FIMWDWKR

Steve Brown is one the one the smartest & talented craftsmen alive. This man has soooooooooooo much to offer to the woodworking world. It is great to see Steve get recongnized for his talents. For if it wasn't for Steve Brown being in charge of NBSS Furniture Making Department who knows what this section of shchool would be like today. I think it would had just suffered a painful death.

The Furniutre Making Department is as good as it is because of Steve. FWW needs to get Steve to write more articles for he has a lot offer. Great Job Steve! For it has been awesome getting to know you.

Freddy

I think this thread is just crazy. Are you serious about cutlist are a waste of space. Ask Phil Lowe if cut lists are waste. I bet you 1000.00 dollars that Phil will say cutlists are a must. If you are a skilled woodworker then everything will match the cut list to a -T-. I was trained to perform a rough & finish cutlist. In the rough cut list everything is a 1/2" wider and 1" longer than the finish dimension. With a cut list you are surely going to say several hours/days depending on the complexity of the piece at hand. This is just ridiculous....

I am curious to know what the real purpose of gathering these craftsmen in one room was. Yes the Q & A was fun but, I hope FWW took advantage and ask the editors how to improve the magazine. For there are soooo many people out there saying that the Magazine needs improving. I also think the magazine needs to stop turning articles away from well known craftsmen, or others because it may not be popular or too period. FWW needs to look at their competition and see what they are doing.

All I need is 3 swipes with a plane, 1 clamp, and little glue. I love spring joints.

FR

All I have to say is SERIOUSLY! Give me a break. This is the stupidest thing ever. If you get kickbacks it is either your tired or you are not doing something right. These guys are idiots. If you need this than don't be working wood.

FR

I must say Phil Lowe is an amazing Craftsmen & Instructor. We are all so lucky to learn from his articles, videos, & workshops. For it is because of his articles I am still a subscriber to FWW.

FR

The answer is that Lie Nieslen was asked to reproduce Hand Planes at a cheaper price, they (LN) said ya, maybe, we will see. Well 2 plus year of hope for Woodcraft to have a these planes at a lower rate and then there was nothing. So Woodcraft went out made a line a plane and copied Lie Nielsen's every detail. Woodcraft also went out and produced a line a plane blades & again copying everything that Lie Nielsen did on the plane blades.

So as you see the frustration. Also LN & Woodcraft had issues in the past with the factory warehouse of WSC. The issue was moisture in the building is creating rust on the planes. I am sure there is more but, this is what I got from WSC and others in the inside.

Fred

It is amazing what Doug Mooberry's EMPLOYEES make. Doug has a lot talent that he has hired to make these amazing, unique at times, & beautiful pieces. It is nice to see another shop flourish in PA.

Fred

This is a random comment, yet here I am so much to say and so much to share and not enough time or space to type it all.

One of the hardest things is to decide where you want your business to go. Do I want to make reproductions? Do I just want to concentrate on Restoration? What Period should I concentrate on? Do I want to be a jack of all traits? Do I want to make contemporary furniture?

Well for reproductions you need to be able to measure originals. Well where can I find those customers who will let me measure them. What museum will give you permission to measure their collections?

Now restoration is fun and stressful, yet there is so much money to invest in restoration regarding finishes, stains, dyes, antique/vintage lumber, antique screws, etc. etc. Another issue with restoration is many people don't really to spend the money. Or the pieces are not worth the time to even consider to repair them but, there is sentimental factor. On the other hand I can only glue up so many kitchen chairs. GRRRRRR!

Now in the past craftsmen only needed to work in the period at hand. Well not me, today Federal, tomorrow Queen Anne, next day Chippendale. Man O' Man it is hard to bounce around. So much to study so little time.

I love doing it all, yet in the end I need to be really good at something. I need to focus on some aspect that makes me stick out from the crowd. This is the route I took. I focus on inlay, banding, veneering, stringing etc. Yet I enjoy it all aspects of all periods so what can I do. Um.... I guess keep doing what I am doing and try to figure out every aspect as possible.

