Kidder Blaisdell Woodworks

news

2011-02-27T06:54:00.000-08:00

it has been a really long time since I last posted, sorry for that. many things have changed in the shop since November. We are now a team of 6 people, we have bought a new Martin planer and jointer, i am still learning microvellum design software, and i have relocated the dust collector.

new machine

2010-11-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

wow two months since my last post, how time fly's by. So many things have changed since my last post. one of the biggest changes was in our machines, i now have a martin Jointer, which i bought from Boscho Machines in Billrica. I have been dreaming about owning one of these for many years. It is such a pleasure to use, i think it is the finest jointer made on Earth. It is German. This jointer will help us process hardwood faster and better than before giving us supierior surfaces for our hardwood.

IWF Atlanta 2010

2010-09-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

I came back from the show last week. I had a great time, but I always have a great time at that show. I love walking through the isles searching for a new idea or product. It is one of the best times to purchase tools and machinery, because of the show specials. I bought my edge bander at the show 4 years ago. this year I bought some new software. I bought microvellum it was at 15% discount, it is the premier software used by the woodworking industry. It is designed to live over AutoCad which I already have. It has 3d capacity and keystroke 2 dimensional drawings and then it will write G code to run CNC machinery. I have high hopes and expectations on this software to greatly enhance my shop drawings. When I am able to buy a CNC I will already have knowledge of the software.

shutter being installed

2010-09-07T14:17:00.001-07:00

after the shutters are glued up I am ready to fit them in there corresponding opening. It is best if I can do this on-site, that way I can assure that the gap is consistent between the shutter and the extension jamb. Here you can see my use of the plastic shims as spacers.

2010-09-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

plantation shutter louver prep

2010-07-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

In the top three photo's below you can see how I am cutting the pins in the louvers. I am using a plastic pin to go between the style and the louver. the pin is very handy, the first shutter time I made the shutters I made a round tenon right on the end of the louver. Not only labor intensive but not as good as the plastic pin. on the plastic pin there is a 1/32" washer built right in it that separates the louver from the style, which is important to me because I am painting the shutters. I drilled the styles with a cordless drill using a template for each style. the louvers I drilled them as you can see here on the horizontal drill machine(mortising machine). I have seven of the 19 shutters glued up, and am ready to start ordering the hinges so I can get them fitted into their windows. I will stagger the production of these.

2010-07-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

plantation shutters continued

2010-06-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

here you can see the set-up that i used to create the louvers of my interior shutters. basically I milled bass wood to wood 2.25" x 3/8". then I fed them thru the planer on the oak piece clamped to the planer bed (see pic). I had to run each piece first through the one groove on the oak piece and then on the other groove. thus giving me a diamond shaped louver.

Kidder Blaisdell is hiring

2010-06-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

it has been so long since my last post. Many things have gone at the shop since then. perhaps the most notable is the new van. KBWC has purchased a new van for the first time in 12 years. We bought the same exact van, not to replace old reliable but to act as a back stop if the current van breaks down which could be anytime as it has 160k miles. It will take us a few weeks to get the van built out to meet our needs but that process has begun. I am going to set it up the same exact way. In a few photo's below you can see the van with the doors open and fully loaded. this past week the van has been in the welders shop getting a new bumper, it will look similar to the old one but with some modifications.

I feel very happy with where my company is right now. if you compare it to where we were just 3 years ago it is vastly different. As I have said before one of the things that we have done to combat this low profit environment is switch to cash. I don't mean deal in greenbacks. I mean we have started to pay as many vendors as possible on COD terms. this has helped put us in much better control of our cash. it is my goal to build up a cash reserve. I set out to do this at the beginning of 09. By looking at the balance sheet at end of 08 it was clear that the company was operating in the red. the balance sheet now has a much better look, our ratio of accounts payable to accounts receivable has done a complete 180. That ratio is a primary metric for me. since the end of 08 we have cut a debt by a little more than two thirds. If we can do that in a low profit environment than that gives me great optimism about how we will do in a high profit arena. Will that high profit time come again, i don't know. I remain skeptical, but someone corrected me recently about that and said Jeff, your not skeptical your just cautious. I like that yes I am cautious. Caution does not eliminate risk. With the contacts that I have developed over the past two years specifically I have put myself in a position to hire. I have posted an help wanted listing on Craigslist and had some very good feedback.

newest employee

2010-05-18T17:42:00.001-07:00

In the photo below Chris our newest employee examining some table legs that our customer asked us to copy. I am taking pictures so we can further examine them back at the shop, and Chris is getting a close up view. Chris has had a good idea today, he is suggesting that I post the punch-out list for job 133 in the shop. I think that i brilliant, and I did it right away. We should consider having a Kaizen event to make a place for these list where they can go and not be damaged and moved around. It makes me think of my Kaizen event over the past weekend. I bought some stack able containers from graingers and made it into a tote for carrying all the parts that I need when I am installing cabinet doors. The kit contains on type of hinge arm and four types of hinge bases for the different applications and also the screws.

2010-05-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

wood turning

2010-05-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

here I am turning some exterior balusters for my house. I made them out of douglas fir. I don't do lots of turning but I know enough not to get hurt. it took me 35 minutes per baluster at my best time. I needed 14 of them, it was a tedious job, but at times interesting.

wood turning

2010-05-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

our van

2010-05-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

the picture below shows our van with the best set up we have ever had. After 12 years of ownership this set up is the best performing one we've had. You can see here it is fully loaded with kitchen cabinets on two levels and still we have the tools with us. We are here at day one of an install we have the fridge cabinet on the upper level and then all the pedestals for the other base cabinets on the lower level. this particular job doesn't have any upper cabinets so we will start with the base cabinets starting with the fridge cabinet first. I like to start with fridge because it is the biggest and most difficult to move. so that goes in first and everything plays off of that. on the second level of the van I have 55" horizontally across the doors because it is above the wheel wells. the supports for the second level easily come out and store in the van when not in use

van set up

2010-05-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

a day in the cabinet shop

2010-04-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

We are really growing as a business right now, We are having meaningful discussions at our staff meetings. We are trying to make meaningful changes in our shop. We are trying to make meaningful changes in our process. People don't realize how hard it is to build a business at the same time as you run a business. If we could spend our time on setting up a process than we'd have a great process, but we can't we have to spend our time doing the business. The set up process part is done when we have time, which is usually after hours.

