Fund a New Kiln, Lathe, or Workshop Tool With a Wishlist

Ceramicists and woodworkers can fund a kiln, lathe, dust collector, or other big-ticket tool by setting a FanBell Wishlist / Project Support goal: fans send cash toward a stated target, a progress bar shows how close it is, and the creator buys the actual equipment themselves once it's funded — no shipping, no reward tiers.

Both policy claims in the summary above come from FanBell's own documentation. FanBell's Wishlist / Project Support feature page describes the offer as cash support that is "not an Amazon-style wishlist where fans buy and ship you products, and not a tiered rewards crowdfunding campaign," with "no reward tiers, physical perks, or campaign deadlines to manage" (Wishlist & Project Support). FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and charges a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays (pricing).

A studio kiln or a full-size lathe is not the kind of cost that fits neatly into the price of a mug or a cutting board. Equipment at that price is a large, one-time expense that sits well above what a single commission covers, and the purchase is easy to defer indefinitely while a maker works around a shared studio kiln or borrowed shop tools. Some makers post "would love a bigger kiln someday" and never name a price. A Wishlist / Project Support goal turns a vague equipment wish into a specific number fans can actually contribute toward.

Why fund a kiln or big tool instead of pricing it into every piece?

Folding a $2,000 kiln into per-piece pricing raises the price of every mug and cutting board by an amount unrelated to the work in front of a buyer. A dedicated funding goal separates the one-time equipment cost from the piece price, so fans who want to help with the big purchase can contribute to it directly instead.

Independent ceramicists and woodworkers buy studio equipment out of their own pocket rather than from an employer's budget, because a large share of artists work for themselves. Roughly 34 percent of artists were self-employed between 2012 and 2016, according to the National Endowment for the Arts report Artists and Other Cultural Workers: A Statistical Portrait (National Endowment for the Arts). The National Endowment for the Arts states the comparison plainly:

"Artists are 3.6 times as likely as other workers to be self-employed as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau." — National Endowment for the Arts, Artists and Other Cultural Workers: A Statistical Portrait (arts.gov)

Self-employment is why a kiln or lathe purchase usually lands on the maker's own card rather than on a company account. A Wishlist / Project Support goal gives fans a direct way to help pay for one specific machine without changing what a single mug, bowl, or cutting board costs.

How much does a kiln, lathe, or dust collector actually cost?

120V ceramic kilns start around $1,300 and mid-size studio kilns typically run $1,500 to $3,000, according to ceramics retailer Soul Ceramics (Soul Ceramics, Ceramic Kilns). Woodworking machinery covers a similar band: Grizzly Industrial lists a 12" × 18" benchtop wood lathe at $495.00 and an 18" × 47" heavy-duty lathe at $2,650.00 (Grizzly Industrial).

Grizzly Industrial lists the Shop Fox W1685 1-1/2 HP dust collector at $520.00 plus $199.00 freight, which makes dust collection the cheapest of the three classic shop upgrades. The Home Depot lists the DEWALT DW735X 13-inch benchtop thickness planer at $659.00, which puts a planer in the same range as an entry-level lathe rather than in kiln territory. Krueger Pottery Supply lists the Skutt KM818-3 KilnMaster at a $2,172.00 sale price against a $2,715.00 regular price — a $543.00 spread that shows why an equipment goal should be priced against a live listing rather than a remembered number.

Freight is quoted separately from the machine price on heavy shop equipment: Grizzly Industrial quotes $349.00 freight on the G0733 lathe, $259.00 on the G0838 lathe, and $199.00 on the W1685 dust collector. Promotions can waive that freight for a limited window — Grizzly Industrial's G0838 listing showed a free-shipping offer ending September 8, 2026 — so build shipping into the goal unless a free-shipping promotion is confirmed on the day of purchase. A $2,500 kiln would have to be spread across dozens of mugs to recover through per-piece pricing alone, which is the shape of expense a funding goal handles better than a markup.

How does Wishlist / Project Support work on FanBell?

Wishlist / Project Support collects cash toward a target the creator sets and shows fans a progress bar that fills as contributions arrive. Wishlist / Project Support is not a store: FanBell ships, tracks, and fulfills nothing physical, and a goal carries no reward tiers, physical perks, or campaign deadlines (Wishlist / Project Support, how it works).

The creator still buys the kiln, lathe, or dust collector themselves once the goal is funded, and still handles delivery, installation, and warranty with whatever supplier they use. Leaving the purchase with the creator is a meaningful difference from selling a finished piece, where a fan pays for a specific object in return. A tools goal is closer to "help me get this," with nothing owed back beyond an optional public thank-you. Contributions pay out through Stripe as support comes in.

Having no reward tiers also removes the fulfillment risk that reward-based crowdfunding carries. Kickstarter's own Fulfillment Report, which sampled 65,326 successfully funded projects from April 2009 through May 2015, found that 9 percent of Kickstarter projects failed to deliver rewards (Kickstarter Fulfillment Report). Kickstarter also runs all-or-nothing funding: pledges are collected only if a campaign reaches its funding goal by its deadline, and Kickstarter collects a 5% fee from the funds collected on a successfully funded project (Kickstarter Support, What are the fees?).

How do you set a realistic tools-and-equipment funding goal?

A realistic goal names one specific piece of equipment, prices it against a current supplier listing, adds freight and a small contingency, and then grosses the total up so platform and processing fees don't eat into the purchase. Publish the grossed-up number as the target rather than the raw sticker price fans would otherwise see.

