I took this project on because it was a requirement, to be blunt. But it was also an opportunity to learn something new. In taking on the idea I had – of interviewing several professional woodworkers – I did something I would not have done otherwise, and I believe it has been beneficial to my woodworking.
When I was assigned this project at the start of the school year, I knew I wanted to do something with woodworking. There are not, unfortunately, many opportunities to woodwork here at Penn State, at least not without being an art major, so I couldn’t really write about pieces I was working on. I don’t think this would have been particularly interesting anyway. 
So I decided to try to make contact with many of the woodworkers from whom I have learned, primarily from the pages of Fine Woodworking Magazine. Luckily, woodworkers are generally a very friendly and generous lot, and nearly all of those I contacted were more than willing to help, despite their busy schedules. In fact, more replied than I had weeks in which to write. I noticed that my interviewing skills improved with time. The first interview I did, was far too scripted, and I regret that. The questions I had were too generic, and I didn’t do enough to respond to answers with thoughtful follow-up questions. In subsequent interviews, though, I learned from the questions that were not very effective and thought of new ones to ask instead. I also got better at just listening to what was being said rather than thinking ahead too much to the next question. I did my best to stay true to what was said in each conversation based on my notes and memory, and I apologize for any errors.
Before I did anything in the way of interviews, I wrote the story of how I became a woodworker, my philosophy, and my goals for the project. Here they are, as I wrote them at the start of September:
“As I am unable to woodwork while I am here at school, I decided that with this Passion Blog I would try to learn about woodworkers far more experienced than I. Despite my inexperience I have begun to develop a philosophy of my own about woodworking and design. 
It has already been influenced by the professionals I learned from, and it will undoubtedly evolve. I am so greatly influenced by the work of the woodworkers I plan to interview that I want to know more about their history, thought processes, and philosophy. Hopefully, by the end of these ten weeks, I will have gained a deeper understanding of how I have come to think and work as I do. I don’t know if it will work out that way. If it doesn’t, something else of great value will certainly come of this project. In the course of writing this post, I have already learned something about myself. That alone is worth a lot.”
The woodworkers I interviewed are all well known for being among the best in the woodworking world, and I made an effort to talk to a range of people representing different styles and backgrounds. Despite the differences in style and background between the interviewees, above all they were similar. Most had a love of building instilled in them at a young age but pursued other interests in school only to return to woodworking as young adults. Each strives to create pieces that are useful first, with beauty derived in part from that utility. 
They love to do work for themselves, to explore their passions and interests, but also value teaching, and passing on skills to other makers. They love to work by hand, but recognize the necessity of doing some machine work to be efficient enough to be successful in the modern marketplace. In their willingness to talk to a young woodworker about their craft, I see a desire to pass on their passion to a younger generation so that it might continue to thrive.
I am very grateful for the time everyone took to speak with me, and I have certainly learned from the conversations.
Mike Pekovich is a professional woodworker and executive art director at Fine Woodworking Magazine. He is highly respected by his colleagues as one of the best furniture makers around. 
He favors simple designs that perform a function, with the philosophy that unless a piece is useful it cannot be beautiful. In his words: “ultimately both are important, and a piece lacking in either isn’t worth making or owning.” Beauty is a very subjective thing, of course, but in my opinion, an object is more likely to hold a broad appeal if it is very simple, quiet, and functional.
Only when a fault or failure is recognized can it be corrected, and Mike helps himself through this process by doing drawings and mockups whose flaws are easier to recognize and correct than a piece into which months of blood, sweat, and tears have been poured. Still, the mistakes and flaws that do make it into a final product are important, as “those [pieces] are the ones that haunt me and challenge me to do better next time.” 
Teaching is stressful because it takes a lot of effort, but the satisfaction of seeing someone learn or refine a skill makes it worthwhile. In general, Mike describes his work as his own “because I have made it with my hands to suit my eye.” Beyond that, he does have a recognizable style, influenced directly by the arts and crafts and Japanese motifs.
His education is in philosophy, and I wondered how that affects his woodworking. In answer, it doesn’t directly: “Philosophy doesn’t necessarily influence my woodworking, but because of my background in philosophy I am better able to understand why woodworking is so important to me. I am better able to appreciate why craft is a valuable human endeavor.” He is able to convey these thoughts very well in writing as well. Despite not proofreading his responses to my questions, he wrote quite eloquently about his journey as a woodworker and his philosophy and process. Matt’s full responses are at the bottom of the post.
He survived to graduate high school and went on to study philosophy in college and graduate school. In the course of pursuing his doctorate, he married and started to build a few projects for his home, including a gardening tool box and crib with basic tools. Once again, he was “hooked” on woodworking. At this point, Kenney had become a professor. By chance, the father of one of his students was a furniture maker. As the student put it, “My dad is a professional furniture maker but thinks he’s a philosopher,” and Kenney was the inverse. He went to meet and learn from that furniture maker, and a few years later went to work at Fine Woodworking as an editor. In each of these three stages of development as a woodworker, he was influenced by a different person who each played a very important role in helping Kenney to reach the level at which he works today. 
