Hello and apologies for not starting with this section after joining you.
I'm Brad, a hobbist woodworker undergoing professional practice/training to improve my skills. I spent the last 15 years as a professional translator and owned a translation company.
Woodworking is one passion that stuck with me. I was influenced by an uncle who opened one of the first furniture factories in post-communist Romania. On the other hand, my mother is an artist and an architect and I got my passion for design and detail from her. My career in translation was always supposed to be time-limited.
About 5 years ago I realised I won't be able to keep doing it for much longer (stress and stuff) so I started investing in woodworking machinery and tools, reading, watching video materials and learning. Then, 2 years ago I started an apprenticeship with a master sculptor & carpenter. I then won a big contract for restoration of antique furniture and I took it to this sculptor so we work together earning money as well while learning and perfecting my hand skills.
I forgot to mention I also graduated from a vocational arts school (post-graduate) where the final year was mostly focused on wood finishes.
My future plans now that my apprenticeship nears its end are focused on finishing my workshop (the same small space issue as many woodworkers have) and rebuilding my benches to maximise efficiency. I will share my thoughts on that in a different thread. Yet there is another issue I would like to address here. Maybe a change of perspective is refreshing for anyone.
My country is great to visit but hard to live in. No complaining, just stating facts. Since I can remember, I never understood why the field of woodworking has evolved so much in the West (especially in the UK and US, but not limited to), while in my country most of the work is done like 200 years ago. In all the workshops I've been, from hobby to professional (not big companies), I've mostly seen the same machinery - huge, rugged and uber heavy, built from cast iron to the smallest piece. Don't get me wrong, I love cast iron, but there are machines and machines. Here you rarely see a cabinet saw that has a fence at all. At any rate, I have never seen a machine that has its original fence. Same goes for many other machines, I'm trying to keep this as short as possible. The woodworkers on the other hand are stellar. They will rip a 3 meter plank in 2 perfect or almost perfect pieces with a cabinet saw that always has its blade raised at the highest and has NO fence. Instead of buying more precise equipment or building accurate jigs, they learn and work so much that they are able to do it by eyeballing. Of course most of them don't have all 10 fingers anymore but it seems it'sa risk they're willing to take.
At one time I visited a professional workshop which was full of brand new and shiny Felder machinery. One thing that perplexed me was seeing a wooden sliding sled jig used with a Felder sliding table saw. Their boss later found out that the saw operators didn't know how to adjust the sliding table so they weren't using it and made the jig.
Of course these are isolated cases. There also are people who are opening their eyes to the possibility of more and trying new ways beyond the traditional. We have a select few epic woodworkers who are creating art in wood. We have another few woodworkers who did their apprenticeship in UK, US, Germany, etc. and came back home merging the new with the old, creating flourishing businesses in woodworking. But they are still very few. Again, I'm only talking about the hobbist to professional small shops not the industrial sector, that's different.
I apologise for the long introduction and thank you for bearing with me. I needed to write this intro because this kind of 'cultural difference' is specific and probably not known here. From this point of view, my professional reorientation in my 40's has been seen as an act of bravery by others until I told them what I want to actually do. From there on, an act of naivity and dire stupidity. And that because my aim is to create wellbuilt and designed decorations, small furniture, single pieces or in small batches. Using carefully selected wood, using domestic and exotic wood. Using inlaying (which here is mostly a dead and forgotten art), using hand tools not only machiney, using veneers. I further want to combine my hand skills with 3d printing, laser engraving, cnc machining to create a range of other products. I will not get deeper into it for now but there is a market for such products here. There are people actively seeking professionals or hobbists who create such work. And there are almost no makers at all. I want to be such a maker.
Lastly, I've been reading a lot of info from your forum before joining. I joined because I've seen very pertinent topics discussed here. I've also seen a supporting community. And a passionate one. And one where questions are answered and advice is given without judgement no matter how crazy the question sounds. And a place where everyone is welcomed.