We ran into a problem recently where one of the cabinets that I specified was too big and had to be re-built, kind of the ultimate sin in our business. After talking about the problem with Gagan and Chris we where able to come up with a fast way of changing the cabinet. It is this kind of group work that is where we are growing the most, at that time all three of us were focused on one thing. this problem with the cabinet not fitting has made me think of how we can install a sort of check system into our process.

interesting detail

2010-04-20T18:38:00.001-07:00

in the photo's below you can see the top of a column and then a molding that slides down from the column top. the top third of the column is tapered so the molding easily fits over the column and as it slides down it gets tighter and tighter. Gagan made this is the shop. the small molding is one piece, I'm not exactly sure how he made it but it should be noted that the inside cut of the molding is at an angle as to fit snugly to the column on both the top and bottom edge. Nice work Gagan, we can always count on you.

columns for a mantel

2010-04-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

our buisness model

2010-04-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

I was attending a Design Build seminar at a trade show and it was proposed by the speaker to treat your customers like patrons. I completely agree with that, our business model is the same as a restaurant, where the customer is viewed as a patron taking up table space in our dinning room. They will finish meals and return at another time for more meals. the dinning room is our installation capacity, the shop is the kitchen.

the city kitchen

2010-04-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

the photo below is off a kitchen that we did last year. It is in a a high rise condo building, which is very difficult to work in. There are restrictive work hours, a limited time to complete the project and very tight quarters during the job as well as getting in and out of the building. I love this photo because of the diamond pattern lattice, it brings a new texture to the room and adds interest. the ceilings are low and the room is small so we need to do embellishments like this.

Today's staff meeting was again very good. We talked about how we can improve what we do. most of it will come from better planning, in the form of the shop drawings. It is important to note that the shop drawings serve to purposes, and every job has two sets of shop drawings, one that is for the clients and one that serves us in house. I don't mean that in a bad way the clients view of the shops must illustrate in the best way what we are going to be delivering. the shops that serve us wouldn't mean anything to the client they would be to technical and to large to be useful to the client. So it is the latter version of the shops that we talked about improving today. unfortunately most of that work falls on me as I am chief engineer. We talked about putting more info on the shops like an installation schedule like day one day two day three and what items needed to be ready in that order. We talked about using the concept of pull work vs. push work and how we can identify those differences on the shops drawings. it was a fairly lengthy discussion on real things that we can do to improve our process and increase the value of our product. The team that we have right now is the best team that we have ever had, and in this harsh economic climate i think we are going to find opportunity and enter into what could be the golden age at KBWC.

city kitchen

2010-04-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

This blog has moved

2010-04-05T17:07:00.001-07:00

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what makes a good staff meeting

2010-03-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

we had a very good staff meeting this week. there was lots of feed back and even some new ideas. I think now I have a team that will turn into a very effective work group, that is after all what I am trying to achieve. In addition to creating woodwork, being a part of an effective work group is a very rewarding experience on a personal level. Apart from the monetary gains that the members can achieve there is the shared experience of great accomplishment and the satisfaction of working together with other people for a common goal. It brings meaning and purpose to work other than the work. I have four main ideas that I continue to teach to create an effective work group.
1. having a sense of dependency among team members.
2. having a structure and order in what we do.
3. creating a sense of inclusion among team members.
4. having constructive conflict among team members.
why do I do this. because an effective work group will out perform an ineffective work group in any market at any time. The largest most improtant value of KBWC is longevity, I want to leave behind me a woodworking company. to do that we need to be able to compete in good markets and bad markets. Creating exceptional woodwork is one thing, creating a living for myself and employees through making wooden products is another. one thing that I have chosen to do is create a company culture that promotes people working together.

where do we get good ideas

2010-03-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

one of the things that I need to do is continually improve our product in the eyes of the end user. How do I do that? By listening to my customers. I turn to my customers for any creativity in the cabinets, I let them drive the creative process. For that reason it is why I go out and do the installs myself, i want to see first hand how the cabinets are being used and what customers want. One of my side projects is a line of cabinetry called "hungry coyote". It is a bi-product of the economic climate, meaning the highest level of value added engineered cabinets. leaps and bounds more expensive then Ikea but also leaps and bounds higher quality. We have been building this type of cabinet for several years. Recently at a high level meeting with a client an improvement over how we deal with the light molding was suggested during a brainstorm session by a homeowner that I hadn't thought of. I continued to think this idea over because it just made so much sense. We are going to be implementing this new idea right away and probably be using this new way moving forward. this adds value to our clients. Collectively my clients are smarter than I, it's by actually listening to them and thinking over their ideas that we will become a more customer centered business.

interior shutter series 2

2010-03-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

in "this is how we do it" below you will see photo 1 of the shutter series. in photo 2 just below this post the same pile of lumber has been processed once again to it's final dimension(it is deceiving to me, it looks like much more lumber). We also keep the lumber piled up separated for air circulation to prevent further warping. Since we did machine all four sides again today it is important to let all four sides breath equally. At this point all of the styles and rails plus some extra's have been milled on all four sides and are now ready to be mortised.

photo 2 shutter series

2010-03-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

milling rought lumber

2010-03-08T03:48:00.000-08:00

there is a photo that I hope will post here. It is a picture of wood half way through being milled. I was making shutters for a house interior, really nice shutters with solid 6/4 maple rails and styles with balsa wood louvers, I will try to find a picture of the finish product. The photo shows the 6/4 maple stacked up with sticks in between each layer. The reason for this is to let the wood dry out some more. I smoothed out three sides of each board and the next step is to rip these parts to near their finished dimension. before I rip them it is a good time to let them dry out for at least 24 hours. When I smooth out the sides I am exposing new wood cells to the air, when that happens the new cells absorb moisture and that can cause the wood to change shape again. Never try to mill stock like this all at once, if you do it will move slightly. Also when I rip these parts they will again move because of the changing tension within the board. So I will rip these parts in larger than what i need and we will mill them again to their finished sizes. this is one of the area where you can't rush the process, wood is an organic material and it requires patience when working with it.

