Paul Odom, Craftsman, Custom Furniture Maker (USA)

Jon Off CNCKing.com News,

Paul didn’t take his woodworking seriously until he retired in 2008, since then, he’s made some pretty nice furniture – I was very much attracted to his Kitchen Stand, five weeks of work for 1800$US seems like a steal to me… he should have charged double that at the very least.

When I asked him about this he replied

I make quality furniture and sell it as inexpensive as I can. Many people cannot afford the Cadillac price so I try to make it affordable. I work out of my converted garage, minimum overhead. Being retired I already have a comfortable income, I don’t completely give it away but am not in this to make a living. I primarily do this to give me something to do because I enjoy doing it. I have had fellow woodworkers at the furniture show tell me I priced my stuff too cheap, My wife tells me the same thing. However, I look at the prices the other guys put on their stuff and wonder how they come up with the number. I guess their time is much more valuable than mine.

You can see more of Paul’s work at http://www.paulodom.com.

Hi Paul, what type of machinery and tools do you use to make your furniture with?

I have the following tools:

Planer, Jointer, Drum Sander, Table Saw, Band Saw, Drill Press, Routers with Router Table, Hollow chisel Mortiser, Lathe, Bench Chisels, Hand Planes, hand saws and many custom jigs that I have built.

You have a lot of unique pieces in your gallery, I was wondering how you go about finding clients and what are the typical steps involved from idea to finished product?

I have developed clients from people I play golf with and I also enter a piece in the annual Texas Furniture Makers Show in Kerrville, TX. The furniture makers show allows me to show my work to many more people from around Texas.

Most of the ideas come from the client, sometimes they will furnish a picture of something they like and we go from there to discuss any changes and types of wood to use. I frequently search the internet looking for Ideas that I can use in my work.

What project has been the most challenging for you thus far? What made it such a challenge?

Each piece I build presents its own challenges that I have to work through. I can’t say any particular piece was the most difficult. The pieces I have the most problems with are the very large pieces because I am a one man shop the size of the work and weight makes it very difficult to move around as needed to complete it.

I have made several dining tables 6 to 8 feet in length. I have to call on a friend to come by to help me turn it over and when finished help deliver it to the client.

I really love your kitchen stand, the choice of woods, the contrasting colors just makes it look awesome! How did that project come about and how long did it take to cut and build? How much would something like that cost?

This was a spec. piece built for the furniture makers show. I developed the idea as a mobile island with a granite surface. It is made entirely using walnut and hard maple with mortise and tenon joinery. The granite top was a piece with a very unique grain pattern.

The item sold at the show and I received another commission to build another one with some minor modifications. It took me 5 weeks to build and the price is $1800.00 plus the cost of the granite. The granite for subsequent pieces must be selected by the client due to individual tastes.

How did you initially get involved in woodworking and what made you want to do it a full time career?

I have dabbled with woodworking for many years but did not get fully involved until I retired from my real job in 2008.

The free time allowed me to spend the time needed to develop my skills and start build more and more intricate pieces and a larger variety. I thoroughly enjoy working with wood and especially the opportunity to build different things.

I would get bored building items repetitively.