I thank you for welcoming me along,
Brad
I'm Brad, a hobbist woodworker undergoing professional practice/training to improve my skills. I spent the last 15 years as a professional translator and owned a translation company.
Woodworking is one passion that stuck with me. I was influenced by an uncle who opened one of the first furniture factories in post-communist Romania. On the other hand, my mother is an artist and an architect and I got my passion for design and detail from her. My career in translation was always supposed to be time-limited.
About 5 years ago I realised I won't be able to keep doing it for much longer (stress and stuff) so I started investing in woodworking machinery and tools, reading, watching video materials and learning. Then, 2 years ago I started an apprenticeship with a master sculptor & carpenter. I then won a big contract for restoration of antique furniture and I took it to this sculptor so we work together earning money as well while learning and perfecting my hand skills.
I forgot to mention I also graduated from a vocational arts school (post-graduate) where the final year was mostly focused on wood finishes.
My future plans now that my apprenticeship nears its end are focused on finishing my workshop (the same small space issue as many woodworkers have) and rebuilding my benches to maximise efficiency. I will share my thoughts on that in a different thread. Yet there is another issue I would like to address here. Maybe a change of perspective is refreshing for anyone.
My country is great to visit but hard to live in. No complaining, just stating facts. Since I can remember, I never understood why the field of woodworking has evolved so much in the West (especially in the UK and US, but not limited to), while in my country most of the work is done like 200 years ago. In all the workshops I've been, from hobby to professional (not big companies), I've mostly seen the same machinery - huge, rugged and uber heavy, built from cast iron to the smallest piece. Don't get me wrong, I love cast iron, but there are machines and machines. Here you rarely see a cabinet saw that has a fence at all. At any rate, I have never seen a machine that has its original fence. Same goes for many other machines, I'm trying to keep this as short as possible. The woodworkers on the other hand are stellar. They will rip a 3 meter plank in 2 perfect or almost perfect pieces with a cabinet saw that always has its blade raised at the highest and has NO fence. Instead of buying more precise equipment or building accurate jigs, they learn and work so much that they are able to do it by eyeballing. Of course most of them don't have all 10 fingers anymore but it seems it'sa risk they're willing to take.
At one time I visited a professional workshop which was full of brand new and shiny Felder machinery. One thing that perplexed me was seeing a wooden sliding sled jig used with a Felder sliding table saw. Their boss later found out that the saw operators didn't know how to adjust the sliding table so they weren't using it and made the jig.
Of course these are isolated cases. There also are people who are opening their eyes to the possibility of more and trying new ways beyond the traditional. We have a select few epic woodworkers who are creating art in wood. We have another few woodworkers who did their apprenticeship in UK, US, Germany, etc. and came back home merging the new with the old, creating flourishing businesses in woodworking. But they are still very few. Again, I'm only talking about the hobbist to professional small shops not the industrial sector, that's different.
I apologise for the long introduction and thank you for bearing with me. I needed to write this intro because this kind of 'cultural difference' is specific and probably not known here. From this point of view, my professional reorientation in my 40's has been seen as an act of bravery by others until I told them what I want to actually do. From there on, an act of naivity and dire stupidity. And that because my aim is to create wellbuilt and designed decorations, small furniture, single pieces or in small batches. Using carefully selected wood, using domestic and exotic wood. Using inlaying (which here is mostly a dead and forgotten art), using hand tools not only machiney, using veneers. I further want to combine my hand skills with 3d printing, laser engraving, cnc machining to create a range of other products. I will not get deeper into it for now but there is a market for such products here. There are people actively seeking professionals or hobbists who create such work. And there are almost no makers at all. I want to be such a maker.
Lastly, I've been reading a lot of info from your forum before joining. I joined because I've seen very pertinent topics discussed here. I've also seen a supporting community. And a passionate one. And one where questions are answered and advice is given without judgement no matter how crazy the question sounds. And a place where everyone is welcomed.
I thank you for welcoming me along,
Brad
