What tip/technique has most significantly improved your WW skill?

I think that this is a very insteresting question and it is difficult for me to pick just one. I have been building “fine” furniture for many years and the only formal training that I ever had was in high school wood shop. Everything else came from reading/internet/just doing it.

So if I have to pick just one I would say that the tip/technique/knowledge that most improved my woodworking skill is the understanding of wood movement. The good news is that I learned about this very early on in the school of hard knocks (ie. practical experience). Since 90% of the pieces that I have built are in my home I was able to witness this wood movement activity. Wow its amazing.

I have currently been very interested in learning more about finishing. I have a lot to learn but I think I am on the right track.

Interesting question. Thanks for asking.
danr

That is a darn good question. I have so much to learn, I don’t even know the proper question at times ;-)) I’ll think about it, but until then, discovering LJ has to be #1! Thanks Martin.

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

1. Taking two passes to center dados.
2. Rout counterclockwise, end grain first (unless inside a frame, then clockwise).
3. Pattern routing jigs with toggle handles.
4. Fine Woodworking Magazine / Online Content

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

It all comes with time and experience and finer tools
can help, but aside from the sensitive philosophy
Krenov’s books installed in my brain, it would have to
be the incredible self-jigging dovetailing and tenoning
saw – the humble bow saw which I made myself.

For me, it was when I finally realized that accuracy was not as important as I once thought it to be. A tight joint is not always tight, depending on the weather. Close enough might be perfect on a changed weather day. I’m not saying that one can just throw anything together and wait for the weather to change. This isn ‘t precision accuracy engineering though. Wood is a living object and always moving. When I realized this, or got it through my thick skull, I was able to begin learning methods to work around that. This allowed me to not only prevent future heartbreak from internal stresses, but it also gave me the freedom to stop worrying myself into an early grave worrying about super duper accuracy. This, in turn, has allowed me to enjoy wood working even more than I did before.

-- http://wddsrfinewoodworks.blogspot.com/

For me it has to be in sanding – always make sure all the swirls, cut marks, and any other marks are gone before moving on to the next grit. Keep repeating this. And I always learned to go one extra grit. A lot of times, going to 220 won’t cut it, you gotta go to 320, or 400 to get that finish you want.

-- Paul, Tennessee, http://www.tsunamiguitars.com

Patience and observation are equal in their importance to what I have learned so far from WW.

-- Raymond, Charlotte, NC -------- Demonstrate the difference!

The most liberating lesson I’ve learned is that good enough is good enough. I fuss to a 1/16 at best, and this allows me to just enjoy woodworking. I’ve even got assemblies that are 1/16 or 1/18 out of square, and you can’t tell!
Oh, and my shop is not perfectly tidy, either.

Sorry, the reason it has improved my skills is that it allows me to focus on the stuff that matter, like show surfaces and the like.

I use to think that my projects never looked as good as the next guys and would get disheartened and want to quit then one day someone said that the reason was that I wasn’t the other guy and that my projects were just as good just different and that’s what gives us our individuality, the fact that we all see and think things differently.
Take Care and God Bless

-- Kindlyoldpoop

When something brakes or doesnt work out the way you want it to, dont get frustrated, just try again and remember its isnt a problem unless you cant fix it. :)))

-- Adam, Ireland, http://adamswoodcreation.com

The sneak up on it method has done a lot for me too but to get there the biggest thing i have learned is the importance of sharp tools. Im just getting my planes and chisels to the point that they are well tuned and as sharp as i can make em and i can see the difference in my projects all ready.

Im still working on patience ;)

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

A helpful item to me was a video by Rob Cosman, The Great Handplane Revival. Good visuals/instructions in sharpening, tuning, restoring and using planes. Helped speed my learning curve.

Working in multiple cabinet shops and seeing the different ways to accomplish the same thing. By letting go of the mentality of “That’s the way its always been done” lets you think outside the box to solve any wood working problem you might come across.

Never stop learning and be open minded about techniques that are different than the techniques you use now.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/