Since we have both some full time woodworkers, and many more hobbyists, I thought I would give some thoughts to those here on doing woodwork for a living.
Once upon a time in high school, my intentions were to go to law school. My father was still practicing dentistry then. I had helped him out in his office at times and did some lab work, and decided that playing around in some saliva ridden mouth wasn't for me.
So, off to college I go, and then it was the Army. My start is covered is covered in this thread.
There seems to be some glamor attached to the term "pro", that I just don't agree with. If it was a hobby, using tools and selecting materials could be just plain fun. But doing this work every day is not all that great, and definitely not glamorous.
There are things that you have to learn to deal with, like turning on the table saw and thinking how easy fingers can get lopped off. Chemical and dust exposure that drastically affects your health. Standing for long periods. Noise. Lifting heavy materials and product. Worrying about dropping sweat in the middle of a wet finish. Faulty materials. Tools that die. Bits that break. Splinters in the eye. Three different colors of stains under the fingernails. Pieces cut too short, drilled in the wrong place, or cut by mistake for something else. Power outages. Having to figure everything out. Getting to an installation and forgetting something. Not enough space. Suppliers that don't deliver, or don't deliver on time. Clients that don't pay. Finishes that don't work. Wood that warps. Phone calls. No calls. Recalls.
It's not like there's no appreciation for the work. The landlord appreciates the shop rent on time. The suppliers appreciate using their materials and paying for them on time. The clients appreciate your work to be delivered on time. In fact, the client appreciates the work so much, they go over every square millimeter just to make sure nothing is wrong.
See what I mean...not much glamor is there. So I'm thinking that if I had a choice to do something else, what would it be? I'm thinking a Playboy photographer.
If you had a choice to do another line of work, what would it be?
.
Once upon a time in high school, my intentions were to go to law school. My father was still practicing dentistry then. I had helped him out in his office at times and did some lab work, and decided that playing around in some saliva ridden mouth wasn't for me.
So, off to college I go, and then it was the Army. My start is covered is covered in this thread.
There seems to be some glamor attached to the term "pro", that I just don't agree with. If it was a hobby, using tools and selecting materials could be just plain fun. But doing this work every day is not all that great, and definitely not glamorous.
There are things that you have to learn to deal with, like turning on the table saw and thinking how easy fingers can get lopped off. Chemical and dust exposure that drastically affects your health. Standing for long periods. Noise. Lifting heavy materials and product. Worrying about dropping sweat in the middle of a wet finish. Faulty materials. Tools that die. Bits that break. Splinters in the eye. Three different colors of stains under the fingernails. Pieces cut too short, drilled in the wrong place, or cut by mistake for something else. Power outages. Having to figure everything out. Getting to an installation and forgetting something. Not enough space. Suppliers that don't deliver, or don't deliver on time. Clients that don't pay. Finishes that don't work. Wood that warps. Phone calls. No calls. Recalls.
It's not like there's no appreciation for the work. The landlord appreciates the shop rent on time. The suppliers appreciate using their materials and paying for them on time. The clients appreciate your work to be delivered on time. In fact, the client appreciates the work so much, they go over every square millimeter just to make sure nothing is wrong.
See what I mean...not much glamor is there. So I'm thinking that if I had a choice to do something else, what would it be? I'm thinking a Playboy photographer.
If you had a choice to do another line of work, what would it be?
.
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