Custom Shop
"Closets are a complementary part of what we do for our customers,” says Jim McAsey, owner of Joliet, Ill.-based M & M Cabinets. “When we do a house project, a closet system is something that goes along with it. We deal strictly through homeowners with new homes from $750,000 and up.”
Finish Line
Stain is a coloring agent used to enhance or change the appearance of raw material. In the case as woodworkers it’s to make the wood product as pleasing to the customers eyes as possible. Stain is not a filler or protectorate just a colorant.
The First Word
It had been two years since I last traveled to Gulf Shores, Alabama, nine months after Hurricane Ivan battered the coastal community with 130-mph winds and a huge storm surge. At that time, the town was just getting back up off the mat – portions of roads that had washed away had yet to be repaired, and sand still sifted across the roads that remained.
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International Technology Showcase
Material Issues
What is the outlook for some of the more popular North American hardwood species?
“Red Oak markets will take on a softer feel over the next few months,” says Barrett “Upper-grade Red Oak will be especially difficult to move, and common-grade Red Oak shipments will slow to flooring plants, many of which will stop purchasing #1 Common altogether. Lower prices will lure Far Eastern, Mexican, European and Middle Eastern buyers to the table and lift Red Oak out of the doldrums during the second half of the year.
Production Line
There are those who are content doing things the way they’ve always been done, and there are those who innovate and create better methods. David Hilker, president of Hilker’s Custom Cabinets, is the latter.
Proving Ground
Jason Davenport began his career in woodworking right after high school, working for a local shop in Minneapolis. Moving through the ranks from shop employee to manager to general manager, Davenport decided two years ago to step out on his own, starting JD Woodcraft, a cabinet and millwork company serving the residential remodeling and commercial development markets in the Twin Cities area.
Sanding Sense
Over the last six years, I have analyzed more than 800 wide belt sanders in over 350 different plants. The problems I have observed can be classified into three major categories: Operational or process problems; Machine adjustment problems, and; Sanding defects. In all plants, most of these problems exist, and unfortunately, the negative results compound. The elimination of these problems is entirely within the control of each plant, but you must have the knowledge and desire to do so.
Supply Side
Since its emergence into mainstream in the late 1990s, the closet industry has benefited from a long list of hardware suppliers and machinery manufacturers ready to make the most of what was then an untapped revenue base.
Target Technology
Think Lean
Trade shows and exhibitions are some of my favorite events. New products, technology, tools and ideas for solutions to problems in my business are all there. I find it is easy to get enamored by the technology, new tool features and equipment, and I enjoy exploring how they apply to my processes.
Trends
Pittsburg State University announced that the Michael Weinig Group of Moorseville, N.C., has installed a major piece of new equipment that will allow students to train on equipment that is both literally and figuratively “cutting-edge.” David Miles, associate professor of wood technology, said the company recently loaned the program a new Raimann ProfiRip KM 310M Optimizing Rip Saw valued at more than $116,000. This is the third gift the company has made through the “Partners in Education” program.
Trends Extra
Overall U.S. woodworking equipment purchases in 2006 fell by less than a half percent from those in 2005, according to data from Equipment Data Associates (owned by Randall-Reilly Publishing – publishers of Modern Woodworking), which tracks and analyzes leases and finances of woodworking machinery and equipment in certain categories from all 50 states.
Machining centers led the increases with a 28.3-percent increase in 2006 over 2005 numbers followed by moulders with an 11.5-percent increase.
Trends Wood Bits
The Woodworking Machinery Industry Association (WMIA) is sponsoring the Wood Component Manufacturers Association’s (WCMA) 2007 Fall Conference & Plant Tour Event, November 5-7 in Grand Rapids, Mich. WMIA will be sponsoring the educational component of the meeting. The program will cover profitability, costing, market trends and forecasts, worker safety, health and productivity; employee training and development, sales and marketing strategies and technological advances in the industry.
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AWFS Vegas
In 1957, the Association of Wood Furnishings and Suppliers, then a supplier chapter of the California Furniture Manufacturers Association, held its first woodworking fair in the basement of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, produced in-house with the help of volunteers. Fifty years later, the show has grown to become an international affair in which buyers and manufacturers gather from around the world to buy and sell the latest products and services related to the wood and home furnishings markets.
AWFS Vegas Booth Listing
AWFS Vegas Product Showcase
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