Woodworking Milestones?

How is it that we, as woodworkers, gauge our progress from rank amateur to seasoned craftsman?

I realize that everyone's process is different, but I feel certain that every woodworker has certain waypoints on his or her journey. For beginners, it may be as simple as a straight cut with a circular saw. For seasoned veterans, perhaps the hand-cut full blind mitered dovetail.

For myself, I started in woodworking because I had an original idea for a coffee table, and was too frugal (i.e., cheap) to pay someone else to execute my design. Countless hours later, I had one hell of a sturdy coffee table. There came a tremendous satisfaction in finishing a project, even if it was nothing but a bunch of strips of plywood. That was Milestone #1: Completing the First Project.

Another milestone for me was my first decent set of hand-cut dovetails. It took 6 tries, and they still don't look 'good' but at least I didn't burn these. Oddly enough, to date I have not used a dovetail joint in a project I've built.

Some other milestones for me include first (good) M&T joint, first working jig, first improvement to existing machinery, first commission, first (good) panel glue-up, and first project SWMBO would allow me to leave in the house. I may be using the Milestone moniker a bit loosely, but you get the idea.

I hit another milestone today. It was this: "Dude, those are way nicer than what you see in the stores." That was my buddy, referring to a pair of end tables I made this weekend. Admittedly, he furniture shops at Big Lots, but the reverence was genuine.

Also, for some of y'all, there's got to be a point at which you don't reach many more real milestones. The learning curve has pretty well flattened out. I mean, is there ever a point at which woodworking becomes purely rote execution, or is there _always_ a challenge in it? For all the work I did on two end tables (and two accent tables last weekend), I figure I've got small tables down cold. At least, small tables with 2x2 legs and 4" aprons and dowel joints. :)

So what is the standard by which we measure our growth? First project? First dovetail? First commission? First cabinet? Or maybe Last cabinet, Mr. Watson? Anyway, I'm rambling a bit, and was curious.

-Phil Crow

Reply to
phildcrowNOSPAM
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Way cool post!

Mastering Woodworking is a journey not some destination that we reach. The standard is some metric that you determine, so set a bar at the level you are comfortable with.

I've done pieces in my home that I have taken pleasure in burning (years later.) This is a milestone for me because I've learned with each piece I've built.

I've done pieces for others (friends only) that I wish I could get back. This is a milestone because I've learned that others asked me to build something for them, and many items are being displayed in their homes. Seems that my standards have gotten higher along the way, forcing me to get better.

I've built pieces for sale. 2 milestones here, "this guy wants me to make 60 chairs for his new restaurant, and will pay me money for doing it," and "I've never made a chair." Good outcome for me.

I want to stay focused on new stuff, with this comes new methods, new joints and best of all, new tools.

Reply to
Nicky

It's a good question. I never thought about in terms of discrete milestones before. It's just been a continuous progression (usually forward, but sometimes not).

Thinking back I notice that there was a time when I started receiving the odd compliment, and one friend at least always asks my advice before cutting anything. I have been pleased about that, but I'm not far enough along to have people asking me to build very much for them.

My milestones seem to be more about the tools. My electric drill (my first) doesn't count because it was a gift and I was only using it to drill holes to hang things on drywall. So my first milestone would have to be the day I bought my first router, jigsaw, and palm sander. (Three power tools in one day, a record that has yet to be surpassed!)

My next milestone was my first stationary power tool, the drill press. I built the rolling base for it using only hand tools.

Then: The tablesaw. Major, major milestone.

My latest: The new 3-1/4HP router. I've stopped being a chicken. I now buy wood rather than trying to make absolutely everything out of scrap (for fear I'd just ruin good wood).

There's one milestone I'm looking forward to achieving: The day I finish a real, full sized piece of furniture that will be good enough to live in my house under normal use. All the bookshelves I've already done don't count. They're kind of invisible. The shed? It's full sized, for sure, but while it's nice, it's just a shed.

I'm just so slow that it's hard to talk about milestones. Maybe kilomilestones. :)

- Owen -

Reply to
Owen Lawrence

First ball-and-claw foot. Jim Lemon

Reply to
Jimlemon

The funny thing is that my first milestones went completely un-noticed by me. The first real project I did was to build a book case. I figured it was rather simple. Oak plywood with some shop bought trim. I used crown molding and actually got some decent miters (without a miter saw). I built a jig to route the dados. I didn't think about what I was doing, or the fact that I shouldn't be able to do it. I just did it. I am now looking at it across the room from me, full of books. I just hope I don't fall prey to the fact that I can't do it because I don't know how or don't have the right tools. Then I will have passed the milestone of self-destruction. So here's to you and here's to me... may we have enough milestones to build a workshop with them and may we never realize that it can't be done.

