdust and tools laying around! That's how you sell to woodworkers, not soccer moms and little old ladies wanting to buy cute decor for the holidays!
This is a complex topic, and I've only scratched the surface here, but I hope that helps!
I have a question for you. I used pine for my tree and of course when I stained it the ends where you see the wood grain is much darker. Any suggestions as to what I can do to have it blended?
End grain will soak up a lot of stain if you don’t do something to prevent it.
The first thing I recommend is sanding the end grain one grit higher than the rest of the project. So if you sand to 180, go up to 220 on the end grain.
The other thing is to use pre-stain conditioner before applying the stain. This helps even out the stain and prevent blotching.
Another option if you don’t want to use the pre-stain conditioner is to mix some wood glue with water about 1:4 ratio. Brush it on the end grain and let it dry before applying the stain.
Hope that helps!
Thank you for this great video. New woodworker question though: I don’t have a brad nailer. What can I use instead? Just hand nail the brad nails?
No, you won’t be able to hammer in brad nails by hand. They are way too thin. Your alternative would be to use the CA glue trick I showed on the cherry version.
Like your plan/design, although mine don't seem to match up together nicely like yours. Not sure if my miter saw at 30 degrees is off a tad or not. Also, what is the overlap on the side pieces, 3/4" or 1"? Thanks!
The correct angle is very important! The overlap isn’t that crucial, it’s roughly 1”, but I don’t measure it. The way I build them it’s whatever is needed for the proper fit.
💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾 Fello Builder Fabricator Life 💙... Great tips and ideas
Thanks for watching!
Great job one question what’s the measurement for branch overlap each section please
If you build it following the directions in the video, you don't need to measure the overlap, but it should work out to be roughly 1".
Thanks for the explanation. Really clear and really nice
Thank you! I’m glad to hear it’s helpful!
Great vid, thank you. I’m struggling to make the cuts all the way through because my mitre saw is much smaller and doesn’t quite get through the whole piece. When I used a friends bigger saw, I ended up making all the cuts 1/8 inch short because I couldn’t work out how to take the saw blade width into account. Any tips?! Cheers from the UK
1/8" should affect much as long as it's consistently the same between all the pieces. My advice is to setup a stop block like I did in the video and make a test cut to verify your measurements. You can always aim for the first cut to be a little too big then sneak up on the perfect cut.
Excellent, thanks for the tips, I am hoping to get in the craft fair game next year and will definitely add this to the list.
Awesome! Glad you got some useful tips!
I made 3 of different heights using some old 1x oak I had laying around...problem I ran into was I just shortened every original dimension by 3 inches and it did not work. I had to make adjustments on the fly. How would you turn this into a BIG tree that could be placed ourdoors?
Because the boards overlap and thickness of the boards is a factor, you can't just scale the sizes up and down to make larger or smaller trees. The best way would be to draw it out to scale on paper or in a drafting program to get all the correct measurements. The other method is to do like you did and use trial and error until you get something that works.
Walnut would be my choice
It is nice!
I want to make these with my Career Exploration students. If I used wood screws, what size should I get?
It would need to be a small screw maybe some 1" #6 wood screws. Be sure to pre-drill if using screws or the wood will split. You'll still want to use wood glue in addition to screws.
What do you sell the pine trees for.?
I stopped selling these and a lot of other stuff I build because I'm focusing more on videos and providing education for others here on RUclips and don't have time to batch out lots of products. I really can't give you a set figure since the price you can get will depend on a lot of factors. Your market and your marketing skills are really going to determine how much you can sell them for.
If you are really good at staging amazing photos and writing appealing descriptions then you can charge much higher than someone who just takes a quick photo in their shop or driveway and just puts "4 Sell" in the description.
Your market can make a huge difference as well. If you have a local market with high end customers who are looking for unique, handmade decor and willing to spend a premium for it, then you can get a lot more than a market with customers who don't have much money to spend and just want something cheap.
I know this doesn't really answer your question, but it's the truth. No one online is going to be able to give you a specific answer for this because it depends on so many things. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they are talking about or is just trying to fool you.
I suggest figuring up what your total cost is to make the product, add your hourly rate, then add 30% profit. Start the price there and see how it goes. If you are selling a lot, increase the price until orders slow down. If all the customers say it's too much, then you need to cut your production cost to lower the price, or the market just isn't interested enough in the product to be worth while.
I'm assuming you are getting your measurements long point to long point on each board correct? Love this video!
That is correct. If it’s any easier, I have plans for sale on my website. You can print them out with all the measurements and instructions! biscuittreewoodworks.com
@@biscuittreewoodworks thank you
Thank you, sir
👍
Definitely gonna try a stain with a whitewash to see how it turns outs
Sounds good, I'd like to see how it turns out!