this is how we do it

2010-03-08T03:47:00.000-08:00

variety

2010-03-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention that you can also see some mahogany doors to the right in that same photo. Door makers is another market that stands on it's own that we compete in. So I have just identified three totally separate markets that we can effectively compete in. These different markets utilize the same asset base and very similar operation processes. This is how I perceive KBWC a woodworking shop that serves the cause of woodworking in many different markets so we will therefore survive any economic climate. It is the goal of this company to get a market share in each of these markets.

variety

2010-03-03T15:40:00.000-08:00

this photo below is one thing that we are striving for here at KBWC, this one way that we continue to challenge ourselves, by doing a variety of things. The wooden counter top is actually a whole other market that we compete in other than cabinets. The black kitchen panel is not only an unusual finish but also another market that we compete in, that being kitchen cabinets and kitchen designers.

variety

2010-03-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

A mahgany top and an oak island panel with jet black finish

panel cutting on table saw

2010-02-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

here is the jig and set up that Gagan and Esteban used to make the raised panels for the cherry doors that I spoke aboubt recently. As you can see it is pretty intense and required resourceful on the floor thinking. But that is the job of a cabinet benchman, to use the tools and resources avaialable to make wood products. Sure it may be easier with the latest cnc machines available on the market but then we would be machine programmers and not woodworkers. One thing that this shop great is our wide variety of skills. We make all types of wooden products, the products are always changing and so is the process. the table saw panel had some advantages down the line in production.

pieces of art

2010-02-23T17:54:00.000-08:00

that is what our client called each one of her doors. She said "each one of these is like a piece of art." she is referring to her cabinet doors. the pictures of what she is talking about is the cherry doors in the previous post. the pictures of the unfinished doors shows all of them together roughly 41 pieces. all solid cherry, a nice raised panel and an applied molding. We cut the the panel mold on the table saw, which actually worked out really well, Gagan said that we didn't have any burns, which we usually get when we make such a large cut in cherry. Also it expedited the sanding of the raise because we could use flat sanding block. the only complication is the applied molding needs an extra cut in it so it beds tight and evenly. you can see the applied molding in the second picture, it is really nice. The finish on these doors is top notch. it is very smooth and very consistent, it looks great in place, and the grain of the paneling is very active and has so much character, it is no wonder that the client thinks they are pieces of art. All the credit for these doors goes to Gagan, and Esteban, they made them and they finished them, and they are beautiful, nice work guys, Kidder Blaisdell would be no where with out you guys.

cherry panels

2010-02-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

2010-02-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

more meetings, better focus

2010-02-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

we are now having brief staff meetings everyday. I think it will help us stay focused on the priorities. The once a week is good, but everyday is better. our priorities are in a constant state of change. Why? because job site conditions are in a constant state of change. our install is dependent on job site conditions. the everyday meeting gives me a chance to take stock on where the priorities stand and make adjustments.
Many of my clients have been telling me that my business model doesn't work. I can't blame them because we are late on some projects, not all but some. at times I think that my model doesn't work. Fact is my model as it is being executed doesn't work, but that is because we aren't executing it the way it needs too in order to work. It isn't working because we are over loaded with work right now and in a state of catch-up. I really need to hire another installer to help me with the install. the system that I am developing for my wood shop is going to work and will be the model for all other modern wood shops. it isn't complicated it is modeled after a restaurant basically. I need to extract myself from such a intense installation role. And spend more time actually running the company.

plumb bob

2010-02-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

here I am setting a door frame. Many comments come out from the guys near by when they see a plumb bob. One guy said to me "I haven't seen a plumb bob out on a job site in years". I don't know what to say, but this is how I learned to hang a door when I was 18 years old, that was 20 years ago. scary but true. I find this technique to be fool proof, the pieace that you see at the bottom of the jamb is temporary, it come outs at the end, but it is exactly the same size in width as the top piece, and cut exactly square. The plumb bob needs to fall on the center and the edge of the bottom board to ensure plumbness and keep the door frame coplaner.

trying to keep up

2010-01-18T16:50:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy that I haven't had time to write any post in the blog since 12-29-09. It is a good time to busy given the economy, I think I might have sold some jobs at artificially low prices to make sure I had work that now we are to jammed out with out the ability to hire additional personal. Although some clients don't want to here that I have hired additional personal, they want me to do the install regardless. That is a compliment to my ability but really unnecessary, I have to respect the wishes of my clients. I don't think that I am all that good at install, maybe I am just immune to it and don't see it for what it is, perhaps I am really good at it and it just seems easy to me. we have hired some help for our install needs, his name is Paul Ferrier out of Stoughton, he is really good and comes in only on a part time basis, 2 or 3 days a week. He runs his own company as a cabinet builder and installer I would recommend him to anyone.

who helps us

2009-12-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

eagle woodworking is where we buy our drawers, that is Patrick sitting at the desk in the photo below, I guess he counting the money or something. no just kidding Patrick we love you here at KBWC. never, ever have I gotten a drawer the wrong size from Eagle. There is something happening at Eagle in the quality assurance department. if they even have departments at Eagle, they are a progressive manufacturing facility so they may not have departments, but either way all the drawers are made to order and always in the time frame the say. Which is a huge help to me, I can order drawers and know when they will be ready, and I can rely on the quality. In this photo you see the front office and also where I pick the drawers up. most folks get the drawers sent to them, but me I like to pick them up. I like to talk to Patrick about production issues, and general economic issues, and just see how they are doing. Behind this office is a huge wood shop that makes only drawers and drawer inserts, I marvel at their success in building just one thing.

