Well, there's profit and there's walking around change. You decide.

In our club we have a turner that turns easily on national level
quality. He has taken all the classes... Raffan, Hosoluk, Batty, Owen,
etc. And it shows. He is really a gifted turner and the classes
really enhanced his talents. So we got to talking one day about his
offerings in Santa Fe gallery (he makes traditional looking seed pots
and Navajo water jugs for them) so I could see if I needed to look into
this for myself.

Sale price of the jug: $ 900 (woohoo! jackpot!)
Gallery take: 40% or $ 360
Cost of blank (if he can get away with just one to work down to his 1/4
wall
thickness without blowout): ~ $85
Finishing materials (Klingpoor sand paper, finishes, rags, polishes,
etc.): $20
Wear and tear on all the the tools: $10
Lights on in the shop, lathe electricity: $10
Cost to ship to the gallery, fully insured including shipping
materials: $40

He figures about 40 hours or more in each of these. That means he is
making a little over nine dollars and hour for these. But.... he gets
a 1099 from the gallery, so that really means that since he pays all
his own taxes, he is making about $ 6.95 per hour.

Additionally, if the gallery doesn't sell his piece in 90 days, they
take lower his price 10%. If it doesn't sell after that, he has to pay
to have it shipped back (another $40).

He is going to quit selling, and go back to turning for fun. Too much
work, hassle and paperwork for him to think it is worthwhile.

As for me, I have a good business selling oil lamps and candle lamps.
I take my old stuff and glue it up, raid the firewood pile, and do
anything else that looks interesting for a lamp. I get about $30 to
$50 a piece for them and only sell them to folks I know. It IS
seasonal, but I still sell about 20 or so a year so it keeps me in new
tools, wood, glue, and pays for Christmas. Each lamp takes about an
hour to two hours to make, I buy the fit ups for about $2-$3, and
haven't bought any project dedicated wood yet. This works out to about
$25 an hour or so, but again, it is only seasonal.

I also sell desk clocks, Christmas ornaments, etc. I don't make pens
or bottle stoppers as they have gotten so cheap they aren't worth
fooling with anymore.

If I were smart, I would turn all this stuff all year instead of
starting in November. I never have enough time to get it all done.
And since it is seasonal, Nov/Dec is really the only time I sell and
people buy.

That craft show/church bizarre/charity auction/county fair road looks
way too rough for me. Too many of my comrades have lost their ass on
it for me to be interested.

Good luck at whatever you do with your new interest and let us know how
you are doing.

Robert