What Is Woodworking? A Beginners Guide
In the simplest terms, woodworking is the skill of crafting wood into items you regularly encounter in everyday life. Cabinetry, furniture, and displays are all examples of woodworking craftsmanship.
Woodworking requires a great deal of knowledge and skills. That’s why most craftsmen spend a lifetime honing their abilities. Over time, they develop a vast knowledge of materials, tools, finishes, and processes.
Woodworking Services
Typically, woodworking services branch into two areas: residential and commercial. Residential woodworking may include kitchen cabinets, mantels, staircases, molding, walls, and floors—anywhere that a homeowner wants to use wood both for its beauty and functional attributes.
Mock Woodworking specializes in serving commercial clients. The company focuses on two areas: Architectural and specialty retail woodworking.
Architectural Woodworking
Architectural woodworking brings to life an architect or building contractor’s vision for specialized architectural details. It may include archways or pillars, seating arrangements, cabinetry, display, or even interesting details added to flooring. Woodwork offers limitless possibilities for enhancing the function and beauty of commercial spaces.
Specialty Retail Woodworking
Mock Woodworking also creates specialty fixtures for retailers and restaurants. This type of work appears everywhere in the store—from the perimeter and storefront to fitting rooms, displays, tables, seating, and more. Specialty fixtures are designed for durability, function, and conveying a brand’s story through the woodwork.
Woodworking Standards
Since woodworking requires extensive knowledge and skill, most woodworkers spend time learning from other master craftsmen. The practice of woodworking changes with the times, giving access to new tools, technology, and materials. As it evolves, craftsmen can meet fabrication and installation requirements with greater speed and accuracy.
The goal with high-quality woodworking is that it not only looks beautiful and meets aesthetic requirements, but it also meets specifications and performs as intended. For that to happen, woodworkers must adhere to standards that govern material selection, millwork, fastening, finishing, and more.
If you want to dive deep into woodworking standards, you can read all about them in the 600+ page guide that governs the work Mock does in architectural woodworking.
Woodworking Manufacturing
Mock Woodwork serves commercial clients through two facilities, where master craftsmen use the latest specialized equipment to craft custom fixtures—for one location or a thousand.
The process of woodwork manufacturing always starts with planning. Project managers help to identify the materials and specifications for the job within a target budget. Once that’s established, the woodworking begins.
- Prototyping: In many cases, a sample or prototype helps finalize decisions on construction details, visual appearance, and final finish. This step is particularly critical with larger-scale production.
- CAD/CAM processing: Engineers utilize industry-specific software to communicate with design professionals and the shop floor. This process allows for increased efficiency, reduced material waste, and fewer errors.
- Finishing: To deliver high-quality, durable, furniture-graded finishes, computerized matching and hand finishing processes are used, along with automated equipment that includes cleaning, spraying, and drying.
- Installation: Installers understand the expectations for final product quality and utilize techniques that reduce exposed fasteners, ensure structural integrity, and minimize touch up.
Mock Woodworking Company
Mock Woodworking is found in homes, institutions, restaurants, and businesses around the world. Mock has produced projects for large retailers such as American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, Bealls, Express, Victoria’s Secret, Vineyard Vines®, and Abercrombie & Fitch. Among the hundreds of Mock’s architectural clients are Huntington Bank, the Ohio State House, Marriott Hotels, Thompson Library at The Ohio State University, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Westcott House, and more.
See how woodwork can tell a story
Explore how woodworking is used in commercial spaces to tell a story and elevate the customer experience. See what Mock Woodworking can do.