Thread: Fine Woodworking - what is it?

I am in no way a fine woodworker, nor have I ever produced any fine woodwork, although there was a breadboard back in highschool some forty odd years ago that I was quite fond of.


Somewhere in the world, probably in China, there is a machine that takes in a freshly felled log at one end and 30 minutes later spews out a dining table, 6 chairs and a buffet and hutch . All of them beautifully finished and millimeter perfect. But it ain't fine woodwork.

Surely fine woodwork must have a level of artistry in both design and execution that takes it well out of the realm of just simple measurement. In other words the woodworker must display some individual talent.


I reckon, with the right set of tools, I could follow a plan and instructions to produce a piece of furniture that would be near perfect, but then I would just be mimicking the machine I described earlier.

As I said in the title above I don't consider myself a fine woodworker. Indeed my goal is to make the perfect dovetail, not there yet but working on it. I have though made some quite good pieces of furniture that have been designed and constructed by myself. I also have a good teacher who said to me when I started with him that he would not let me take home a poor piece. I am in a class of five blokes whom our teacher calls "enthusiasts" which really sums us up. Although I must say we have turned out some pretty good pieces over the years and I am happy to say my skills have increased over the time I have been going.
I look at some of the work different people post on this site and am both impressed and enthused to carry on learning this craft.
So at the moment I am more than happy with the title "enthusiast" and continue to work towards perhaps one day calling myself a fine woodworker.
But in the meantime it really is a lot of fun.
Cheers from melbourne
Frank

To me, in its present context, fine woodworking is the sort of work that appears on the front cover of the magazine Fine Woodworking. It all appears to be made from Formica, heavily Photoshopped or entirely computer generated.

I think the term reflects the current zenith of woodworking, whether or not it appeals to the masses. It's a fashion label.

I prefer the fine woodworking of a few centuries ago.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

To me, in its present context, fine woodworking is the sort of work that appears on the front cover of the magazine Fine Woodworking. It all appears to be made from Formica, heavily Photoshopped or entirely computer generated.

I think the term reflects the current zenith of woodworking, whether or not it appeals to the masses. It's a fashion label.

I prefer the fine woodworking of a few centuries ago.

Well (and briefly) said WW.

WW. The nomenclature has certainly changed. The description cabinet-maker often has become purely descriptive of someone who makes cabinets in the modern sense.
A friend of BD's was over from France and we were discussing this. Ah, you mean an eboniste, he said. To have the ability to work in ebony with hand tools certainly would have been a test of ability. Or was it so expensive that they would only trust it to someone with skill and ability?
In my mind I find it hard to describe anything as fine woodworking unless it has that extra element of style to please the eye. I'm rather tying myself in knots but I see plenty of examples of fine workmanship but they don't always deserve (for me) the description of fine woodworking.
Welcome to nit-picking central.
Cheers,
Jim

Originally Posted by wun4us

Well (and briefly) said WW.

Yes, I do go on a bit
Cheers,
Jim

Originally Posted by jimbur

WW. The nomenclature has certainly changed. The description cabinet-maker often has become purely descriptive of someone who makes cabinets in the modern sense.
A friend of BD's was over from France and we were discussing this. Ah, you mean an eboniste, he said. To have the ability to work in ebony with hand tools certainly would have been a test of ability. Or was it so expensive that they would only trust it to someone with skill and ability?
In my mind I find it hard to describe anything as fine woodworking unless it has that extra element of style to please the eye. I'm rather tying myself in knots but I see plenty of examples of fine workmanship but they don't always deserve (for me) the description of fine woodworking.
Welcome to nit-picking central.
Cheers,
Jim

Ébéniste, cabinetmaker, woodworker – the artificer may go by many names, but if we are talking about the definition of 'fine woodworking', then, as above, I believe the word 'fashionable' could be substituted for 'fine'.

If we're talking about what constitutes fine woodworking, then I think that could be described as technical and artistic supremacy. The technical side of it is easy enough to define, but the artistic element is too subjective for this dinosaur to attempt to fathom.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

If we're talking about what constitutes fine woodworking, then I think that could be described as technical and artistic supremacy. The technical side of it is easy enough to define, but the artistic element is too subjective for this dinosaur to attempt to fathom.

This element of stylistic, artistic supremacy sums up why I jumped (probably unfairly) on part of a longer statement from Derek.
Style depends on what the eye sees, or thinks it sees. By all means attempt to be exact but, if it doesn't affect the visual and structural integrity of the piece it still can be fine woodworking.
Cheers,
Jim

I find it to be a lot like photography.

One can learn all about shutter speeds, f-stops, focal lengths, circles of confusion etc. One can even learn all the mathematics associated with optics and light. You can even learn all the mechanical and electronic aspects of the camera.

Having mastered ALL of that, it still takes talent to take a good photograph.

All of the technical aspects of cutting, joining and finishing wood can be learned from a book - or the internet, but to complete a fine piece takes talent.

I seem to lack the talent in both fields.

Originally Posted by jimbur

Anything less than exact and this is not fine woodworking

Sort of rules out anything outside of furniture making..
maybe we should just specify some tolerances eg ...+-.02mm = fine woodwork.
(could be a bit tricky with some fine Japanese netsuke though)

Fine wood working to me denotes the material rather than the craftsman. A "quality butcher" doesnt refer to the blood spattered brute behind the counter, it refers to the meat he is offering. So to when it comes to woodwork I think of the fine timbers as used in quality handcrafted furniture. When describing the person we would be more correct to think of him/her as a master butcher or master craftsman. Or in some cases, the former could apply to both trades.

Originally Posted by rustynail

Fine wood working to me denotes the material rather than the craftsman.

So a fiddleback blackwood slab screwed onto the top of an outdoor bar is fine woodworking?

I am nowhere near being a fine woodworker, but it does not stop me having a go. To me a fine piece of workmanship is when it is done all by hand. That is no power tools and only the old methods of woodwork. It is to easy now to buy a jig for this and for that to create the finish you want. My brother was a craftman in woodworking and he would not even consider putting something together that was not perfect. But then again what is fine. Some of the rooughest pieces thrown together can be fine for someone and not for another. It is the end user that determines that.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

So a fiddleback blackwood slab screwed onto the top of an outdoor bar is fine woodworking?

Sounds a bit like 18th century woodwork