Bob Fulton has decades of hands-on, D-I-Y experience and a “get ‘er done” attitude. When his employer shut down, Bob went into the rustic furniture business for himself. His one-man TimberKing sawmill helps him keep his overhead low so he can sell his wares for far less than others. High quality and low prices have helped Bob grow a successful and rewarding business. Here’s his story…
“I’ve been a tool maker for 20 years and have built a lot of equipment. Most of my hands-on knowledge has been developed from on-the-job training. I’ve been involved in production and production management for 25+ years as Production Manager, Operations Manager, and Chief Operating Officer. I was the lead toolmaker and a co-patent holder at a company that manufactured biodegradable products.
A TimberKing 1220 and a laser engraver
That company closed but I’ve always been able to adapt to challenging situations. So, since 2010, I’ve run my own business — Laser Art Keepsakes — and business is very good. I make rustic furniture using my TimberKing 1220 sawmill and a laser engraver. I sell a lot of my work wholesale or on consignment and I also do custom work.
I sell at a big antique mall near here. I also sell to individuals and I recently made several tables for a restaurant in St. Louis. A place in Springfield, Missouri asked me if I could supply them with wood slabs. I’ve been asked to do some custom sawing, too, and I may get into that. Business is good!
Low overhead keeps his prices low
Other shops sell for four or five times what I sell my furniture for. My prices are very affordable because I keep costs down and pass the savings on to my customers.
First, I’m a one-man operation, at least right now. I cut all my own logs myself from trees I get from farmers, leftovers from loggers, and from people who’re clearing land. I get walnut and oak; they’re very popular. Black walnut, red oak, post oak, white oak, plus cedar, cherry, and more.
Too, my advertising costs are low. I post signs in restaurants and gas stations. I get a lot of repeat business. And I set up my webpage and Facebook pages myself. It’s not that hard to do.
When I first started my rustic furniture business, I was getting local Mennonites to custom-saw for me. Then they moved and I lost my sawing source. I went to other sawing operations but they were much more expensive and they were set up to make lumber and didn’t want to saw 1” and 2” live edge slabs the way I wanted them sawn.
I like the way TimberKing’s built
I’ve always worked with wood and wanted a sawmill so I started looking around. I sent for brochures from several sawmill companies and saw their videos. I was impressed with TimberKing right from the start. I went to a couple demo shows, one for Wood-Mizer and the other for TimberKing. I liked the way the TimberKing was built. I liked TimberKing’s 4-post head a lot better than the cantilevered head on the Wood-Mizer. Baker mills were too expensive.
I liked all TimberKing’s features and my mind was made up once I saw the TimberKing run. I mostly researched their 2000 mill but since I was just starting out, I settled on the 1220. It gets the job done but I’d go for the 2000 in a heartbeat if I could! If anybody asked for my advice about a sawmill, I’d definitely steer them toward a TimberKing mill. I’m impressedwith their mills and their service. And they’ve always treated me very well.”
— Bob Fulton, TimberKing 1220 Owner, Lebanon MO
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