The math is straightforward. FanBell's published fee model is: creator earnings = fan payment − 12% platform fee − payment-processing fee. Stripe's published US online-card rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge (Stripe, pricing). So the gross-up formula is:

goal = (equipment cost + $0.30 × number of contributions) ÷ (1 − 0.12 − 0.029)

For a $2,000 kiln, that denominator alone puts the goal near $2,350. The exact figure depends on how many separate contributions arrive, because Stripe's $0.30 is charged per transaction rather than per dollar: five $400 contributions add about $1.50 in fixed fees, while sixty $33 contributions add about $18. Across that range the goal lands roughly between $2,350 and $2,375, so treat $2,350 as an estimate to round up from, not a computed exact target.

For the full walkthrough — itemizing the real cost, adding a modest contingency, and grossing the total up for fees — see how to set a realistic funding goal. For a very large purchase, consider splitting it into stages, such as a kiln goal followed by a separate kiln-furniture or shelving goal, so the progress bar shows visible movement instead of sitting near zero for a long stretch.

What should a tools-fund goal page say to fans?

A tools-fund description should name the specific item, give its approximate cost, explain why the tool matters to the work, and say what happens once the goal is reached — without implying that the contributor receives the equipment. Setting those expectations in the description is what keeps a funding goal from reading like a pre-order.

Useful elements: the specific piece of equipment ("new studio kiln" reads clearer than "equipment fund"); why it matters, such as larger batch sizes or the finishes it makes possible; a note that funds go toward the purchase and, optionally, a photo update once it arrives; and a plain statement that a contribution doesn't obligate anything to be shipped back, since a FanBell goal carries no reward tiers or physical perks, unlike reward-based crowdfunding. For a full walkthrough, see what to put on a project support page, and for how a FanBell wishlist goal differs from reward-tier crowdfunding, see creator wishlist vs. crowdfunding.

Does a tools fund replace paid commissions and custom orders?

No — a tools fund runs alongside priced work rather than replacing commissions. Custom orders and commissions stay the primary way a ceramicist or woodworker gets paid, and an equipment goal is a separate, optional channel for fans who want to help with one identifiable purchase. Running both offers keeps it clear to a fan what any given payment buys.

Craft income is worth spreading across more than one channel, because the underlying job market is flat to shrinking. Overall employment of woodworkers is projected to decline 2 percent from 2025 to 2035, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 4,300 openings for craft and fine artists are projected each year on average over the decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A FanBell page can list several offers at once, each priced and delivered separately.

What does FanBell charge to run a tools-fund goal?

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan contributes to a goal. There is no follower minimum and no listing fee for a Wishlist / Project Support goal; payouts run through Stripe once a creator connects an account.

Card-processing fees apply on top of the platform fee: Stripe's published US online-card rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge. Platform and card fees are worth weighing against what craft work actually pays, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics measures directly:

"The median annual wage for craft and fine artists was $55,290 in May 2025." — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Craft and Fine Artists (bls.gov)

Woodworkers had a median annual wage of $45,310 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). The median annual wage for all U.S. workers was $50,980 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, so woodworkers sit below the all-occupation midpoint. Against a $45,310 median wage, a $2,650 lathe is roughly 6% of a year's pre-tax earnings, which is why makers spread the cost rather than absorb it in one month.

As an outside benchmark for how large single contributions tend to be, the average donation on GoFundMe was $77 in 2024, according to GoFundMe's own year-end report (GoFundMe, 2024 Year in Help). GoFundMe is a different platform with different campaign types, so treat $77 as a rough reference point for one-off giving rather than a prediction of what FanBell contributions will look like.

How do you get a tools-fund goal live on your page?

Start by naming one specific piece of equipment — a kiln model, a lathe, a dust collector — and price it against a current supplier listing rather than a guess. Write a short description of what the tool is for, gross the target up for fees, then publish it as a Wishlist / Project Support goal.

Publishing the goal costs nothing: FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and no listing fee, and the 12% platform fee applies only once a fan contributes. Update the goal, or start a new one, once the target is met rather than leaving a funded goal sitting at 100%. If you're new to selling from a bio link, FanBell's page for artists and illustrators covers how the offers fit together for makers and craftspeople more broadly.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions makers ask before publishing an equipment goal: what a contributor receives, whether fans can watch funding progress, who buys and ships the tool once the target is met, how to size the target, how a funding goal differs from a tip jar, and whether FanBell requires a minimum following before a goal can go live.

Does a fan who funds a tools goal get anything back?

Not automatically. Wishlist / Project Support is cash toward a stated goal, not a purchase — the creator isn't obligated to ship a product or reward, and the goal has no reward tiers or physical perks. Many makers post a thank-you or a photo update once a goal is funded, but that's a courtesy, not a platform requirement.

Can fans see how close a kiln or tool goal is to being funded?

Yes. FanBell shows a funding progress bar on the Wishlist / Project Support goal so fans can see contributions accumulate toward the stated target.

Does FanBell ship the kiln or tool once the goal is funded?

No. FanBell processes the payment toward the goal; the creator buys, receives, and is responsible for the actual equipment through their own supplier or dealer. FanBell does not fulfill, ship, or track physical items.

How much should a kiln or lathe goal be set to?

Price the specific model, add freight, then gross the total up for fees. Grizzly Industrial lists an 18" × 47" heavy-duty wood lathe at $2,650.00 with $349.00 freight quoted separately, so a goal for that machine starts near $2,999 before the 12% platform fee and Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 are added.

Is a tools fund the same as a tip jar?

They're different offers. Tips are open-ended, one-time support with no target amount and no delivery obligation. A Wishlist / Project Support goal names a specific target and shows progress toward it, which is a better fit when a maker wants to fund one identifiable purchase like a kiln or lathe.

Do I need a certain following to run a tools-fund goal on FanBell?

No. FanBell has no follower minimum, and payouts are handled through Stripe once a creator connects an account.

Create your free FanBell page