In his younger years, his dad taught him to be interested in building things and to work with tools. As an adult, his student’s father showed him the fundamentals of building quality furniture. And now at Fine Woodworking, Mike Pekovich (see next week) is his design mentor.
This influence is evident in most of his designs, but I asked Matt if he believes that he has developed his own style. “I think I have. My guess is that my boxes are fairly distinct from what others are doing. I strive to make boxes (and furniture) that are subtle and quietly beautiful. I focus on proportion and using the parts of a box to create a pattern. And I like using color (milk paint or fabric) to emphasize this pattern. But I don’t know. This is probably a question better answered by someone else, who can look at my work and compare it the work of others from the outside. It’s hard to see your own nose.” I have to say that I agree, he has developed his own style.
The milk paint used sparingly in many of his pieces is part of what sets his style apart from that of the Shakers. The simple appearance of Kenney’s work conceals the skill and precision that he puts into building each piece, as well as his meticulous design process. He spends time iterating through a series of ever-more specific sketches and plans before working with the wood. He wants to be sure that there are no unforeseen difficulties as he builds a piece. Doing design this way makes it most likely that he will have a good result. He makes sure that beauty is the focus of his designs, but a piece can’t be beautiful unless it is also useful: “So, I strive to make useful beauty, beautiful utility. I want the utility and beauty of my furniture to dance effortlessly together.”
Over the course of the project he was not only reminded of the importance of practicing design but of other lessons on life and woodworking both: “simplicity is always better than complexity,” discipline is essential to success, and trusting a passion leads to good outcomes. 
by Kenney. He designed the box in the lower left of the cover. When I look back on that article in comparison to the very first boxes of the 52 Boxes Project (more than three years later), it is stunning to see the difference in Kenney’s style, initially rather generic, which further develops into something particularly distinct by the end of the year. Always technically sound and useful, his box making, in my opinion, is now genuinely beautiful. 
and is well known for his large number of bandsaws. 
That man showed him the shop and the program, and Fortune switched majors immediately, without looking back. After school, there was a little difficulty getting started. Fortune’s practical skills were not as refined as his design ones were, so he had to work hard and practice to build them up and become a great furniture designer and maker. 
Peters showed him how to make an entire project his own rather than let it be controlled by a client. Like me, Fortune picked up much of his woodworking knowledge from Fine Woodworking Magazine, which at the time had just been created. Today he frequently writes for the magazine, helping to teach young woodworkers like me. He also pay the favor of Alan Peters forward by hosting interns in his shop so that they can gain experience in designing and building. Fortune still remains in control of what he builds. He takes an need and very basic requirements from a client, prepares two drawings, and the client can pick one or the other, nothing else. It took time to gain this confidence, but it has worked out very well. The clients are willing to trust him, and he does things this way because he is the one trained in design and construction, not the client. He knows what will work and what won’t. And he knows how to make something beautiful. Fortune’s work is modern but doesn’t have the hard lines found in much modern furniture as a result of factory production. He loves to work with curves and bends. His design process is very iterative, he uses drawings and multiple scale models before doing any real woodwork. 
In addition to helping paying clients who woodwork as a hobby, he has spent time helping underprivileged people in developing countries, teaching how to design, woodwork, and market their furniture and products to be commercially successful.
for its own line of tools that they design and manufacture to high standards in Canada, called Veritas, or “truth” in Latin. The company was founded by Robin’s father, Leonard Lee. Leonard grew up on a homestead with very limited means. He and his family had to make do with what they had in their work on the farm and the home. When Robin was young they lived on a farm, working with their hands and building things all the time.
Still, he loves his job because of the culture present at Lee Valley. Employees are treated as family, the same as customers, and interacting with them is very enjoyable. The challenge of the job is creating a good product that allows a sense of trust to build between company, employee, and customer. As an organization so connected to the customer base, that relationship influences the creation and modification of tools. They listen to the customer base and act accordingly.
The values behind the company are what makes the tools Veritas, though. It is more important to satisfy the customer than focus on making a profit. By doing the former, the latter occurs naturally, albeit slowly for the most part. In doing the right thing for business, employee, and customer alike and rectifying mistakes, Lee Valley fulfills its responsibility to those dependents in the interest of stability and long-term viability.
I asked Robin if there was competition between the two companies. In answer, he said that of course there is a little bit of competition because they both serve the woodworking hand tool market, but the styles they cater to are different, and in general woodworkers have some tools from each company. Robin actually uses some Lie-Nielsen tools in his shop. 