drawers

2009-12-15T19:40:00.001-08:00

here is where i get my drawers. they are the only thing we out source. this business is called eagle woodworking, it was founder is still involved with the business. it is one of my favorite place to go. It is a true wood shop manufacturing facility. right hear in Massachusetts. That is Patrick in the photo he is the general manager of the business. In over ten years of buying drawers I have never returned a drawer for any reason.

eagle woodworking

2009-12-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

2009-12-15T19:35:00.000-08:00

2009-12-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

good protection

2009-11-22T17:06:00.000-08:00

I was on one of my jobs today and came across this. I really like seeing this kind of protcetion of the cabinets post installtion. This is one of MacArthur construction's sites, they are a very good builder. They have really good subs and a well run job, and still they go the extra mile to protect the cabinets after installation from accidental damage.

how we do it

2009-11-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

the bottom photo's are of a library that we started installing this week. If you look at the picture of the panel laying flat you will see how I trim the panels to the correct length on the job using a festool skill saw. The tricky part is that the panel molding protrudes beyond the face of the panel so you can see how I used pads that the track of the skill saw ride on. then you can see how they look when they are attached to the wall. this is a mahogany frame with a African cherry burl veneer, it also has a red mahogany stain.

the next picture is of a tool box that I use for high rise condo jobs, where getting tools in and out of the job is very time consuming. So I leave my tools on site in a locked file cabinet that I have converted into a tool box. the whole thing is on casters so it can easily be moved around the site in and out of peoples way. it becomes sort of my site office, and it has many supplies that help not only me but anybody who may need them.

the top pictures are of a kitchen job. the point here is a technique that I am using for leveling the cabinets. You can see the leg levers under the cabinets. I can set the whole bank of lower cabinets that have the skirts applied at a height higher than they are going to go, I can then scribe them as a whole to an unleveled floor. I then take off the levelers and then screw on the plywood skids that the cabinet will ultimately sit on. the height of the shims is equal to the amount that I set the scribes too. it has worked very well.

2009-11-16T18:42:00.000-08:00

2009-11-16T18:39:00.000-08:00

2009-11-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

a good monday for the team

2009-11-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

we had our staff meeting today. We laid out the weekly goals and talked about the long range goals for the rest of the year. We have room for two more jobs that I am hoping to get this week, all my marketing activities of this past year have gotten our work in progress back up to normal levels. So unless these two jobs fall thru I will be sold out until January.

I have made some changes to the weekly goal sheet that I give out at the staff meeting. I started to lay-out a note taking format on the back side of the sheet. Everyone's phone number is now there. I show all the prospective work that we are bidding. And then I show all the current jobs in list format and in a cash flow graph. This way I can manage our responsibilities based on the payment forecast and make sure that they are aligned. The better jobs are the ones where clear production milestones are laid-out in advance and when they are met payment is made immediately. When that happens you have business harmony.

both Gagan and Esteban had some good ideas today. Gagan made a last minute decision to switch tasks with me so I could work on profile machine, instead of driving. quick thinking and observation on your feet gagan. Esteban suggested that we use a close color on the back side of the doors in order to stretch out what last color we have for a job. The back of the doors would be only a shade different. We have a few jobs moving thur the shop that are very close in color. Good thinking Esteban why waste material if we don't' have to.

new equipment

2009-10-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

this coming week I've got some good things coming up. I will be looking at some more jobs and have new contacts to pursue and jobs to bid. WE have a Kaizen event this week. I got a new shaper this week, well new to me that is. It is nothing special but hopefully a solid work horse. It was built on Cape Cod by a machinist, it has 5/16" thick cast iron walls on the cabinet. All the fence movable parts are steel or cast iron, so it should remain true and work well for many years to come. It smaller than our other two shapers, less horse power and a smaller spindle. It has a 1" and 3/4" spindle, I could easily get a 1.25" spindle made so all are tooling fits, or we can use bushings. I do have one 1" bore head so I can use all of our custom blades without problem. I am hoping to set up some more overhead lights in the shop this week. We moved around some more machinery on Monday this past week as our Kiazen event. We moved our sanding machine about 10' in one direction and greatly increased the amount of space in the finish preparation area. Which we immediately filled with the cabinets of job 99. which are really starting to look amazing, I can't wait to start our install there.

door stock

2009-10-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

the picture below is taken from the top edge of a door. You can see clearly how the veneer is on the wide surfaces and the solid wood is on the short faces. This is how it is done throughout the industry, Although Doors of Distinction in Wisconsin still only uses solid wood for their styles and rails. the center material is some kind core, in this case it is strand lumber, I have never used this type, usually we use solid wood core such as poplar or pine, small pieces finger jointed together, I would like to try this strand lumber as I have seen some warpage in the finger jointed stock.
Also in this door one side of the veneer is thicker than the other side, I am not crazy about that, Gagan says it's no problem but I wonder about the effects of an unbalanced stick, ie the thicker veneer will absorb more moisture than the thinner side of veneer.
We didn't make this door, I just took a photo because I am interested in the strand limber core.

2009-10-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

cirles vs parabolas

2009-10-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

I was on the moda cocina web site today. they are a primarily a cabinet maker in Hyde Park, although it looks like they are making flooring and are willing to do Mill work as well. I have to say that is a very good web site, I spent alot of time there it shows that much thought went into it. they seem like a very good company with loads of skill and experience, they have a CNC machine and do thick highly polished finishes.

I attended an NKBA meeting today at the design center in Boston, it was very interesting being the first time I have been there. It is much bigger than I thought, and it looks like the business opportunities for me there are endless. I spent some of my own time looking at the cabinet makers there, all the big name guys have showrooms there. I was attending the student chapter of the NKBA meeting. that is students of the Boston Architectural College. there is another NKBA meeting that I hope to attend Oct 27th, it is a seminar focused around estimating in a bad economy, that one should be interesting.

