The QEP Woodshop ruled....

I got my initial start in woodworking

under the direction of Marc Ilton,

A very respected teacher of math, woodworking and of course, football.

In my days at QEP, we had state of the art

routers, lathes, bandsaws, table saws and all

the required chisels, clamps and fine woodworking tools. We even had a boom-room, mixing table and a kiln dryer.

One of the most humorous days in the woodshop saw an ill-mannered student

have his custom crafted pump lamp be

tested for aerodynamicity !!!

There was nothing like bringing a hot cup of coffee, your work plans and smelling that fresh cut sawdust and the whirr of the trunnion motors every time you showed up for class.

I loved every minute of woodshop class and many days I regret spending too much time "behind the wheel" in a sales territory. Woodworking does "get in your blood",once you see all that is possible and you learn from every teacher you come across. Call it osmotic learning by exposure, you soon figure out what works and what doesn't then you can also apply that to your life. Two of my grandfathers were absolute marvels of woodworking and were building built-ins and custom pilaster pool tables before they ever saw a catalogue from one of these big boxes. Nowadays most cabinet dealers just catalog order from Kitchencraft,or Ikea-ugh and install. They have lost their skill set and no longer hand-craft anything. I watched a guy get fired from a production line because he missed stopping a roller-coater that went off kilter and ruined at least 100 cabinet doors. This never would have happened if the doors were hand sprayed in an acceptable manner. I don't like seeing too much reliance on CNC or Automation because it forces a cabinetmaker to start using cheesy MDF or Medex. Run an mdf door under a sink tap into the pocket holes and watch what happens...just sayin' ;)

Million dollar homes in high-end neighborhoods do not have MDF doors in their kitchens. Even million dollar Bronte townhomes still enforce solid wood cabinetry as a builder standard option.