This Business About Woodworking

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.