Matt Cremona (@MattCremona) is best known for his woodworking video channel on YouTube. Primarily self-taught, Matt challenges himself to build beautiful furniture, going so far as to cut and prepare the timber, documenting the forest-to-finished-piece process along the way.
Matt’s background is diverse, with previous work in software development, interface design, and economics. Together we discuss wood, carpentry and essential tools, and producing a weekly video show. Check out his videos and some of his work at MattCremona.com
Show Notes & Links
- Woodworking with Matt Cremona on YouTube
- Matt calls himself a “furniture maker” because he doesn’t focus on pure design
- Matt, a former software designer, learned to build and maintain homes by working for his landlord
- Unlike most woodworkers, Matt will take a piece from forest to showroom.
- Adam Smith wrote about the input of labour into the cost of goods
- Matt studied Business Finance and Vertical Integration
“Everything I have that’s useful in my day-to-day life … I taught myself.”
—Matt Cremona
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“Every time [timber] changes hands, the cost doubles.”
—Matt Cremona
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“Geometry plays an incredibly large part in what I do.”
—Matt Cremona
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Tools
- Milling machines such as jointers, planers
- YouTube, for learning just about anything
- A second monitor (the best tool for a digital workflow)
- Display Fusion, and other Taskbar management apps for dual monitors
- Evernote
- Adobe Premiere
- Stabilization Plugins
- Saws – hand saw, circular saw, mitre saw
Techniques
- Examine your material costs and where you can save money by producing your own
- Hire a guy with a saw mill, rather than try to do that part yourself
- Look for trees that have already fallen or been damaged
- Publish a weekly update to force yourself to do something each week
- Fight to have everything square from the start
- Keep an old computer in your shop and look at your notes
- Shop for used equipment, build your workshop slowly
- Arrange your workshop around your workflow; place first-run tools closer to the door
- Pick a first project before you choose your first tools
- Bring a camera and record events … you never know when you’ll need the footage!
- Learn to use the grain of the wood
Habits
- Combine power tools with hand tools
- Find the time that’s most productive for your (midnight–3:00am for Matt)
- Prepare and eat pancakes every day
- Answer email and connect via social early in the morning, get it out of the way
- Map out “main goals” for each day
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