The work kept going at the shop, Esteban is working on job 119, that is the mahogany library, he is building the panels now but not gluing them up just cutting the parts and getting ready for the glue ups, which we will start to do next. Marlo our newest hire has been working more with the finishing, sanding, priming. Gagan started working on some curved top cased openings for job 99. WE use a vacuum press for doing the laminating. We are making a elliptical top cased opening for this same job. We have made several samples of the ellipse for the client to approve. the first one was a perfect ellipse and it looks kind of stale, perfect circles and ellipses do that when you incorporate them into a design. SO we made another sample with a French curve or better known as the parabola. All the samples are up on the wall where they will be going in full scale for the client to approve one of them. DOing all the samples was is how we provide our clients with better service, we are actually trying to exceed the expectations of our clients.

new web site concept

2009-10-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

It is Monday and that means staff meeting at KBWC. In my opinion the staff meeting is the only time that we grow as a team, it is the only time that we are all together, well that is not entirely true, there are only four of us so every day we are all together. But the staff meeting is where the finger pointing goes on. We talk about the goals of the past and present week, everyones schedule, and any supplies that we need. This meeting keeps us focused on our jobs and the many details of the jobs. It isn't a fancy meeting we hold it out in the shop at any of the work benches. this week we discussed the progress of job 99, and what remains to be done, we went over a few little things that need to be done for job 115. we are going to build a cherry counter top this week that will go in a cabinet show room. this is good for us, we are trying to get more wood counter top work. So any customers that see this wood top at this showroom will be directed to us for bidding. This is just the kind of thing I am interested in. Woodwork for the trades. In this case it's Carol Industries, they are a supplier of cabinets, windows and doors, and many other fixtures, they are located hear in Woburn and have a very impressive showroom.

I was on Dodds Woodworking web site recently and I have to say that is one of the most impressive sites I have seen by a woodworker. What made it different is that they have a video, so the viewer can sit back and watch, no clicking involved, no reading just watching. excellent work Dodds.

keeping our platform wide

2009-10-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

below is a photo of some Shoji doors that Gagan made, beautiful work Gagan. this work was done for FH Perry, one of our most prestigious clients. Below that is a very nice cabinet, single piece we were fortune it enough that when the toe kick was not there we could angle it through a double door.

2009-10-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

kitchen design

2009-09-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

I have been doing loads of design work lately. designing 2 kitchens at the same time, job #124 and job #122. things are going very well, I have to attribute much of my success to my association with NKBA. there is so much that I learned from attending a study group. I am also planning to attend another seminar at Clark next week. Clark has got an incredible showroom, they are the distributor for Wolf and sub-zero. We have had some trouble getting this special veneer for job 119. the vendor sent out the wrong the veneer. They took it back and are sending out the correct stuff, however the problem is that now I look incompetent in the eyes of the client.

our way

2009-09-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

today we were working job number 115, it is in Cambridge, and is a decent size job. It is the first one with this customer. We are doing our best work. I am heading up the install, and so far have been very successful it is not a kitchen but instead many other cabinets laced through-out the house. We have been pretty successful about executing the way we intend. We are trying to mimic how a restaurant serves food. I take the order from the customer and the shop or kitchen prepares the food or cabinets. I bring to the customer exactly what they want in the amount that they want it at the time they want it. I do this by monitoring the progress of the job sites myself. my hands and head are involved. I can maintain several jobs at one time and still make each person feel like they are my most important client. We are trying to execute each cabinet install in a 2 or 3 phase strategy. so I don't bring the items needed for phase 3 until we are in phase 3. when we bring an item to a job site we have a specific intent of installing the item.

new team member

2009-09-24T04:15:00.000-07:00

we have a new member on our team. His name is Marlo. he is 24 and doesn't know anything about what we do. We will train him. The primary advantages he brings is a drivers license, good English skills, fluent in Spanish, and skip to his step. Those are very basic but necessary for a laborer. My goal is to leverage my own time by having Marlo do some goffering that is running around picking things up. I want to also slowly train him in installation and finishing work. When it comes to new employees attitude is the most important thing to me. If the personality doesn't fit then it can bring the whole team down.

new book

2009-09-13T18:09:00.001-07:00

I have started reading a very good book it is called "the goal". it is about manufacturing. The premise is eliminating constraints, and increasing throughput. I really like it so far and have a hard time putting it down, I think it will have a profound impact on how I view my business. I have been thinking more about the wood shop lately and what markets we compete in. So far we do a little bit of everything, which is great in this economy because I have always said that whoever is trained in the most platforms will survive. Other than general survival now I am focused on specializing in providing kitchen cabinets hence my membership and involvement in NKBA, in providing custom furniture to Interior designers, and providing GC's with general mill work. all of these area's I am "not" interested in a public name for myself but wish to sell to the trades and fly under the radar, and in affect help the individual trades make a better name for themselves. KBWC is a job shop that works with wood and similar products I am trying to market to different segments that use woodwork.

job site realities

2009-09-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

the other day I went to do a final install at a small job, just one cabinet. MY final install is where we install the doors and drawers and any shelves, it is the last time I will come into contact with the product. I checked twice to make sure that the job site would be open and I could do my job. When I got to the job the cabinet was covered in plastic all taped up and the painters where preparing to spray all the trim in the house. This happens more than I would like to admit. It's not that it is bad management it's just that the job is managing itself and my clearance comes from people who are not always in touch with the day to day conditions or schedule of the site. So I have to chose how am I going to react, I can leave and chose to come back, or I can try to find out what the real needs are of the painters. In this case I found that had about 2 hours of time before they needed to spray, just enough time for me peel back there plastic and install the fronts and drawer boxes and put the tape back over the cabinet. It added about 20 minutes to my job that day, not that big of a deal.

shop re-org phase 2

2009-08-29T14:15:00.001-07:00

here we have two shots of the shop. each from one end of the main production area. It is a room 24' wide by 124' long. with the idea being that hardwood gets processed on one end and panels get processed on the other end. the two different processes meet in the middle and get assembled and then put into another area for finish prep. We have moved the shop around plenty, it never gets easy. First you have to move the machines , second you have move the electrical supply, third you move the air supply if needed, and fourth you have to move the duct for the dust collection. We find that it is best if we shut down production and do the move all at one time. In this case we started on Friday and then finished late saturday afternoon.

