What does it mean to be a woodworker? Most would probably agree that at the most basic level, a woodworker is one who uses tools to shape objects out of wood. Fair enough. But today’s modern woodworker has to be so much more than that. Some of this is self-inflicted punishment for “needing” the latest and greatest gadgets, but even a modest modern hobbyist wood shop requires the owner to wear many hats in order to be successful and productive. I imagine this might be at the heart of the rude awakening most new woodworkers experience when first entering the craft and it probably creates a sizable barrier to entry as well. Perhaps just talking about these things and sharing ideas will help us devise solutions, work-arounds, and maybe even some reality checks that will make the process of becoming a woodworker much easier.
The Traditional Joiner
If you are into hand tools, not only do you need to learn how to use the tools but also tune and sharpen them. How many of us toiled away for months or longer trying to figure out how to use a plane that was never sharpened properly? I remember vividly the first time I took a few strokes with a friends finely-tuned smoother. What an epiphany! I felt like such a goober because I always blamed my poor results on my lack of skills. I honestly never suspected that the tool itself was at the heart of the issue. No wonder it chewed up my work like a Labrador puppy!
If you’re using Grandpa’s old tools or some flea-market finds, you’ll need to become fairly competent at tool rehabilitation too. The sharpest iron in the world won’t help you if the sole is shaped like a banana. Just ask my buddy Matt Vanderlist.
The Machinist
If you choose to incorporate power tools into your shop, you now need to learn the ins and outs of tool setup and calibration. If you think you can un-crate that shiny new tablesaw, plug it in, and be on your way to wood-cutting bliss, think again! Every tool needs to be calibrated properly before use. Taking measurements down to the nearest thousandth is common practice (sometimes unnecessarily) and for those of us with failing eyesight, that’s never any fun!
Once the tool is up and running, of course you need to learn how to use it. While most power tools don’t require the same manual dexterity as their hand tool counterparts, there is certainly some nuance to it. Tools like the tablesaw and jointer require much more in the way of body movement than simply “passing the wood over/through the blade”.
The Safety Officer
Regardless of which tools you use, safety must be the number one priority. Learning to work safely is not quite as easy as simply reading a manual or watching a basic instructional video. What you need is time: time to familiarize yourself with the normal operation of the tool, time to gain enough experience to be able to identify abnormal tool operation, and time to use the tool in various ways in order to gain confidence in its many potential uses. Keep in mind that time does not automatically equate to increased safety. It’s how you spend that time that determines how often you put yourself at risk on a typical shop day. I have seen many “experienced” woodworkers doing very stupid things with tools.
The Finisher
Once you are comfortable with your tools and you begin cranking out projects, you eventually realize you need to educate yourself on finishing. If that isn’t a can of worms, I don’t know what is! In my opinion, finishing is one of the most needlessly over-complicated areas of woodworking. That’s exactly why I wrote a book in an effort to simplify things for the newbie. “What type of finish should I use on my project?” is the most common question to hit my inbox, and for good reason. There are so many choices out there and they all promise you the world! Fortunately, this is one area where you can truly keep things simple and not sacrifice the quality of your work. Don’t get caught up in the marketing hype and don’t be tempted to try a new finish on every project. Pick a finish that initially appeals to you and take the time to become skillful at applying it.
The Electrician
How about the workshop itself? Once you start to get into the more beefy tools, you no doubt will require 220v power. If you are somewhat comfortable with basic home wiring and you’re cheap like me, you will most likely tackle this work yourself. Whether you should or shouldn’t might be the subject of a different article in the future. Aside from new outlets, you probably want more lighting too. Who doesn’t?! So you may as well run an extra circuit or at least extend the current one. What gauge wire should you use? Should you use romex? Should you tap into the old drier outlet for easy 220? How many wires can you safely fit into 1/2″ conduit? These are all questions that I used to wrestle with until I wised up and called in a professional. Unless you have a background in electrical work, the cost of hiring a professional electrician is well worth it if you can rest easy knowing you won’t inadvertently burn your house down.