And the whole piece was done mostly by hand. This opened my eyes even more to the power of hand tools. The chest is representative of Hunter’s work as a whole, with his focus on simple, clean designs made mostly by hand.
After graduating, he went straight to a cabinet shop for work, never using his degree in the workplace. He learned a lot in that shop, but it was not how he preferred to work. His first tools personal tools included a drill, a circular saw, a hand saw, chisels, and a Stanley plane. With such a limited selection of tools he was forced to learn hand skills, which became his main method of work. Hunter also has a lot of experience with carpentry and timber framing, having done it in the past and occasionally in the present to help make ends meet since the money is better and more steady in that industry than in fine furniture making. 
As a result, he is used to using hand tools to shape pieces and dealing with corners that are not square. 
This led to an interest in the design and woodwork of the area. The designs of the Japanese are simple and consist of clean lines while the Japanese are more complex in their designs and joinery. Aside from the design and methods of work of Asia, Hunter is particularly attracted to the philosophy of Asia, including Buddhism, that is behind the designs and methods of work. Craftsmen in that region do their work with a sense of presence and zen that Hunter also seeks, and that is well suited to work with hand tools. 
He uses them as much as possible for the rough milling of lumber and tasks such as mortising, which are extremely labor intensive and can be quite dull. To do them by hand would also not be effective economically. Hand tools complement the machines and take the work to the next level, as he cuts joinery and planes the surface of boards. For these tasks the piece does not have to be machine square, giving him a lot more freedom to work. 
Woodworking is a battle with the wood which the craftsman wins by being highly skilled. Those hand skills are being lost today as craftsmen move toward machines with more power, capable of doing the work more quickly and with less effort. In an effort to return the focus of the craft to skill and intimacy, Hunter is very involved in teaching. He makes sure that hand skills are still appreciated and in use. He is also exposing the Western world to the tools and designs of Asia, which are not widely known but are beautiful and have distinct advantages. Hunter likes to say that woodworking should be about “blades, not buttons,” and is working to make the statement more true in the modern age. 
Variations of the Windsor have been made for centuries, but the basic features are turned and steam-bent pieces that attach to a carved seat. A picture does not give the Windsor chair its due justice. A truly great chair must be seen in person in order to be fully appreciated. 
He had to wait until he was in college to start woodworking again, and he hasn’t stopped since. Fortunately, he feels the same immersion and contentment today as he did in his middle school days, but only because he has found his passion within woodworking.
I asked him if the focus on Windsor chairs ever gets boring. In answer, it doesn’t, because there are so many modifications that can be made to the style, so many things to try. He can make an old style into something unmistakably his own. The style is not so much limiting as a way of working. And that gives limitless opportunity. 
Even though it is modern, it makes the process easier but doesn’t go so far as making it a production process. He considers himself to be a tinkerer rather than an engineer, but solving problems brings him joy. In the same way that Galbert isn’t paid enough to work entirely with traditional methods, he can’t be paid enough to use power tools extensively in the making of a chair. This statement from his website sums it up: “
It’s also the most fun way of doing things because the best process involves lots of handwork and a deep connection with the wood. The chairs need to be comfortable and strong and beautiful, of course, but in Galbert’s mind, the most important thing is that the chair be fun to make, as he has to do it day after day. 
The tool marks and grain are still very tactile, at the same time feeling silky smooth. He believes that it takes a fine designer’s eye to make full use of the natural beauty of wood, and most people are woodworkers first and designers second. 
Naturally, I looked toward FWW for advice about what to look for in a plane and which models performed best. Chris Gochnour, a professional woodworker and hand tool expert from Salt Lake City, Utah, wrote one of the articles I relied on. He authors many of the tool reviews and tests in the magazine and uses them extensively as he builds his pieces. 
Doing work to the specifications and aesthetic preferences of others does not really leave room for the development of an individual style. Gochnour initially started woodworking in high school, when his first job involved building custom longboards and snowboards (which he still builds occasionally today). After earning a degree in English Literature he started building furniture for a living. Early on, he spent time in England. He was young and impressionable, but also at the early stages of his woodworking career. The experience did expose him to different styles and culture and a very old tradition. He was happy to be working in America, though, because living and working in England is extremely expensive and the market is small. 
It is all that most people want or need. Gochnour only ever advertised his work once, in the classified section of the newspaper. Out of that came nearly a year of work, and after that the commissions were steady. He got to the point of having so much work that he had to take deposits to make sure it would still be there when he got around to it. Times have changed, and such an abundance of commissions is no longer available unless one is as well established as Gochnour is. Even though work is available to him, it is less interesting because it is commissioned by rich clients for whom money is no object. They are buying custom furniture for their second homes and don’t really care too much about it. The good thing is they don’t ask questions. They aren’t a joy to work with as the middle class was. 
