5th day b58 install

Now we are five days into the install at b58 and things are going great. I realize now that next time we install a large beam again that we need to install a super structure first and then apply the face like a veneer. We made the fronts of the beam actually make up the beam itself. Which is fine but it creates some challenges. It is harder to install and practically impossible to adjust after the install. so you have got to be dead on the first time. The install completely changes the space. In five days we have brought a kitchen into the project. The install was executed perfectly and our list of install ingredients has worked very well. One thing that also helped was the amount of time that we had to prepare. We went over and over and over the parts list tweaking it and refining it. It has paid off. What a pleasure it was to install mill work after mill work that fit together, just a planned. This will be a job that will go down in the history books as smooth. We have a chance to install this one in less time than I estimated which could be a first.
I also need to give credit to the client. His job site is well organized and in good order. We didn't have to move a bunch of appliances around and huge piles off debris. The room was left empty and very clean when we started our install.

install procedure

The install of b58 is going very well so far. We are only two days in and we have two more days to go in this initial install, phase 1. Some things that we could have done differently is to use a better laser, I was thinking that one that can easily adjust to a different height. As far as an installation guide goes I don't know how or where to put the info, I suppose for now I should use a word doc. It would go as follows:
check floors for level
check walls for plumb
check ceiling for level
determine the outside parameters of the cabinetry, in this case it is the refrigerator enclosure, and the banquet, panel, wall cabinet piece.
determine that the finished height of floor and ceiling is accurate to the shop drawings
determine the top line to use as a reference, that is because the bottom edge of the crown needs to relate to the cabinets consistently over the entire cabinet, for us that means that the top inside edge of the face frame or paneling needs to be in this case anywhere from 1.5" to 1.75" below the bottom edge of crown.
Once you know where the top of the cabinet is set all the cabinets and panels from that
snap a line on the floor at 25" from the walls this represents the face of the base cabinets
Snap a line 3.75" inside of that line, that represents the front edge of the pedestals
determine your pedestal height generally we assume a half inch space between the pedestal bottom and the floor for shimming, it is not uncommon for a floor to be out of level by as much as an inch.
I will be working on that as time goes on.

We blew off our Kaizen event Friday. I was just to excited about the install at b58 to pull away. We will jump on that Monday morning, we are going to relocate the dust collection switch. We are going to move it out into the center off the shop. I notice that the collector runs constantly because the on off switch is so far away from the shop floor. my current electric bill is $1000.00. Wow that is big and the motor on the dust collector is huge. Also there is no need to put the wear and tear on the motor if it is not being used, And then lastly it is a waste
of energy.

This week there is another rush job for a61 another box like the trash bins. I need to draw that get them approved and get up to NH to buy the cedar all by wed.

a humbling and exciting day

Today I was humbled, Over at a43 doing the finishing touches. One of them being the final install of the teak top. We were asked to install hardware that would prevent a chest lid from slamming. Gagan was given the task, I was working on the teak top. The interior designers bought the hardware and dropped it off. I was skeptical because I have not been able to find such hardware, EVER. At first Gagan said it can't be done, I showed him another way it might work and he set about on that, then the designers arrived and wanted to know if would work. I told them in no uncertain terms that it was not going to work and they should have heeded my advice when I months ago told them it was not going to work. So then shortly after Gagan comes out of the mudroom saying it works, it works, look look. And sure enough it worked as beautifully as we all wanted. That was the humbling moment. The designers hardware that I had scoffed at and said wouldn't work did indeed work. I know these designers really well and have been working with them for years and they sort of know me thankfully, anybody else would have looked at me as a fool. Have to whatch out for things like in the future.

After that I left Gagan to finish up at that house and I took off in the hopes of making some new contacts. I went to The Van Millwork home series seminar. Some would call that inappropriate as I am a competitor of theirs. But I don't think I make the competitor list. Van Millwork is a huge company, with several showrooms, and their own complete line of moldings that are sold in most lumber yards. I am a five man company clawing my way through the bottom dregs of residential construction. I am a market aggressor no doubt and they are the market leader, for me I was intrigued by the topic of today's seminar. Being Landscape design. The speaker was excellent and had a wonderful selection of photos of which I quickly sketched my favorite images. Her name is Rochelle Greayer of Greayer Designs Associates. I had the good fortune of meeting Rochelle after the seminar, I asked Rochelle where she got her inspiration. With out thought she said "from other designers". What a wonderful answer. I can totally relate to that. I look through all kinds of magazines, and my favorite books of my favorite architects for ideas. I bring this up only because I have been wrestling with design myself lately and chiefly finding and not finding inspiration. If anybody reading this is looking for a landscape architect I would recommend Rochelle.

So then back to my shop to prepare for..............are you ready, install of job b58. I have been waiting for this moment ever since I first starting doing the designs which was back in december. I started doing my lay-out today, upon inspection the walls of the kitchen are perfectly square, and level. That is unusual. I have high aspirations for the install. From this stand point it looks like it is going to go smooth. This will be one of the first jobs that we will be using are new system of tracking every single part, and trying to follow our pre-planned install attack where we decide the job into 3 phases.(see earlier posting for 3 phase break downs)
I am fired up by this install and in four days time i should have much to talk about.

design challenges

Cabinet plans for job b76 are finished, or at least the first version. They are submitted and awaiting critic. I have already started the next kitchen designs, job b77. That particular job Will require more creative effort, it is a type of design that I have not been doing so much lately and it require to call upon a job we did years ago number 16. I am really looking forward to the challenge. I have found it difficult so far mainly because the slate is blank. Until the cabinets take shape it is hard to do. I have to decide what I am going to draw attention to as well as the work flow with-in the kitchen, also what the predominant moldings are going to be.