The HVAC Specialist
I was standing in my shop recently pondering my dust collection system. My ductwork needs some serious help and I couldn’t help but think, “I should hire someone to do this!”. As long as I’ve been doing woodworking, I still make major mistakes when it comes to designing an efficient system. I’ve read articles, blogs, and books, and I still screw it up. It should be simple right? Hook up the sucky thing to the stuff thank makes dust and you’re off to the races. Unfortunately, its just not that simple. Each tool has its own required CFM (cubic feet per minute) rating and you need to calculate the air movement and how much pressure you lose with your various drops. You then need to install the ductwork with minimal leakage as well as minimal twists and turns. To make matters worse, researching dust collection will make your head spin within minutes of hitting the enter key.
Ahhh! I just want to be a WOODWORKER!!
I’m not bringing all this up to discourage budding woodworkers. Quite the opposite in fact. Consider it a form of commiseration, if you will. We’ve all been there before. If we’re not puzzling over some complicated woodworking technique, we’re trying to figure out ways to improve the shop. As people who build furniture instead of buying it, I believe it’s in our nature to want to do everything ourselves. But frankly, it’s a little silly for us to think that we can master all of these aspects of running a shop.
Becoming a productive and functional woodworker, even at the hobbyist level, is quite an accomplishment. So if you’re new to the craft and you feel overwhelmed, remember that most of the folks you hear from have been at it for quite some time. Eventually, much of this information will find its way into your brain whether you want it there or not. And keep in mind, it never hurts to call in a professional when you aren’t sure about something (especially electricity).
I should also mention that simplifying your tool collection will go a long way in reducing the learning curve. If you decide to favor hand tools, you pretty much knock out electricity and dust collection from your list of crap to worry about.
I know we have lots of experienced woodworkers in the community and I’d like to hear what advice you might have for the folks just coming into the craft. What did you do to make the whole “becoming a woodworker” thing easier?
For me, of all the various duties, finishing tends to be the most enjoyable aspect of a project. Though the level of enjoyment you extract from it depends greatly on the preliminaries.
Hello Marc,
Thanks for such a nice informative article. You really help to know so may responsibilities of a Woodworker . But I am sure there are lot more resposibilites of a woodworker some of them may be designing, purchasing, polishing and many more.
As a new visitor to The Wood Whisperer within the past two weeks, I have watched many of the videos and read most of your musings and have come away very impressed. You discuss the things that most of your bretheren think about and struggle with. Your writings let us know that we indeed are not the only ones with specific isssues and problems to solve. Our woodworking lives are validated by reading your work. I have been around the construction trades for all of my life, working in various disciplines, but have only been a dedicated garage shop woodworker for the past 35 years. It has been my “therapy” for my high stress, long hours, paying the bills career. Classes with David Marks, Graham Blackburne and others, along with TV, video, and hundreds of books have kept my interest piqued through a lot of good and some frustrating shop hours. It is also great to see a young guy “embracing the life” that the rest of us can only dream about. Your dedication to family and craft is inspiring for us OFGs out here. Keep up the good work. I admire your work and your spirit and look forward to more of the Wood Whisperer in the future.
Thanks so much Bob! I am really glad that the subtlety and overall message of what we do here isn’t lost on you. From day 1, this has always been about sharing my experiences in the craft. Just by sharing my own journey with others, my learning curve has been dramatically enhanced and I hope it’s a reciprocal relationship. I’m so glad to be learning at a time when it is so easy to share thoughts and ideas online!
Well anyway, best of luck with your woodworking and I’m glad you found us.
Its very nicely written article. I love my profession of woodworking and I enjoy its every moment. It has all the thrill, fun, science, art and all, So I just wanted to be a woodworker now that I am. Currently I am running a big workshop and I have more than 50 men working for me. Carpentry is my passion and I think I am completely justifying with it so my customers are giving very nice reviews and are very happy with my work.
Good article Marc, i love reading your posts and learning new stuff.
I just want to be a WOODWORKER!!
I say it often. Very good article Marc, all above-mentioned fases I have spent it in some moment, to say that my interest to the carpentry began to the tender age of five years, “playing” with the tools of my great-grandfather, with the rebukes of my father, for walking with the dangerous tool for my in this moment, but already you see now it is my profession which I enjoy very much and which it feeds my family. At this moment I am changing of workshop or that imagines the identified that I am.