Rob Through the golden door our children can walk into tomorrow with the knowledge that no one can be denied the promise that is America. ~Ronald W. Reagan

Reply to
Rob Hall

SWMBO says "I like it," instead of "that's interesting" when we show her our latest effort.

Reply to
George

Just this weekend, a friend of SWMBO asks me to make her a copy of a piece in our dining room (which I made). First commission!

Jeff

Reply to
OldMan

I was thinking about that this week end showing my projects to one of my friend. And suddenly it strucked me : I don't really care about the projects : it's the fun to have/use tools !

Yes, it's a hobby for me...

a écrit dans le message de news: snipped-for-privacy@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

Reply to
Junkyard Engineer

Today, looking back on my hobby,

The most memorable milestone from my past was getting an expensive set of bench chisels from Garret Wade which came,of course, in a wooden box. Then spending 3 to 4 hours after work every night for a week on each chisel to make the backs flat and mirror finished, and to sharpen them to the best of my ability with a bevel and micro-bevel. (as I recall the total time was about 2 or 2 1/2 months to complete the set. In about 6 more years my memory will have this up to 5 or 6 months for the set.)

After about 14 years of use in hobby work, I still marvel just how sharp these chisels can get, and how they will shave and pare wood exactly as I want. I have never needed to mess with the flat back, just the micro-bevel, and once the primary bevel on a couple of the chisels, as I recall.

It is difficult to explain, but the completion of spending a huge effort on my hand tools has linked them to me closer than any power tool I have ever owned. Even though I suspect that over the years I have spent more time adjusting my Delta Bandsaw than I have spent sharpening that set of chisels.

Phil

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Reply to
GrayBeardPhil

I will have "arrived" when I can build fine furniture that would qualify to grace the pages of Fine Woodworking. Meantime, I look for progress in most every piece.

I don't know if milestone is the right term for the steps along the way of a long journey. Some of my first projects were doll furniture. Making a chair with all four legs the same length was satisfying. Making a rabbet and dado and having the parts fit was satisfying. Then it was on to m & t joints.

I try to do something different in each piece, be it a joint or even a different way to make the joint. If I can cut it on the tablesaw, maybe the router will be easier or vice versa. I then use the finished piece to be my gauge of success. Are all the visible joints perfect? Everything square? Is it something I'd be proud to show in my living room?

The other question I ask is, "did you enjoy making it?". If it was not fun, it does not matter how good it looks. I do this as a hobby and for relaxation. Ed

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I think you have arrived when your projects have saved or earned you more money than you have spent on tools. :~)

Reply to
Leon

[...]

How about first large piece not made from someone else's plans?

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Reply to
Doug Miller

Doing new things and doing them well. Recently, moved into a new house, new construction, and SWMBO wants built-ins in the room she uses for an office. More trim carpentry than furniture, but I brought a furniture quality to the bookshelves, cabinets and window seat across a full 16" wall with fluted columns, raised hardwood panels etc. Then did an 8 piece cornice and 4 piece chair rail to finish it off. I know where the mistakes are, but everybody who sees it is amazed. I still want to make that walnut chairside chest, but she's got me hanging french doors in the foyer now, and wants the same cornice in the foyer, living room and dining room (along with a built-in corner cabinet in the dining room. Another 7 months shot and still no chairside chest. Mutt.

Reply to
biggmutt53

That's gotta be a good mark of achievement. Knocking off a large furniture piece when working from a plan is one thing.

But to build a large piece of furniture, of you own design, speaks volumes about your knowledge and craftsmanship.

Reply to
BCD

Wow,

Great question, great answers.

How's this for an alternative sort of milestone:

My dad has always had a shop with a table saw. Growing up I simply assumed that all houses had a shop of some sort. Although I only recognized this in retrospect, my dad was my inspiration for adopting this hobby.

The bittersweet milestone: Realizing that my I had eclipsed my dad's skills.

