Louis Fry -- learning the craft -- for the craftsman

a woodworker's journal

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On Apprenticing

Over the years, I have received many inquires from both men and women who have expressed a desire to learn the craft of working with wood and making furniture, so I thought it might be helpful to offer my views on starting out and provide what I hope will be some sound, basic information for those who want to know more about pursuing a career as a professional craftsman. I say "as a professional" because anyone with normal coordination and cognitive abilities, given tools, experience, and patience, can come to do fine work; but learning to make a living as a craftsman is another challenge altogether. It is to this challenge that I will address myself, here, and in "a woodworker's journal".

Wood is a versatile material that can be molded and shaped into a finished product by the furniture manufacturer and production cabinetmaker as well as by the violin maker and sculptor. People run it through shapers, turn it on lathes, carve it by hand and work it in numerous other ways including, now-a-days, with computer controlled machines. I mention these things to point out that designing and making handmade furniture in the small shop or studio is different from producing kitchen cabinets or making musical instruments.

If you think you would like to learn the art of furniture making, you should have a passionate desire to want to do just that; to make exquisite, beautifully crafted, functional objects in wood. Mild intellectual curiosity will not qualify you. Nothing less than a desire bordering on obsession, or something like a religious calling, will sustain you through the disciplined work, frustrations, and sacrifices necessary to becoming a successful craftsman. Of the fifteen or so people who have worked in my shop over the years, only two or three have had the talent and perseverance to move on as independent artisans.

Learning this enterprise of the professional furniture maker requires that you gain real proficiency in three areas:

Learning the technical skills
One must learn how to cleanly and accurately work wood with both hand and power tools to create pieces of furniture that are durable and well crafted.

The area of fine design
The contemporary furniture maker has the exciting opportunity to express himself in a personal way through his or her work, but these designs must also appeal enough to prospective clients to make them want to buy that work.

The area of sound business practices
For many craftsmen this is the most challenging area of all, learning to market and sell one's furniture in such a way that one can make a viable living at this craft. In addition, books must be kept, forms filed, and taxes paid.

Volumes can and have been written about each one of these areas, and it is certainly not within the scope of my little page to attempt what others have already done so well. What I will offer are not more tablesaw techniques or tips on hand-cut dovetails but rather, some general guidance and basic resources.

Learning The Technical Skills

I have had trim carpenters call wanting to learn furniture making from me while I pay them a salary, expressing a sincere belief that they will be of great help to me in just a few weeks. Another person, with no experience at all, thought I should hire him because he had "a general aptitude for design". Such attitudes manifest a touch of arrogance and a truckload of ignorance concerning how long it takes to learn this craft; but, in fairness, there is no reason why most people should know much of anything about a trade that has become as esoteric as making custom furniture. However, I think that it is safe to say that, for even the most dedicated, it will take at least a couple of years to become skilled at the basics. It took me ten years of full-time woodworking before I began to feel competent about what I was doing.

So, where does one go to get an education in the "how to's"? As I see it, there are three possible paths to enlightenment:

1.) Go to a school that has a furniture program.

2.) Apprentice under a skilled craftsman.

3.) Teach yourself.
As someone who is entirely self-taught, I can testify that the third path is possible, but I have to speculate that either of the other two ways would be preferable.

School

There are a number of schools in the United States that have programs intended to turn out elite furniture craftsmen. These include: the North Bennett Street School in Boston, James Krenov's school at College of the Redwoods in Ft. Bragg, California, and the Rhode Island School of Design. There are also ads for craft and woodworking schools in Fine Woodworking magazine.

The advantages of going to a school are probably more than I can enumerate but they have to include excellent instructors, a disciplined and structured environment, and the stimulation that comes from being surrounded by creative, like-minded people. A school also allows one to be able to learn the craft without the commercial pressures of budgets and deadlines.

Getting an adequate education in the basic skills of furniture making will require a commitment of two to four years. The costs of a first rate school will not be cheap and most people will have to relocate to go to one. For someone who is really serious about a career as a craftsman, a school could be the best way to get there, but one must be prepared for all the costs involved.