latest teak top

I installed this top last thursday, I will have to return to the job this coming thurseday to install the back splash and surrounding molding. I couldn't do the job in one day becasue the back splash has to be fitted in between the counter and the sill of a window, we are installing an 8" high back splash. I wanted to reuse the existing teak back splash so we needed to take it back to the shop for refinishing anyways. As you can see from the photo there is an undermount sink going into this top. Most people would think that unconventional to use wood as a material here. But that is why we are using Teak for it's durability, and the finish is toungue oil at least 6 coats applied .

training event

Each post is its own thing. I am really bummed that my first inspiration post didn't come through. We will just have to talk about that again sometime. I oiled this next teak top again today several times including the last time before installation. Before my last coat I steel wooled the top more so than before, which lent to a much more translucent coat. My newest approach to oiling these tops is to apply thinner coats and steel wool more aggressively in between coats with the finest grade steel wool. I don't think I talked about our last training event which was on Tuesday morning. We focused on installation preparation. It all starts when the job is in production. it entails making a list of all the parts needed for a job. It can be a big task for a larger job, we talked about we should break down the larger jobs into segments that can be understood. For the smaller jobs like c74 or the current job a1 it is much easier to make this list. We also talked about how leadership should be shared among the staff and myself. We used this install list as a way for leadership to be shared. Each one of us at the shop can make the install list it shouldn't be me, not all the time. I am expecting my people to take on such responsibilities. The install list is broken down into three main parts. phase one, two, and three. So the thinking is that production only needs to make things for phase one first, as those will be moved through the paint room first and to the job site first. No need to cut shelves for the cabinets until they are needed by the client. And the client does not care when they are cut until they want to use them. We don't need to make pedestals until the day before we need to install them, otherwise they just get in the way, like the shelves. When we are really busy this sort of planning comes in handy. If the client is a general contractor then all that is important to him is keeping the job moving forward. If I bring on a job every single part of the cabinets it just gets in the way of the other workman and we risk damage. So we bring on the job only what is needed to prevent holding up the job. And the items on the phase 1-3 list are laid-out accordingly.

Our meetings

I had to suspend my normal Monday am staff meeting today until Tuesday. Ordinarily that would drive me bonkers. Gagan called in sick Sunday afternoon. There is not much sense in doing the staff meeting with-out him when we can just as easily put it off a day. Well tomorrow we will not only have our staff meeting but also have a two hour training event. How does a small business afford all these meetings? Staff meeting is only about 20min. The two hour meetings happen once every two weeks. We know how much this cost us on a yearly basis and we have budgeted for it. The two hour meetings are based 100% on improving ourselves. The 20min. meetings are based primarily on immediate task completion and teamwork. The times of the meetings are some what flexible and we fit them in between other priorities. We have made the chief objective of the company for 08 to be at the very least holding all the meetings. For each meeting there needs to be a leader some one who prepares an agenda for the meeting. That person receives a substantial bonus from the company. It remains the number one reward for leadership at kidder blaisdell. The next bonus could possibly be for adding content to this blog. Tomorrow's training event will be on shop drawing organization and install game planning. Installs shouldn't be throwing everything into the truck and hoping that it's all there when you take it out and start assembling. I think it should a carefully executed plan with check off lists and ways of measuring how we do.

Colonial Style

I am really focused on designing right now. I have two kitchens that I am working on right now. Where do I go for inspiration. Primarliy I go to my own library, where I have a collection of books both new and old. The last book I bought is called Colonial Style by Treena Crachet. I am not crazy about colonail style but I have to say that as far the cabinets and woodwork go there is much to be offerd. In the cabinets I think colonial is one of the more creative. they did things that really stood out and were different yet very functional. Nothing worse than a cabinet that looks great but has no function. People want both, great looks and high functionality. One of the biggest challenges that I am facing with desinging is using the computer. All of my designs are done in AutoCad 08, I can't seem to get the curves that I want on the computer. I mean I can't draw curves the way I can freehand. I know that it is possible to do so but one I don't know how and two it is a completely differnet expereince. I really need to find another AutoCad tutor.

Our next Training Day

We had to stop the oiling of the teak due to some scratches that surfaced. I have to commend Gagan on that he saw them and said he could sand them out. So he has successfully and we will start again with the oiling tomorrow. Anybody who sees that top is impressed. It is mainly the sink cut out that does it for people, it has such a bold look.
Job b67 is starting to fill up the paint room and drying area. The install for job b58 should be getting under way with in a month can't wait for that. That will open up some space for b67 in the finished goods area. I am prepared to have two installs going at the same time b67 and b58. I think that b58 will primarily go first. That gives me about three weeks to finalize the designs I am working on now. Once the installs start I will lose the majority of my day time. I will need to have work for the team laid out just as if I was away on vacation. Getting time that is uninterrupted is crucial for success, and I can get that out on the installs.
Sondu when you come back to work we can really use you in the finishing area and engineering. Ventura has shown strength in touch-out work or stage three install. In engineering we need you to do more of the shop drawing break downs, and installation instructions.
The design work that I am doing interest me very much and i find it very challenging. My Auto CAD tutor told me that my people would start the drawings and I would finish them. I find that so hard to imagine, it seems to me that the only way to do things is for me to start the drawings and have my people finish them.
Esteban is going to start the wet bar for job b67 tomorrow. I reviewed the shop drawings with him for that today. I was startled at the amount of information that I left off the lay-out. When I refined the lay-out and prepared it for the bench man I also made an install list of parts that can be checked off as the job moves thru production. I think I focused to much on that parts list and not what dimensions and instructions the crafters need.
I think that this weeks training day should be focused on the shop drawings and how that information is presented. I don't want to do a lecture on it I want to sit with the team and talk about what would make their jobs easier and what information is importnat to them. That will have to be monday or tuesday since Gagan is out tomorrow and Saterday