2009-08-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

single piece large face frames

2009-08-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

this next set of pictures is how we install a wall cabinet that has walls on both sides and a face frame that needs to be scribed to both walls. first I hang the wall cabinets. then you can see the face frame setting on some cabinets, it is all one piece with backer boards that slip in around the boxes and to which I screw into to hold it in place. I can put the frame up one side at a time to scribe it against the plaster. And then push it in after cutting away the scribes. I use hollow wall anchors to pull the plaster tight to my scribe cut. In the end you have a perfectly installed tight fitting wall cabinet and a joint free face frame that is eight feet long. This is the best way I have for installing such a cabinet.

2009-08-26T17:46:00.000-07:00

pedestals

2009-08-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

below are a few pictures showing how we set pedestals. This is a new system that I have adopted. What is new is the use of the leveler legs. The beginning photo is the pedestal sitting on the tiled floor. Next is the pedestal sitting at its correct height. After that you will see the pedestal with the support cleats screwed to the pedestal holding it at it's correct height. We remove the leveler legs and re-use them. the pedestal is screwed to the wall at sides and back. The toe kick is then screwed from the back of the pedestal. This is the best most efficient way I have for installing this type of pedestal. We shellac the bottom edge of the toe kick to seal it, and we use 3/4" thick material. One of my goals with the pedestals is to systematize the process of building them as well. Currently we build them at the time we build the boxes and it is done by the crafter who builds the box. I want to build these myself just prior to the install. They are always built the same way and only change in there height. with the right system in place they could be built moments before they are installed it. that would increase our productivity and allow us to offer more competitive pricing.

2009-08-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

NKBA

2009-08-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

I don't think I have mentioned this but I really should. I joined the NKBA national kitchen and bath Association this year. with in that group I have begun to pursue a certificate, known as Certified kitchen Designer CKD for short. I have come to have a great deal of respect for the association, at first I was really depressed at how much I didn't know after 12 years of being in business and a lifetime of woodworking. The first test that I am preparing for is for an Associate desinger certificate, it a 200 question test based on 10 books that the NKBA writes. I have been studying these 10 books over the past 2 months, with the hope of being able to take this test in March. I know that is a long time away but I am not the academic type and I learn slow. The info that I have been learning has been so useful to me and I apply it almost everyday. It is so funny to me how the things that I struggle with relative to design are articulated and explained in these books. My purpose for doing this is to help my clients when designing their kitchen and baths.

the long view

2009-08-16T06:14:00.000-07:00

the other day I was talking to a friend of mine, Joe Kuhn. He is a house painter, out of Lexington, and has a great business. One of the best house painters in the area. I started out doing freelance carpentry for his clients as he was painting their homes, that is home repair. When we were talking he was telling me about conversations that he has had with prospectives clients. He said at one time "I have been doing this for fifty years". That made me think, wow fifty years he must really know his business. I know it's true because he painted my grandparents house with Lead back in the fifties. I really admire anybody who has 50 years of being in business. I have only 12 years now so just 38 years more to go. I know that it is only a matter of time for me.

cleints are always different

2009-08-10T05:41:00.000-07:00

Last week I met with FH Perry builders to talk about the FHP Home devision. Perry is one of the top builders in the area, so it was a huge honor for me to talk with them. When I walked into the conference room I had a few minutes alone at first. I read some left over notes on their white board from a staff meeting of some sort, and what I saw was very impressive. One of the things that really resonated with me was a point about how what is important to one customer will not necessarily be important to another customer. That is something that I struggle with all the time. Just recently I spent much time and money making a beautiful sample door panel for a client. custom design, custom knife, custom finish work the whole bit. Come to find out that the client didn't like it and that the panel design was not that important to them all they wanted was something really simple. A few months later a different client has had me making a dozen different panels, all custom, custom knives, custom panels the whole bit. I never know what my clients are going to perseverate on. It is one of the hardest things to do in my business, we are always trying to anticipate what is important to the client but there is no consistency to it, people are different. I guess now that I should work on trying to read people during the first stages of meeting them to determine where there interest are.

glazing

2009-08-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

A client asked me what does glazing mean. Here are a before and after picture of what glazing has done to the appearences of this applique.

re-org phase one

2009-08-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Gagan and i have spent the last two days re-organizing the shop. WE still have more work to do but we made a good dent. WE have moved the table saw, plywood inventory, and the edge bander all to one section or wing of the shop, where as it previously was in the center of the shop. The idea is that the work in progress will be in the center of the shop now. Our work in progress at the moment is scattered and unorganized. Making it extra challenging to track everything. The re-organization of the shop will make our process work better and help us add value to the product line. One of the benefits of the slow economy is that we have time to do things like this. At the end of this recession the buisnesses that survive will be so much better than before. At the other side of this recession consumers will want more value for their money, and buisnesses will have to show how and what they are doing to add value. in the woodworking shop we add value by streamlining our process and looking at how we do things.

styles and rails

2009-07-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

here are some parts ready for assembly. You can see the mortise and tenon, we use a floating tenon most cases it is just easier and faster to fabricate. There is only one set-up on the mortise machine, and the tenons are cut in lineal stock and the cross cut accordingly. Purest would argue that the joint is not as good. Most of the industry has excepted the fact that a floating tenon is just fine. For us, we are trying to offer our clients a good value, happy ground between price and quality.

another completed kitchen

2009-07-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is our most recently finished kitchen, it is in a high rise that over looks the Charles river. As you can tell it is a modern style. the trick here is all in the alignment, yea it is easy to cut and edge the panels but is it requires great forethought to make sure that every thing aligns.

2009-07-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

love this kind of stuff

catching mistakes

2009-07-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

we are working on 99 and 113 currently, as well as I am installing 77. I have come across a mistake with the cabinets for 99. Only two of them were made to deep, luckily it is a easy fix and we will do that here in the shop. I feel good about it, what is important is that we caught the mistake early and can fix, at all cost we want to avoid having to change things out in the field during install. It is difficult and doesn't look good in the eyes of the client or anyone else that is watching.

