Final Thoughts from Guild Apprentice David Nichols
Below is an interview with our 1st Guild apprentice, David Nichols. He shares his experience and advice for any future apprentices! If you would like to apply to be the next Guild apprentice, you have until May 31st to fill out the application!
What advice would you give to your fellow Guild members looking to do the apprenticeship? I would tell anyone applying for the position not to have a hidden agenda. They are being given a great opportunity to meet Marc and Nicole and to be a part of something beyond their day to day woodworking. The Guild videos that come out of my time with Marc will be a lasting souvenir of the experience. I would caution anyone that this experience should not see this as an opportunity to picks Marc’s brain about how to be a woodworking “star”.
What did you like most about the experience? What I liked most was getting to meet Marc and say “thank you” in person for what the guild has done for me. I look around my house at some of the pieces I have built and I almost can’t believe that I built them. I have learned so much from my participation in the Guild and I know I have found a hobby that I will enjoy for the rest of my life.
People always say learning in person is better than learning online. After your experience with the Guild both virtually and now in person, how would you say the two compare? While I would say that it is more fun to learn in person, I realize that I learn best visually and through repetition so the online learning is best suited to my needs. I frequently refer to Guild videos on how to do specific techniques even if I am not building a Guild project.
Did you learn anything unexpectedly? Yes, regarding all the different joinery, watching (in real time) the steps Marc would take to “sneak up” on and refine the fits to achieve the best results made me realize that I need to SLOW DOWN and enjoy the details.
Do you have a favorite moment? Yes, earning my “gold stars”. There was a couple of times during the month that I made suggestions about the project that Marc liked so much that he adopted them and added them to the project. Holy cow, that was so cool!
Thank you David for taking the time to drive from Kansas City to spend the month of April with us! It was an absolute pleasure getting to know you!
Here are just a few shots of Marc and David in the shop together!
Wood Whisperer staff,
I have taken classes with some of the best known and famous in their field woodworkers today. I can honestly say that Marc has the best combination of knowledge, humor, and easy going teaching Style that have seen and I have seen the best! Well done Marc, you have a lifetime member.
Shawn Nystrom
Quartersawn Creations, Suffolk, VA.
The interview was good reading and help bring us into the experience. Suggest you get a picture of all the apprentices in the rocker for the next calendar.
That’s awesome! How cool. I’ve only done the bookcase project so far, but I’m stunned about how well it came together – a similar feeling to David’s. In the next few months I’ll be starting my Roubo project and can’t wait. It’s been great. You might find that a weekend or week-long in person get together for a short project would yield a lot of interest, such as from those of us who may not be able to swing a month. Either way, the videos are great, but for what it’s worth the combination with interaction through the comments sections and online communications adds an awful lot to the experience. Thanks for sharing this interview.
Hey Eric! Thank you so much for the kind words. We learned a lot from David with this 1st apprenticeship. If you head over to the application for the next build, you’ll see we took the time down from 4 week to 2 weeks. It will be an intense 2 weeks, but Marc thinks he can get the project done with the apprentice in that time.
Hey Eric…great name! I just joined the Guild a few weeks ago and purchased a few of the projects. I decided to start with the Roubo project. I figured what better way to hone my skills than on a work bench that will be hidden in my basement to hide the “mess ups”. I am pleasantly surprised at how beautifully it is coming along. These videos are incredible and addicting. I’m an avid golfer, so I understand what an addiction is. 🙂
As you pointed out, the comments section adds so much to the videos. I’m not only learning from Marc, but from fellow Guild members as well. The experience so far has been amazing.
I can’t wait until my bench is complete and use it for future projects!