What is Woodworking?

It’s the creation of objects from wood by use of hand or power tools. Woodworking is more varied than it initially seems – it comprises of everything from rustic green woodworking to complex and precise cabinetry. Carpentry is the designation given to this activity by a lot of people, however, in the industry this refers more to the construction of woodwork in housebuilding which is typically done on site. People that make doors and windows and similar objects are known as bench joiners and are typically based in workshops. An able bodied woodworker knows the ways to get the best out of various materials, from natural timber to chipboard or strand board. It’s not only about skill with tools but also design and planning.

Woodworking Scenarios

Wood is such a malleable material, with the simplest of tools, it would have been one of the main things humans used for creating shelter and tools. There’s a wide range of tree types, which come in various grades and for a lot of traditional work is required to be dried to hinder movement following it has been worked. Each craft has their own specialized tools – for instance chair makers have travishers used to hollow out chair seats making them more comfortable, and woodcarvers have a wide range of gouges for cutting various shapes. Woodworking methods allow us to create things as varied as homes, furniture, boats, shelves, animal housing, doors, work-benches, utensils, frames for picture, children’s toys, containers and a whole lot more.

Skills of Woodworkers

Woodworking includes a large quality range too – a piece of work can be joined together with just nails, or complex joints; wooden structures in houses are typically held together with nails and wood screws, however, a chair or an older house might contain tenon and mortice joints. Skillful woodworkers use a range of various joints for various scenarios, to resist the various forces exerted on the finished piece. Instances of joints comprise of mitre, mortice & tenon finger, bridle, box, housing, butt, dovetail, tongue & groove, halving or lapping joints. Some joints are carried out with simple hand tools, and others necessitate power tools – like domino or biscuit joints, which are intended to save time and are very robust.

What Are the Benefits Of Woodworking?

• It’s about utilizing a biodegradable, renewable, and non-toxic source – wood – for creating useful, eco-friendly and healthy items for you, your family and your friends.
• Hand-made items are unique and attractive, and they make perfect presents.
• Woodworking skills allow you to perform repairs on your home.
• Woodworking is beneficial for you – it’s a therapeutic, meditative, gratifying hobby or career, it’s great exercise and can save you money.
• If you’re really skillful (and proficient), you could think about starting a small business and help take away some money from the omnipresent flat-pack giants.
• The exercise and environmental benefits are higher when you are using hand tools – lower personified energy and no electricity required, simply muscle power.
• The environmental benefits are even greater when those hand tools are “new” to you; a lot of old tools are made of very high-quality steel, unparalleled by tools of the same price today.
• Wood is very endurable; wooden objects can last multiple lifetimes if they’re well-made, and solid wooden furniture is easily repaired. There’s great joy to be had from making objects that can be passed down through the generations; however, even if they come to the end of their lifespan, they can be recycled or used as firewood, instead of going to a landfill.
• It can encourage demand for local timber, and consequently tree-planting.
• Clamps: there can never be enough, and there are several kinds – sash clamps are long metal bars with a changeable shoe; they could be made of aluminum (low cost and light) or T-section iron (heavy and durable). G-clamps and Sash clamps (that attach onto the piece) apply high-pressure, and F-clamps and fast-grip/operation clamps (a modern advancement of the F-clamp) come with rubber heads that won’t blemish the work and are quick-release and low-pressure.

Woodworking Supplies Mesa by Timber Woodworking

Timber Woodworking offers hardwoods in Mesa, Arizona. We specialize in woodworking tools, equipment, and supplies for commercial woodworking cabinet shops or furniture manufacturers as well as the home shop hobbyist. Contact us today, or call if you should have any questions.