So do I want to make contempo furniture. Well no I don't want to make contempo yet everyone in the period were contemporary at first. So um....
Where do you go and what do you do. Well I decided to try it all, and focus on period work, study everything I can get my hands on.

Now I didn't spend 20,000 but I spent about 100,000. 34,000 in education, and 64,000 in hand tools, power tools, veneers, lumber, clamps, etc. etc. Yet I spent my money wisely. I bought only what I need and bought items that I know I can make my money back. One the smartest decisions I made was working at a Woodcraft. It was the best choice I ever made because I got everything at cost. I never purchased anything at retail, which is AWESOME...

This business is stressful but I love waking up in the morning and waiting for the challenges that the next project is going to bring. Good Luck.

Fred

Well where do I begin.... I have been through all this in my head over and over and over.

Yet I have loved woodworking since the day I could pick up a hammer. As the years went by my love for woodworking just increased more & more, it was an addiction I just wanted to work with my hands.

I took several and several workshops with well known craftsemen ( Garret Hack, Will Neptune, Mario Rodriguez, Bob Van Dyke, Peter Gedrys, etc.) and I asked all of them if they would recommend getting into the field of woodworking. Some of the response were it is a tough business, one said, Keep it as a hobby and find something that pays better, one said, " Be prepared to work and never retire", another said, " Go with what your heart says."

Well I continued learning and kept reading and practicing. Finally years done the road I decided to attend The Furniture Institute of Mass. w/ Philip C. Lowe, and man oh man did I learned sooo much. Phil Lowe is an amazing craftsmen/business man, he taught me so much.

Now you can't learned everything in 2 years, and I can say I have been lucky. I stayed with Phil for 2-3 years after I graduated to get even more on the job training and it was worth every penny. While working for Phil I learned that as cabinet/chair maker with out a name you must take what comes through the door. As new man on the streets you can't always pick and choose in the beginning. Learn from the real world experience, and that is what I did.

Yet I received great advice from my friend Peter Gedrys and these kinds words are worth their money in gold. "The more you say NO the more money you make. I would say I agree with Peter. Another word of advice that Peter gave me is as follows: When a customer comes back and says well your estimate is higher then so and so, can you match it or come under his/her estimate??? Respond with I am glad they know what they are worth but, I am worth more and I will give you more for your dollar. " When the clients hears that, I can tell you the whole situation changes for the better.

I guess what I am trying to say is that new business take 5-10 years before you see what you want coming through those doors. Try everything and anything in the beginning. Try Cabinetry, restoration, inlay, veneering, carving, etc. Find something you are good at. Always be thinking 3-4 steps ahead. NETWORK as much as possible. Do what ever it takes. This is what I have been doing now for several years and my name is getting out there. I am getting a lot not all the jobs I want. It is hard and it will be hard. Yet I love this craft I love what I can do with my hands. I love the struggles of having to figure things out. It is fun. Breathe. Take a break once in a while. Practice Chop Chop as Phil would say. When I left school I wasn't the best with my hands but over the years your skills develop, your eye develops, and it all starts coming together. Used as much machinery to get the job done.

The best advice I can give to anyone who is serious in getting a small business, is that you MUST HAVE A PATIENT PARTNER if you want to be able to succeed. If you don't then there is a new added stress that is not needed in life.

Good Luck and God Bless
Fred Roman
Maker & Restorer
" Maker of Tomorrow's Antiques."

These are very useful. Phil Lowe has been making/using these for 30-40 yrs. now.

Fred

I understand that FWW Magazine is suppose to satisfy every skill level but, lets talk about down grade of quality of articles. Due to this magazine my skills have grown and now I am hard press to learn anything. It is very disappointing!!! I would love to see more period work in William & Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, & Federal. As I look back to the black and white issues of FWW and read the articles, I say to my self WoW this magazine was awesome. Well I hope the future of the magazine will be better then what it is. I think FWW should not be competing against magazines like Wood or Woodsmith. Just publish quality articles. Thank God for Phil Lowe, Will Neptune, Steve Latta & Garret Hack because after that BORING!!!!!!!

Fred