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  1. #1
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    Jun 2014
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    Default I'm a professional "woodworker"... I guess?

    Ok, heads up, this is kind of a textbook "overly long and somewhat ranty Luke essay", but I hope I manage to make it worth reading.

    I've had a tough time finding a job in Seattle in my field (geological/environmental science), so I started trying to find a job as a woodworker. I guess I've managed to turn a hobby into a marketable skill, because I've been working as such for about three weeks now.

    I guess the place where I work is still a "furniture shop" as opposed to a "furniture factory". We only use (high end) plywood for frame and panel work, and everything else is solid hardwood. We use American Cherry, Black Walnut, Eastern Hard Maple, Quartersawn White Oak, and Quartersawn Sapele, which we market as Mahogany. We put effort into grain matching, tight joints, elimination of mistakes, and featuring figured wood. There are a couple of dedicated "___ guys" (insert sanding, finishing, drawer, etc.), and then there are a few of us who do the actual building of the furniture.

    Nonetheless, the furniture is all very simple. No mouldings, carvings, turnings, brassware, inlay, etc. It's all made from templates in binders. Very basic.

    And one thing is for sure: There sure as hell are NO HAND TOOLS ALLOWED. I couldn't find a sharp chisel to save my life in there. One guy had an old busted up Stanley 110 block plane. I asked him if I could sharpen it up, and he said "don't mess with it, it's already sharp". It was about like the butter knives in my silverware drawer. Grinder sharp.

    And so we sand. And we sand. And sand and sand and sand. We sand to shape things, to smooth things, to gap drawers and doors, to shorten boards, after filling gaps, to flush dowels, to soften edges, to clean up joinery (if a biscuit can be called such...), and to do every other thing you can imagine doing with a sander.

    I've had a few conversations with the other guys there. These are career woodworkers. Some have been at it five days a week for 10, 15, or as many as 27 years. None of them use any hand methods at all save maybe squaring the occasional routed corner with a chisel. It's actually odd to have that many woodworkers in one setting and the youngest of the lot be the "hand tool guy".

    And it just didn't make sense to me at first. Why are we spending so much time bloody sanding!? This job and that job can be done exponentially faster with planes. I can trim the saw marks off of this end grain in ten seconds with a block plane, but instead I'm grinding on it haphazardly with a pneumatic orbital sander which is blowing out the grain and every time I rock it accidentally I round over the edge and my head feels like it's going to explode. I totally understand the value of bladed machines for roughing stock prior to actual woodworking, but why all of this sanding!?!?! Why all the DUST!?!? BobL would absolutely have a conniption if he saw the dust situation in that place.

    But finally, like most other things on which I ponder, the "why" occurred to me. It's because the techniques we use require effectively zero skill or practice. All you really need to know to use sawing/planing machines is how to set the fence and where not to put your hands. All you need to know about using an orbital sander is not to skip grits and be careful at the corners. For a biscuit joiner, you just have to quickly mark to within about a quarter inch and then push the thing in.

    Hand tools require skill, understanding, and commitment to get results. There's no profit in teaching people skills, only in utilizing their time. Time spent teaching and developing technique is, in the eyes of "the brass", time wasted. The next thing you know you'll have a bunch of highly trained people who could find other jobs or, worse yet, ask for a decent wage!

    It's a shame, really. A damn shame. I guess I always knew it was such, but now I've seen it first hand.

    I should probably clarify that I don't mean to bag out my coworkers. They're good guys with whom I like working, and they've all made hundreds of pieces of furniture that will be heirlooms for many many people. I think that's great, and I could probably learn a lot from each and every one of them. It's the profit driven system which almost killed hand tool use at which this rant is directed.

    I guess that's about all I've got to say about my new job. So there's a bit of perspective for those of us who choose to do it the hard way.

    I certainly plan to continue.

    ... And I also plan to keep looking for that science job.

    Cheers,
    Luke

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    McBride BC Canada
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    3,543

    Default

    Good read. Too bad there's no commercial value placed much on hand tool skills any more.
    I've had dealings with a few carvers who have "made it" in the restoration and top end fine furniture game but very, very few.
    What's in the furniture galleries in the SeaTac area?
    In this day and time, there's a fair bit of cabinet work behind the carved panels from the PacNW native carving community.
    Gregg Blomberg/KestrelTool.com might have some leads.

    But, I know. You _need_ the geology/environment to feed your head.
    I went to school with an Italian kid who did a PhD in chemical physics, whatever that is.
    Less than 10 years to become a really fat cat wine merchant.

