Professionals given no credit on forums..

[jack duren]

Says it all..

I was yelled at for two years in 1983-1985. Got hurt in 1985 on the table saw . Changed jobs and finally work myself up to a foreman..Did this for 37 years. Was on another forum and was told they do not recognize professionals . What does that mean?

I did kitchen cabinetry for 29 years. Boring. I’ve made door, boxes,drawers, counter tops, layout meet with customers, installed. Nothing left to learn. Spent 7 years high end furniture. Pulled my years in tyehe cabinet business plus’s tye years doing it and exploring furniture construction in my hobby shop over the year and had a successful career at that.

So we are not allowed to be professional?

[Tony Joyce]

Says it all..
Nothing left to learn.

After 50 years of all kinds of woodworking, when I get to the point that I think "Nothing left to learn." I fully expect to be six under.

[jack duren]

There might be something to learn, but it ain’t about the square box…

[Edward Weber]

There is always something to learn IMO, but to the OP's point, I think they don't distinguish between Occasional DIY, hobbyist and Professional. Everuone has the same amount of input, that sort of thing.

Professionals are often worth listening to, as long as their information is of value. Some just like to complain about hobbyist or grumble about "that's not how I'd do it" type of posts.
Whether what they say has any value to the reader is a judgement call to a certain extent.

[Mel Fulks]

You are free to call yourself a professional. You can’t get others to call you a professional. Fact is when a good workman claims to be
“a professional “ it often sours the client on hiring him. I’ve heard people comment about the title , they thought it strange ,or even funny. There are formal ways of addressing Kings , Presidents, Potentates ,but sometimes they are not used even after the lucky
peasants are told how to behave when they meet the great people.

[jack duren]

Something to learn is a broad spectrum, but there are many different categories of woodworking. I’m not a boat builder, so sure there’s always something in a different category. I could move from any cabinet shop to another and by the end of the day be productive and ready to work tomorrow. Commercial work is the same. Furniture, much more complicated.

[jack duren]

They call use because they don’t want to get jacked over by a hobby guy who doesn’t want to complete or work late. Doesn’t want to complete the work at all.


We are professionals regardless. The call, to the installation is professional.

it doesn’t sour the customer, it comes with expectations ..

when they hire you cand you have a reputation for quality , timely work. I call that a professional., When you call a guy and he’s not sure how much to charge you or when he will complete the job, that must be everybody else..

[jack duren]

I know as far as woodworking forums are concerned, “we are all created equal”. Some of us will just get more phone calls for paying jobs than others…lol

[Cameron Wood]

I've spent some time on a forum for pro contractors, but bailed as it is dominated by a clique of racist, misogynist, reactionary.

[glenn bradley]

There are forums primarily for professionals for this reason. A hobbyist’s forum is usually an open, equal value, sharing environment without a “value” hierarchy. If I make a suggestion and it is discounted I just move along, no harm, no foul.

[jack duren]

I've spent some time on a forum for pro contractors, but bailed as it is dominated by a clique of racist, misogynist, reactionary.

No what you mean…

[Cameron Wood]

No what you mean…

Did you mean to say "I know what you mean", or "I don't know what you mean", or something else?

[Lee Schierer]

Just because you do something for an extended period of time doesn't necessarily make you a professional even if you are paid to do it. We've all encountered people who make their living doing things, but we would never hire them to do that task for us.

For instance there is a Custom Home builder and had done it for many years and built the house he lived in. My daughter purchased that house and I've fixed and repaired a large number of things in that home where the owner/contractor did things that were absolutely wrong. He built a screened in deck w/vinyl panels for the winter months over the combustion exhaust vent for the boiler. At some point he purchased a pneumatic brad nailer for doing trim. I've found structure fastened with 1-1/2 brads, not nails or screws. I've also seen 1/4" wood panels attached to drywall with the same brads. A live 3 way electrical switch laying under insulation in the attic with no switch box. He finished the basement ran 12 gauge 2 conductor with ground wiring and never bothered to connect the ground wire to the receptacles. And had connected two circuits in a junction box from two different breakers together. You had to turn off two breakers to de-energize the circuit. Oh, and the ground wires were not connected in the junction box either. He had outdoor flood lights at the corners of the house that were wire nutted to the feed wire and simply attached to the vinyl soffit with drywall screws, no junction boxes. The main support beam for an addition on the house was toe nailed to the rim joist with fewer than 5 nails. This 3 ply 2 x 6 beam was over 28 feet long and was attached at each end and had one support in the middle. The island in the kitchen has an electrical outlet in it but isn't attached to the floor. The dishwasher fell out of the cabinet when it was opened because he didn't bother or didn't know you could buy a metal piece to span between cabinets under a granite counter top to attach the provided brackets to prevent tipping. And many other things.

[mike stenson]

Just because you do something for an extended period of time doesn't necessarily make you a professional even if you are paid to do it.

Yep. There are a whole bunch of people I've seen get paid to do things they sucked at.

[Ron Citerone]

Jack, I would let it go. I retired from a profession that takes more criticism than most. From friends, family, internet and society as a whole. Part of being a professional is to ignore the comments. Not worth the angst. I learned a long time ago to pretend I'm a duck and let the water run off my back!