Well, there’s an assortment of reasons, and I’ll do my best to clearly and strategically enumerate them here.
I like to let my clients experience the joy of developing their special family heirlooms right along with me, so I take tons of pictures as I’m going through the process and share some with them. What I’m going to do here is open the curtain on the crazy inner workings of a custom furniture shop for all to see. Often, I will focus on the furniture makers, giving them clues about things I learn as I go through some of the steps I come up with to get out of the jams in which I put myself. But, even if you’re not a furniture maker, as I’ve seen with some of the things I’ve shared with my clients, I think you might find these things interesting.
Also, as I finish something that seems noteworthy, I’ll post it here too. Quite often, something even surprises me, so I like to share that with my family, and maybe I’ll even subject you to it.
Additionally, my background includes decades as a scientist and electronic engineer specializing in semiconductor physics. Why would I bring that up unless I wanted to chase you off? Well, technology has never scared me. I’ve always been an early adopter…well, except where my budget wouldn’t allow. But, I love technology! There, I said it. It’s cathartic and true. It excites me when need drives new solutions and new technology reveals itself. I loved the “aha” moments when I was an engineer, and guess what…that affection has never left.
Part of the new technology include modern manufacturing methods. To accelerate some of my form or fixture making as well as some of the part forming, I’ve added a CNC machine to the shop array of tools. Simply, this is a computer controlled XYZ router with an array of bits. Using computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software, as I design products in CAD, I can include necessary fixturing, clamping mechanisms, and part forming so when it comes time, I can quickly make all these needed parts. I’ll show some things I use for this part of the process and maybe even show some things that do not work, just because it’s funny.
Lastly, as much as a technologist as I can be, I am also a traditionalist where it gives the highest quality or is necessary. I may use CNC for accelerating many things in the shop, but I never substitute modern technology for traditional methods that give spectacular results. I do most of my joinery using hand methods. Surface prep? Yep, it’s all by hand. I love teaching hand tool & joinery classes and will show some of the techniques I’ve learned and developed to give spectacular results.
So, there you have it. This is what we’re going to do together in our conversations as we jump into things, make our blunders, find a different way and then perfect that process to give the best possible result. There’s no better way to get better faster than to learn from those who’ve made some mistakes, learned from them and learned a better way, or used some technology that we never thought about, or found a way to finesse the ultimate results. We’ll learn to share this here, and we’ll all learn from it and get better because of our community…a community of craftsman who know we’re all better because we are willing to talk about our failures and our successes.
I promise, not all of these discussions will be this long. I’m looking forward to what we can learn from each other as much as I want to share what I’ve learned…even the hard way and I want to encourage y’all to participate. So join me in this crazy path we’re all on as woodworkers, furniture makers and cabinet makers.
K