Toward a philosophy of joinery.

[Doug Hepler]

Robert,

We all have gone (or are going) through the dilemma that we are discussing in this thread. I certainly did, and I am reflective by nature, so I gave it a lot of thought. I decided that I was being too reflective, to the point of narcissism, and I see a lot of that in woodworking forums. For example, what is the perfect sharpening system, how sharp is sharp enough, or anxiety about the meaning of "hand made". I once asked (on another forum) how thin I should make the walls of my turned bowls. I was greatly insulted by the answers I got, until I realized that nobody could answer the question for me. Nobody can answer your question for you.

I resolved the dilemma after some years of anxiety about "measuring up" with a simple formula. I seek to make furniture that is attractive, durable and useful for its intended purpose, according to both my and the client's standards. I take jobs only from reasonable people and only when I'm sure I can execute them well. When I make sure that I know the client's expectations I have never failed to please him/her, and any narcissistic misgivings were much easier to live with. The wisdom in this (if I may call it such) is that my three-part formula put ME in the background and focused instead on criteria (mainly the client's criteria).

Since you titled this thread toward a philosophy of joinery, let me go on, although I realize this is getting preachy. You have probably heard the one about the sign in the custom furniture shop. It said "Our work is fast, cheap and highest quality. Pick any two." (Think about it.) Woodworking is multifaceted: we each have multiple objectives that we must balance. In addition to speed, cost and quality, most of us strive to improve our competence, which is a combination of knowledge, skill and attitude. Somewhere along the way we hope to find pleasure and satisfaction in accomplishment. That is an analytical way of stating that craftsmanship is impossibly complicated and that we each must find and honor our own way. Custom woodworking is, like other crafts, intensely individualistic, yet if we contemplate our navels too much we wind up making birdhouses all day.

These thoughts will surely offend somebody. I don't really mean to do that, simply to offer my best answer to the questions raised in this forum about a philosophy of craftsmanship.

Doug

[Jim Koepke]

Well stated Doug, thanks.

jtk

[Stanley Covington]

Robert,
We all have gone (or are going) through the dilemma that we are discussing in this thread. Custom woodworking is, like other crafts, intensely individualistic, yet if we contemplate our navels too much we wind up making birdhouses all day.

Ah, if I could only have those happy days of navel contemplation and birdhouses again... sigh.

Stan

[Stanley Covington]

You'll have to determine your own way, for me I would those two weeks would be devoted to improving your ability to make dovetails meaning that next time you do them, maybe it takes 8 hours and they fit up better.

I chose to put myself through an apprenticeship of my own making, entirely with hand tools because I was determined to suffer until the point at which I could produce, I continue down that path. It becomes significantly more work for the same amount of reward over time, but it does reward greatly on the whole.

My first mortises probably took me an hour each, now they take 3 minutes.

Brian has great discipline, the fruits of which can be seen in his projects. But why was he so determined, you ask? I suspect it was because he had decided his goals for woodworking, broke the process of achieving those goals into manageable pieces, and proceeded to attack each piece like Rosie O'Donnel after a bag of potato chips.

It works.

Stan

[Rob Luter]

Ah, if I could only have those happy days of navel contemplation and birdhouses again... sigh.

Stan

There's something to be said for birdhouses (and the like). While I strive to hone my skills with ever more challenging goals, it does the heart good to bang out a utilitarian project now and again.

[Phil Mueller]

I just spent 3 months of evenings and weekends agonizing over a table I was making for a friend. Perfect wood selection, perfectly flat and square, perfect M&Ts, perfect curves, perfect glue up, perfect finish. At the end, it ain't perfect.

The friend loves the table. No mention of .001 gaps at a tenon shoulder. No mention of a slight 2mm tear out. No mention of a tiny sag in the shellac where the leg meets the rail. And I don't think he's just being nice.

I think we can all be proud of our work when we STRIVE to do our best. With every project, something gets a little better. And when we take on a new challenge (Mike Allen and his Federal Table, for example), we enjoy the learning from doing our best.

