How fast/slow/efficiently do you work?

[Luke Dupont]

I've been curious for a long time to know how quickly people work, because I suspect that I take significantly longer to complete any particular task than most people!

At least, this is typically the case. No matter what it is, I seem to work much more slowly and carefully than others. Sometimes that's a good thing, but sometimes it's a waste of time.

As I get older, I have more and more time commitments and I find myself needing to work quicker and more efficiently. I suspect that I need to:

1) Work less carefully. I mean, still careful enough not to make mistakes that will set me back (so, having a good process), but less painstakingly careful on tasks that are not so important, IE: I probably obsess over, say, getting boards much flatter than needed, or making joints tighter and neater than necessary, and cleaning up surfaces that won't be seen, etc... And in general, I probably err way too much on the side of "being more careful than I need to."

2) Gain more confidence. This is tied to #1, but what I mean is gain more confidence to work quickly and "less excruciatingly careful" but without making mistakes. This is something that I think comes with practice and experience more than anything.

3) Having efficient processes, and "knowing how to break up tasks" and what step to do next. I spend, probably, a lot of time planning and thinking about the next step and having only a vague idea of what to do first/next/later and how to do it. I mean, things like efficiently laying out all of you pieces or performing some operations before others, or having particular methods for operations, as well as familiarity with making a particular item, can all really speed things up.

I don't know of any way to measure speed objectively, but I'm curious how long it would take everyone to complete a simple project, such as, say, making a small, very simple dovetailed box with a hinged lid and a bottom that is glued on, and just a single set of tails? I think I would spend at least 6-9 hours on such a project, possibly more. I have no idea if that is normal or excessive.

When I see true craftsmen work -- the rare few who actually make a living with their skills -- the thing that always stands out to me is just how quickly and efficiently they work. I'm always impressed that they work not just precisely, but precise and quick, and with a great deal of confidence that such speed requires. Some of it is having efficient processes, and a lot of it I would guess is experience -- knowing just how much material exactly to take off before checking, and having sufficient skill and confidence that you're not introducing error.

I'd like to learn to imitate this to at least some extent and learn to become more efficient myself; the goal being to become more efficient without sacrificing quality.

I've always been of the "Fast is slow. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast" doctrine, or however it goes -- and this doctrine works quite well in regards to specific mechanical skills, such as employed in shooting or Martial Arts, for instance. But I do think that with crafts, it's a little more complicated / requires a little more conscious effort than that.

I'm curious to hear other's experiences, thoughts, and tips regarding this topic. How you work quickly and efficiently, but still accurately, how you determine what level of accuracy is enough, and about how long it takes you to do common tasks / what is a realistic expectation for an experienced woodworker working by hand. I'd really love to know how efficiently people working in the trade and making their living with their skills would take to complete such tasks, and would love to be able to observe them. You can learn a ton just from watching someone work.

Anyway, what got me thinking about all of this was partly how long it's taking me to make a few simple Paulownia boxes, and partly also watching this video of a Thai blacksmith making a machete (not exactly woodworking, but the skill and speed with which he works is impressive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM0Mlt4YgxM)

Similar examples can be found if you watch many Japanese sashimono-shi work. I'm just always amazed at how precisely, but quickly and confidently they work.

I don't expect to match the speed and precision of a craftsman who specializes in one thing and has countless years of experience doing it day in and day out, but I think we can certainly employ the 80/20 principle here and get "much of the way" towards that end, even as hobbiests.

[Prashun Patel]

I see it a different way. Efficiency is about doing the desired level of quality faster. That speed comes from confidence and skill.

Practice. Don’t compromise.

Also the more I do this, I find more time is spent designing and less on actual building. So what I wish I was most efficient at now is using confounded sketch up.

[Luke Dupont]

I see it a different way. Efficiency is about doing the desired level of quality faster. That speed comes from confidence and skill.

Practice. Don’t compromise.

Also the more I do this, I find more time is spent designing and less on actual building. So what I wish I was most efficient at now is using confounded sketch up.

That's actually how I see it as well for the most part, only:
1) I think one needs to test the limits a bit, ie, try to work faster and more confidently and see where the line is that leads to error. The goal being not to exceed it, but to know where it is so that you're not being way too careful as I tend to be.
And more importantly, in line with your points:
2) Think more about the process, IE, what habits can I use to work more efficiently and precisely at the same time? How do I lay things out efficiently? What steps should I do in what order? etc.