another busy day

This weeks focused work load in the shop is primarily b67. I am very pleased with the progress, we will be so prepared for this install. I am now turning my focus to the items that are most important to the progress of the job and that is the base cabinets which support the counter tops. As soon as I start the install everyone will want to know when we can have the counter top template guys on site. So tomorrow I will send over to the print shop drawings of the wet bar, and the master bath vanity and cabinets. Those will be next to be built. After that we will start with the frig panel for the kitchen and the two base cabinets at the range. It won't be long until I am 80% fabricated with job b67.
I stopped in quickly at job a61, The owner of that project wants another bin similar to the ones we just finished, for his pool. We are also waiting to get some plans from his architect for an exterior bench that I am looking forward to building.
Job b78 is well under way now it is another kitchen. It is a small kitchen and also a fast track job. I told the client today that we could have the job ready in a few weeks, which is true. It is small and not very difficult, and it will require no more than what my team is excellent at. IT is a clear cherry kitchen full overlay style, with shaker style doors, a few drawers, smooth frig panels, stainless steel fronts on appliances. It seems to easy to be true. It will be interesting to see how it turns out and how well we do at it. If I apply all the things that we have applied lately than it should be easy. Basically we break down the install into phases and itemize all the parts. One of the best things about b78 is that it is near one of my favorite lunch places, Boca Grande on Mass Ave. Cambridge.
I installed at a33 today in the afternoon, some closet cabinets. More like closet shelving I felt like California closets. But no matter it was a profitable exchange for me, mostly because I had Maruo help me. He is a building maintenance guy who graciously offered his help, including the clean-up and bringing the merchandise into the building and up to the 5th floor. He saved me an hour of work easily. And on an $800.00 job that hour is where you make a profit, also I didn't get the anticipated parking ticket so I made another $75.00 there. I had good luck with the parking gods today.
Also late in the day I started to oil another teak counter top at the shop. We have to replace a teak top that we installed about 9 months ago. The wood top was glued up incorrectly, and warped shortly after install. I am forced to replace it. It is a costly endeavor I spent $900.00 an the material alone, and my install time will be free taking about a day and a half of install let alone the labor to make it and finish it. But no matter, I like the top and enjoy doing the work so it out weighs the loss. The grain of this piece is very clear and it h as a wonderful natural color. There is a under mount sink in this top, so that adds quite abit to the look of the top. Seeing the cut out in such a thick piece of wood is impressive to me, so I can't imagine how it looks to the lay-man. Gagan did such a nice job making the top he is really a very talented wood worker.

constructive conflict todays meeting

We had a great staff meeting today. I cannot put an exact reason as to what it is that makes one staff meeting better than another. Other than the obvious of how the meeting goes. But what is it that makes me feel like we are better off as a team because of how the staff meetings are is elusive. It has to do with the attitudes of the attendants my staff in this case and that dwells in human nature which is inconsistent. Anyways today I talked about the three things that make an effective work group. I was challenged that it is the same thing that I have said before. But it is repetition that people learn from, and did point out the next step to creating an effective work group.
here are the first three steps:
1.Create a sense of structure and organization, a sort of this is what we do and this is how we do it.
2.create a sense dependency, I depend on my staff to do the work, and they depend on me to keep the business running.
3.Create a sense of inclusion, making everyone feel that they are accepted as team members.
this is what I have be teaching to my staff for several years. I introduced the fourth step last year but with drew it and went back to the first three. Honestly step one is the hardest to do. And my team works the hardest with step one. As for step four.
4. Constructive conflict, conflict is exposed dealt with and quickly put to bed, it is considered where the real growth of the group happens. Our trust for one another increases after a moment of conflict, as long as the other three things are real.
And this is as far as I have come with team building, there is a long road ahead, but we try every day to improve our team building skills, why? Because an effective work group will out perform any ordinary group in any market.

6 jobs one day

Wew, a whirl wind of a day. i went to 6 jobs, three of them were look sees. It all strated off at a75 where I installed 8 drawers. I did it in well under the estimated time. Usually I figure on 15 mins per drawer, that is slide, under mount clips and front. I did some pre-limenary stuff at the shop to the boxes which really helped out. the drawer fronts are always different making it very hard to institute standards for attaching the fronts. Today I installed 3/4" flat panels so I was able to use drawer mounting screws. But I didn't really need them. When I mounted the drawer clips I also predrilled and put in the 1" screw that we used to actually do the attaching, and that is what turned out to be smart and innovative. it really saved time on the site. I was able to cut my install time in half today, granted i did them assembly line style but I noticed less tools being used and faster progression with just that simple step done in the shop. Let me just add here that because of the floor finishers I had to go up a ladder and in thru a window on the third floor. That took extra effort fortunately I am in good physical condition, because it was a work out.
I left there and went to Brookline to measure up for our next teak top. Then off to Weston to spend two hours installing a door and servicing some of my own cabinets.
After that out to b68 to install a drawer in a vanity that we installed not to long ago, that went really smooth I did have to do some adjusting as my prep. was done hastily. I was interrupted by a prospective client early in the morning during my prep. which is ok prospect but it did throw me for a loop several hours later.
After that I went back to c74 to install another medallion, number 145. I think that cabinet is worthy of a medallion. When I got to c74 there were some very nice compliments for me there, The cabinet did look so good. But it was the client that made it really special. They said that if they could live their life over again they would consider woodworking as a career. It reminds me of my clients in brookline where I always see books about woodworking around the house. and I wonder who is it who is studying woodworking. WOodworking is something that everyone can relate too. It is like every one had a grand dad that had a little work shop, in the basement.
I forgot something job a61 after the drawers I stopped there to see how the GC did the install. He installed that cabinet and did a great job. Ricci Bros. is the name of the contractor he runs a really great business. I have taken the most from Dave recently when it comes to dealing with people in a face to face or phone to phone type of situation. I am always learning people skills, and mostly from other people I admire.

