It turns out most people that view my blog videos do so completely outside the confines of the blog itself. Whether it’s via YouTube or iTunes, the majority of my viewers never actually read my intros. For that reason, I usually keep them brief and to the point. But you know what? This is still a blog and so I’m going to make it a little… well… bloggie once in a while.
First, my apologies for the long wait between posts. I could blame Thanksgiving and crazy work travel, but the reality is I hit that inevitable part of every project where I got builder’s block. I had finished all the challenging and creative steps, and was left with a rag tag punch list that included the drawer kickers, fitting the drawers, and closing up the drafty back of the case. Selfishly, I was emotionally done with the project and was already thinking two projects ahead. But guess what? I realized that this is the point of every project that ultimately separates good from great.
It is far too easy to start neglecting details once you get well into a project, but those details are exactly what you as a maker or your customer will come to appreciate over time. It could be the perfect reveal around each drawer front, or the hardwood back that nobody sees but for every few years. Or that the drawers slide perfectly in and out without racking even after the thousandth time. Those are the reasons that make me prideful about my work even years after the fact. I realized then that the first time I start ignoring those seemingly annoying details is when I have to rethink why I got into this craft in the first place. So I promptly got my butt down to the shop and made some good drawers into some great drawers.
So with that preamble out of my system, this episode focuses on those details that really do separate good from great. The things your customer or your wife might not appreciate right away or even in a few years. Heck, even if nobody notices after 10 years, you will still be left with the pride of knowing you did the job right, and you didn’t cheat that tree that may have taken 100 years to yield your stock. Leave the corner cutting to the production shops, not yours.
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