Woodcraft Services

To the naked eye, a table appears to consist of only a few parts: a top and four legs. But those two seemingly solid parts are composed of different pieces.

Stretchers, rails, feet and a glued panel. The process of sizing, forming, conjoining those pieces requires no fewer than a hundred steps.

Meticulously shaping wood using traditional tools.

So the first step is planning. And for some, this can be the most purely enjoyable step. You're only just exploring. But I will caution you to heed to the tried and true methods that have been tested over hundreds of years. They're still used for a reason. This isn't art. This is a craft. We can talk about shocking originality later. The point now...is skill. Your plans, your proven forms, they aren't your enemies. They're the only friends you have.

Step two is measurement. But "measurement" doesn't mean, just reaching for your tape, "So many inches here, so many inches there." No, no, no.

You cannot make something good until you understand the joinery that will be employed. All joinery says something. It could be through mortises, hand-cut dovetails or dados. Doesn’t each say something different? Take your measure...and when you understand the look and purpose of the furniture...then you're ready to begin.

But also, who is your customer? And what are you trying to provide them? A customer walks through your door, what about them can you observe? Are they older, wearing clothing for its functionality? Or do they stand with confidence, with brand new name brand attire? Is this customer of contemporary fashions, clamoring to be noticed? Or is this a customer blending into the hurried crowd? Is this a customer comfortable in their station? Or do they pine for grander things? And what would this customer like in their house?

Finishing for me, can be the hardest part. Not because there's any great skill involved in these final steps...putting on a few layers of varnish, softening up a few edges, but because if you've done your job, all the true craftsmanship has already occurred. The finishings are mere inevitabilities.

It's in the finishing process that you must come to terms with the idea that perfection is a necessary goal...precisely because it is unattainable.  If you don't aim for perfection, you cannot make anything great. And yet, true perfection is impossible. So at the finish, you must reconcile yourself...to failure. It’s not perfect, you have to make your peace with that. How? Well... you sit at your workbench, you lay out your tools... and you start again.