Mis-shapes, Mistakes, Misfits*

One thing I particularly appreciate about finish carpentry and woodworking is that there is always more to learn.  No matter how long you've been a woodworker, there is always another technique to learn or master, there will forever more be an abundance of those "tricks of the trade" to file away in your woodworking arsenal. (I use the word "arsenal" because sometimes it does feel like a battle.)  Don't get me wrong – it's not that there aren't true masters out there.  It's just that even if you take the most educated, gifted, experienced woodworker of all time, there is something left to teach him.  After all, the industry itself is constantly changing and evolving – with new tools, new materials, new standards, and new people.  And I'm happy to be part of that evolution.

I remember on my first day at the cabinet shop, my boss took me aside and explained, "so, it's possible that I will teach you how to do something one way and then the next day, someone else will explain how to do it another way.  It's not that one way is better than the other.  We both have our reasons for liking our way best."  Then he explained that he preferred that I default to his way.  After all, he was the owner and he was trying to develop a consistent system for producing a consistent product.  I understood and respected that.  But it took me a while to be comfortable with this type of learning environment.  I am usually the type of person who just wants someone to tell me the best way to do something.  The idea that there is no best way is a little disturbing.  Since then, I've realized that knowing multiple techniques for accomplishing the same task is what separates the masters from the apprentices, the pros from the newbies. 

This brings us to perhaps the most important part of a finish carpenter's job description: how to fix mistakes.  These aren't necessarily mistakes that you yourself have made.  They are, in fact, mostly mistakes that others have made.  And it's why finish carpentry exists.  Think about your house, the room you're sitting in right now...the finish carpentry includes the doors, windows, trim, and cabinetry among other various things (mantel, stairs, etc.).   Back before a finish carpenter came in to do their job, there may have been an exterior window installed and a big hole where the door should go.  We come into these rooms with uneven floors, walls that are anything but flat, ceilings that drop to one side, and we make everything look nice and square, level, plumb, parallel – pleasing to the eye.  The door should swing easily, but not pull itself open or closed.  The trim should look even around the doors and windows, and it should hide the gaps that exist between the wall and the floor, between the casing and the wall, between the window and the framing, etc.  The cabinets should be level even if the floor isn't.  At best, you wouldn't notice any of these "mistakes" of the room.  As finish carpenters, these are the mistakes we solve every day.  And yes, it's quite satisfying.  Also, I am pretty content with the fact that my job cannot be done by a robot.

Then there are the mistakes we make ourselves.  After all, nobody's perfect.  Sometimes I have a really dumb moment and am faced with the super frustrating decision of how to fix my own mistake.  At best, no one will notice.  Luckily, I am my own worst critic.  This comes in handy when you are fine-tuning a fix to correct something you messed up -- once I'm satisfied, the client most certainly is.  And going back to this "arsenal" of multiple techniques, you now have something to work with.  You start asking questions to hone in on the best solution:  What tools do I have?  What type of material am I working with?  How visible is this boo-boo?  Etc.  If you only have one method to work with, it limits your ability to fix things well.  Different materials jive with different tools.  For instance, laminates don't always get along well with a power plane but they are usually all right with a belt sander.  You can't cut a perfect plug in pre-finished wood, but if you have a little stain pen and some spray lacquer in your van, you might be able to make everything look golden.  And that's the idea.

On a recent stair, I cut this riser a little short.  Argh!

The best solution was to trim a fill strip (grain matched) and glue it in place with a tiny removable shim.

The finished stair looked fantastic (and a little less fuzzy in person...)

There's something about this job...you get to go in and make slightly messed up rooms look amazing.  That's the measure of a good finish carpenter.  You're not necessarily judged by whether you make a mistake, but rather by how you fix it.   You're not judged by whether you have a skill set, but how you use it.  The more you learn (about methods, techniques, tools, materials, etc.), the better equipped you are to make an informed choice about how to do just that, to choose your own best way.

* yes, for those who recognize the title of this post, it's borrowed directly from a Pulp song.