Wood Manufacturing and Finishing Apprentice

Profile of Craft Joinery, Furniture and Kitchen Manufacturing The Craft of Wood Manufacturing and Finishing encompasses most of the skills required in the manufacture of joinery and furniture products. The areas of work covered are modern, traditional, reproduction and restoration furniture; stairs, windows, doors and wood mouldings; and stains, polishes and finishes.

Skills

The skills required are wide and varied, and include working with metals, plastics and other manufactured materials. The use of all woodworking machines, IT skills and CAD/CAM software knowledge for CNC programming are essential parts of the trade. A sound knowledge of veneering, inlaying, marquetry, turning, carving, jig making, prototyping, maintenance of equipment and developed hand skills is required. At the end of the apprenticeship the Craftsperson will be able to demonstrate competence in the following:

Core Skills Technical Drawing: Drawing in orthographic, isometric and oblique projection, freehand sketching, drawing to scale and in perspective Setting Out: Working off drawings to set out standard or off-standard wood products Breaking out: Producing common wood joints using a variety of machines Moulding: Developing profile cutters and running off wood mouldings Shaping: Making jigs and patterns for use on spindle moulders/routers Sanding: Operating flat and profile sanding machines, evaluating the suitability of coated abrasives for various applications Construction: Assembling by bonding, wedging or using knock down fittings, fitting ironmongery Veneering and Bonding: Planning and preparing panels for veneering and bonding, operating all machines associated with the process Computers: Programming and operating CNC machines to perform complex machining operations Finishing: Applying stain and spray finish to furniture/joinery products