Lessons from a fledgling furniture maker
One year. That’s how long it’s been since I decided to try woodworking on for size. Our home has been taken over by (saw)dust bunnies, and I’m not (too) mad about it.
That’s not to say I haven’t brooded or sulked or felt frustrated: al contrario. If I didn’t feel so hungry for knowledge, it would’ve been tedious, and the love affair would’ve been a one night stand.
I can feel myself working more efficiently, with fewer mistakes and more confidence in my skills. So to document this milestone, I wanted to jot what I’ve learned in my first year as a furniture maker.
To give context, I started by just making things up (using my skills from crafting), then borrowing wood working books from the library and from the Internet Archive. I moved on to buying woodworking and furniture design books, watching YouTube tutorials and then at the beginning of the year, I enrolled in a face-to-face course, studying two nights a week in Newcastle (Marc, I promise I’ll smuggle jamón to class before the year’s out). I’ve one more term to go and if I pass all of my assessments, I will gain my certificate.
This list could be the antithesis of what works for you. This is what’s worked for me (for now!). Either way, I hope it might give you ideas for yourself, or at least a side eye at my methods.
Make a project plan before you start, even if you’ve no idea what you’re doing. There is just so much to learn, and that’s without knowing what I don’t know.
At first, I didn’t even know what was meant to go into the plan. So I started with the basics. Steps that I thought were right.
When the overwhelm creeps in (and it will), if I have something I can clutch that has a semblance of order, I can retain some control. Will my plan go awry? Naturally. But by getting into the habit early, I can feel myself gaining confidence with how I approach a project.
Double your estimates in time and cost. Things will start off taking twice as long as you thought, and you most definitely could’ve bought it cheaper from Ikea. If you work with project plans, you’ll improve the accuracy of your estimates with each passing project.
And keep a record of your project plans, even if they’re just scribbles stuffed into a folder. You will invariably want to refer back to something, and you’ll also be able to see how far you’ve come.
Learn about FEWTEL. This was one of the most important lessons for me. I found that until I understood its importance, no matter how perfectly I executed everything else, my project would never be straight.
Buy a big box of chalk. Mark everything. Yes, there is a common marking language, but don’t get hung up about it. Make up your own. If you’ve ever said to yourself ‘I don’t need to mark it, I’ll definitely remember that’s the front/back/side piece’, buy a second box.
Keep project accoutrement together. Drill bits and one of each fastener type (screws/nails etc) are the items I like to keep together in a jar for the duration of the project. It’s rare for me to finish a project in one sitting, and sometimes I can’t get back to the project when I’d like (because responsibilities). This only works if I don’t have multiple projects on the go, so I use my discretion.
Count out everything you need before each session. I like to count out things like screws (I place them in an upturned lid) so I can keep a track of where I’m up to, if I’ve any left I know I’ve stuffed up somewhere.
Work like for like. For instance, if you need to make the same cut over several pieces, then do all of those first, rather than completing all of the cuts on the one piece first. The measuring tool/machine is set to that particular measurement, so take advantage of it and improve your accuracy across your pieces.
Work in batches for accuracy and time management. Need to mark pilot holes on each of the shelves? Mark all of the shelves in one session. Only have 30 minutes to spare in the workshop this afternoon? Lay and mark all of your pieces ready for the mitre saw tomorrow. This is the sort of thing I’d jot in my project plan.
Learn how to use measuring tools properly. I feel almost offensive saying this, but learning how to use measuring tools as designed (in particular, rulers) has improved my accuracy and ability to repeat measurements. It has also made life far less stressful. Take the time to figure out what all of the little notches and marks on each tool mean, and you, too, can be loving yourself sick.
Learn about fastenings. Even just the basics: what to use when, and why. Do not go to the hardware store before you’ve made a list.
Test on another piece first. I have to keep making this decision deliberately. It’s not about whether you know how to use the tool/machine properly, but whether all of the settings are correct. And test with the same timber/fastenings, if you can. That way you’ll get a much more accurate reading, and can adjust accordingly.
Read the manual. I am the bore of a person who reads the manual before starting (I actually enjoy it, honest), but I especially do so if it’s an item that can dismember a part of my body. Basically, this is how I see it: If I’ve just spent a certain amount of money on a particular tool, then I’m paying for all of its features. I want to enjoy its full value, and the only way I can do it is to know everything the thing can do.
Keep organised. No matter how little room you have, make sure you make a deliberate decision on where each thing is to be stored. Nothing breaks my concentration faster than being unable to locate something mid project, and this is when I’m likely to huff and puff and start making mistakes.
Put everything back in its place. It is so tempting to stash it elsewhere because you’re busy finishing something else/it’s very late/I’ll remember where I put it (hand goes up), so when I feel myself justifying why I’m not doing something, I think about future Amanda and her lack of huff and puff and her fewer sets of mistakes.
I also like knowing what I have so I don’t inadvertently buy doubles, and so I can make the most of my limited room.
Put everything on castor wheels. My workshop is in our single garage, and the car sleeps inside every night. I need to be able to push everything to the perimeter otherwise the car won’t fit. Importantly, it means I can configure the workshop into a way that best suits my current project, and I can keep whatever I don’t need at the time shoved to the back.
It also makes cleaning up faster and more likely to happen. And it also means I’m more unlikely to give myself a flat tyre because I haven’t swept the floor properly.
Enjoy cleaning up. I struggled with this at first; I wanted all my allocated session time to go toward making, not cleaning. But allowing myself 20 minutes before the show ended created a little bridge of time before returning to reality, and it allowed my mind to wander while I swept. It became a catharsis I now look forward to.
Have a generous stash of masking tape. Use it to label things, to hold bits of things together, to mark the depth on your drill bit, to transfer the positioning of pilot holes… the list goes on.
Decant and label everything. I don’t need much on an excuse to pop things in jars, so anything that crosses my workshop path that can be decanted, is. I also snip around any label that might come in the pack, for the name/size/quantity information, and I pop that in the jar, too. (If there’s no label, I write the details on a length of masking tape and adhere it to the jar.)
Most of the jars I own are glass, but some items are too teeny tiny for them. I bought a packet of mini paint pots for these, and it works perfectly.
If something doesn’t feel right, STOP. You may not be able to articulate what’s wrong, but your gut can, and has. Trust it and double check what you’re doing. A few minutes of investigation will uncover what’s going on.
Never aim for perfection first go. It’s not going to happen.
Or second go. Or third. Tiny, tiny increments is what will get you the closest to perfection, and those tiny increments allow us grace for the guaranteed mistakes we’re going to make in other areas of our project.
Or perhaps don’t aim for it at all. This may not be the hobby for you if you’re a perfectionist, but if you’re up for it, it can teach you patience and humility.
Amanda