more great cabinets

We wrapped up two jobs today, a61 and c74. I haven't seen a61 but I Will tomorrow and I am very excited about that. I worked on c74 today. C74 came out beautifully. I tried some new things and I am very pleased with the results. you can see from the photo, my favorite part is the shapes that come out from the cabinet at the top center. Particularly the way they seem to sprout from the face frames of the open shelving units, we call them unit fours in our shop. that is something new and i really love the interest it creates. The second best favorite thing for me is something that isn't quite apparent from the photo it is the finish. The paint job cam out spectacular, people can't believe that it is wood. It is more than that though. Their is something going on with the moldings and how perfectly straight they are and how that makes the depth of the moldings so apparent. IT isn't just about straight face frames and panel frames it is also the quality of the moldings themselves and how their consistency gives the cabinet a quality that is almost intangible. This cabinet is a fine example of how my team has learned what to do to make the moldings give a piece life. What needs to be remembered here is that different people built and painted and installed this cabinet, not just one person a team of trained people working together built this cabinet, each one knowing what to do and where to stop to let the next person take over. There is much more of this type of cabinet to come as job b67 is very similarly designed. I feel like this is the beginning of a style of cabinets. One other thing that I really like about this cabinet is the crown molding. IT is a two piece crown, I made the bottom piece myself and it is unique to my operation, it also brings life to a ordinary crown that runs through out the room, furthermore it helps out with handling the discrepancies in the ceiling being out of level. It worked very well and was everything I hoped for.

installing c74

today we started the install of job c74. It went ok, it could have gone smoother. I started later than I wanted too today. We got loaded up and were on the job by 10am. I spent a good deal of time preparing for the install yesterday. I broke the install down into two days. one of the big upsets was that I forgot a very important detail. Shortly into the job the client asked me how the color of the back panel looked. right then I remembered for the first time in several weeks that I agreed to paint those back panels different colors. So the two unit fours in the job had to have the backs stripped and brought back to the shop for repainting. It didn't hold things up that much as those who follow this know last minute changes are no problem hear. I was able to shift somethings around, like I installed the base board today instead of tomorrow I did some of the crown. tomorrow morning I'll start with the doors and drawers, and do the unit fours and rest of the crown in the afternoon. I'll bring Ventura with me to do the touch-up, he is the best at touch-up. We had a few other snafoos. The pedestals could have been 3/4" taller, we cut them down yesterday I am not sure why. And the depth of one of the cabinets was different than what I pulled of my PC. What happend there is that I had so many different versions of the cabinet drawn on the drawing file that I mistakenly took the wrong dimension. I also think that not putting the dimensions of the boxes on the plan made it difficult for the installer to figure-out the location of the pedestals and the front edge of the face frames which I like to draw on the plaster when I am doing the install. What would be helpful for the installer is to know the size of the boxes and the pedestals by looking at the plans. which can come from the PC but they need to be sure that they are getting the same dimensions as the bench man. I think that some kind of installation rules should be laid out in the plans. We can still keep all this info on the computer and hence forth be green. But just like a step one and step two and how the pedestals relate to the ceiling and the floor. It should be done in the engineering part of the job.

good employees

This morning I did a plant tour with a prospective client. I really love doing plant tours, I love my wood shop. I love it at the end of the day when the machines are quite and no one is around, I love the shop during the day when everyone is there working. So when I show the shop to someone I feel like there just isn't enough time to talk about all the exciting things. I know that is crazy but I have this enormous passion for woodworking, there is no other way to describe it. This prospect today already has a wood shop of about 3000 square feet and they brought that shop supervisor along today. For me having another shop supervisor in my shop is very special. There is no way that another shop super can cruise thru my shop and not admire the condition. The organization for starters is unmistakable. Right now we have alot of work in the shop for the prospect to see.What was most interesting and uncanny was this prospects last question. We were talking about employees and all that goes with having employees. His question was "how do you plan on keeping the good people that you have now?" It caught me off guard, it is an excellent question. What is uncanny about it is that just yesterday at the weekly staff meeting I talked about the ACE model. Which is how I responded i said "well I have the ACE model, and then described pretty much the same as yesterdays posting." It is an area that I feel pretty well versed in, I have been hiring and firing people for ten years and at one point had 9 employees. What better way to get to know how a business than asking them what they are doing to keep their good employees.

the ace model

there we are in front a61. A new team photo. a61 got medallion number 171 you can see it in the photo. It is such a cool piece of mill work that I wanted to put a medallion on it. These are very nice boxes and already the owner says he wants another one to go near his pool. I am very excited to see this mill work out of our shop we bid those work in November last year. We have so much work in the shop right now that it is getting a little crowded. As b67 continues to get built we will be pushed tighter and tighter. It is now time for me to start designing our next kitchen b76. I have high expectations for b76, I think it going to be a very quaint little set of cabinets, again we are going to build the table, at least I hope. At our staff meeting today I talked about the ACE model.
A for achievement
C for camaraderie
E for equity
Ace is an acronym. The is for the employees. Those are the three main things that I try to offer my people. We are always looking for new ways to define and improve them. and make them more real and tangible. Achievement is done by giving the guys projects that will push their skill level, and improve their knowledge. Camaraderie is done by being friendly with the guys myself, no one wants to come to work to fight. I always try to create an atmosphere of friendship here with myself and the guys and among themselves as well. Equity is one of the hardest things to create. I do that by offering uniforms, having fun events, doing the cash bonuses for leading a staff meeting or kaizen or training day event. I usually have snacks in the lunchroom, that sort of thing. The point of the ace model is to have enthusiastic employees. Enthusiastic employees will out perform unenthusiastic employees. Do we look like an enthusiastic bunch in the photo above, it's hard to get the guys to smile in the group photo's, but I know they are happy to work here. It is a good place to work.