113 is a number of Shoji doors for one of our most prestigious clients FH Perry Builders. We are very stressed out right now trying to make sure that these doors come absolutely perfect.

new van interior

2009-07-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

OK, three different set-ups depending on what I need to carry. Hungry Coyote, only what I need and nothing more, everything in this set-up has a specific intent relative to cabinet/millwork instalation.

new rules at staff meeting today

2009-07-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

Now we are at about half capacity of work load. The staff is having to work smaller weeks some down to three days and others limited to 40 no over time. Which is unusual for us, typically we all work 50 plus hours per week. I still work 50 plus. When the guys are in times like these it is hard to create a sense of urgency in the everyday work. I tried to explain today at the staff meeting that we need the same work done in less time. Truthfully, that is what the market demands of us for survival. Something else that i mentioned at the staff meeting today is that from now on Kaizen events will be mandatory for continued employment. I will chose the topics and assign them ahead of time. Being slow for me has its advantages, although I am worried about where the money is going to come from I don't feel overwhelmed by work. I give so much to my work that I over book myself, that has to change. Now I am not overbooked and I feel great about my daily life, I am not playing catch-up, I am caught up. We have made some great advance of our infrastructure in the recent weeks. I will put up some photo's of Gagan's home made vacuum lamination table. Also I re-built the interior of the van, to which I love, and wish I had done sooner.

As for jobs 119, is most anticipated job of any recent time a room 14' x 16' built into a mahogany library, with fire place and shelving, floor to ceiling paneling, the works!!!!! We haven't done a room like this in I think 6 or 7 years. I feel like my life's work will be accumulated here, I am doing the design as well.

Job 99 is taking shape in the shop, a large kitchen, also I feel like my life's work is accumulated here. This is being designed by Whalen Interiors in Winchester Ma. Highly desinged piece of cabinetry coming here, just the base boxes are impressive.

Job 77 is winding down, I can now see the end. I really do hope to do more work at job 77 even after these two areas are complete. It is very important as in all jobs to leave on a note where I exceeded expectations.

beatiful work here

2009-06-28T19:03:00.001-07:00

the pictures of the awning are of last week. I installed the awning, Gagan made the parts from shop drawings that I made. WE used okoume marine grade plywood for the brackets, which are mortised together and then bolted to the walls. You can see a notch in the bracket where the ceiling panel(also made at that shop) slides into the bracket greatly reducing the amount of install time. The roof was framed up of 2x4 fir, built in place.

The next photo is of our most recently completed kitchen. I took a photo of this same cabinet sometime ago. title "my favorite cabinet". I still feel that way, there is something special about this cabinet that makes me really like it. Not to mention how the whole kitchen came out. on arched top doors like this we cannot use concealed hinges because of the pivot point of concealed hinges. the door binds at the arch because the door pivots inside the face frame. So we are forced to use barrel hinges, I like the added look of elegance. not to mention the quality, they out perform the concealed hinges. concealed hinges have some advantages that need to be mentioned, they self close, and also have soft close mechanics. barrel hinges like these require a magnet to hold them in closed.

2009-06-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

2009-06-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

getting radical

2009-06-24T05:53:00.000-07:00

I have some great new ideas on setting up the interior of my van. When I get back from vacation I will be doing the next Kaizen event on that topic. It should take about 2 days. Yesterday I installed a small door awning. I had to do it alone because the staff is busy with their own projects. Gagan asked me if it was faster to do it with two people. It always is faster with two people, but we have to remain spread out now covering more work. The other thing that is balanced is how professional we have to look in the eye's of the customer. This job was directly for a homeowner who has no concern for how we install this awning. Had this been for a high end GC we would have gone out with two people, just look more competent and assure the GC that we don't need extra management. The other thing Gagan is that we have to allow ourselves to get radical. Especially in economical times like these, in any time if a single business wishes to separate itself from the others than it has to allow itself to get radical.

hand-made

2009-06-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Life at the shop has under gone some changes lately. There has been a little shake-out, and reorganization. We are currently at half capacity in terms of work load. I have mixed emotions about it, a positive is that we have more time now to work on assets and infrastructure. both of which have suffered recently because we have so busy we haven't been able to look at either of those. As far as our assets go I want to aggressively maintain and repair any assets to extend their lives. With infrastructure I want to improve work flow, by looking more closely at how we do what we do. Starting out with the paper flow(information flow), raw material flow, finish product flow, and personal flow(this refers to in the shop) Outside of the shop installation that is is a different thing totally. Although outside the shop cannot be forgotten. How the trucks are maintained is very important as well, And I will be spending time with the van, I am actually thinking of revamping the inside of the van totally. New shelving, smaller more effective shelving, it also involves some new portable tool boxes that I need to make. Hand made tool boxes are really the way to go, they will be more effective at holding what you need, and they will last much longer.

wicked killah stair parts

2009-06-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

life of an artist

2009-06-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

I have been looking at my almost finished grape trellis in my back yard. I have been building this for the past several months when I get a chance usually on Sundays. It is a whimsical piece. As I look at it I see all the mistakes I made, that is the trouble with being the creative type, our creativity is our best friend and also our worst enemy. It is a free form piece and the lumber I am using is very limited in size and quantity, I have had the lumber for years that I bought for a song, so the material is very limiting. It makes me think about how can I be creative for other people if I am not creative for myself. What I see is how the second step I took in making this trellis was very wrong and I regret it. That makes me think about how any great painter will say that the first stroke they make in a painting is wrong. I have said this before about installing cabinets that usually when I make a mistake in an installation it is with the first or second move. I have had people in my industry in other shops say that mistakes are for amateurs, and that really affects me because I make so many mistakes, is that to say that I will never be any but an amateur. I don't know.....well for now I believe that if you aren't making mistakes than you aren't pushing yourself forward. If you aren't willing to make mistakes than you will stifle your growth. I prefer to find creative ways to recover from making mistakes. In the mistake with my trellis I can't go fix this mistake I have to live it, look at it everyday. being a builder is in some ways a dismal life because we are constantly reminded of our mistakes. Look at the builder of the leaning tower of Pizzas, until his death he faced his errors everyday he looked at his achievements.

electrical penetrations

2009-06-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

This picture below shows how I cut in a single gang box. This cut out is designed to accept what we call an old work box. I like the metal boxes the best, they have little flanges that go one the ends and it slides from the front into this opening and then the flanges are screwed to the surface. I have made so many of these cuts that I don't have to measure the box anymore I can draw it directly on the mill work. Then I drill with a 3/8" bit at the corners and in the center where the receptacle screw goes. After that it is just a couple of cuts with the jig saw. I usually ride the jig saw on a protective surface so it doesn't mark the mill work.

