Alan's Angle

A Quarter of a Century at the Woodwork School

I have been woodworking for more years than I care to let on. But in my 25 years at the woodwork school I can tell you that I have seen many trends come and go. So I’m going to be very generous and let you in on a secret; a business idea that could be worth thousands if you follow it through. It revolves around cabinet making.

 

Any decent business idea begins with a consumer need. As the foundation of all good marketing theory, this will be covered on all premium woodwork courses, by which I mean our woodwork course... naturally! As many of you will know, changing law drives changing needs. So when, about 5 years ago, gun owners became required to house their firearms in metal cabinets instead of wooden ones, I had an inkling that there was going to be an opportunity to utilise my cabinet making skills.

 

Imagine, if you will, a high-end gun-owning client. They live in a nice house filled with lots of nice things. A metal cabinet is unlikely to fit in with this décor and so I recommend you harness your cabinet making abilities and offer a product that meets all legal and aesthetic requirements: a metal gun cabinet, faced with wood.

 

Practical Woodworking Tips

Tip 1: when you frame your cabinet you must bare in mind that solid wood doesn't like the expansion and contraction of metal. So you should frame you cabinet with a veneered ply in order to help prevent warping, though you should have a solid wood frame.

 

Tip 2: you should abrade the surface of the metal with a 40-grit sandpaper and spray it with water.

 

Tip 3: in order to fix the wood to the metal, I recommend using Bison PU Max Polyurethane Adhesive which accepts wood movement.

Questions About Cabinet Making?

If you have any questions then please feel free to sign up to our intensive 30-week woodwork course. Although we are not a cabinet making school per se, I always think of our woodwork school as offering a package of different woodwork courses: we have our cabinet making course, our antique furniture restoration course, our furniture design course as well as our practical woodwork course. So if it's just a cabinet making course you're after, then you'd get at least three other woodwork courses thrown in for free!

 

Happy Gluing!

 

Alan