being organized

So it looks like I am not all that I thought I was. There is no way I could have gotten the two rush jobs done in the past two days. I was able to complete the a75 rush job today so that is good, the install took longer than I thought but it went well all things considered. There was a classic thing that happened on the job today. I got there to do the install and there were three outlets and one phone jack right where the unit was going. Luckily the electrician was on the job, normally the electrician wouldn't be around and incommunicado. I did have to do a bunch of unplanned work myself to deal with the outlets and phone jack. It wasn't that bad, and I did have to wait for the electrician to do his thing. The install took every bit of all day. I don't know why nobody caught that. I bid the work and excepted the work site unseen. That is what is to be learned fron this, never assume anything, like the wall is going to be clear outlets because mill work is to be there. It really is because of a lack of planning, many times these types of jobs are just not planned enough in advance, so when the electrician is doing his rough work there is no actual elevation of the wall. Or I suppose it could be that the leadership on the job never did a walk thru before blue board to confirm all the mechanical. It makes me think of something that another contractor said to me about that. He said that he has to leave a job and come back several times to catch all things that are in the wrong place before the blue board goes up. These types of things are what happens in my day to day life of custom mill work.
We had another great compliment yesterday. One of our clients came in to our shop and said "you guys are organized, and I like that". Being organized is how we are different from many other shops. I think it is in large part why we can do so well at what we do. Being organized helps us perform our day to day duties. I personally think that being organized is one of the biggest hidden secrets to success in business. I see some businesses run so scattered that i can't see them making any money at all and if they are making money they sure don't know where or why. Getting organized is one thing and staying organized is another. I try to develop ways in which I can stay organized. There are so many things to organize in my business, the shop, the office, the trucks, and in each one of those is hundreds of little things. My biggest problem is that my time has to go into running the business and not into infrastructure. That is the sure sign of a new business.
To my good fortune the rush job a33 has turned into not such a rush job after all. The property has changed hands now and the new owners are having the floors done. That puts me off by a week. Even though I could not have done it today nobody is going to realize this.

fortune favors the prepared

So far this week is going very well. B67 is well under construction and I will be having to buy more hardwood before this week is over. The president of Raybern came by my shop today to drop off three cans of paint. He did that because he really wanted to do it himself because of how long we have been waiting. i was shocked to see him, never in a million years would I have thought that. It goes to show how the owner of any company wears a sense of pride and concern for the customers that is hard to get in the lower ranks. The lower ranks would have made me wait until the weekend, but the owner knows how important timeliness is. Anyone at the company could have done that, but nobody did what anyone could have. Also my hinges are in for the a61 job and I'll pick those up tomorrow and then we will be one more step closer to completing that job. Our rush job for a75 is going great it will be in the paint room tomorrow and if the client wants installed on Thursday. Our other rush job I will begin the install tomorrow that is job a33 the custom bi-fold doors, and closet shelving. I may be able to finish that install this week if I am able to stay focused and we don't run into road blocks. One of my favorite expressions comes into to play here. "fortune favors the prepared" I will try to play out all things mentally tomorrow morning for the next two days and mentally play out the events to complete the two rush installs. with my team working the way it is now it is possible. If my truck breaks down then we may have trouble.

the most interesting parts

I have just sent into the shop the next three pages for job b67. There is nothing wrong with being a B client by the way. It is just as important to us to have any of the three types a,b,or c. it has no impact on the quality of what we build it has more to do with how we make decisions as a team in the line of duty. But anyway so pages 7-9 were distributed into the shop today. What is important is how the information was presented.
Sondu you will find this interesting but I'm giving out the info your way. I am not drawing and dimensioning the cabinet boxes I am leaving that up to the bench man. I just don't have the time right now. We will see how it goes, I could be proved wrong in this experiment and the credit for this information distribution will be yours sondu forever to go down in the halls of our company. And I'm OK with that actually I am excited about the fact that there are people in my organization who have things to say about how we do what we do.
If I haven't said it already a75 has put on us a rush job so they can complete a portion of their work. We will accommodate them of course, it again puts my team to task of completing a quick turn around job. Which is something that makes us special and me very proud.
We got another great compliment today from a happy costumer. WELL DONE was what he said. this the guy with the beautiful teak top, that I am jealous of. He has every right to be happy it was a smooth job. which says alot because it was a tricky job. That is my strenght when it comes to install, I'll do the tricky stuff myself. You know what I like the most though is that when I called the client today I got a hold of him at a rare moment he was celebrating a new baby on the way. If it wasn't for my business I wouldn't have come across that joy coming out of this guy. It is the people interaction that I really like about this business. Yes you clients can drive me crazy and make me want to kill myself, but usually you are the most interesting parts.

Our best cabinets ever

This past week was very productive for my team. I myself got a good dose of installing, man I love that stuff. Give me an install any day of the week. So we got two jobs installed we made great progress on b67, the curved banquet is looking wonderful. I made some great progress with my new prospects. We had one meeting this week with a potential new "a" client. Job a75 has grown by one cabinet and has brought in money. this next week we should install a61 which will be very exciting to see that piece leave the shop. We have been working on it since December. I also installed the latest teak top which went very smooth and the client is happy. That is client who I said I was jealous of, because of the teak top he got, it came out just beautiful. I had a stressful moment with my finisher this week but it turned out to be some great training for him. Friday I was able to work the entire day on the newest set of shops for b67 particularly the wall of cabinets in the kitchen. I can't wait to see that come into being it I feel like it is my best work thus far. The paper plans never do the cabinets justice. there is nothing like seeing in the flesh.

