I will be the first to say I am no master at anything, let alone woodworking, but I began to realize how much second nature many basic woodworking skills have become (in 7 years) when I was working with a couple of others.

One of them had apparently been using woodworking tools for most of his life, he almost had his house built (mostly by himself) when I started doing his kitchen cabinets. It started out as me supplying labor, but because I had more room and wouldn't have to move my tools around the sheetrockers, I ended up doing it all at my house. Anyway, he helped me plane down the wood, rip it up, joint it, and crosscut it. He owned all the tools for these operations, and owned books that talked about using them, but it didn't seem to sink in. I had to go over with him about which side to put up when planing to get minimal tearout, how to edge joint a board to get it actually flat. And I would cringe every time he ripped a board on the tablesaw. I think a tablesaw sould sound like a zipper when ripping, with that final "ting" when the board clears the last teeth. When he did it, there was all that whining, bogging, and screetching, then the sanding or jointing would come to take out the burns.

The next guy that used my tools was a guy that had watched over my house for about four months. He mentioned that he would like to make a blanket chest with some cedar I had. I said sure, but that it would be better if he did it when I was there. I don't think he understood that I didn't think he would steal the tools, just that he wouldn't know how to use them properly and get frustrated. He apparently had almost no experience. The cedar was in 4x4s and had to be jointed, resawed, then planed to thicknesses. I told him rough side up in the planer, and he had problems with that. My bandsaw blade cuts smooth enough, if you rub your hand ACROSS the grain, it's smooth. When he ran his hand ACROSS the grain on the jointed side, it was roungh. So he planed the jointed side. A couple of times. It was kind of an eye-opener for me. I have never been in a formal teaching environment, and didn't understand the basic things that might not be understood. His blanket chest came out beautifully, even though many parts of it were disappointing to him, because he wanted everything to be perfect. He did breadboard ends on the lid, miter joints on the carcase, but the really nice thing about the chest is that there are only two small spots of sapwood on the whole chest.
Almost makes me wish I had made it. I may be prouder of it than him.

So, are you self-taught?