Great article. I know my first few side tables did not go as planned due to not calibrating the table saw, lesson learned. I would have to agree with earlier posts that many of your videos have helped me learn how to utilize most of the power tools. The information you offer and the teaching points are indispensable, thanks again Marc.
Great article Marc. Seems like I’m always wearing as many hats as my tool collection will allow. Plus a new “hat” means more new tools! I prefer to do as much on my own anyway. It’s a great learning experience… though I too leave the high-voltage tweaks to qualified guys. One accidental contact with a 220v paddle switch and a pair of pliers is enough to make me think twice. Electricity is one of the few things that could kill ya before you even know you screwed up.
I’m a fairly new woodworker and really enjoying the vast amount of content you’ve got here. Keep it up! Really nice Roubo BTW… can’t wait to build mine.
Great post, Marc; this is the sort of thing that sets you apart from the other woodworking sites out there.
I’m seriously thinking about joining a wood working “club” like Philadelphia Woodworks. It might be a way to “outsource” nearly all of the non-woodworking work of woodworking. And the cost is probably less than I’d spend just buying the tools.
Of course, the down side is that I’d have to drive across town whenever I wanted to do some woodworking. And, share “my” shop with other people. And,have to be satisfied with what they decided. And do without the “pride of ownership”.
I’m still on the fence, but it’s something to consider.
You forgot “purchasing agent” and “designer” for hobbyists, and if you sell your work then you can add “salesman”, “accountant” and most likely “webmaster” and “packing and shipping”. I’m lucky if I spend a third of my work week actually building anything.
In staffing a newbe shop, my recommendation is to buy the best equipment you can afford,which is not necessarily the most expensive. Lots of tool testing results available online.
Great Advice, I’ve been an Electrician for the past 34 years & I can relate many stories of people who knew just enough about electricity to get it very wrong. Years ago I had a conversation with an electrical inspector who made the following comment. “The thing about electricity is that it almost always works” That’s right about the time when the local Fire Department shows up!
Relating to the dust collection issue, I would highly recommend using Oneida’s dust collection design service. They do an awesome job based on shop layout & tool requirements that you provide them.
I second that! I have the 3HP Dust Gorilla and have excellent pick up at each machine.
Hi Marc
Great article!! Yes, it certainly is a daunting situation.
One thing I have learnt from your fantastic website and the great initiative of Safety Week, is to take safety seriously, and I try to put that into practice, although sometimes I still do stupid things despite having an idea that its not the best way to work. But I am working on that!
So most important as you rightly point out is to take safety seriously, and wear that ‘safety hat’ all the time. Even if projects are not perfect, a safe woodworker will continue until they become a better one, but if you have an injury due to not taking proper precautions, you are bound to give it up. Safe and happy woodworking to all.
Simple advice to those starting out is start simple. You can’t reasonably bring your life’s experiences and desires for wonderful, well made projects into you first efforts in woodworking. Starting simple may be getting basic parts for those first projects by asking the assistant at the big box store to cut them from some boards/ply you selected. A few screws/nails and some sanding later, you have a project complete. (Remember that paint, especially early in the woodworking journey, can be a good friend.)
Maybe you need to buy a drill and a one inch spade bit to make a nice opening for that bird house. Maybe. What tools to buy? Power tools, hand tools are really just tools. They require different care and feeding. They are not names of two warring tribes. What can you afford and what tool you feel more comfortable using are the primary concerns when considering the current project.
I remember when I was first getting started in woodworking I saw all these articles on working with brass and thought “that’s dumb, I’m just going to buy hardware. I want to work with wood, not metal!”
Then I restored a few old planes and read Ron Hock’s sharpening book. Heck, just the other day I was explaining to my cousin that tungsten carbide wedding rings, while harder than gold, are more apt to shatter because the crystalline structure of carbide is very rigid and brittle, whereas gold is malleable.
