It’s time to continue with part III of my Blog post, “Why a cabinet maker is not a carpenter and visa versa!”. First of all, hats off to all of you that have supported my Blog by reading it and liking it :). Its good to know there is a thirst for knowledge out there and it makes me happy knowing that at least a few of you might have already learned something here. So please share this with your friends, neighbors and relatives and get them in on the know too!
If you recall, my last post went over some examples of the different types of carpenters there are. On a side note, realize that I’m not talking about a handyman. A handyman fits into more of a maintenance type of position that pretty much can do it all. If you’ve ever heard the term (which I’m sure most, if not all of you have heard of it), “Jack of all trades – Master at none” would pretty much fit for the handyman depending on the individual’s own skill set of what he or she’s been exposed to and knows from experience with it. A handyman has done the various odd jobs that you’ve needed done and is sort of the all around person to call when you need a bunch of little things done. For example; nail back on a piece of molding that has fallen off. But, you also need a piece of molding replaced because the dog chewed off the corner of it. Or you need some various holes in your walls filled in from your last wild football party where your guests kicked in the walls in protest because your team lost! Then there’s that pesky piece of railing that’s always loose and you need need someone to FIX THE DAMN THING ALREADY… GEESH!
Onward!.. So now you pretty much have the idea about what a carpenter is all about. He builds things pertaining to buildings or homes etc. Some will build a set of shelves for you but most won’t. At least not these days anyway. That’s because if he or she is in business, with all of the licensing and insurance requirements he probably wouldn’t be able to afford to do a small task for you. That is unless he really likes you! It’s probably because you’ve given him work in the past and he or she wants to help you out. Which is certainly a good thing that people still want to help out one another. It should prove that the world that we live in isn’t all as bad as it’s cracked up to be because of all the bad things the news and newspapers constantly bombard us with! I like helping too because it makes me feel good, I care and want to help. Not because I have to.
Anyway, have a look at the some of the photos here. These are cabinet makers doing what they do.
Notice they aren’t (in most cases) swinging a hammer or using a nail gun. However, we do use air tools in the form of staple guns, air sanders and pin nailers quite a bit. But our fasteners are no where near the size of a carpenter’s nail gun that’s for sure. It is definitely the case where size matters! A cabinet maker needs to be expert in his work while building or in the safe operation of machinery, in using the proper materials, finishes and even colors to make you happy with what’s been built for you. He needs to know very many things and I could go on and on. But, I’m saving that for another blog post 😉
I’m really starting to believe in all of you! I believe that you’re now totally getting the idea that there is a big difference between a carpenter and a cabinet maker where we’re not just talking about the size of their nails either! In Part IV of this Blog post, I’m going to go over the differences in yet other types of skilled tradesmen. Where, like a carpenter and cabinet maker, they also use wood as well. Until then… Happy Building things!