David DeCristoforo

At one time I had some spectacular genuine Honduras rosewood that a friend had imported. I also had a small amount of highly figured blistered maple.

The coronavirus is causing things to go off the rails. We're being told stay home and avoid other people. But we have to make a living. It’s not like we can just stop going to work.

About ten years ago, I began to do lathe work in earnest. I had several pieces sitting around the house, including one that what was the first of a series of pieces that became something of a signature style, the holy grail of every woodturner.

I don’t know anyone who enjoys moving. And moving a shop can be especially difficult. But there are a few upsides.

I came across an interesting question the other day. The poster said he had no woodworking experience but wanted suggestions about what tools were needed to build a project he had in mind.

I spent the entire month of December moving my shop. It’s not the first time I have done this (but I do hope it’s the last!) so I was not completely blindsided by how much work it involved. But, somehow, this move was much more stressful than the last few.

We are hearing a lot about how well the economy is doing these days. Unemployment figures are looking good. And that’s supposed to be one of the indicators of a healthy economy. But at the same time there is an undeniably widening discrepancy in the ratio of people making billions and people barely scraping by.

A response to a recent post contained a link to an article on dealing with “toxic” employees.

The title of this post seems to be the attitude of most people when it comes to anything involving the spending of money. There is an uncertain quality to how people feel about buying anything, especially if it involves a substantial investment.

In business, it is imperative that we maintain a positive energy. This is essential for good customer relations as well as a strong, positive work environment.

With all of the concern about our changing climate, we are finding ourselves needing to consider our own impact on our environment. Let’s forget, for the moment, the argument about the cause of climate change. The fact is that the climate is changing and it’s doing so at a much greater rate than was previously believed.

There have been numerous times throughout my woodworking career when people have asked me how I do this or that. Sometimes it’s just curiosity. Sometimes it’s some who wants to do it themselves and is in need of guidance. And, sometimes it’s a competitor who has underbid a job he doesn’t really know how to do.

We are always on the lookout for talented, experienced employees. Yes, they are getting harder to find. And if we are looking for a strong work ethic, it gets even more difficult.

In our business we are often asked to do things a bit differently than we’re used to. People want to individualize their projects. They don’t want to pay premium prices for something that looks just like what they could have bought at the local furniture store.

I have always maintained that exceptions are a myth, much like scrap inventory. We all have policies regarding how we deal with things like customers wanting changes made or employees wanting some form of special consideration.

Everyone in business has an image in their mind of what their dream employee would be. There is a tendency, when interviewing potential employees to look indications that fit that image. This can lead to a distorted, idealized view of the person being considered, leading us to see things that might not really be there.

Some years ago, I had the opportunity to hire a guy who had literally grown up in the furniture industry. He was from South Carolina and started working in a furniture plant when he was 14. He had moved to our area to take care of an ailing parent.

In our business, we are often called upon to work outside of our comfort zone. Sometimes it’s in the form of needing to create a unique design that does not fit within the parameters of our typical production format. These projects may require us to master a new technique or a tool we have never used before.

I recently came across the following definitions that attempt to differentiate art and craft.

Wherever you stand on the question of climate change or global warming, there is no denying that our sources of fine hardwoods is rapidly diminishing.

The big push in today’s market place is toward automation. Most large industries are already at least partially automated with CNC machines and robotics performing work formerly done by people.

A recent column in the July 2019 issue of Woodshop News, “What’s the deal with finding skilled labor?”, discussed the shortage of cabinetmakers, joiners and woodworkers in general.

Remember Strickland, the stern, disciplinarian school principal in the “Back to the Future” movie? “Discipline!” was his litany. And to be sure, discipline is important.

There was a long period when I had employees, but I started out as a one-man shop and ended up as a one-man shop.

There are many times when we have the pressure of a deadline. The need to hit a payment schedule, contract requirements, customer demands and a myriad of other factors can put us in a time bind.

Most of us have chosen woodworking as a profession for the same reason: we like working with wood.

The recent disastrous fire that consumed most of the roof structure of the Notre Dame cathedral got me thinking once again about the fragile nature of our wood supply.

I’m laughing out loud at the current proposal to send immigrants to sanctuary cities. I happen to live in one and the biggest problem local businesses have is finding good help.

I have been asked about my work many times. Not any nuts and bolts stuff that I’m pretty comfortable talking about but things like how I feel about what I do or how I must love my work.

These days, a prospective employee is more likely to be asked about his knowledge of computers than about how well he can produce a smooth surface with a hand plane.

I’m one of those people who just goes nuts when we have to go through daylight savings time changes. I have a hard time adjusting to the one-hour shift, especially when the time jumps forward.

Some people see the big picture, others see the little things. Those who can see both are rare.

They say that if you are a small business owner you must wear many hats. Sometimes I feel like we need to add a dentist’s hat to the list because getting paid can be like pulling teeth.

I once heard a supervisor tell an apprentice, “I’ve forgotten more than you’ve learned.” That’s a pretty arrogant and offensive comment to make to a learner. But there is a bit of value in it.

Many times, I have heard people say how much they love woodworking. Some were thinking of starting a woodworking business so that they could make a living doing what they love.

There’s a saying that the customer is always right. We know this is not really the case. The customer is often wrong.

Can’t trust that day, the song says. We have all heard about how tough Monday can be. But I can tell you this, Monday morning is absolutely the best time for making or closing sales.

As makers and humans, we are all prone to making occasional mistakes. Some are not really a big deal like a piece that is cut too short. You just cut another and move on. Others are more of an issue and require calling in “the cleaner”.

Over the past couple of years, we have been on an economic roller coaster. The stock markets have been bouncing around like a lopsided super ball, record gains one day, record losses the next.

It’s an old saw for sure but it seems like it’s always relevant. But these days it feels like it should be “chicken one minute, feathers the next. The economic yo yo we are playing with is enough to drive anyone around the bend.

Woodworking is high on the list of industries that are experiencing a shortage of skilled employees. With unemployment rates at the lowest level in decades and wages at their highest, the lack of skilled people is becoming more and more obvious.

I have always preferred to order things I need and have them delivered rather than have to go shopping.

Every time I see a video or read a tutorial about how to do something, I think again about what it takes to really master a process. There are two parts to learning. One is the acquisition of knowledge. The other is the acquisition of skill.

Every woodworker has been inspired by something that steered us into this work.

Most of us work most efficiently in a well-organized environment. Things just go more smoothly when whatever is needed at the moment is easily accessed.

We all have protocols. Whether it’s a construction method or payment schedule, for example, these protocols are communicated to our customers in the hope that we will have a smooth, trouble free relationship through the course of a project.

I’m a big believer in buying woodworking machinery that provides support from the manufacturer.