If there's one thing the past few years have instilled in me, is patience and discipline. Just slow down...enjoy each step of the work...make it the best you can. I keep two things in the back of my mind while working:

"Just walk away"
"It's not the destination, it's the journey"

[Doug Hepler]

Very well said, Phil. I have had the same experiences. I once nearly trashed a display case because of my frustrations with myself (basically). It was perfectly sound and square, etc. but had "microscopic" defects. I decided to deliver it. I would take it back for a do-over if the customers complained. They absolutely loved it. I know they were not being polite. They are the kind of people that would only allow the best quality in their home. It was still in a place of pride 10 years later. I learned a lot that day about "perfection" and myself.

It also confirmed my resolution never to criticize my work to anybody but myself or another woodworker. There's usually a lot to criticize because, like you, I'm always trying to stretch myself. But only another WW cares about those details. Attractive, durable and useful. Amen

Doug

[steven c newman]

Biggest lesson I learned? Know when to just walk back up the stairs, and turn out the lights. Sleep on it and see how things go the next day. Also, NEVER work on Mondays in the shop.....never turns out to be a "good day".

Practice, practice, practice. If you have a bunch of joints to make, and they have to be "perfect" , make a couple practice runs, just to work out any "bugs"

Old timers, their clients weren't going to pay for things they couldn't see. All the "show" parts were done to a high standard, anything else..not so much. Client wasn't paying for fancy panels on the backs of their items, as they would be against a wall. Inside of drawers? Unless it was something to show off in there....only the fronts were finished. There rest? Meh. Outsides of drawers MIGHT get finished, IF they were going to be shown. all depended on what the Client/Patron was willing to pay for.

[Robert Engel]

Practice, practice, practice. If you have a bunch of joints to make, and they have to be "perfect" , make a couple practice runs, just to work out any "bugs"

I don't think the practicing ever ends. Even when building the piece if one is striving for perfection.

And I think this is the crux of it. I'm a perfectionist by nature and extremely self critical. I remember a carving I did once I was pointing out a couple mistakes to my wife she kept asking me "where, I don't see it?".

I love ww'ing and I'm learning to accept the little mistakes surprised like Doug said when they don't even see them!

My philosophy has changed now I don't sweat it as much. The nitpicking little oversaws and gaps I now see they prove the joints were man-made!

I'm not justifying sloppy work I'm in awe of you guys who do it to near perfection. Like just about anything in life requiring skill, there are some more talented than others no matter how much I practice I will never hit a ball like Barry Bonds, right?

For the perfectionists among us who get frustrated I'm just saying relaxing and celebrating your imperfect humanity sure takes the pressure off and makes ww'ing much more enjoyable.

Getting back to craftsmanship of old, how many of you would consider this poor craftsmanship?

IMG_0036.jpg

[Pat Barry]

Getting back to craftsmanship of old, how many of you would consider this poor craftsmanship?

IMG_0036.jpg

I would consider that very sloppy and obvious signal that the person doing the work was taking shortcuts. I would immediately wonder where else they took shortcuts and maybe take those shortcuts where you can't see anything such as mortise and tenon being a sloppy fit, just filled with glue.

[Prashun Patel]

The dramatic undercuts to me are not a sign of bad craftstmanship, but for me, they are an inefficient way to accomplish a goal. Undercutting does not release the pin socket as dramatically as I had hoped. I find it more efficient now to just chop it away and pare it with the right chisel. The most persnickety part is the corner anyway, which will in theory NEVER release with the saw.

I will say that while I encouragingly recognize everyone's work happily as a snapshot of their own journey, I find more and more that what appears difficult now becomes remarkably easier with practice. So effort is often (not always) more efficiently spent practicing instead of finding shortcuts.

[Jim Koepke]

With double blind dovetails some consider it good form to have a bit of saw mark past the lines. This signals anyone doing a repair a century later how the joint went together.

With half blinds I like the method Derek Cohen uses of cutting all the way with a very thin piece to extend the saw cuts.

jtk

[Tom Vanzant]

Robert, never mind the overcuts, but those sure are little tails.

[Pat Barry]

With double blind dovetails some consider it good form to have a bit of saw mark past the lines. This signals anyone doing a repair a century later how the joint went together.

jtk

That's a pretty dumb reason. In a hundred years no one will care about this sort of nonsense.

[Stewie Simpson]

how many of you would consider this poor craftsmanship?

Cant blame the tool for that amount of overcut.