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The myth of "fine woodworking" and joinery
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I always enjoy your videos. Your philosophical perspectives help keep me sane. I recently bought a decent doweling jig and have been making furniture without stressing over my imperfect dovetailing skills. Good video, Steve. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Steve. I learned how to build with wood from your courses. I am happy being a mere mortal. Cheers
This is the thing I always like about your approach. You stay down to earth with your methodology and mindset. Not going overboard with all extreme techniques you could apply, but a simple ‘it will do’ is very often more than enough. You embody and breathe your channel’s name, and it makes everything you do so approachable. The questions you pose are very important, and for me, it would be great if something I made can be handed down to someone else (especially to someone I don’t know, for sustainability), but that 5 year difference you state will not be a deal-breaker for me. Love the video, as always. Thank you for being such an endless source of knowledge.
This is such a great perspective, Steve! I often feel like we all get caught up in the perfectionism mindset and overthink things. The very first project I built—a small toy shelf for my then-toddler—I made out of pine plywood from Home Depot. I didn’t have any tools or knowledge of fine joinery, so I asked a HD employee to cut all the panels for me (yes, their panel saw was working that day! and I had my cut sheet ready). I also grabbed a bottle of wood glue, a pack of sandpaper, and a bag of dowels on my way to the cashier. At home, I drilled a few holes for dowels and assembled the project. No clamps, no fancy joinery—just some glue and dowels. Then I sanded everything by hand.
That shelf still serves my kids many years later. If I were to build it now, I’d definitely overthink the design and joinery and spend way more time finessing everything. Sometimes I miss those good old days when I didn’t know much about woodworking and just went with my gut 🙂
This is a great reminder that we don’t need to “professionalize” our hobbies. You can just be a “jogger”, you don’t have to be training for a half-marathon. Same with woodworking. No shame in being mediocre and staying that way.
This reminds me of a boss I had that asked what I like to do and I said biking. He asked mountain or road, then went on to talk about special clip in shoes. I was just like, I don’t know man I just bike through the park.
I would have phrased that differently.
Your “mediocre” is almost guaranteed to be better than Ikea.
Your “mediocre” is going to make a piece that fits in the space it’s going in, both physically and aesthetically, better than anything you can buy.
Your “mediocre” is a competency signal to women.
Your “mediocre”… isn’t, really.
I have a 70 year old eight drawer dresser that was made by my grandfather in the 1950’s out of plywood with dados and rabbit joints that were only done on a table saw. He was a German born cabinet maker. That dresser is as strong today as the day it was made. I refinished it almost 40 years ago and added edge banding to cover the plies of top.
I love your perspective. I’m retired and find myself enjoying woodworking and making stuff that cost a fraction of what is out there. I don’t do it for the money but that sheer excitement that comes with, once you finish a project and watch the smile you get. It’s all worth it. Always a pleasure to watch your videos ❤❤✊
Great video! A little over 10 years ago I designed and built a dresser for my son to have ready when he was born. I got into a conversation one day at work with a contractor about the project and he asked what I was doing for joinery on the drawers. I said I was going to do pocket holes and glue and he nearly lost his mind. “That’s not going to last, you HAVE to do dovetails”. I did not take his “well constructed” advice and went with the pocket holes and glue. Over ten years of nearly constant use and not a single loose joint. Still rock solid. I’m glad I went the route I did. Trying to do dovetails for the first time would have made me take a lot longer and it wouldn’t have been ready for when my son was born. Keep up the good work and enjoy the process!
Good for you! Glad it helped up to a growing child.
Yeah, lol. Pocket screws and glue has been a time-honoured tradition of working carpenters.
@@TNH91I’m 54 and still haven’t tried pocket holes yet. I may need to look into them if I build another set of cabinets for the shop or kitchen.😊
@@thomasarussellsr Eh, if you find you do well without pocket screws you don’t need to use them. But they are indeed a good option for cabinets.
Absolutely nothing wrong with pocket holes for drawers. But I think this comes down to your definition of word “last.” To me, furniture that will “last” means heirloom durability – at least 50 years bare minimum. Pocket holes could certainly last that long, but generally with something like a dresser you are bound to start to run into some wiggly-jiggly problems at minimum by then if it’s in continual use. And I would also say that, based on MY definition of “last,” pocket holes could very well be the weak link. But YOUR definition of “last” is clearly 10 years. Will pocket holes last 10 years? They absolutely should!! They should also see your son off to college with no issues. After that it comes down to how well you did them, and then may only need occasional tightening for a few decades. Will they see your grandkids off to college? Odds are against that. But I don’t think that was your intent when building the dresser. I say, job well done!
I love this! Thanks for being real, Steve.
I’ve been watching you for years. This is the best video you’ve ever done.
I had to laugh when you described your early years of woodworking. It was about 1947, I was 5, and I liked to sneak in the basement and play with my dad’s bandsaw when my mom wasn’t watching. Fortunately, nobody had mentioned that you were supposed to turn it on to use it, so I would hand spin the lower wheel, and hold a board against the blade with my other hand. That’s the hand with the scar across my thumb where I cut it to the bone when I sawed my finger instead of the board. I still have the scar, and I’m almost 83 now. As to joinery, I’m still doing almost all of it with biscuits and dowels and the occasional butt joint. I too took one pass at a router template jig, and said to heck with it. Love your videos and the emails.
The hardest part for me as a woodworker is constantly reminding myself it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Let me know when you succeed, I never have lol
So many woodworkers dream of making a piece of furniture that will last for generations. Meanwhile, very few of us want our grandparents’ furniture.
Excellent insight, and so very true.
@@evergladesflI’m not sure how anyone can say that with the return of mid century modern. I’d kill for my grandparents furniture. Styles come back around all the time.
I don’t want the furniture my grandparents owned, but I absolutely want the furniture my grandfather made.
I don’t want the furniture my grandparents owned, but I absolutely want the furniture my grandfather made.
I don’t know about you but my grandparents don’t have mid-century modern furniture
After watching countless YT woodworking videos I’m able to do some reasonable projects. This video is like the glue that holds together all the things I have learned from those woodworking videos. Thanks for this video and for taking me on a journey making things.
“Your joy shouldn’t be defined by others” this, right there. Well said Steve.
“comparison is the thief of joy”
Woo hoo
Time for the quarterly 15 minutes of my favorite channel on YouTube! 🎉
Really appreciate your clarity and your joy of making functional things without snobbery.
You are a rare treasure in the miasma that YouTube has become. 🙏🙏🙏
Of all the woodworking YouTubers that I follow, I find you to be among the most down to Earth and relatable.
Couldn’t agree more . Started “making things” by watching and learning from his videos and am grateful for them. Most fail to realize that most videos are the product and YouTubers trying to one up each other. Few are done with the purpose of educating and just sharing.
Butt joints for the win!