Concord Handyman: Maintaining Confidence in Carpentry

"Straight, square, smooth..."

That's what my shop teacher used to say.

What he really should have been telling us is Level, Plumb and Square.

Although he taught us a lot in class, the real learning happened on the job, which continues each day.

Being successful with carpentry is mostly based on making the right decisions. One learns to make right decisions based on experience. We gain our experience from past projects and making wrong decisions.

Learning from our mistakes is truly one of the best teachers.

Carpentry is not an exact science; it is a pragmatic approach to problem solving, building and repairing. My experience has taught me that a few basic principles guide us on what will or will not work. Plumb, level and square, is one of those principles.

There are many different approaches to building things. One can argue that someone’s method might enable them to arrive at a better, faster, nicer looking finished result than another person’s method. But both methods still arrive at a finished product.

The old saying, “My way might not be the best way, but it will work. ” Which one is better? That depends if you’re building something for fun or if you’re in business to make money.

Carpentry is more than acquiring experience. It’s also confidence in your ability to solve problems, ultimately to get the job done, arriving at an functional, acceptable finished product.

For me, the best method is one in which I have fun, arrive at a superior product and get paid to do both!