Furniture carpenters use CNC machinery such as drills, lathes, milling machines and routers to do much of the woodworking. The individual parts are then assembled into the desired piece of furniture. In the final steps of production, the furniture carpenter can perform the detailed work by hand to achieve a high-end look. Wood craftsmen rely more on hand tools from start to finish to build unique and ornate furniture.
Finally, wood craftsmen sand and varnish or paint the furniture and fit the necessary hardware, such as drawer pulls and hinges. For production jobs in the woodworking sector, employers may prefer to hire candidates who have completed some vocational training or university courses. Their skills as a woodworker take second place to their skills as an entrepreneur, programmer, equipment repairer, etc. Woodworkers need to understand basic geometry to be able to visualize how a three-dimensional wooden object, such as a cabinet or piece of furniture, fits together.
If you have a full time job and do woodworking as a hobby, but want to sell and make some money working wood, then you start to realize that you are giving up most of your evenings, days off and weekends (leaving very little time for family) to do a few projects and make some money. I realize that every woodworker is at a different level, not only with the skills, experience, tools, but also the amount of money (if any) they would like to make working wood. Most woodworkers work in factories or furniture manufacturers, although some strike out on their own as independent craftsmen. If you are interested in becoming a woodworker, one of the first things to consider is how much training you need.
Of course I have made my living as a professional woodworker and would like to offer support to those who want to turn it into a full-time career, but not everyone wants to do woodworking as a career, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t like to make some money at it anyway. Knowing how to do woodworking is only a small segment of running a successful and profitable woodworking business. I may have been able to make more money working for someone else, but I know I would never have enjoyed life as much as I have as a professional carpenter. There is money to be made in woodworking, whether as a hobbyist, a part-time carpenter or a full-time professional.
It took me a lot of time and effort to overcome those shortcomings, but now I enjoy the sales side of the business as much as the carpentry. I hope I have given you food for thought and that you will take the time to analyze your current situation and decide if this is where you want to be with selling your joinery. Woodworkers perform many of their tasks on an assembly line, but some custom work must be done by hand. Beyond that, the best woodworking skills are only half the battle: sales, networking, research, marketing, accounting and administration are the backbone of any business, whether it’s carpentry or boat rental.