Woodworking (wo͝odˌwərkiNG) The activity or skill of making things from wood. My woodworking is inspired by traditional methods. While modern tools are not abandoned, I do not believe in shortcuts. I use both machines and hand tools. I pride myself in keeping my plane irons and chisels scary sharp. Often I preach that good woodworking starts with quality workholding and sharp tools. Traditional methods include longstanding, time proven joinery (the process of joining multiple pieces of wood together), such as dovetail joints on drawer boxes, mortise and tenons on legs and stretchers, rabbet and dado, with hardwood construction, and hand finished work. I prefer solid wood, but am knowledgeable in educating clients to make thoughtful decisions on design and materials. When is it appropriate to use furniture grade plywood, Baltic Birch, engineered products, and when it is best to stick to solid materials. I prefer classic, naturally derived, oil based finishes, beeswax, paste wax, milk paint, and shellac. These finishes will leave wood feeling like, well, wood. I generally despise creating artful work, and encapsulating it in a plasticy shell that looks best before getting its first scratch. Although durable, synthetic finishes are hard to repair, and not longstanding as it must be sanded down to bare wood. Oil and wax finishes can simply be re-applied.