How far down did you bring the board? S and what size of brad nails did you use
18 gauge brad nails. Not sure what you are asking about on the board. Measurements and angles are listed in the video. Was there something else I didn't explain?
I think it looks way better when the tree parts have the bevel parallel, its more uniform and gives more of the outline of a christmas tree.
You can do them that way if you prefer, but not all the pieces can be cut like that so you will be changing the setup a lot more or the tree won't go together.
Two questions. Is there a reason you didn't miter the top so there would be a more precise point? Have you thought about painting them green or red? By the way, I do like the cherry and would love to see in walnut too.
If you miter the top you would have to change the angle for those two cuts only. This creates the opportunity for mistakes and adds additional steps in to the process. Also, most miter saws won't cut that angle so you would have to make a special jig to hold the pieces at an angle to the fence. So to keep things fast, simple, and reduce errors, all angles are at 30 degrees and you just overlap the top.
If you want to paint them, you can. I just prefer the wood look. And yes, walnut would look awesome for these!
Walnut ❤❤
Thank you!
Excellent video!
Glad you liked it!
Great video. Why do you not use the same glue method on the pine as you did on the cherry?
No reason you can't, it's just a little faster with the brad nails. Also the pine is more of a rustic look already and the nail holes aren't as off putting as on the hardwood.
How long do you have to wait for the a CA glue and applicator to have a strong bond. Do you need to nail after using it
It bonds almost instantly, but you can give it about 5 seconds or so to be sure. It's a fairly weak bond so be careful with it for about an hour or two until the wood glue dries. If you use CA glue and wood glue like I show, you don't need brad nails. The brad nails don't have any real strength in this application anyway, they just hold the parts together until the glue dries.
@@biscuittreewoodworksoh okay, I was just confused because I thought you meant it would cure in a few seconds in the video, but it’s all clear now.
I tried making with a 1 inch thick board but it does not line up. Any suggestions
That’s because the dimensions and angles are made for 3/4” boards. If you change any dimensions, the joints will not align. If you want to use 1” material I recommend building the tree top to bottom and leave the bottom of the tree for last. Then you can measure the gap to cut a bottom to fit.
Help! What length nails are you using? Mine keep going through!
1 1/4” 18 gauge brad nails.
Awesome video with technique...you are a step above....keep it up!
Thanks!
Do the 2 trees nestle - smaller one inside bigger for storage? I am looking for pattern for that.... thanks
Yes they do, that’s how I store them! If you want downloadable plans, I’ll have them available on my website soon. Sign up for email alerts at biscuittreewoodworks.com
Solid cherry
👍
Use a French’s mustard cap on the round glue bottle, it works great
I hate how hard it is to open those Titebond glue bottles!
if I make a jig and clamp it with just wood glue, would I still need the CA glue and applicator?
No, the CA glue eliminates the need for clamps in this case. If you plan on using clamps, you don’t need CA glue. However you are then waiting for the glue to dry in your jig and clamps before you can build another one. If you are only building one, that’s fine, but if you are building multiple trees it is really going to slow down your production.
@@biscuittreewoodworks alright, that clears it up, thank you
Why not a pair of jigs, one for each side that holds the middle pieces and the top assembly to ensure same fitting?
If you plan to make LOTS of them you could make a jig to make assembly a bit faster. I made a hand full of them pretty quickly just as I showed.
@@biscuittreewoodworks Right. Effort vs Reward. The time spent making the jigs has to be less than the time saved using the jigs. Doing just a few wouldn't justify the time and materials. Making several, and maybe doing it every year, most likely. Thanks for responding. 😀
What size brad nails do you use
1” - 18 gauge
Great explanation. How would I go about calculating the pieces if I want to make a larger size, say twice the size of your large one. Double your measurements? Thanks.
No, doubling the sizes will not quite work since these pieces overlap each other, the math and angles just don't work out that way. The best way to do it would be to draw it out or use a CAD program. Other than that, trial and error.
@@biscuittreewoodworks I thought so, thanks for replying back.
Hi. Cherry, is the best IMO. Great video. I am new to Woodworking. I enjoyed watching so much that I subscribed.
What is the Overlap for each "Branch"
Thanks.
Overlap is about 1”, but it’s not critical. I align them by eye. If you build them correctly they will meet together with the correct overlap.
@@biscuittreewoodworks Thank you.🙂
Nice job! I like the CA glue method. Can you tell us the CA glue you use as well as the activator spray? Thank you! Affiliate links would work.
Sure, I use Stick Fast. I added a link in the video description for the kit. These aren't like the cheap superglue where the entire bottle dries out after only one use. I've had these for quite a while.
@@biscuittreewoodworks Thank you! Good information!
Great video with great tips. Just subscribed.
Awesome, thank you!
What do you start with a 2by4
I’m not using 2x4 material. I’m using 1x4. If you want to build something similar with a 2x4 you will need to change up the measurements for all the parts.