Just finished my 100th custom cabinet door and it made me rethink everything

I was keeping a rough count in my head, but when I actually wrote it down last night, I hit exactly 100 doors made since I started my own shop. I always thought volume was the key to getting good, just pump them out. But looking at door number one compared to door one hundred, the difference is crazy. The first ones took me forever, the joinery was tight but not perfect, and I sanded the profiles by hand. Now, after that many, I don't even think about the steps, my hands just know. The real shocker was timing myself on a simple shaker door last week. From rough stock to finished, sanded piece ready for finish, it was under 90 minutes. That number changed my whole view. It's not about making a hundred things, it's about what you learn making the same thing a hundred different ways. Anyone else have a specific job count that flipped a switch for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_clark6d ago

Seriously, speed just means you're good at being fast, not necessarily good at being better.

blake7926d ago

Good at being fast" misses the point. Real speed comes from doing it right so many times that you don't waste moves. That's what blakestone was getting at with his friend. The quality gets built into the process through practice. Speed isn't the goal, it's just what happens when you finally know what you're doing.

blakestone6d ago

My buddy Mike is a tile setter. He told me after his 50th shower pan mud bed, something clicked. He stopped fighting the slope and just felt it. The last one took him half the time of the first, with a better drain pitch. He said the count wasn't a goal, it was just proof he'd put in the reps to stop thinking so hard. Your 90 minute door sounds just like that. The skill gets in your hands, not just your head.