new foos ball handles

The teak top went very well, I was actually surprized by how smoothly it went. Both of my installs this week went smooth. the teak top and a75. I only have one install next week but that could change. For now it is a set of bi-fold doors at a33. Apperently the property changes hands on monday so that could get interesting. I am hoping that the new owners still want thier bi-fold doors and I will get a chance to meet them and then be able to build theier wet bar and hopefully build more cabinetry.
Gagan continued his work on the bench for b67. Esteban also started his work on b67 this week. Already some of the cabinets are in primer stage hanging out idle in the finishe dgoods area. Next week we'll be full throttle on b67 and probally the week after that. We are going to need paint colors before to long on that job.
I am thinking about taking down a wall in my shop. If I do so I will increase my floor plan by 1000 feet. My main production area will be an enormouus rectangle, it rival the best shops.
After work today I spent an hour and a half making new foos ball handles for my foosball table. I turned them on the lathe, what fun that is.

compete or die

Today I Will be installing the teak top. Yesterday I went to the job and prepared the site, when I was doing so I found a new hammer and pry bar up on the top of the cabinet behind the crown molding, left there by my employees when they did the initial install. A classic, leaving behind the tools up on top of the cabinet, it's not the first time I have found my own tools left on a job and I am sure it won't be the last.
My progress with the fantastic 12 is going well. I'm pretty confident that one of them Will turn into a job with-in a week. I am finding myself doing three times the estimating and prospecting that I was doing a year ago, and barely keeping the same production. But this new sluggish economy has some advantages. First it sort of cleans out the market place and gets rid of all those people who do shotty work, second it makes us all appreciate the work that we do have, and thirdly it has forced me to focus on prospecting. Prospecting has been something that I have been fortunate enough not had to do over the course of my ten years in business, we have always survived on word of mouth. But not anymore, the regular customers that I have had are no longer bringing in work. It is an important lesson to learn and I am thankful for it. The past few months have been financially very difficult with the lack of sales, and I feel like it is my fault for not having the work lined up. One thing that I have learned with all my prospecting lately is that there is plenty of work out there for me it is just harder to find and secure. I still think that there is more opportunity in business in the world than there has ever been, it is all just about finding it. May the best man win, this is America and with that comes the expression "compete or die". this is the society in which we dwell. That explains why we are always redefining what we do and trying to get better at it.

installing at last!!!!

Today I went to work with an excitement. I have not done any installing since c66, which I think was about a month ago. I really love the installation part of my work. It is when I get to see how engineering and production come together. Gagan and I went out together to a75. I felt like a race horse at the start of the race, I had some pent up installing. I have much more installing to do this week, so I should get my fill. Gagan and I had a successful day at a75 all is complete except some baseboard which will go in on Thursday. a75 is a great example of what my business is best at, fast turn around. a75 is a closet bit of cabinetry that was built, painted and installed all in less than 5 days. that is 3 cabinets one of which is a very funky shoe rack, a couple of panels and five closet rods with kleating. It also again shows how the players of my team will over lap with one another to get a job pushed through the shop quickly, with out losing pace with it's existing obligations.
tomorrow first thing in the morning I'll be making a new knife for a33. I think I mentioned yesterday that a33 has sprung on us another rush job. Esteban built the doors today and tomorrow Ventura will start to apply the molding that he will make tomorrow.
B67 is going very well, that job has an elliptical bench which is taking shape. The fact that we are building this bench and table allow us to make sure that the sizing is correct and the final look is seemless. I think that this bench will be a prominent piece in our portfolio. The entire bit of cabinetry will be the finest we have ever made. It incorporates some of the best things that we have done over the past several years.
After installing today I had to put my daily coat of oil on a teak counter top that I am making for a client. The wooden counter tops are one of my favorite things to do. I really love putting on the finish. There is something about smoothing down between coats with steel wool and then applying an even coat. I've been doing that for years and it never dulls. It is like slowly bringing the beauty out of the wood over about 6 days. Each day you put another coat on the wood it reaches another level of quality. The texture that the grain has is what really turns me on, it has pores that create dark shadows with in the natural tone. It makes me think of something one of my old employers used to say. When I was working as a cabinet maker on the schooner Larinda I did alot of oil finishing, and my boss said "We want it to look so good, that is makes you want to take a bite out of it". And this clients counter top looks that good, I am jealous of this man because he is getting one gorgeous top. It's being installed this week and I'll let you know how it goes.

chapter

Gagan took the day off today. No problem, he usually works over 40 hours in a four day period anyway. Job a61 had some of their own painters come in and paint their cabinet. I don't usually do that but we made an exception on this job, they are really good guys. And the truth is that we don't usually do brush painting on big items. a61 is an enormous piece of outdoor mill work, and the paint really needs to be brushed on for proper penetration. So it's better to have these guys here.
We have got an emergency job to push through the shop this week, a33 needs four doors built and installed in two weeks. We can handle that kind of stuff with ease, that is one of the things that makes me proud of my organization we have two solid lines of production that are always going sometimes they are overlapping and the team focuses on one line at a time and sometimes we split up and focus on five different projects, How do we keep it all in check. Our weekly staff meeting, one of the most important things that we do. Once a week we meet and go over the goals on a team level and an individual level. that is where we air out any beefs with each other or the infrastructure(machines, material). I think we should call it chapter. In many ways we are like monks, when you work so long together and everyday it is like living with people. In that scenario their needs to be a place to openly communicate our experience with the past week. To help eliminate resentments and keep ourselves focused on the goals. It's a good place to swap around the leadership roll, we can practice our communication skills. It fits in with the key parts of being a team, that is a sense of structure. The staff can rely on the weekly meeting to get his marching orders for the week and find out what the team maneuvers are for the week.