In hindsight, learning to work with brass is a cakewalk compared to the knowledge required to maintain tools. :)
Marc,
Well said! Woodworking has lead me to learn things that in some way have nothing to do with wood. Electrical for example, and lets not forget computers or computer programs such as sketch up.
Because of this website YOU lead me to that wonderful program that i can now not imagine how i could live without it. I can now draw a digital 3D image quicker than i can by hand, not to mention you can check all measurements and dimensions before you cut a single piece of wood. I can’t believe that google provides this for free.
Another hat that a woodworker might wear unknowingly is the “designer” hat. Again, this website opened my eyes to the Golden Ratio, once learned i now look at my projects thru different eyes. for guys like me who do this for fun and enjoyment, YOUR THE MAN! thanks for all you do.
I meant ” ..what you’re trying to do.”
“What did you do to make the whole
Marc,
Great article. Many of the topics you’ve discussed have been a barrier to me making any advances in my skills. Working a full time job that normally involves long hours makes the time I get to spend in my garage very precious. While all this is necessary I hate that I lose so much time away from woodworking trying to get all the tools tuned, the garage cleaned, the bench reorganized … I sometimes just throw up my hands in frustration and go read a book. This is a great and hopefully inspiring article.
Jim
are all your tools just 220?? i’m from Ireland and all the nice fancy non hobby crap seems 3 phase 400 volt. 220 is standard here do woodworkers in america get in 3 phase??
Rick,
With few exceptions, 3 phase is generally for large commercial shops. Most of my corded hand tools are 120 and my large machines 240. Sometimes, you’ll see a 3 phase machine in a smaller shop running off a phase converter.
cheers for the reply, unfortunately here most of the solid old second hand machines are 3 phase, my single phase machines are very light poor quality machines. hand power tools come in either 220 or 110 volt.
All of your points are valid and wise.
I would suggest to anyone interested in woodworking, to take advantage of great sites like yours and others on the net to arm themselves with as much knowledge as possible.
A long time ago, there was none of this and it was easiest to learn from “an old hand”.
(yeah, I’m old enough o remember woodworking with out the internet…lol)
Thanks Marc.
What did you do to make the whole
So true! I’ll second the comment on hiring an electrician if you’re not comfortable with electricity and not familiar with electrical codes.
If your shop burns down due to poor wiring, your insurance company will not cover your losses!
Don’t forget the other hats if you are a sole proprietor: book keeper, salesman, marketing department, accounts receivable/payable. Some days I can’t even get into the shop because of these hats!
It took me almost six years of building a shop before I’d even started my first piece of actual furniture. Now, I get to start learning. Not everyone will and definitely shouldnt wait until everything is set. That’s just me. I’m a bit OCD and need to have things perfect. I would probably be much further intoy learning curve if I would’ve been building with the tools I had and the environment available, but I would also be years away from the shop I have now. So, priorities?!
Mark, from someone just getting started, thankyou for confirming I am not completely incompetent. It gets so overwhelming sometimes that I question whether I will make progress. Thank you for lettingme know that I am not the only one going insane over calibeation!
This was a very well-written article. I think we all go into this to satisfy a need to create, which stems from an artistic hunger and can be very fulfilling. For me, it ties together what gets fragmented, and allows me to be a part of something. My Grandfather asked me what I wanted to do in life when I was a teenager. “Something with my mind,” I answered. “Don’t forget to balance life by working with your hands as a creative outlet,” he admonished. You’ve done a great job of describing the pathways to getting from that conversation to the point of enjoyment of that creative outlet.
Great “musings” and right to the heart of the matter. Well done. I have found that woodworking is very similar to golf in that no matter how good your game is, you will never believe that a more expensive club won’t help….same applies to my wood shop collection of tools/gadgets………..if only I never got catalogs…sigh.
Cheers,
Dan
Electricians can be called, even an HVAC specialist or a professional finisher can consulted if you are willing to spend the money, but the thing I hate the most is calibration of power AND hand tools. I don’t like it and I don’t do it well. Is there anyone I can call to come in for an afternoon and sharpen+recalibrate by jointer, calibrate my table saw, get my planes truly flat, all of the things I really do not want to be spending hours doing (poorly)? To me it feels like asking pianists to tune their own piano.