  4. #3
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    Jun 2014
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Robson Valley View Post
    What's in the furniture galleries in the SeaTac area?
    Seems that simple is king these days. Not my thing, but I guess it sells.

  5. #4
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    Apr 2001
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    Perth
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    10,810

    Default

    Hi Luke

    I am curious to know if you plan to take a few planes to work?

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  6. #5
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    Nov 2007
    Location
    Melbourne
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    1,139

    Default

    As the chairman of the trade advisory committee for the jewellery industry in Victoria in the mid 1980s, which was required under the state government legislation, to write a curriculum and syllabus for the trade school.
    I was fighting a loosing battle against EXACTLY this problem in my profession 35 years ago!!!!!!!!
    It is the problem I get into trouble with here mostly. Countering the thought process that involves "doing something the easier way" or finding NEW tools that requires LESS skill to master.

    Sadly, this horse bolted back before I got involved.

    Unfortunately the people I needed to deal with ... bureaucrats, the union, the teachers, and especially the employers couldn't see it. The trade was the master of it's own destiny, more interested in a short term profit than the future of their industry/profession. And now, nothing is more certain, it rightly got what it deserved to get.
    Much the same as all the skilled hand work, no such thing as a decent overriding system to ensure the health of the industries built on highly trained, expert hand skilled workers.

    Those systems exist, but just not for the likes of me/us. Look at the way money is moving into training, and how schooling is biased towards a certain type of skill.....it sure as hell isn't in hand skills.
    We get nice words...no cash or real support!

    Sound familiar???

    Cheers,
    Peter
    <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <woNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]-->

  7. #6
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    Feb 2006
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    Perth
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    Quote Originally Posted by Luke Maddux View Post
    Why all the DUST!?!? BobL would absolutely have a conniption if he saw the dust situation in that place.
    Where are the photos?

    Wait - no photos, I near choked on my today water just reading your post

    Mind you my shed 'aint exactly "dust free".
    There's a fair patina of grey metal dust around and lots of large chips over the floor and surfaces especially after a bit of turning. Also when you have high ventilation I get lots of outside dust depositing in the shed.

  8. #7
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    Jun 2014
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    Seattle, Washington, USA
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    Quote Originally Posted by derekcohen View Post
    I am curious to know if you plan to take a few planes to work?
    I've considered it, and if I find a bargain on one I might. I think that a sharp, 45deg block plane and a 1" bench chisel would be valuable. Unfortunately, there's zero workholding, so a two handed plane would be useless, even if the task called for it.

    With that said, I honestly think I may be asked not to use it. That's kind of the vibe I get. I think that the people running the shop probably don't trust hand tool use and view it as inherently inefficient. I asked someone the other day if they ever use a scraper to knock the planer marks off instead of hammering at them with 120 grit and they asked me why I would want to do that when I have an orbital sander.


  9. #8
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    Oct 2014
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    Caroline Springs, VIC
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    Once the components leave the machine shop, there isn't much left for the long time learnt skills required. So much so that when I was doing my wood machining apprenticeship, the cabinet making course was being changed up to be more focused on the machining of components. The furniture pieces these days are being designed with "can I sand that on an edge sander" in mind. That's why square tapered legs are very popular these days. Jointer or thicknesser to shape the taper, #180 grit on the edge sander -> spray it with lacquer. Quicker than hand planing.

  10. #9
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    Oct 2011
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    Langwarrin
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    Hopefully this job doesn't undermine your love for the craftsmanship side of things.... As you said.....Keep looking in the science field so when you do get home workshop time it doesn't feel like work
    "All the gear and no idea"

  11. #10
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    Dec 2013
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    San Antonio, Texas, USA
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    Luke,

    The business you described is also an opportunity. They're banging stuff together in the simplest possible way because 1) The customers want their furniture to look they way they're making it and 2) the products can be assembled with minimally skilled hands.
    There is however a set of customers that want better and is willing to pay for it and that's where the opportunity is. Think Gucci, not Wal Mart. I reckon Seattle to be an ideal area for such an enterprise.

    Cheers,
    Rob
    Innovations are those useful things that, by dint of chance, manage to survive the stupidity and destructive tendencies inherent in human nature.