new knives

Today after doing all the needed things to keep the shop running full tilt I was able to get some time on the profiling machine and grind a new knife. I have a total of three knives to make currently and finished one today. I have had some realizations about profiling. First the knife stock comes in different widths, so it behooves me to buy the widest one as I'll be re-sharpening and in effect making the knife smaller each time I sharpen them. So the knife will last longer. Also it is commonplace to grind an entire new profile into a knife if you don't need the profile any longer. So now I know to buy the widest knife stock. I am still battling with the stylest not matching the grinding wheel in width. I suppose that the problem is that I cannot dress the grinding wheel, those parts on my machine are broken. I'm left with the dilemma of trying to repair these parts or doing it in a different way. This knife I made today came out very beautiful in it's own right. For the most part it is one sweeping compound curve and a quarter round. The grinding wheel discrepancies won't matter on this type of profile, although I do wonder how much cleaner of an edge I would get with a properly dressed wheel I can feel the variations in my hands when I'm doing the profiling. All in time, I need to contact the grindermans association. They don't have a web site which is unfortunate but I do have their phone number.
This week I have been very proud of my team. We are working exceptionally well right now and very hard. c74 is very near complete, and a75 is almost done as well. I did not think that Gagan was going to able to complete a75 this week but he'll do it with ease. Ventura has shown the most progress lately. I never thought I'd say that but it's true. He could be the most improved employee if he keeps it up. There is a review coming for Ventura so this could be an effort to impress me shortly before his review and get a higher rating. Our rating system is the same as many other companies. The best is an O for outstanding then E for exceeds expectations and P for performer and N for non-performance. It is a very simple system and works well.
Tomorrow we have our training day event in the afternoon. We will be talking about how we keep our tool boxes in the shop, and why it is important to keep them orderly. I have my props already prepared, I made two full size drawings of the drawers in plan showing what tools go in which drawers. Then we will go into the shop and make sure that each of the three tool box locations are properly outfitted. The benefits of that are huge. It decreases the time it takes to locate the tools when you want them. It keeps order to the hundreds of tools that we use every day. And it establishes some ground rules for the guys who do clean up. They in theory should be able to pick up a tool and look at the drawing and know where to put the tool.

Our Kaizen event or evento de kaizen

our last kaizen event was focused particularity around a unit 4 cabinet. What we took from it was that we will build face frames per spec. and then the same person who builds the face frame would obtain the box dimensions from the face frame thus eliminating any head scratching about the box size to the box fabricator or the engineering people. It fits in with my vision of the face frames being made on one place by a bench man and the boxes being fabricated by the novices. Before I was having the novices get the box dimensions from the shop drawings. It seemed like good sense to have the novices studying the plan's getting specs. And then the box fabricators(novice) would assemble the face frame to the box. That leaves the bench man building face frame and doors and drawer fronts, and every thing else with the cabinet. Now suppose another one of our hall of famers comes back to work with us, Jose. How will he fit in with type of work environment. well he'd be a bench man building face frames, doors, and moldings, along with side panels, and the such. I'd prefer to see one of the novices building the boxes and assembling the two. But the bench man then needs to work with the cabinet to fit any doors drawers or misc. parts. So perhaps it's better to have the bench man request the box be built in a short turn around time. Or we do what Sondu said which is set the face frame aside until the box built. O.K. then the face frame gets built per spec. the box gets built by the novice, the bench man then assembles the box and the face frame. the cabinet gets prepared while doors and drawer fronts are fabricated.

the best designer in the world

That's extreme. It is how one contractor described me to his client. He followed that by saying at your finger tips. Perhaps that is true the best designer in the world at your finger tips. Being at someones finger tips is something that the best designer can't offer, but I can. At least if you live in the Boston area. I don't pretend to be the best designer in any area, I know better than that. My point is that I'm available, we are not so big that you can't touch us. If you need us to design cabinetry than I can hang with the best of them. I've been studying design my entire life, my experience has demanded good design. It is a great opportunity to work with professional designers but it doesn't always happen that way. when I work with professional designers I learn show much, and remain humble. A professional designed cabinet shows good proportion.
Yesterday we had a kaizen event here in the shop. Sondu led the event. It was a huge success. WE studied cabinet construction, we used our next project as an example job c74, we will start to build next week. You can imagine how helpful it is for us as a team to gather around a work bench and discuss the construction strategy. We discussed how it will be built and assembled. We came up with a strict procedure, that has been developed from our past mistakes. From this event came three more products that are condsiderd push work. Now we have nine standard products for our cabinets. Not visible products but products that are behind the scenes products that the client doesn't care about. It's important to identify the push products so we can make these products once or twice a year and pull them of a shelf as the production requires it. This is perhaps one of the most challenging things for my shop. Why? because my shop is a custom job shop. Every job is different from the previous one. We are constantly changing what we make and how we make it, they are different products. That challenge is also our strenght, being able to change what we build to suit the needs of the customer, we are a customer focused business.
I just came in from the shop, Gagan has made the niftiest sled for the powermatic table saw. He is making half joints for a door where the frame is 3" wide. A very tricky thing to do without practical experience. I'm very impressed with Gagan's work. It is so clean, many guys will use the same tools as Gagan but the work doesn't look clean when it's finished. It's about a touch, and having a good touch when setting up the machines and assembling the work, it's constant concentration to what you are doing, always, never can your attention deviate that is when mistakes happen. I'm impressed with his attention span. It's one of the challenges that I have when I go into the field. I've got mad bills to pay, and so many other things to throw my attention span off my work.

designer

Today I spent the majority of the day working with AutoCad. I am working on the designs for several projects. I think my design sense is one of the biggest differentiators for me in the market place. Of course I am bias. It is based on reason though. In large part I am basing it on my past expereince and the designers that I work with currently. I am fortunate enough to work with some talented people, and thusly I have been able to pick up quite a bit. I feel like I really listen to what people want and need in their cabinetry and I try to make it happen. In a world that is very difficult to make a profit I seem to still gravitate to do things the hard way for the sake of my client. Many cabinet makers will be inflexible and have only one way of doing things. I try to push my designs to do new things that will distinguish my cabinets now and in years to come.
The team is working hard on job a61. It will be complted this week if not than pretty close too. I am excited about getting this job behind us. It is a very different type of cabinet and taking much longer than we thought and costing more in materials. And again that is becasue I am not willing to sacrifice quality.

