mark Hennebury
I made furniture for a "living" for 25 years and it seemed to me that the better work I did the less I got paid. Doing joinery was like sticking hundred dollar bills in the joints, it cost me a fortune. I am not sure if that can ever change, maybe the business of woodworking is best left to businessmen and fine woodworking is best as a hobby. As a business you only have to do enough to get your customers to give you the check, any more and you leave money on the table. I started off doing handcut joinery then progressed through many machines to find machines that did the best work the most efficient way, but at the end of the day I could have made a lot more money doing a lot less with just screws, dowels, plugs and a good finish. The reality is the joinery was done for me, not my customers. It would be nice to think that there was some grading system that raised the level and understanding on the trade, that provided incentive and reward to those who put in the effort and made the grade. I understand that there are competitions and there are famous woodworkers that make good money, but there are many many more great woodworkers that struggle to survive. There are also a lot of terribly bad woodworkers that don't know squat about their trade and they mingle amongst the good ones indistinguishable to the public.
Would it not be something for all to aspire to, to finally "make the grade" and have a five star rating posted on your workshop. A proud moment for all the years of hard work and study.