In the digital world era, when everything can be asked and learned from Google, there are things that people never stop to confuse and misunderstand. When we start talking with someone about woodworking, and the conversation turns to carpentry, if I mention a joiner, it seems like they ask me for fun: "But isn't a carpenter and a joiner the same?" Oh, again?...
A carpenter is a specialist who does rough work on wood, such as building constructions. In contrast, the joiner is a specialist who makes or joins the wood pieces, from handcrafted furniture to wooden artworks.
Let's talk in more detail about the joiner because the wood features as a building material are tough to overestimate. And the mastery not to destroy the timber while working on it is a real joiner's skill.
Wood as a Material
Wood is one of the oldest building materials known to humankind, which will always remain very popular in decoration. Even nowadays, you can find fairly well-preserved wooden windows, the age of which has 100 years or more.
Disadvantages of Wood
The disadvantages of wooden structures include termites' appearance and vulnerability to water damage, fire, rotting.
But it is worth noting that modern building technologies gave us ecologically friendly impregnations and treatments to protect the wood. And because of the ability to absorb, we can obtain wood with the desired qualities.
Advantages of Wood
The main advantages of wood are environmentally friendly, durability, wood processing is very simple.
These advantages are technical qualities, but how about esthetical benefits. For most people, wood is a natural beauty material with various textures, tones, and hues. You can combine wooden artworks with other interior elements as you wish, and it will always be attractive. This feature allows us to call wood an elite material, but it depends on the type of wood and processing method.
Wood as a building material
The secrets of wood as a building material were figured out a long, long time ago. This is the most environmentally friendly and beautiful material that allows you to create an optimal microclimate in the house. The wood material is alive; it "breathes," having a beneficial effect on the human body; moreover, it absorbs sound well, purifies and disinfects the air without causing allergic reactions.
In log houses, a constant oxygen balance and optimal air humidity are maintained. In winter, such houses are warm and cool in summer. It is magic, but tiredness and anxiety disappear somewhere if you are inside the wooden walls, and your soul fills with peace forever.
The Joinery
Why is a joiner called a joiner?
A common view on the difference between joiners and carpenters is that joiners do not use nails or glue for their work; they build things by connecting (joining) separate pieces of wood.
As I already said, a joiner is a highly qualified specialist in woodworking, engaged in the repair and manufacture of furniture, as well as woodworking crafts and arts. His work is more detailed and has completely different requirements for woodworking skills.
What do you do as a joiner?
Although man has been making various wooden arts since time ancient, the joiner profession was finally formed in the 18th century. It was then that the woodworking craftsmen appeared who made the only furniture.
Much has changed since that time. The range of joinery products has significantly extended, and now it is not only furniture but also stairs, doors, windows, baseboards, sports equipment, crafts, and arts.
In other words, we can highlight the main wood joinery types today:
- woodworking;
- repair, restoration, production, and reproduction of various pieces of furniture;
- installation of doors and window openings with the installation of accessories - hinges, locks, handles;
- repair and reconstruction of fragments and parts made of wood;
- installation of built-in wardrobes;
- making wooden arts, as well as small items (like wood statues);
In short, today's joiner is a specialist with many more responsibilities than the craftsman of the 18th century. Moreover, the joiner has to work with paints and varnishes, so he must also have related professions - painter, designer, woodcarving, etc.
What is a cabinetmaker?
Several decades ago, some obvious specializations began to appear among the joiners. One of these specializations is the cabinetmaker.
The wood cabinet maker is a specialist who manufactures or repairs wooden furniture and also installs and put prepared wooden furniture parts together.
What skills does a joiner need?
Like any professional activity, joinery requires certain characters from the woodworking master. The main of them, the following should be noted:
- a good eye for detail;
- maths skills for working out measurements;
- developed spatial imagination;
- accuracy and caution in working with the joinery tools;
- basic theoretical knowledge in material science (wood) and chemistry;
- ability to work with drawings to follow technical plans;
- developed hand motor skills;
- patience and a sense of aesthetics;
Some personal qualities include:
- physical strength;
- stamina and dexterity;
- patience;
- a tendency to monotonous actions;
- attention and accuracy;
But remember, even if you do not have all or some of these skills, no one denies you to create for yourself, your family, and other people and be rewarded for it.
How do I start learning joinery?
How I motivated you, great?! But now I have to answer several important questions that you can ask me during our conversation.
- How can I learn basic joinery skills?
- Is joinery easy to learn?
- Can I learn joinery on my own?
- How do I set up joinery workshop?
- What is a good size workshop?
- What tools does a joiner use?
- What tools do I need for joinery?
- What tools should I buy first?
Oh, stop! I just don't have enough time to discuss all these and many other questions on this web resource. Do you agree that these are such specific questions, and only professionals must answer questions like this?
Below are the very professionals, real experienced craftsmen, who will present you in great detail to the Joiner / Cabinetmaker profession. The courses they offer are designed specifically for beginners in joinery; check them out in more detail in my descriptions. You will find answers to all that and many other more important questions you would like to ask.
Wood Profits by Jim Morgan
Wood Profits is a complete system that includes detailed guides, customer support by email, and 500+ unique top-selling wooden crafts and furniture plans.
All you need to know is "what," "who," and "where"…
- WHAT projects are the most profitable;
- WHOM to sell it to with the highest profit;
- WHERE to trade with the most significant gain.
Ted's Woodworking by Ted Mcgrath
This system consists of a massive database of over 16,000 projects. Even if you area woodworking beginner, you can quickly learn by following instructions.
At Ted's Woodworking you get everything you need:
- Blueprints with a full range of sizes;
- Exact instructions on how to start your project;
- What materials you need for each project;
- And what woodworking tools you need.
Is joinery a good trade?
This is the last but no less important question that I would like to discuss with you.
It will not be just my remark that many young people are not very eager to get this kind of profession, because they think woodworking is a dying art!
But tell me, how can art be dying when woodworking technologies, woodworking tools are constantly being improved? I wrote about this in my article "Is Woodworking a Dying Art?" Check it out, and you will see that these young people are wrong!
Also, the demand for a joiner and cabinetmaker does not decrease in any of the world's countries, especially in the USA. You can check it yourself on Google Trend. Joinery and woodworking in common do not have a dying trend. Think about it; there are no many new people come into the profession. So, maybe this is a chance for you to start?
- Do you still have to go to 9 to 5 work? Okay, this is your financial security. Start woodworking as a hobby!
- Get information materials from professionals; this is your investment to your future, your investment in yourself!
- Buy not expensive but only essential woodworking joinery tools. Or borrow them from your friends or neighbors for a while!
- Choose what you like, a simple woodworking project from furniture or a beautiful craft of decoration for a home or backyard.
- Do a dozen of these projects.
- Create a showroom right at your home. Yes, right at home!
- Create your own store on the Internet; it's easier than making a phone call. Nowadays, it is unnecessary to have the deep technical knowledge to make an online store on Etsy or Shopify.
- Calculate the correct price for your wooden crafts and arts and put them up for sale.
You are not alone; many people still think: Start or not the profitable woodworking business.
Stop thinking! Just do it, be ahead of everyone around you. You can do it! Don't give up!
If woodworking is your hobby/business, you will feel it soon as the first project is finished! It will not be just pride; it will be a desire to share your happiness with other people. Materialize a piece of your soul in the most wonderful building material on Earth, isn't that happiness?!
Related Links
Wood Profits - brief information about;
Wood Profits - check the course;
Ted's Woodworking - brief information about;
Ted's Woodworking - check the course;
