What Woodworking Talents Do You Have?

February 4, 2012 0 Comments

Article by Bob Gillespie

After many years as a professional woodworker, I think its about time that I talk about some of the choices I had to make and that you will be faced with to find out what you love and what you are talented at. My thinking is that for those of you just starting out, it might be useful to learn that there are a lot of ways to go. You will want to pick your own path and, considering that, it might be useful to be aware of what your options are so that you can head off in the proper direction from the very start. For those of you with somewhat more knowledge than that, its still not too late to change your overall focus and gain knowledge of something new.

To begin, there are two main areas of woodworking to think about (carpentry and fine woodworking) and, after you have decided between them, you can continue from there into your chosen area of expertise. These choices should be made not only on what you aspire to do but also what you can do well. Not every person is born to play the violin or be an astronaut and so it is with woodworking. To begin, what I suggest is to decide on a part of woodworking that you like or that suits your purposes, give it your full attention and observe if you have the aptitude to go further and be really excellent at what you do. If you learn that you are barking up the wrong tree, so to speak, dont give up, just try something new. If you become accomplished in one area of woodworking, it does not follow that you will necessarily do well in all kinds of woodcraft.

Using myself as an example, I found out early on that while I was OK using hand tools, I lacked the talent of an artist. I tried woodturning on the lathe and had a similar revelation. However, when I commenced to design and fabricate furniture, using machines, my pieces started to turn out so well that I went into business doing that. After a while, I had customers at the door and up to seven employees working hard to produce my furniture designs and fill the orders that were coming in. Speaking of skills, I hired two, distinct types of woodworkers: Those who fabricated the furniture and those who sanded it smooth in order to ready it for finishing. Everyone had their own kind of expertise and everyone who worked for me was happy to be in their own area of skill.

Thats just what happened to me. It will likely be quite different for you. Lets contemplate the big choice you will be required to make right away between carpentry and fine woodworking. Make no mistake about it; I have great admiration for both types of talent. I see them as equally difficult but in different ways. To me, carpentry is the art of building structures like houses, decks, sheds and gazebos. Materials include construction-grade wood, usually fir, plywood, concrete, drywall and the like. There are carpenters who build forms for foundations, framers who fabricate walls and roofs out of studs and rafters, drywall installers, roofers and finish carpenters whose skills are similar to those of a fine woodworker but different. There is continually the goal to get the job finished on time and within the budget but there is also the absolute requirement for professional-quality work.

Fine woodworking, to me, concerns making beautiful things out of fine hardwoods. The success of any piece is in the eye of the beholder. Inspired but functional design is everything. Each piece is a work of art, in its own way. Extreme care and a high degree of precision are mandatory at every step of the way because the expense of a board foot of Ebony, Cocobolo, Rosewood or Koa is way beyond that of a fir 2 x 4. There's an old carpentry saying, measure twice, cut once that is even more meaningful in fine woodworking than it is in carpentry. Carpentry requires precise blueprints or plans. The same is true of fine woodworking, only more so. Fine woodworking is usually accomplished indoors in a woodworking shop whereas carpentry can be done outdoors or indoors.

In fine woodworking, there is about an equal amount of time taken sanding a piece as there is in making it. Sanding fine woodworking is an art in itself. While I have found both men and women to be about equally skilled in building furniture, almost all of my sanders were women because they seemed to have a finer touch and more of the patience required to turn out a flawless surface, ready for finishing.

Finishing is also an art unto itself. The purpose of all finishes is to shield the wood and to show off the grain. Any imperfections due to a less than perfect sanding job will be as apparent as the nose on your face after the finish is applied. At this point, the only recourse is to sand off all the finish, re-do the sanding job and apply the finish once more. This is not only time-consuming but expensive if you are in business to make a profit. Thats why proficient sanders were so vital to my business.

There are a number of specialties and sub-specialties within both carpentry and fine woodworking. Some of them are: design, assembly, wood turning, sanding and finishing. While it is quite customary for a fine woodworker to excel in more than one of these areas, it is doubtful that he or she will become an expert in all of them. Keep working and trying new things and soon youll be doing what you love and you might even become really talented at it!

Bob Gillespie writes on many subjects including fine woodworking. He is a full-time Internet marketer, woodworker and author who lives on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Learn more about fine woodworking at Bob's blog at:

http://woodworking.inetwyoming.com

and at his web site at:

http://www.perfectwoodworking.com

Another blog of possible interest

http://woodworking-plans.inetwyoming.com