Please Vote - Forum For Casework/cabinet fabrication

[David Nelson1]

A few have asked for this forum and I for one would certainly lurk in the corner since I don't know squawt. Anyway whatcha think?

[johnny means]

I think the projects forum would already include that. I myself would like to see more activity on that particular forum. Though I myself am uncomfortable with posting projects because I'm a professional, I enjoy seeing others creative endeavors.

[Peter Quinn]

Most of what I make is done professionally, it is the intellectual property of others, I cannot legally post pictures of it, I have signed an agreement to this extent. But I love seeing the fine work of those than can post. I feel the project forum is a place to post pictures of finished work or work in progress, but most of the construction and hardware questions end up here, often lost in a sea of "which table saw blade is sharpest" type questions. It would be nice to have an area more focused on casework construction. If you go to a pro site like wood web they break out different professional subsets, like millwork, cabinet making, doors. That's probably too specific for this forum IMO, but a more focused place to share cabinetry info might make both forum areas cleaner and more specific.

[Sam Layton]

I would also like to see a casework/cabinet fabrication forum.

Johnny, you should not feel uncomfortable posting your projects. I would like to see them, and I am sure that everyone else would also.

Sam

[Jefferey Scott]

I would like to see such a forum also. Especially since I'm in the middle of my kitchen project at the moment. I've done more of this type of woodworking in the past few years than furniture building and it would be of great interest to me and I'm sure others.

[Larry Browning]

I personally feel that are too many forums now. For those of you who feel that one is needed, what advantage do you see it will bring?

[Trent Shirley]

I would like to see the new forum. Searching through a generalized project forum for specific information can be time consuming and case / cabinet work is popular and specific enough to have it's own forum.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Were all professionals Peter if we get paid for what we do..

[Julie Moriarty]

Right now there's General Woodworking and Power Tools as one big huge section where you can post just about anything that has to do with woodworking (and power tools). Let's say someone has a question about a specific aspect of woodworking. While waiting for an answer 10-20 more people have questions about woodworking and/or power tools. That person's post gets pushed down quickly and soon is off the first page. It's also a lot harder to find posts about something you're needing help with when the section is so huge.

I like the idea of a Woodworking section with sub sections related to woodworking and a separate tool section. But that's just me.

[scott vroom]

Well said Julie.


there's General Woodworking and Power Tools as one big huge section where you can post just about anything that has to do with woodworking (and power tools). Let's say someone has a question about a specific aspect of woodworking. While waiting for an answer 10-20 more people have questions about woodworking and/or power tools. That person's post gets pushed down quickly and soon is off the first page. It's also a lot harder to find posts about something you're needing help with when the section is so huge.

I like the idea of a Woodworking section with sub sections related to woodworking and a separate tool section. But that's just me.[/QUOTE]

[Sam Murdoch]

Maybe it's power tools that need its own forum.

[johnny means]

Maybe it's power tools that need its own forum.

I'm sure that would quickly take the place of this forum as the primary destination on SMC.

[Matt Meiser]

I vote no because there's already too many. Plus where do you draw the line? Table forum? Chairs? Walnut jewelery boxes with 2 drawers and brass hardware? I'm of course being ridiculous but IMHO splitting things up just reduces traffic.

[Carl Beckett]

Im sure I violate the general structure of the forums, in that I post most things in the general forum.

For example, I often post project related questions in the general forum. Same with hand tool questions, and even finishing questions.

Sometimes I post in one of the other forums, but not always.

If there was a group here interested in cabinet building, Im just wondering why they didnt naturally migrate to the 'projects' section?

(full disclosure: A good portion of my filing system is a 'piling' system..... so I might not be the most disciplined at using organizational structures)

At the same time, the great thing about the internet is that its easy to test. In some ways, I would expect groupings to come and go to adapt to what people were, or were not actually using. So in addition to creating new sections - are there any existing sections that are low enough use they should be combined?

[Peter Quinn]

Were all professionals Peter if we get paid for what we do..

I'm very much in agreement on that. I was not pointing to the fact that I get paid for what I do having much meaning, but that in my present position I get paid to make things that other people have designed, mostly, and thus I cannot post pictures of this work in the project forum. Even though my hands may have turned rough lumber into a functional and possibly aesthetically pleasing object, and I may have had a role in defining the construction details, the work is not mine. So I am left with advice as an outlet, an opportunity to share what I have learned on my own and from the veteran professional cabinet makers with which I work. And to learn from all the other crafts people that take the time to offer their experience and add to the discussion. This puts most of my posts here in general woodworking. I don't see many discussions in the project forum, though it is a great outlet that used to be contained here in general wood working not so long ago. Making projects and instruments separate forums I felt was an excellent change. Those boards benefit from a slower moving but more thorough review by participants IMHO. As the ultimate evidence of this I would point to the fact that in 2003 none other than Mark Singer posted pics of a stunning coffee table he built that quickly fell off the board for 5 YEARS, only to be rediscovered several times. Yes, the first response to his OP was in 2008. I discovered this while poking through archives trying to discover if the creek had changed and if so how.

I have long since ceased to care what saw blade, BS, TS, shop vac, dust collector, plunge router, etc a given person should buy, I don't buy tool guides, I steer away from discussions about how best to outfit a shop. This is not a judgmental statement, its just where I'm at presently. This thread sort of spun off the other thread about where all the wood workers had gone here at the creek. I'd argue that wood workers at all levels remain present here in strong numbers; a myriad of people using a wide range of techniques to MAKE things, all sorts of things, from the most humble to truly spectacular. My argument for a "cabinetmaking" forum is that at this point threads about the "craft" of woodworking have become intertwined with threads about the "tools" of wood working, and frankly in my mind the two are only vaguely related. Often IME those deeply concerned about the craft aspects almost don't care what tools they are using as long as these tools are getting the job done. I enjoy have enjoyed both but not equally at all times.

To me this large general forum is sort of like having a yoga studio/sports bar/shooting range/book club meeting all in the same place each night. I suppose they can all coexist though often one runs the risk of getting crowded out by another.