Apprentice

Working under an experienced craftsman in a professional environment is also a great opportunity to learn, but unfortunately for most beginners, a very rare one. While a number of outstanding furniture makers can be found in most large urban centers, few of them will be able to profitably use the would-be apprentice with limited experience. I have had many requests for instruction from people who thought they wanted to seriously pursue the craft, but they have been nearly unanimous in their belief that they could quickly become an asset in the shop and should immediately receive a salary.

The truth is that even someone with basic woodworking skills is going to be a financial liability to the craftsman who is working at a high level. I have hired enthusiasts with little experience and it has inevitably led to frustration and financial disaster for me. Profit margins for most professional craftsmen are so tight that they just do not allow for the time consumed and the mistakes made by even the most sincere disciple. In addition to wages, the responsible employer will be paying for payroll taxes, accident insurance, and bookkeeping expenses. Most apprentices will not be worth this expense.

Back in the days when a real apprenticeship system existed, the apprentice (or his family) paid the master for several years to learn a trade. A good way to approach the contemporary craftsman would be to offer to clean the shop, sharpen tools, and help with basic sanding in exchange for a few hours of instruction each week. If you are a beginner and can find someone who's work and skills you admire, this is certainly an approach worth trying. There are also cabinet shops, millwork houses, and more generalized woodworking businesses where a person can inquire. Even if it is not making fine furniture, one can gain valuable experience with tools and machines and learn how to do clean, accurate work in a professional shop. Introduce yourself to the craftsmen in your area. See what you can work out. The worst that can happen is that someone will say no.

Teach Yourself

For those determined souls who must go it alone, there are enough woodworking books, magazines, and videos out there to fill up a small library. The difficult task for someone starting out will be discerning the good resources from the mediocre. I will offer just three books, the contents of which, if assimilated and put into practice, will start any budding furniture maker down the yellow brick road.

It is very important for the beginner to gain an understanding of the properties and behavior of solid wood. Wood is a material that is sensitive to light, temperature, and most of all to changes in humidity. Solid wood, no matter how old it is, is always expanding or contracting to adapt to the relative humidity. This continual movement in wood means there are certain ways in which it can be put together to create furniture and other ways in which it should not. For a thorough treatment of this and other vital subjects concerning wood as a material, R. Bruce Hoadly's Understanding Wood, published by Tauton Press, is essential reading. Do not skip reading this book.

Of all the how-to manuals out there the best is still Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking, and now volumes one and two have been combined in a single book. In easy to understand language and clear, step by step photos, Tage shows how to cut all the basic joints with both hand and power tools. The beginner will learn about tools, joinery, carving, bending, finishing, and more. Of course, sooner or later, one must get out in the shop and just do it. So, read this book. Practice making a few joints with the few tools that you have. Then, pick a simple project (how about a small bookcase?). Write out the construction steps on paper and get started. Are you going to make some mistakes? Yes. You will learn from them. When you encounter a problem, look at the book. Keep working at it until you find a solution. Teach yourself.

Every person who pursues a craft seriously, desires to bring objects into being that are expressions of the skilled hand led by the sensitive heart, and no craftsman has articulated this desire more eloquently than the great furniture maker, James Krenov. Mr. Krenov communicates his sensitivity to the wood, his tools and the process in his classic, The Fine Art Of Cabinetmaking. While this book discusses tools, techniques, and material, it is not a practical treatise on how to make furniture. Instead, it is a visionary statement on what craftsmanship is all about. It calls the contemporary furniture maker to a standard that is both inspiring and intimidating. Most professionals will have mixed feelings about some of Krenov's ideas, but he must be read because of his high standards and the influence he has had on so many craftsmen in the last twenty years.

I also said I would give my thoughts on design and the business of furniture making. These discussions and more will be posted in the various sections of the "for the craftsman" pages. Look for them in the near future. For now, you can read some introductory thoughts on design in
a woodworker's journal.

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