Woodworking Network Podcast

Learn, adapt, change, prosper - Scott Grove

Episode Summary

Recent events have changed our way of life and disrupted our way of work. In this, the second of two parts, Will Sampson, editor of FDMC and Woodworking Network, talks with furniture artist and woodworking educator Scott Grove about how shops can deal with the crisis. In this episode, Scott working in the shop during stay-at-home orders and how to find a silver lining in the crisis.

Episode Notes

The Veneer Tech Craftsman’s Challenge has become the premier competition for creative woodworking in the world. With thousands of dollars in prize money, the competition honors the best veneer woodworking in furniture, cabinets, architectural millwork, and specialty products. There are even categories for first-time entrants and student work. In the interest of promoting veneer as a beautiful, natural, and sustainable product, the competition also honors not only creators of fine work but also the distributors and sales people who supplied the veneer. The deadline for entries is June 1, so don’t delay.

Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.

Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.

Episode Transcription

Welcome to the Woodworking Network Podcast where we explore the business of woodworking and what it takes to succeed. I’m Will Sampson.

This episode is sponsored by the Veneer Tech Craftsman’s Challenge.

 

Today we will continue my interview with award winning art furniture maker Scott Grove, but before we get back to Scott, let’s talk about “Learn, adapt, change, and prosper.”

 

Woodworking has to be one of the very oldest of crafts. It dates back to when the first primitive human picked up a stick to use as a tool and then figured that somehow changing that stick by resizing, reshaping, sharpening, or selecting a better stick entirely would help in some task.

As time went on, we humans learned that different kinds of wood worked better for different kinds of tasks. We learned to build things out of wood, using the natural attributes of this amazing material to its best advantage. And, as we soon learned to make other tools out of stone and eventually metal, we learned to apply those new tools to shaping wood.

Now, jump forward a few millennia to the current age. We have brought a completely new world of technology to bear on our woodworking. Computerized, electronic tools now shape wood in ways primitive people could never imagine. Instead of just removing material, we are using additive processes such as 3D printing to build things up from scratch. That also brings us to where we are even changing the material itself, figuring out methods of recombining wood fibers to engineer new wood products and using wood production processes to manipulate other materials besides wood.

All of this really is just a continuation of the same basic process of learning, adapting, and changing to meet new realities either of our own making or out of our control. The current coronavirus pandemic is a case in point. No one predicted or could have predicted the massive impact it would have on everyone and our way of life, including woodworking. Yet, woodworkers do learn, adapt, and change.

I’ve been amazed at how fast so many shops have pivoted to some other kind of production to help in this health crisis. Norwalk Furniture in Ohio is making protective face masks and medical gowns. Timberlane in Pennsylvania shifted from window shutters to face shields. Kindel in Michigan is sewing masks that cover N95 masks to prolong their usefulness. Urban Plough Furniture in Arizona has been making intubation boxes. Cooper Enterprises in Ohio is making cut-to-size cashier shields. The list goes on and on.

In some cases, state designations of woodworking companies as “essential” or “non-essential” have pushed shops to close or change production to officially recognized and supported activities, but most are taking the outbreak in much the same way they would take on any challenging woodworking project. For some, the challenge is crucially existential. How to keep staff on board with little or no cash flowing in? How to deal with customers, co-workers, and business contacts while maintaining safe distances? What to do with downtime when there is no way to keep production going?

And, then there is the uncertainty of what things will look like on the other side of this crisis. What will the economy do? Will customers be ready and waiting to help get business back on track? Or will we have to develop whole new avenues of production and markets? 

As big as these challenges are, I’m still optimistic. Woodworkers constantly learn, adapt, and change. That’s how they will prosper in the long term. That’s how all of us can come out better on the other side.

 

Before we get to Scott Grove, let’s pause for a word from our sponsor. The Veneer Tech Craftsman’s Challenge has become the premier competition for creative woodworking in the world. With thousands of dollars in prize money, the competition honors the best veneer woodworking in furniture, cabinets, architectural millwork, and specialty products. There are even categories for first-time entrants and student work. In the interest of promoting veneer as a beautiful, natural, and sustainable product, the competition also honors not only creators of fine work but also the distributors and sales people who supplied the veneer. The deadline for entries is June 1, so don’t delay. Go to woodworkingnetwork dot com slash challenge and enter today.

 

Now, let’s get back to our interview with Scott Grove about how woodworking shops are dealing with COVID-19.