Custom Doors Should Be Straight…Like Our Morals

With every big project, like these custom designed mahogany doors, the pressure builds to keep the project on schedule.

With every type of work there are schedule demands that must be met. Nobody contracts work in a vacuum, separated from the demands and pressures of the market place. Well, maybe in a socialist or communist system they might but not when operating under the constraints of biblical morality and a consumer-driven economy. I understand that these two might be at odds and often are, but that is about the best we will have for the immediate future.

Laboring to Keep Our Word

We try to focus on the biblical morality part of the equation as much as possible. Hence we are trying to treat our customers as better than ourselves, and are committed to laboring as for the Lord, and doing our best to not only keep our word but to exceed it if possible. We want our customers to say “well done” but we also want the God of heaven to say the same.

Making Things Straight

Our morals must be built on God’s Word to be strong and upright. Similarly, custom woodworking projects share the need for level surfaces on which to build. There are a number of new skills for my apprentice to learn while building these custom doors. One is learning how to build a flat door—and I mean, dead flat, no warps or twists of any kind. I taught him to level one of our big workbenches using a 10’ long straightedge and a couple of long levels. If we assemble the doors on a flat workbench, we by necessity, ought to create flat doors.

This is just one of the many ways I work to teach Tim the larger principles of the trade not just have him do needed tasks. Learning the principles for creating a flat surface will be useful for him and in his service for me.