Forum for proffesoonals?

[ColeyS1]

Taken on board Nev- apologies. It was his more recent post that got my attention.

I earn a living from woodwork but I've learnt sooooo much and more from people who dabble in it as a hobby. I'd say the majority of people who 'dabble' and make things deserve a little more respect than calling them a 'weekend warrior' They make things equal, if not better than people who earn a living from it.

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[cornishjoinery]

Apologies to any one offended, easy to do now days. Just looking for a forum for proffesionals, that's all. Earning a living and doing woodworking in your shed at weekends is not the same, that's not an insult or critism, just a fact. And what I mean by that is in testing tools , for example it may be great you have the festool rail saw but unless you use it everyday, you can't tell me about it's reliability. Or talking about clients and tax issues. We all work with wood and that's great, but just looking for a dedicated forum.

 

[ColeyS1]

Possibly woodworkuk.com might be what you're after. You'll learn heaps and loads from wherever you invest your time tbh.

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[ColeyS1]

Experience is your best bet for pricing. If you take pride in what you make allow how long you think it'll take to do the job properly. Break down how long you think it'll take to do each stage- planing, moulding, fitting, priming etc. Learn from your previous jobs and don't cut corners just to get work- it'll bite you on the bum one way or another ! Only you will know what setup you've got and overheads etc etc. There's a heck of a lot to be learnt from everyone else who makes things from wood. Be it people who make a living from it, or people who make things with it from their home.


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[Bm101]

I'm a window cleaner. Rope access. I clean the likes of Lloyd's building, Canary Wharf, the gherkin. You name it I've probably cleaned it. Pretty good at it. I work for someone else because it suits me. I've done a lot of private work mind. Pricing work is part of the deal. As much a part of the work as the window cleaning . More in fact. I can't understand how you can claim to know your work if you can't price work tbh.
It's inseparable by nature. With experience you gain the knowledge to price in client whims, the unknown, estimated realistic work hours, hired labour add on administration. It's part of what you do. You'll always deal with unknown factors, that's life but I wouldn't dream of asking someone in my trade what they charge. It would be unheard of in my game tbh.if someone asked me face to face it would depend. Young guy starting out I'd do my best to advise sensibly . Full grown man I'd think he was tapping me up and taking the pish.

 

[dzj]

It would be nice to have a repository type of forum where people in the business could
amass their experiences dealing with customers and their various sidekicks.
For the unwary woodworker, considering a career in this field, it would offer a reality based glimpse
into the profession.

 

[TFrench]

In answer to the original question, there's a good facebook page called carpenters talk group that has a lot of trade guys.

 

[Doug71]

I'm sure there are quite a few full time joiners and carpenters on here, I have been in the trade for 30yrs, I ask lots of questions on here and get lots of answers and advice from people who must also be in the trade because the questions I ask generally could not be answered by a "weekend warrior".

I am always jealous of the hobby woodworkers who have time to enjoy what they are doing without the time and money issues.

If you have a question just ask it, you soon work out who on the forum knows their stuff.

 

[screwpainting]

Apologies to any one offended, easy to do now days. Just looking for a forum for proffesionals, that's all. Earning a living and doing woodworking in your shed at weekends is not the same, that's not an insult or critism, just a fact. And what I mean by that is in testing tools , for example it may be great you have the festool rail saw but unless you use it everyday, you can't tell me about it's reliability. Or talking about clients and tax issues. We all work with wood and that's great, but just looking for a dedicated forum.

Perhaps if you illustrated what you consider to be a Professional, then explain the path you personally traveled on route to becoming such a qualified professional yourself, you might attract a better, more like minded/equally experienced set of responses from among the large and diverse group of makers that this excellent forum is comprised of.

Whats your story if you don't mind being asked??

 

[AES]

Blimey, what's with you Cornish joinery?????

Get out of bed on the wrong side this morning, or are you always what in my opinion should be referred to as "so obtuse" (if not downright scatty)?

Edit for a P.S. If one sticks to the simplest definition of "professional" (one who gets paid for doing something) then there are quite a few professionals on here - "even" some who clearly A) produce work to the highest standards, and B) who put food on their table by doing so.

Don't know what's happening in your head, really.

