There seems to be a major difference between a professional woodworker (one whose livelyhood is from woodworking) and a hobbyist who does woodworking for fun/therapy. There are a lucky few who make a good income from their woodworking, but they're few and far between.
I've found that the work of an experienced "enthusiast" often exhibits more attention to details and finer workmanship than the work of many professionals. This is not to say that the pro is unable to do better work, just the monetary return on their investment in time and effort doesn't often make it "worth it".
Here's some of the differences I see. What are some of the differences you feel are significant?
Do you think the best work comes from the pro or a fanatic hobbyist?
To the pro, time is money
To the hobbyist time - in the shop - is also valuable, but only because there may not be much of it available, given all his/her other demands for time ( kids, spouse, job, friends, etc..)
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The pro most often makes things for customers who have particular wants and needs and delivery/installation dates.
The hobbyist may also have people to satisfy but they're usually less demanding and the design is less constrained/ defined. Deadlines and delivery dates are more geared towards birthdays, anniversaries and a few holidays. ===================
The pro is more concerned with the function and less concerned about nuances of the wood, the finish, the edge treatments etc.
The hobbyist may agonize for weeks over just the wood selection, another week selecting the grain of key parts and spend hours getting the edge treatment(s) to catch the light just so. ======================
The pro will optimize his sheet layout to get the most ouf of each sheet in order to minimize "waste" and increase profits.
The hobbyist may "waste" half a board to get that special grain pattern for a particular piece. =======================
The pro often specializes in a type of furniture, case work, solid wood construction, period pieces, a particular style.
A hobbyist will do all types of woodworking and may get pretty good at a range of styles, methods of joining etc.. ====================
A pro's goal is the check from the client.
A hobbyist often sees the process/journey as the goal, the finished piece being just the end of a particular journey. =====================
To a pro, wood is just a material with certain characteristics which lend themselves to making into saleable pieces.
To a hobbyist, wood may be a magic thing that may even have its own voice and talks to them. ===================
To the pro, efficiency means profit.
To the hobbyist efficiency may me using the wood very well - and maybe avoiding tear out. Other than that the word has little meaning ====================
The pro must often make "vanilla" pieces which are marketable.
The hobbyist can do any flavor that strikes his or her fancy. May not work in the end but the enthusiast can "spend" the time exploring. ===================
charlie b