I totally agree with regard to designing, as well. I love starting a project with detailed plans of what I'm going to build and exactly what I need and how it will all go together. But I also hate actually drawing up those plans and making all of the thousands of little decisions and measurements before hand, mostly because it is incredibly time consuming, and I'm bad at it. When I do this process, it's always on paper and I try to draw things to scale. But it just takes forever. I'd love to see how people who are really good at this process do it, and/or learn whatever software would be helpful... I really probably should learn to use some program for this.

[James Pallas]

Experience is the key for speed. I try to use a simple rule, if you are going to see it or touch it in normal use dictates the finish required. Knowing your material is also important. Things like knowing what saw to use, is it hard wood or soft wood, how thick is it, is it rip or cross cut, does the work require a back saw? If you watch a good craftsman work you will see them go to the tool box once get what they need and complete a task. It becomes as simple as getting a drink of water, if you are really thirsty you get a bigger container.
Jim

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Not staying organized impedes my productivity in a big way. When I hurry I am more forgetful and prone to make mistakes.

[Tom M King]

Don't push to go faster. Never get in a hurry. Efficiency only comes through experience by always thinking about what you are doing, and what you will do next. Not next tomorrow or next week, but next in your next movement.

Pushing only results in mistakes, and injury. I produce work for a living, and have for 48 years. I have also never been an employee, so our living depends on me producing work. Thoughts are always on what to do next. Other people have a hard time working with me, and it's really irritating to me when someone I'm working with wants to talk about something else. My helpers are strong, and quiet. They know when they need to talk to me, and when not to. I can't listen to music while I work because the speed of my movements are at different rhythms than the music is at any instant.

I remember the last time I needed a Bandaid. That was in 2014. I was helping a friend, and he shot a mishit nail off a hammer in my direction, hitting one of my fingers.

There is no reason to work like this if you are a hobbyist. Enjoy. It may seem like working like I do would be stressful, but after so much experience, it is not stressful at all. In reality, I'm more at ease doing a days work every day than not. I'm almost 72, and still produce a good days work most days. If I didn't, I might actually be 72 years old. My resting heartrate is 54, and it doesn't go up much at any time in the day when I'm working.

[Scott Clausen]

I work very slow, I am still learning and don't want too many mistakes. I am still at the point that I don't want to batch out lots of parts at once out of fear that I will compound my mistakes. All that said, since I have moved to hand tool work I am not in a hurry. I enjoy the process and the new skill being learned. My shop is quiet now without motors and dust control. My goal is to have increased my skill level to a point that once I retire I can get a serious amount of work done in a days work. If I can entertain my mind and keep fit it will be a win.

[john jesseph]

Several things come to mind:

One: easy to lose more time between processes than during processes or procedures.

Another: each time you handle a workpiece, it’s a chance to ruin it or waste time.

I had a woodworking mentor that was very productive. It seems like each time I’d go to his shop, there would be major progress or a complete project done and ready to photograph and ship. When it came to dovetailing drawers, he was painfully slow. His carving wasn’t a lot faster. But he gained ground in other areas, and he didn’t put the tools down a lot.

[Michael Schuch]

When I am working in new territory I do way too much thinking and not enough doing. I like to have everything mapped out in my head before I put myself into a situation where I have backed myself into a corner and messed something up so much that I have to start over.

For projects that I am comfortable with I still move pretty slow. It is a hobby, not a job. In my job a certain level of productivity is expected, in a hobby it is not.

My girlfriend wants stuff done NOW at the cost of cutting corners or not having a clear understanding of the finished product before getting so deep into a project that unexpected things can't be accounted for. It drives me crazy! Over many years we have come more to the center between her way of doing stuff and mine.

[James Pallas]

I’m always interested in these conversations. Sometimes the speed of how quickly things can be done is a mater of how much is done. Everyone gets to work the way they wish for sure. When working with hand tools tasks are not done as quickly or easily as in the machine age. It’s easy and fast to run a piece through a planer flip it and run it again. Not so fast and easy when hand planing. In the past they simply didn’t do anything extra. Today we still do the same even with machines. Just look under your car, sharp edges, paint runs, and overspray abound. Even quality furniture is not finished on the inside unless it’s made from pre finished components. Only doing what is required is not bad work. Of course if you are entering your work in a juried show things are different.
Jim

[Thomas Wilson]

Luke, I think you are a hobbyist like myself. Forgive me if I am wrong. I am an extremely slow worker. As a hobbyist, I am usually doing any particular project for the first time. I spend a lot of time thinking the design through, planning cut lists, estimating materials, and figuring out how to do operations safely and accurately. Because I am an engineer, I make a lot of jigs, even though most only get used once. I am the only person working on the project. Every task is serial. I am retired but I have other hobbies, home and car maintenance responsibility and caregiving responsibilities so my time is only about 6 hours a day most days. So my point is, don’t compare your output to others.

