A neighbor came over to the shop the other day and we got to talking about some of my woodworking tools. As a general contractor, he is a highly proficient builder who has built many homes from the ground up. You can imagine the wealth of knowledge, and I always learn something from speaking with him.
So I was surprised when he said he didn’t have much experience with some of the tools — like the bandsaw and scroll saw.
Then it hit me.
There is a difference in the woodworking mindset between construction and craftsman build quality.
The former is all about speed and utility: bias on function over form and disregard the minute details. Less tools are required. Maximizing speed to deliver the final product without sacrificing quality.
Whereas, fine woodworking is the slow push of the boulder up the mountain. Attention to detail dominates, where specialty tools are required and changing a saw blade to reduce the kerf by 0.1mm is worth the effort. Let the craftsmanship shine.
But there is a shift of thinking needed here, because having the wrong mindset is frustrating. For example, when I was creating the mobile sports cart, I spent a ridiculous amount of time thinking through the design, milling the lumber to get perfect 90 degree angles, and ensuring alignment of every edge. But for what? To sit in the garage and hold sports equipment?
I was bringing my fine woodworking mindset to a construction-grade build. When I finished, I was pleased with the result, but gosh, did I spend a ton of time on this. It was probably not worth the effort. But now I know.
Fast forward to last weekend, when I recently completed some garage storage projects– a bike rack and golf bag holder. Two projects in one weekend!
When I started the project, I thought to myself, “How quickly can I build this without sacrificing utility (and safety)?” I was in a construction builders mindset.
Sure enough, I laid out the materials, grabbed a few tools, and went to work.
It was extremely satisfying to be building without the pressure of lining up the corners perfectly, and being content with ‘good enough’. Because I was building fast and getting into the flow, I didn’t take pictures of each step (sorry!). But it was very satisfying.
So this is the take away: There is a spectrum from fine woodworking craftsmanship to good enough builder quality. Approach each project knowing where you want to be on the spectrum.