The Art Of Woodworking

In this write up I will discuss the question; how has the woodworking trade changed over the years? The art of woodworking has been around for thousands of years and has only grown larger and more advanced, but the basics and finished pieces have all relatively stayed the same. My research will date back to ancient Egyptian times and continue through to present day talking about: types of wood working, styles and techniques, and technology enhancements.

Types of Woodworking

There are multiple different types of woodworking. Woodworkers tend to stick to one basic job, these jobs are labeled under different job titles. A couple of the titles I will talk about are: Carpentry, and Joinery and Cabinetmaking.

Carpentry is the oldest part of woodworking.

They would use wood to construct almost all building structures before we started using steel and concrete for the structure of bigger buildings. Housing frames today are still made of wood; due to the expensive cost there would be if we used steel and concrete on such a small building. Carpenters tend to focus more on the framework and forms for the concrete base of houses now. Although they do also build the forms for the concrete in many other construction jobs. Other jobs include setting up scaffolds for tradesmen, installing most of the wood components for a structure, and doing almost all of the major construction work on a house. The article says that, “New fastenings and framing devices developed in recent decades have multiplied the uses for wood in construction and have increased the employment of carpenters.” (Woodworking, 2015, p. 1)
Joinery and cabinetmaking require the skill to fit pieces of wood together to make pretty much anything you can think of that you want made out of wood.

These can range from small objects such as bowls and baseball bats, to cabinets, or even just a piece of art to look at. These can be both functional and a piece of art together or just simple and conventional, whatever is preferred. The text says, “The word joiner was originally applied to workers in the late 16th century who practiced the craft of constructing and installing doors, windows, cabinets, and fittings for houses and ships.” (Woodworking, 2015, p. 1) Today they still use this term for these projects in England. In North America these are put under different titles such as carpenters, cabinet makers, and millworkers. Joinery is usually applied to cabinet makers, furniture makers and shipwright and is one of the highest skills in

woodworking.

Styles and Techniques
From ancient Egyptian times to present our styles and techniques have built over the years giving woodworkers today a vast variety of ways to construct things strong and easily. These have not changed much over these time eras as we still use mostly all these techniques today.
Starting in ancient Egyptian times I will work my way up to present giving examples from different time eras. There have been drawings showing a variety of wood furniture and actual wooden furnishings that have been found in tombs very well preserved dating back to 2000 B.C. Veneering is very commonly used today, it is the practice of gluing thin slices of wood together and is thought to have been invented by the Egyptians. As the article says, “The earliest examples of veneering are over 5,000 years old, found in the tomb of Semerkhet.” (Morgan, 2014, p. 1)
It is also thought that Egyptians were the first to finish their projects, but it is unknown what was used to do so. A finish is the use of a sealant to help preserve and protect them from surface damage. The article also states that they also used “mortise and tenon joints to join pieces of wood. Pegs, dowels, and leather or cord lashings strengthened these joints.” (Morgan, 2014, p. 1) These are both commonly used techniques that are still used to this day.
Around 720 B.C. was when woodworking became a big part in the Chinese civilization. The article reads that “the Chinese developed many sophisticated applications of woodworking, including precise measurements used for making pots, tables, and other pieces of furniture.” (Morgan, 2014, p. 1) This is an important factor in production work in order to make sure all pieces are exactly the same, for example what you see on display is exactly what you will get; if done properly.
Being able to fit a joint together and have it hold without any extra support like glue or nails was first mastered by japan where it was developed.
Woodworkers in the roman empire made aqueducts and waterworks with the help of wooden scaffolding, and built many great things like catapults and battering rams.

Aside from these big and historical projects they also made beautiful furniture that sometimes would represents the arms of animals or mythological creatures. This kind of creativity is what makes woodworking such a beautiful job to do and to observe ones’ masterpiece.

In the middle ages the most commonly used resource for building was wood. As the author states, “buildings were sometimes constructed almost entirely out of wood, from the framing for their walls and roofs to their siding and shingles.” (Morgan, 2014, p. 1) Carpenters were thought of as the most skilled out of all the others. They would create artwork, building little figurines and statues that some of which still stand to this day. These were good times for woodworkers offering lots of jobs since wood was the most popular resource at the time.

As of today we have mastered the art of woodworking as it has grown and it shall only grow bigger and better for the future to come. We have put all of these styles and techniques used and developed over the past thousands of years and incorporate them in all of our products we make today. In return giving us a beautiful and strong piece to admire in the

end.
Technology Enhancements
There is a very important invention that has just recently come available to woodworkers in the past few years. This invention is a table saw called the saw stop. Other table saws will eat right through anything you push into it including yourself. The saw stop prevents you from hurting yourself on the spinning blade; like cutting off a finger for example. The author talks about the safety and portability of the new saw stop and why it is his first choice to use on a job site. The saw stop is a much safer devise to use as the author says, “a former employee cut his thumb on one of those, so the SawStop safety feature would be our first choice.” (Risingeh, 2015, p. 76)
In early history japan developed high-carbon steel tools manly used on their lathes. They were the best a crafting round and curved pieces using these tools. This has given us the ability to create amazing pieces using the lathe today.
The romans were the ones who invented the smooth plane and other types as well. A plane smoothens the wood getting rid of any machine marks that may appear on the surfaces as well as leveling it to be even and easy to sand. The text says that on historian has called the plane, “the most important advance in the history of woodworking tools.” (Morgan, 2014, p. 1)
One tool that is very important today was engineered in the 1990’s. it has the ability to detect the percentage of moisture in wood. This tool is called the moisture meter. The article explains that, “Excessively high moisture conditions can cause wood to swell. This can result in crushed components along with finish and glue failure. Excessively low moisture conditions can damage the wood, too, resulting in splitting, gaps in joints, and lifting veneers and inlays.” (Morgan, 2014, p. 1)

To conclude I believe the woodworking trade has not changed very drastically at all over the past few thousand years considering we still use the same techniques as the ancient Egyptians once used. We have put all of these styles and techniques used and developed over the years together and have incorporated them in all of our products we make today. The only major changes we have made have been advancing the technology to make production faster and safer. As well we have made more job opportunities by splitting the woodworking jobs up into many different specific job categories. I hope this paper will give you a good idea on how the industry has developed and changed throughout history and given us the skills and craftsmanship we have today.