Guest author: Eric Sanders - a good friend and a true craftsman

My parents tell a story of walking into our bathroom just in time to witness me, as a toddler, shattering the bottom out of the toilet with a hammer. We have pictures of me around age 3 or 4 on scaffolds with a trowel helping my grandfather lay the block that would become an addition onto his small country store. I guess you could say I got an early start.

Craftsmanship is in my blood

My grandfather was a carpenter and had a small construction business. Nothing like the huge contractors of today, the only thing he would sub out was masonry work. After the foundation was in place the same crew who built the floors and stood the walls also laid the shingles.

I became an asset

While I considered myself working with him since I was a toddler, I actually went from liability to asset at around age 12. I worked weekends and summers with him until I was 17. I gained knowledge and skills during that time that can’t be taught in any way other than through experience.

My dad has skills, too

My father also enjoys woodworking. He has a day job that has nothing to do with woodworking, but he has a well equipped shop at home with the tools to tackle most any project. He built the house that my 3 younger siblings and I grew up in. He, my mom, and my niece still live there today. As far back as I can remember he has had some kind of project to work on in his spare time.

Third generation craftsman in the making

I am now building a house for my family. I have a wife, 7 year old daughter, and 6 year old son. Anytime I am working on our house my son wants to be right there with me. He has always had a natural interest in construction and mechanics. One day he was with me while I was hanging drywall in our new house. I came out of the room I was working in to find that he had been hanging drywall as well. In most every room there was a scrap of drywall with one half-driven nail holding it to a stud. I congratulated him for being such a great helper.

A few years ago I built a toy box for my kids as a Christmas present. My son was around 20 months old at the time. I installed frictional hinges that hold in any position to prevent smashed fingers. Shortly after putting the toy box in their room I came in to find my son sitting it with a Phillips screwdriver, one of the hinges disassembled, and the parts scattered all around him. I was so proud I tear up just thinking about it.

My daughter has skills

My daughter is an awesome helper as well. She has been there to help hold boards, sand drywall, be a go-fer, and help clean up after a job. She has recently been helping my wife paint the walls in her bedroom. She has become very proficient with a paint roller, no drips or runs!

Your craftsmanship skills are your legacy

I have shared these stories because I believe that a craftsman is not something you become, but it’s something that you are. It’s something that starts small and grows. It’s something that is honed through life’s experiences. It is something that is handed down through the generations. Don’t let it stop with your generation. The next time you need a bookshelf don’t go buy a prefab, imported, particle board kit that “requires no tools!” Instead, go pick up some lumber and get to work. When your son, daughter, niece, nephew, or a neighborhood kid asks you 100 questions about what you are doing…answer them. Allow them to help. Start passing your skills on to the next generation of American Craftsmen.