As I examine my own work flow to make it more efficient, I try gang together similar operation. I schedule less challenging activities like clean up for the end of the work period. I am fortunate not to have to put the project away. I try to leave my next task set up so I don’t spend the first hour of the next session standing in the middle of the room spinning around figuring out what to do first. Last task of the day is the next day’s to-do list. I rarely substitute a faster but lower quality technique for the “right” way but sometimes it makes sense.

Lastly, don’t be too hard on yourself. You are doing very well in a difficult situation. Plus, it takes the fun out of the hobby.

[Daniel Culotta]

One thing I like to do is work on efficiency instead of (or maybe in addition to) speed. I usually do that by asking 1) do I really need to do that, and 2) do I need to do it now?

For number one, it's things like: producing a finished surface on a face that'll never been seen or touched, shooting the ends of boards that won't butt up to anything (e.g. end of a tenon), trying to get a mortise depth bang on, trying to get perfectly consistent thicknesses on parts that don't need it, etc. Tasks that don't add anything to the function or aesthetic of a project are time wasters.

Number two is an order of operations thing, and its usually about avoiding doing things twice. Do I need to clean up that face now, or am I going to have to do it again later anyway? Should I plane that edge now to get the saw marks off, or am I going to have to do it again later to square it to the face? Should I flatten that board now, or should I cut i to width first so I'm not planing extra material?

I usually realize both types after the fact and incorporate them as lessons learned. If you consciously integrate them going forward, they become second nature.

Practice, especially for things like sawing to a line, REALLY helps speed things up.

I do this for a hobby, but I have limited time, so I'd rather spend it efficiently on things that matter for the end product.

[Jason Buresh]

As I become more experienced with hand tools, I have gained a different outlook on my woodworking.

I have realized that none of my projects are likely to end up on the cover of fine woodworking. Based on that, I do not stress myself out to the point my work no longer becomes enjoyable.

In the same token, we have such a level of precision today available with CNC and high quality power tools that only a master Craftsman would be able to produce 200 years ago, and even a master Craftsman might not get to the tolerances available today. And for every high end craftsman in the city making museum quality furniture there were dozens of country Craftsman making durable pieces for the everyday people.

What I am trying to get at is I have been trying to not let the woodworking magazines or internet make me feel like my projects are complete trash if they aren't perfect. I would stress myself out about cutting tight joints or having picture perfect dovetails. It wasn't worth the stress for validation from complete strangers on the internet.

Now, I am not saying we should throw care to the wind and get sloppy in our construction, but I try not to let the stress of perfection ruin my enjoyment of the craft anymore. I don't try to plane a board to thousandths of an inch or worry if I make a mistake. It's just part of human nature. I watched a video series on Mike Dunbar building Windsor chairs and he left tool marks on some of his surfaces, saying the old guys didn't worry about it so neither does he, and that it's a reminder that it's a hand tooled surface and a reflection of his skill.

I guess this is a long winded way of saying that perfection should not keep you from enjoyment or completion of a project. As long as I have 110% of my best efforts towards a project, it's good enough for me.

[chris carter]

Honestly, if I wanted to work more efficiently, I would be using power tools.

I do hand tool woodworking specifically because it’s the opposite of my job (self-employed in an unrelated commercial art). I don’t want to have to work fast. I don’t want to have to get something done by a certain time. I’m not going to obsess about Rob Cosman-like dovetails because I just don’t care; I have my own version of “good enough for me to be happy.”

And to be REALLY honest, I enjoy the woodworking and my lowest emotional point on any project is a few days after one is completed. I like the process as much as, or more than, the finished product.

[Derek Cohen]

Occasionally I may have a deadline set for completion, such as a birthday, anniversary, or wedding. For the most part, I am not working against the clock. Nevertheless, I aim to work efficiently, using the appropriate methods and tools for the tasks. I plan out what I will do, both in my head and on paper. The speed comes from knowing what to do, and executing this without indecision. Speed also comes from focussing on one task at a time - sometimes I have to put a project on hold for another, but then the plans I keep enable a continuation without much need to collect my thoughts.

Speed is not rushing at tasks. Take your time, if you need, to get it right. Mistakes cost time. Conversely, do not prevaricate over cuts and joinery - you need to have a “go for it” attitude to get it done and build confidence. It is only wood, and can be replaced. We all make mistakes - knowing how to fix these will give you the courage to not avoid, and the more you do, the less you spoil.

Regards from Perth

Derek