-Steve

Reply to
Stephen M

I don't usually think in terms of milestones, but several recent one come to mind. A complete set of cabinets and a desk for SWMBO's office.

Scrapping previously made stuff and building new. I rebuilt the shop cabinets recently and I'm starting on other rooms in the house.

Us> How is it that we, as woodworkers, gauge our progress from rank amateur

Reply to
dgadams

Snip

I haven't made it to the skilled craftsman measure yet but my major mileposts were:

My son wanting something I made. I made a patio chair from some

2X4s out of a library book project plan.

My daughter wanting a table to fit in an alcove. This was a first time making a table. It is a hallway/sofa table based upon a shaker design. A lot of firsts with this one. My daughter's friends wouldn't believe it was hand made and had to make closer inspections. That put a grin on my face.

Made some wall shelves that were based upon pictures from a Ballard catalog. They were listed at $90 and made for about $15 from molding. The SWMBO has six of them hanging on the walls; first major approval. Daughter has a couple now too.

First sale of work to some of my daughter's friends who wanted what I made for her patio: utility benches, patio chairs and matching small table. Real money for those; a first.

Oh, and recycling wood from dumpsters at construction sites. So I haven't spent much on wood, mostly on screws, paint, sandpaper and such.

I really enjoy the Adirondack chairs I made for myself. Just sitting in 'em makes me feel good; enjoying the day with a brew and the shop dog by my side ( oh, meant to say the SWMBO at my side). ;-)

Thunder

P.S. Project list now includes: book shelf for computer room, daughter request for cedar chest, headboard for SWMBO, and another workbench for myself. Ha! Waiting for the weather to warm up to start again.

Reply to
Rolling Thunder

A neighbor walked into the open shop last summer - looked at some of the carving and one of the current projects -- said - "you're wasting your time in your current career" and left.

I think it was a compliment and a milestone. Either that or...

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Reply to
Will

I've been doing some real soul searching on this idea lately myself. Having been a carpenter for over 15 years, and a wood worker for about 10, I still cannot decide at what point can a man consider himself a "master carpenter" or "master craftsman". My SWMBO (bless her) says that I am one, but that I just won't admit it. She is constantly telling me that I can do everything Norm can, and, to a point, this is true. Although I'm fully aware my learning curve is a couple of years behind him. (I wonder how and when he decided on the title!) Through internet searches, I've really found nothing to use as a measure to compare my skills to and make a decision as to what my title should be. Some info exists on the "master craftsman" of yesteryear, but the whole chain of events leading to a man's masters title is really not in operation in this country today. Here is my resume in short order: When it comes to home building, I've done it all, and learned to do it well. Whether it be rough framing, or finishing trim. ( I jokingly call myself a "rough finish carpenter") Remodeling old homes or building new, I have all the bases covered. Heck, I'm even a certified home inspector. As far as furniture/cabinet making, I rarely run into an unforeseen problem. I haven't built everything (yet!) , but I feel I have acquired enough skills to make quality casework and can run productively. I have a lathe. Turning wood is another realm of woodworking altogether. Although I can make good turnings for projects I build, occasional complications are expected. In this field, I would consider myself an amateur turner. More recently, I've began carving. The goal is to be able to carve cabriole legs and other ornamentation for period furniture. I am definitely a novice here. My first attempt at the ball and claw foot looked more like a turkey leg holding a pumpkin, but it's getting better! I think once I've learned to carve, I will be able to replicate a colonial highboy without many complications. This business of having a title wouldn't be of too much importance to me if I was only a hobbyist woodworker, but I have devoted my life to building stuff from wood. It's more than just "I'm the best carpenter I know", It's a serious passion, if not an addiction, and I believe an appropriate title should accompany. The problem lies in that no formal education exists in this country (that I know of) in which a "master's degree" could be offered for carpentry or wood working. Most every other profession I can think of has a chain of requirements needed to earn a title. The title is then what sets that person apart in their chosen profession, and in their community. I'm hesitant to put the word "master craftsman" or something next to my name simply because I really have no idea what requirements I would need to be considered as such, and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable just self proclaiming it. Any thoughts/opinions would be greatly appreciated here! Thanks, dave

"Rolling Thunder" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Reply to
Dave Jackson

In my case when SWMBO sees something in a catalog, looks at me and says 'you can make that'!

Okay, so I've got a long way to go.

--RC

"Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells 'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Cambell Jr.

Reply to
rcook5

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