Start Woodworking

There's More Than One Way To Skin A Cat: Dealing with Conflicting Woodworking Advice

Chad Hill, contributor

5 users recommend

There's more than one way to skin a cat. Woodworker Chad Hill on explains how he dealt with conflicting advice when he started woodworking.

Tongue-and-cheek note: No animals were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Fine Woodworking first met Chad Hill in 2008. The recent college grad entered and won our One Board Build Off in 2008 after just two years of woodworking. Watch the awards "ceremony" on YouTube. 

More recently Chad won our Tip-Tip Tables contest with this Baptismal Table. After just four years of woodworking and two contest wins, Hill shows that woodworking can pay and that you can develop a high level of skill in a short period of time.

There's more than one way to skin a cat. Woodworker Chad Hill on explains how he dealt with conflicting advice when he started woodworking.

Tongue-and-cheek note: No animals were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Add Comment
Print

When I first started woodworking, I was fortunate enough to start out in a large shop under the direction and supervision of a number of different cabinetmakers.  Like many large shops, the more experienced mechanics were responsible for newer mechanics such as myself.  It was as much my job to study their techniques, theory, and methods of work, as it was their job to train and instruct me.  Two top mechanics in particular took more of a personal interest in mentoring me than the others, but at any given time I had at least four to six people around that I could ask how to do something.  I learned very quickly that even though each mechanic could yield relatively the same end result to a project, the methods and techniques they used to achieve said results were very different. 

Which way's the right way?
I cannot count the number of times I was told to do something a certain way by one mechanic, and then to do it completely different by another. 

Woodworking is very much about problem solving. Every project, whether it is a small table or the interior of a bank, presents its own set of challenges.  This is one of the most exciting aspects of the craft but can also be extremely frustrating, especially for those less experienced.  Receiving conflicting advice from different resources can leave a new woodworker confused as to which advice to take.  The steps to completing a project may not be as black and white as one might think. Have you ever heard the popular saying “six one way, half a dozen the other?”  This simply implies that different shades of gray often lead to the same end result. When trying to decided which avenue to take, you need to determine which way is right for you. 

I don’t have a radical life changing formula for how one should determine the best way to do something, but I can suggest three basic principles to keep in mind when trying to decide which advice is right for you and your project.  There are often more things to consider since every project is different, but in my experience, safety, quality and time are the three that remain constant.

Safety: Your well being is more important than speed
Safety is always the first thing to consider when trying deciding how something should be done. If it takes more time to make something safer, than sacrifice the time to make it so. Woodworking tools are dangerous and unforgiving.  Picking a method that is faster but more dangerous isn’t usually worth the potential injury.  All too often safety is the first thing compromised with time is a factor, and this should never be. Keep in mind that when the weight of a deadline is pushing down, getting hurt will only delay the project’s completion even further. Not to mention a serious injury can be a career ending one. Value yourself and your wellbeing more than getting something done faster.

Quality: Don't compromise on integrity 
Quality is the next thing to consider. Most woodworkers take a lot of pride in the quality of their work. If there is a way to do something more accurately, then try your best to do it.  Don’t take short cuts that might compromise the integrity of your work. No matter how long you’ve been woodworking, quality is always something one should aspire to improve. 

Time: Factor in deadlines too
Time is the last principle I’d like to draw attention to. Whether a hobbyist or a professional, time plays a big role in how a woodworker will decide how to do something. Any professional in the woodworking industry, like many other trades, will have to factor time into how something is done.  Time is money, and unfortunately, a deadline can dictate how one gets from A to B faster than anything else.

Often these three principles, or a combination of them, play a large role in how something gets done. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and the best way for someone else to do something may not be the best way for you to do it.  Think through the project, and if you are receiving guidance or advice, consider your safety, consider your craftsmanship, and then consider your time when trying to decide which advice is right for you.

Check out this project and others like it:

Getting Started in Woodworking
by Aimé Ontario Fraser Skill-building projects that teach the basics $19.95 more info...

Add Comment Print

7 Great Books for Getting Started in Woodworking

Back to List

How to Make and Use a Mini Miter Block

Comments (3)

mvflaim writes: Woodworking is an art not a science. It's not like math or accounting where you have to follow a set of principles in order to achieve the correct outcome. There is no one way to do something properly while working wood. One person may tell you to cut the curves of a chair piece using a bandsaw. Another may say that the curves could be accomplished with a drawknife. Both are right. It's up to you as the craftsperson to determine which process you would like to choose. It's all part of the journey.


Posted: 7:03 pm on August 4th

Madison2 writes: No kidding! As a female just out of college designer/maker all the boys had a better way to do anything I was trying to do! Now 30 years later I have learned that most of the boys were trying to impress me sort of like when they all stand around the open hood of a car staring at the motor! None of them really know much about it but boy is it fun to hang out and look like it.

So my solution has been to adopt this strategy; If my time allows I will allow the would be helper to demonstrate his or her technique because there is always something to be learned. If I honestly can say that I have learned somthing I will say so, if not then my montra is "In my opinion based upon my personal experience my approach works better for me." No hurt feelings no time wasted and I'm back to work.

If I don't have the time I will simply say that sometime I will stop by their shop and they can show me. Might be a day might be years but I can visit if I wish or not!

Madison
Posted: 2:31 pm on August 4th

GEide writes: Agreed that conflicting woodworking advice can be overwhelming when you’re starting out. Advice is more of a hindrance than a help sometimes. For example, I took a box home from a woodworking class soon after I started here. My instructor said all I needed to do was sand it up and apply an easy finish. I brought it back to work here at FW and got some unsolicited advice (giver to remain nameless :) ) that the "fine" way to prep the surface would be to use a card scraper. Ugh.

After card-scraping lessons with John White and little success scraping my box, I ran out of enthusiasm for the project. It’s mainly because I was lazy that I didn’t finish--but it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the right way/wrong way to do something. In my mind, it’s most important to keep up the momentum/enthusiasm early on in whatever way works best for you—even if it involves “gasp” sandpaper.

Posted: 11:22 am on August 4th

You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.