Thinking of making quantity

[FoxMacLeod2501]

Hey guys! I'm relatively new here, and after doing some searching, I haven't found much here on lp101.com pertaining to the ideas kicking around in my head right now, so... here goes:

I've been making some picks lately, and I'm very satisfied with my results. Despite the tedium of the basic-shaping process, I love the last 20% of the process, and subsequently, the finished picks are, in my very obviously humble opinion, pretty nice. I've mostly completed a nice pocket set made from a small feeler gauge set, and I think if I was Bizarro Fox, my life was inverted and I had more money than time, I would totally want to buy a nicely finished version of what I just made. (I'm typing this on a different device than the one that has my meager photos, so I will post a reply to this from my phone to add pictures.) Anyway, long story short, I think I could make a very good product, and I'd like to at least take a serious look at getting into production to sell some quality stuff to people that appreciate it. I'm thinking I could go two ways here:

I could start with a 3D printer, and do like bosnianbill (https://youtu.be/rSKuvAliZa8) by making my own handles en masse, allowing me to cut back on the tedium of the basic shaping step of the process by starting with wiper inserts, instead of the larger blanks of metal needed for one-piece picks with handles. I definitely like this idea, but I also really like all-metal picks, bringing me to my second option.

I am also considering some kind of desktop computer numerical control type thing like all the DIY/maker folks are getting these days -- perhaps a water jet or laser cutter (I have no idea what the best thing is for this) or some metal-cutting tech I'm failing to mention, so I can start with big blanks of appropriate metal, cut a ton of picks with minimal waste, and be freed up to spend more time on the satisfying finish work, giving that custom human touch and quality that I hope will be my signature to the picks I create.

So, basically, has anyone here any experience doing any of the things I'm talking about here? I think there's always a market for quality, but... do you agree with that? Is the market too flooded with good picks for this to be worth my time? Obviously this will all be opinion; I'm not looking for facts, just some brainstorming buddies. If this has all been addressed somewhere that I'm missing, I totally apologize; point me there and I'll shut it.

In any case, thank you for reading, and any input you throw my way is appreciated greatly. Cheers!

[FoxMacLeod2501]

Hm. I'm having a problem uploading... It'll happen at some point. Sorry!

[Squelchtone]

Hm. I'm having a problem uploading... It'll happen at some point. Sorry!

The forum is locked down for direct image uploads, we don't have space to store everyone's photos, so we ask folks upload photos to places like http://imgur.com or http://tinypic.com and Copy/Paste the link here to share with us.

visit the FAQ & General Information area and look at the Announcements for instructions.


As a cautionary tale for anyone excited about starting their own line of picks, you should research what happened to Schuyler Towne and his Kickstarter project. He raised something like $87,000 to make really nice custom picks, then ran into some bad luck, some manufacturing problems, some personal problems, got overwhelmed, ran away from it all, the money evaporated and 2 to 3 years went by and the project supporters/donors formed an angry posse ready to lynch him, while friends of Schuyler's eventually jumped into to try and help by completing orders with less than awesome picks. Some of the donors were eventually made happy, and some were just happy to keep on complaining. Read more, and form your own opinions here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sc ... -locksport

[FoxMacLeod2501]

Wow, personal attention from the almighty Squelchtone! I only just got here; I feel special! Really, that isn't me being facetious. I say what I mean, even though it tends to come off as a bit sarcastic at first glance; just take it at face value and you'll get me.

I've been lurking and researching for a while now, so I am actually somewhat familiar with the Towne saga; I am definitely hoping to avoid that sort of thing. I want to get a little money together and make a quality product, but I honestly kind of want to avoid raising so much that I wake up a year later broke from a coke bender, or whatever. I don't want to owe a bunch of people a bunch of money/goods/services, but I would love making some small gifts for some small donors. I want to keep it relatively small scale, I guess. Kind of like what I've seen of Raimundo: he's made a ton of stuff, and before too long I actually met a guy that got his Bogota set from Rai personally at an event; but they're not everywhere, not just anyone has his picks, but they can be found if you really want his quality. The workmanship is simply fantastic on his little street-sweeper-bristle creations! Plus there's the serepick stuff, which from what I've gleaned isn't his handmade stuff anymore, but still quite good.

Anyhow,I actually might have a financier in the family (maybe), but I want to feel out what I can of the market before I dig myself too far in buying an apparatus that's got way more capacity than I'll ever wind up using. I love making picks, but if there's no market, I can just keep making a couple at a time for myself, honing my skills, maybe making some for acquaintances and some folks on here if anyone has an interest. Also, I've been a good boy -- I read through the image upload FAQ, but was running into problems using imgur (after downloading the app and making a login, as soon as I went to upload pictures, nothing else would load) on my phone last night, so I gave up on it for the time being. In any case, thank you for the message, Mr. Tone. We'll be seeing each other around here, I'm sure.

Good to hear from the Mod Squad!

Cheers,