2009-06-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

everyday scene

2009-05-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

millwork reading for transport up to the fifth floor. Work in a high rise.

big cabinet

2009-05-29T18:41:00.000-07:00

this is our preferred way of doing things. We do as much as possible in the shop a controlled enviroment, and leave only what is needed in the field. In this case it is only to carry this cabinet in and set in place, well we have to scribe it to the floor and attach it to the wall and install the shelves. From the clients point of view it just one day of disturbance.

kaizen event week 20, 09

2009-05-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

The two carts in the photo are a result of the last kaizen event. They are a storage place for all the supplies that we use to wrap up the finish products. Having these products in one place neatly organized will expedite the time spent preparing for an install. Also it will insure that the finish goods are not damaged as they are moved from the shop to the job site.

2009-05-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

new ideas

2009-05-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

in the photo below you will see a height adjustment device screwed to the pedestal of this cabinet. I did not build or install this cabinet. I am repairing the bottom panel that was damaged from a leaky sink faucet. What is interesting about this is that I have had this very thought myself. As I do the installing one of things that is always tricky is leveling the pedestal, but using the leveling leg make it's much easier. the only thing is that it is an added expense. So my thought is to still use my technique of securing the pedestal at it's height by screwing a board to the inside of the pedestal and then removing the leveling leg and using it again for only the purpose of leveling. Each one of these leveling legs is about $5. I want to buy good ones so they'll hold the weight of the cabinet over the years, so that adds $20 to each pedestal. I like the idea of re-using, and still having the strength of the current method of the plywood screwed to the side of the pedestal. I am going to buy a small supply of levelers and give this a try. I will keep them in the same box as the shims it should be an easy thing to try.

2009-05-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

interesting

2009-05-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

2009-05-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

variety

2009-05-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

That is what I love about my buisness. We are always doing different types of work. We challenge ourselves by doing woodwork. Not building the same thing over and over again, but different things that require different thought processes and different techniques.

good for marketing bad for production

2009-04-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

tomorrow Gagan and I will be doing a job that we normally wouldn't do. This job is our first job with the Classic Group, and premier construction company in New England. I have been prospecting them for over a year and finally have been awarded a job. Small all be it but non the less a job, where we can show the PM what KBWC is all about. I have a feeling that one of the principles will be there as well on and off tomorrow. So I shoudl have a good chance to build my relationship with him. Also we will be building our relationship with the PM, because that is a very good person to sell our services to. This job is bad for production (it is only one day and it uses up company assets, and prohibits us from working on our current jobs, but the men in the shop will be carrying on with that) but it is good for marketing purposes, my hope is that it leads into a life long relationship with a very prestigious builder.

day in the life

2009-04-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

a typical scene for me. those are my favorite drills (German). base cabinets here, full-overlay doors, awaiting stone tops.

how we do it

2009-04-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

We have been working very hard this past week on job 77. Again we are modeling a restaurant. Here is how, I as the lead installer am in the roll of waiter, I am taking orders for cabinet parts based on designs and site conditions. I write them by hand on a prepared work order sheet in the same format every time, where all the info is and the bench man knows where to find it. I then take a digital photo of the work order for my records and then I give it to the bench man. the bench man like a line cook will produce the part, using as many prepared parts as possible made by a prep. cook or in my case a prep, woodworker. The finishing instructions are on the work order as well and the work order moves thrugh the shop with the part. This is working very well. before I used to try to identify every single part on a shop drawing or virtual model of the job. This became so intense with huge parts list. The job site is ever changing, in my metaphor the site is the table where I interact with the patrons me the waiter. The needs of the site change due to physical changes in the structure and scheduling changes. Our biggest growth challenges lie in the waiter area. To do what I do requires a good personality, and a true artistic ability, very hard working, and a very good understanding of how kidder blaisdell executes it's work orders.

modeling a restaurant

2009-04-17T17:44:00.001-07:00

staff meeting is really the most important thing to me each week. that is where the rubber meets the road. The staff doesn't realize that, but it's true. I think that we will also being having a production meeting on Wednesday or Thursday morning just to review progress. we will also discuss production needs material and tooling. Now the guys look to me for leadership and inspiration, but the ideal team will use the staff meetings not for inspiration but for help and direction and to offer what they observed during the past week and how we can improve that.

Job 107 is going beautifully, we fell slightly behind this week, but otherwise it is going well. I am taking many pictures of this job and will be posting them soon. Not because they are very glamorous but instead for teaching purposes in house. 107 is in many ways using everything that Hungry Coyote cabinets is all about. the thing that sets 107 apart from hungry coyote is the finish. But the technique of how we are executing the job is hungry coyote, for example it is all full overlay cabinets. but what is more is how we are executing the job. We are modeling a restaurant. we are using standard techniques and modifying the dimensions. SO instead of me giving the bench man huge elaborate shop drawings that they need to decipher I am giving just what they need as I need the parts, I write the parts as the job is progressing during the install giving us last minute ability to make changes, in both production and install sequence. install sequence is huge because the job site is always changing, as well as the schedule. the shop is the kitchen and I am the waiter, the job site is the table. I take the order during the install and client meetings I give the order to the bench man and install the work when the client needs it, many times the client is unaware of how I facilitate the job by bringing in only what they need when they need it. in the shop we are doing prep work as well as line cooking. prep work is where we build parts A and B that turn in to part C when they are assembled. We build parts A and B at different times in production mode with different staff, ideally the farm team is doing prep work.