  12. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by rob streeper View Post
    Think Gucci, not Wal Mart. I reckon Seattle to be an ideal area for such an enterprise.
    Rob,

    You're right. The hand made game is strong in Seattle. That's for sure. Honestly, if I could sell furniture for what my job sells it for then I could quit my job tomorrow and make furniture for a (pretty good) living.

    Unfortunately, marketing is a skill unto itself, so we'll see how that goes.

    Right now, I'm just waiting for my tools, etc. to arrive from Australia so I can actually get to work. That's been delayed two months already, and I've got a suspicion that something has gone awry with the boat.

    We'll see...

    Cheers,
    Luke

  13. #12
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    May 2012
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    Melbourne, VIC
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    Quote Originally Posted by Luke Maddux View Post
    Right now, I'm just waiting for my tools, etc. to arrive from Australia so I can actually get to work. That's been delayed two months already, and I've got a suspicion that something has gone awry with the boat.
    I'd be positively Sleepless with worry.
    But that also doesn't sound too far out of the ballpark?
    50 characters? What use is a signature of 50 char-

  14. #13
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    Dec 2013
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    Quote Originally Posted by Luke Maddux View Post
    The hand made game is strong in Seattle. That's for sure. Honestly, if I could sell furniture for what my job sells it for then I could quit my job tomorrow and make furniture for a (pretty good) living.
    I think that sound is the knocking of opportunity. Plus you've got a container full of starting material that is very scarce on the NA market. "Luke's Outback Furnishings"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Luke Maddux View Post
    Unfortunately, marketing is a skill unto itself, so we'll see how that goes.
    You've already got a bit of an audience here.

    Quote Originally Posted by Luke Maddux View Post
    Right now, I'm just waiting for my tools, etc. to arrive from Australia so I can actually get to work. That's been delayed two months already, and I've got a suspicion that something has gone awry with the boat.
    Ouch. Fortunately you've got your bench. Hope everything works out.

    In the meantime you can enjoy learning from the mistakes and successes of your employers, very valuable if you do decide on pursuing custom woodworking.

    Cheers,
    Rob
    Innovations are those useful things that, by dint of chance, manage to survive the stupidity and destructive tendencies inherent in human nature.

  15. #14
    Join Date
    May 2011
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    Murray Bridge SA
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    Luke, the cheapest form of Marketing is word of mouth. A friend of mine makes cutting/chopping boards, which he sells through various galleries mainly on the eastern side, he cannot keep up with demand, he's usually about a month or two behind, admittedly, a lot of his down time is due to health reasons, but he's kept very busy. When your tools arrive, make a couple of pieces of classy furniture, advertise them for sale in a classy way, paper, etc. Once people see the QUALITY in the work, it won't be long before word gets around and you'll be able to tell the boss you don't need him anymore.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  16. #15
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    Mar 2004
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    Default

    Well, c'mon, Luke, there is a little bit of skill involved in getting the desired results. My first attempt at cleaning up some boards with a belt sander produced something that could've passed as a relief map of the Himalayas...

    But we are strange animals. Many years ago I was demonstrating a few hand-tool techniques with fellow club members at a wood show in Victoria. The guy beside me was using a belt sander to "level" the tops of tables he'd glued up from old recycled Baltic Pine. His results were better than my effort, I'll admit, but you wouldn't have described the tops as 'flat' - 'undulating' would be a better word. What's more, it was taking about 4 or 5 times as long as I reckon it would have taken me to plane them (properly flat!). I had a chat with him at one point, and asked him if he'd considered using handplanes instead of the sander. His answer was something like "Nah, to heck with that, that's too much like hard work!" What he was doing looked to me more arduous than spending 20 minutes with a couple of sharp planes, and noisy, and dusty to boot. But there you go, it's perceptions and experiences that count. And to rub it in, he was drawing a bigger audience than our stand, and selling his stuff like hot sausages on a cold day..

    I'll bet your co-workers have never seen hand-tools being wielded by skilled hands, so they simply cannot conceive how some of the jobs you describe could be done much more efficiently with an appropriate hand tool. But as we all know, acquiring skills takes time and application (and a few sharp blades!). Employers don't want to waste their time & profit margins training people who'll likely up & go somewhere else the minute they finish getting them up to the profitable stage. The current methods are working and the business is profitable, so where is the incentive to change?

    I reckon you should smuggle in a couple of tools, choose a few tasks that they can do very efficiently, & just quietly do them that way for your own satisfaction. Sooner or later, someone might notice that you are doing the job quicker (& better!) and become interested. You could possibly make a convert or two.....
    Cheers,
    IW

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