 

[dynax]

it makes me wonder sometimes who is the professional, somebody who gets fast tracked through college to get a qualification to say they can do it to a minimum standard, or a " weekend warrior" who takes the time to learn how to do it properly and to do it to the highest standard they can achieve,

 

[thick_mike]

Professional - someone that gets to use the special door at screwfix

Wasn’t a sub forum suggested some time ago? It could be called “trade talk” or something. There’s something sensitising about the word “professional” for some reason I don’t quite understand.

I for one really appreciate the advice professionals and amateurs alike share on this site.

 

[custard]

The big divide on this forum isn't between professionals and hobbyists. We mostly face the same challenges, and often arrive at the same solutions. And, at least in the area of furniture, the great majority of items that people want are basically straightforward, rectilinear designs. So the door is wide open for the hobbyist to create furniture that's well above high street, commercial standards.

The bigger divide on this forum is between people who make stuff and people who don't. Fair enough, it's an open public venue so no one group is more entitled to be here than any other group. But that introduces, well let's be charitable and call it an "inneficiency". Because you regularly see posts from someone looking for a practical solution to a real problem, but the "player members" get swamped by the "social members" who are just looking for a chat or a bully pulpit to bang on about some crackpot theory.

I don't have any answers to this, but I still think it's a shame. Previous generations were never that far away from someone who worked with wood, and many people received a pretty good woodworking education via O-Level Woodwork. Today however someone hoping to take up woodwork is often forced on to the internet for help, but if all they receive is a babble of conflicting nonsense then it's not really all that helpful!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Maybe a better title would be "woodworking trades"? I spent half my working life going back over work done by so called professionals - I wouldn't have called myself professional as I didn't have any qualifications, despite being good at my job. As is often pointed out "professional" invariably means no more than the person gets paid for doing the job, not necessarily that they're good at it. I was once shown a house renovated by a so called "master builder" - I wouldn't have trusted the bloke to build a rabbit hutch.

 

[El Barto]

Kind of off topic but it got me wondering, how are you supposed to learn how to price up a job if you're not taught or you don't ask? I imagine those who have apprenticed or served under someone in the trade learn it purely by being around it day in day out but for those who haven't, I can see why it might be a bit of a minefield...

 

[petermillard]

Kind of off topic but it got me wondering, how are you supposed to learn how to price up a job if you're not taught or you don't ask?...

Exactly, and not OT at all as so many people don’t seem to be able to get past the ‘pricing’ aspect that the OP mentioned (and note he talked of “pricing”, not prices) when it was one amongst several things he mentioned he’d like to chat about. Ditto with tool reviews/opinions; its a different game if you’re using gear day in, day out to earn a shilling, your opinion will be formed by far more than the brand, the marketing or the price paid.

Again, and not to keep banging on about the podcast, but one of the reasons we decided to bring these subjects in as topics is that they’re not widely discussed, and they need to be; I’m all for competition, but let’s have professional competition.

Cheers, P

 

[JWD]

Are there not a sufficient number of professionals on this forum to answer any questions you have anyway? and in terms of workshops surely the more collective knowledge the better?

Take care not to ostracise yourself from a group originating in many backgrounds - some 'weekend warriors' have knowledge and skills from their day jobs that could well save your a**e some day

 

[AES]

Good point JWD. And to answer your (rhetorical?) Q, my own answer would be YES (I often see people here who are professionals answering questions from fellow professionals).

Though I suppose that answers from "amateurs" who might be tempted to add their own "tuppeny thoughts" may well be discountable - depends on the professional's own viewpoint I guess.

But some practical Qs also arise - like how exactly would you limit such a section (or a whole Forum) to professionals only? Would you vet them before allowing them to join? Who would do that, and how? How would you limit posts on that section (or whole Forum) to "professionals" only?

Nah, complete nonsense IMO.

As it is, this Forum is a prime example of people (both professional and amateur) who go out of their way to help and encourage others. It's up to the recipient as to whether or not he/she takes on board any particular reply - and long may that continue.

 

[dzj]

"But some practical Qs also arise - like how exactly would you limit such a section (or a whole Forum) to professionals only? "

Why would it be limited to anyone? If someone has something constructive to add to the discussion, who cares whether they do WW professionally or not.

 

[AES]

Thanks for your support dzj - that was EXACTLY my point (and BTW, my Qs above were aimed at the OP who wanted a section/Forum for "professionals only")!