Process or Product 

Do you sometimes start a woodworking project and become anxious of how long it will take to complete? Do you feel the project needs to be completed in minimal time? Do you already envision the completed furniture piece and embrace any means to complete it? Instead, we should emphasize process over product when working on a woodworking project. In other words, enjoy the process of designing and making of a unique furniture piece or limited-series of a design.

Process in woodworking involves the selection of wood for a project, the choice of tools, experimenting with new materials, working through design problems, learning new skills, developing new techniques, unleashing creativity, collaborating with other woodworkers. These unique experiences are combined in the journey to create a woodworking project or quality furniture piece.

A product focus instead refers to the outcome. This is where attention is placed strictly on the outcome or finality of our efforts in a woodworking project. I have been on both sides where the product or prize was my sole focus. I would resort to any efficient and most time-saving means to attain this. The techniques and processes selected were to expeditiously complete a step in the project. I derived little satisfaction until the furniture piece or in my case jewelry boxes, were completed.

My work today embraces the process. I see it as a quality over quantity approach. It should not be the number of furniture pieces we create, but the experience of creating each one. Cherishing the process goes hand in hand with the enjoyment of woodworking as a craft and not simply a manufacturing process.

Today, the pressure is on to complete a project or furniture piece within the shortest time. We can thank social media, in particular YouTube for this phenomenon. Furniture pieces are created in mere minutes; video segments sped up to remove any monotony. Shortcuts are taken where attention to detail is no longer a part of the equation. The processes followed are the ones easiest to implement. We no longer challenge ourselves with unique designs. We’re left with furniture designs that lack personality, one piece resembles another. Furniture that is designed to be quickly and simply created. The reality is that it does take time to create uniquely designed furniture, especially when working predominantly with hand tools. For those that follow me, I advocate working with hand tools. It becomes obvious how hand tool woodworking dovetails with the process-oriented mindset I have been describing.

The choice is yours to make. Slow down, embrace the process and furniture making journey or instead have your eye on the prize and achieve it using any means. This talk of embracing the process doesn’t necessarily mean working slower. You can learn new work methods and techniques to craft wood while maintaining an affinity to the wood. Handcrafting with hand tools can often be quicker than setting up a machine. In the years leading to the Industrial Age, large quantities of furniture were produced by skilled craftsmen working in small to medium shops without power. Later, machines were developed to deal with repetitive tasks in a factory setting. To summarize, good design and attention to detail set an outstanding furniture piece apart from ubiquitous designs often seen on social media. 

Author, Copyright: Norman Pirollo (WoodSkills)