Cabinetmaking

Cabinetmakers are experts in using wood to make furniture and cabinetry. The finished products are usually decorative, useful and can even be collector's items.

Cabinetmakers work from detailed designs and can make both mass produced and individually designed pieces. They need to be skilled with their hands and familiar with tools and machines.

Cabinetmakers also need to be experts in both traditional and modern woodwork techniques, such as finish-sanding, milling and gluing.

Some cabinetmakers choose to specialise in particular areas, such as the reproduction of antique furniture or restoration. They can also choose to work for furniture manufacturers or be self employed.

Fast Facts

Many early Cabinetmakers marked their work as a sign of how proud they were to have made the product. They literally ‘put their name to it!
Source: Festool

The arts and craft movement which started in the UK instigated by the artist and writer William Morris during the 1860s spurred a market for traditional cabinet making, and other craft goods.
Source: Triggs, Oscar Lovell (19009) Chapters in the History of the Arts and Crafts Movement