But now Gochnour is well established. He isn’t taking commissions for the time being. Instead, he is teaching at several local schools, giving private lessons in his shop. He also writes for magazines such as Fine Woodworking. This gives him a steady salary and set hours. It is somewhat more difficult to maintain his skills, though, as doing so requires consistent effort and challenge. 
Woodworking is not an easy path to follow, especially today. In Gochnour’s opinion, it is more prudent in modern times to hold a stable, traditional job and do woodworking on the side. The dream of being a professional woodworker may no longer be so attainable, but there will always be a great multitude of hobbyist woodworkers. That’s a very good thing. And they should use hand tools. 
Neither can be executed well without a strong understanding of the materials and techniques that contribute to them. There are also limits to the aesthetic of a piece. Going too far makes it impossible for the piece to constructed soundly or practically. And, as in any business, the process is important. There are different ways to reach the same outcome visually and structurally, some being simpler than others. 
There is really no such thing as specialization in woodworking, as quality work comes from accomplishment in many different areas. Hack also travels the world teaching about woodworking. It creates some balance in his life and allows him to learn about new cultures and bring back inspiration for his work. It is essential for him to continue innovating by integrating new ideas and more difficult components into his work. I concluded by asked what he considered to be the most crucial quality for a woodworker. His answer was perseverance. It takes time and practice and expense and frustration to become a master of the craft. Garrett Hack has done so. 
I built a model lighthouse out of balsa wood and popsicle sticks, using Exacto knives to cut the pieces. With the next Christmas came a drill and a jigsaw, and as a result, a much more sophisticated model lighthouse from plywood disks.I started to find videos on the internet about woodworking, produced by The Wood Whisperer, Fine Woodworking online, and others. That led me to Fine Woodworking Magazine, borrowed from the public library. I made every effort to read every issue, but they might as well have been written in a foreign language. Tenons, rabbets, fillets, mortises, dovetails, biscuits, laps, dados, planes, routers – the specialized 
vocabulary goes on and on. The pictures and captions saved me, allowing me to associate words with their physical manifestations in woodworking. I became fluent in this strange new language and devoured every magazine and TV show I could find. Without ever having access to a real suite of woodworking tools, I had all of the theory necessary for basic woodworking stored in my head. Theoretically, I knew how to operate the tools, how to cut joints, and how to finish a piece.
My maternal grandfather worked out of a gigantic, high-ceilinged shop space, and focused on antique furniture repair and projects closer to carpentry. Unfortunately, my paternal grandfather passed away before I came of age or expressed interest in woodworking (which, paradoxically, is the reason I have a shop full of tools with which to work). My other grandfather didn’t spend much time in his shop once I was old enough, and was unwilling to teach me to use the tools because they are dangerous. This I understand, but it meant that I was on my own in learning to woodwork.
I built a desktop organizer, a music box, a side table, all from a set of detailed plans. With each, I used nice wood and included complex components. For my first foray into woodworking, I suppose I did okay. Looking back today, though, I see gappy joints and rough surfaces. Generally, the details didn’t matter to me, either because I didn’t have the skill or tool to properly execute what I was attempting or because I was impatient to move on to the next step and finish the piece. I find this to be an issue for me still today. I always attempt to incorporate elements beyond my skill level so that I might continue to improve, and I always fall at least a little short of success. This is unavoidable as I seek to improve, so I can accept less than perfection. But patience is something I need to work on. The quality of my woodwork could improve greatly if I were to take the time to do everything to the best of my ability. As the years passed, my projects got more complex, more ambitious, more useful, and more beautiful. My knowledge remained robust, but my practical skill expanded greatly. And that is what really matters.
The magazine emphasizes the necessity of hand tools to truly fine woodworking. I picked up on this philosophy and fell in love with the idea of quality, and expensive, tools. Neither of my grandfathers was particularly interested in hand tools. Their shops were essentially devoid of them, and what they did have were of low quality or rusted over or both. 
Despite the lacking of my hand tools, the quality of my work was much improved, and I recognized first hand that the return on investment in a quality tool more than made up for its price. I picked a plane that I felt would be most useful and decided it would be my first purchase, whenever the time came. After a backbreaking day of shoveling snow, I decided to reward myself by using the day’s earnings to purchase that plane. Every day I spend in the shop includes some use of that tool. It is critical to my work, and likely will always be. The same is true of the other hand tools in which I have since invested. 
I am so greatly influenced by the work of the woodworkers I plan to interview that I want to know more about their history, thought processes, and philosophy. Hopefully, by the end of these ten weeks, I will have gained a deeper understanding of how I have come to think and work as I do. I don’t know if it will work out that way. If it doesn’t, something else of great value will certainly come of this project. In the course of writing this post, I have already learned something about myself. That alone is worth a lot. 