new job a75

What is most important hear is that 75 is an "a" job, that is what we are seeking. A means repeatable, strategic, and profitable. Those are the customers that I want most. We have other criteria that make up a "a" rated client. That would be that the owner of the business in our case a general contractor or designer(architect) is at the height of their career. Or thru evaluation they are a young buck(like myself) and show promise of being a leader in there chosen field. B clients are nothing to sneeze at either. The two biggest jobs that we have right now are with B rated clients. If you read my blog regularly you'll know that I have a great deal of respect for "c" clients. "c"'s are some of my favorite clients to work for. What else makes a75 good is that it is a fast track job, it needs to be done now, crazy shcedualing for me has really messed things up for me lately(I mean the last three months) it is the nature of my business. Residential construction.....everyone knows that scheduling is meaningless. Unless you are with fantastic builders, which is what I am desperately trying to find. Builders who's schedule mean something and can be counted on. I was at the RDC show last week and met with 13 builders of which I think all are fantastic builders. If I can pick up one new account from that show I will have added an "a" rated client and be so much better for it.

Profiling

Esteban and I ran approximaltey 800' of V-groove today for job a61. IT started out with Esetabn ripping 1x8 into 1x4, and with myself making two pairs of knives. One pari of knives for the groove side and one pair of knives for the toungue side. Making matching knives is quite a challenge for me, only becuase I have on stylus and it doesn't match the width of the grinding wheel. That I can't dress the wheel, that part of my machine is not working. Thru some trial and error I was ablt to pull it off with success. I have learned so much about profiling lately. I really need to find out where to get parts for my machine. ALl this work with matching knives is going to make it very easy to do a single set of molding knives.

cove ovolo

That was it, the last piece that I needed for Regan so she could finalize KBW's first folding brochure. It's the name of a molding type that I reference. Keep your eye's open for this new brochure I think it is well put together and I am proud to have it.

We've started Q2 since I last wrote. I hope economically Q2 is better than Q1. The prospects the I have now seem much better than at the beginning of Q1. One reason for that feeling is because of the Residential design conference that is going on this week. I finally after years of being too busy to attend was able to go. I was very impressed by what I saw there. Next year I will attend some of the seminars, and who knows maybe have a booth there. Some of the booths though were extremely lavish, I don't know if I want a lavish booth or a simple artful booth. either way I made some great contacts with a dozen of what I would consider to be my finest clients. If I get on job that leads into another job that leads into a repeatable, strategic, and profitable relationship with another business than my time has well paid off. Some people said to me that they were there to sell and not buy. I was there to sell also. I really had to leave my comfort zone at the show. Approaching strangers and trying to turn that into business is not a strong point of mine. Once I got started it got easier and then I think I might have been a little to aggressive, I'm sorry if I offended anyone by approaching a booth that you paid for to sell out of, but I have always seen that done at shows and think it's acceptable behavior for that event. I will have a booth at that show and experience the same thing. anyways I consider everyone to be on my virtual team. Even the other cabinet guys, there were some really good mill workers at the show. I mean really good companies, with long success patterns, I learn from those types of guys.
This week we have been deeply involved in job a61. This job is an exterior cabinet, we are building it out of Mahogany, cedar, and okoume plywood. It is going very well and I am quite pleased with how the skeleton is taking shape. This Saturday I hope to make the exterior skin V-groove from 1x8 cedar which I'll rip in half. I bought the 1x8 cedar because it is a better quality wood. I only needed 1x4 but the 1x4 was garbage. I made a decision at the lumber yard based on what I saw. that is why I like to go and buy the lumber, you never know what is there. And you have to make rational choices about what to buy and at what dimensions based on the usage. I can't delegate that to a novice, and I need my experience staff producing not driving to the yard. See I can drive to the yard and make calls, think about business issues, and then select the best wood to be used in my work. a61 is a really different type of cabinet and will be nice to feature because we can show off how diverse our skill is. And being able to build a wide range of wood products is what we do. Using our tools to their maximum potential. It's horizontal organic growth. We are trying to maximize our existing assets.
Job b67 is also being worked on this week. We are building the island. we are starting with the hardest part. Also the job is not ready for final dimensions yet so the island is the only thing that we can confidently build. Apparently Esteban is having a difficult time gluing up the corner posts. I'm going to suggest that we get a slow curing glue for such things, giving him more time to mess around with the alignment of the rails and such.
We have a company training day scheduled for tomorrow. it must go on. It's a company goal to have all of them this year. We made it through Q1 with only missing one, which was done to honor a fallen comrade on the job. I think I will call Sondu tomorrow and see if he is up for leading the training day tomorrow. I want to discuss how we build a unit 4 cabinet. which is a cabinet that sits directly on a counter top or work top so that there is no bottom to the cabinet, and typically one side has a panel. It's a tricky thing to do because we make our face frames first and then the box, on that type of cabinet the face frame has only three parts and doesn't hold it's self in dimension. I want to develop a process for this that we can teach across the staff.

an exceptional day

We installed the a69 doors all day friday. It was a huge day, we worked about 14 hours on the job to get it done. Doors are a finicky thing and they require special attetion, and a special skill set. We were both very tired at the end of the day, Gagan and I that is. I suppose I should speak for myself I was very tired and sore the next day. The doors were very heavy and big and there was alot of moving them around. taking them on and off the hinges to make all the needed adjustments.
We are into a new week and now we have new goals. we back to working on job b58 and b67. I'm going to meet with the people from b58 today and possibly get more work at that job, I think some bathroom cabinetry and media cabinetry, so I'm excited about that prospect.
Today we are going to a33 to install some closet shelving. I hope to also get more work from that job, as the units are sold off. HOpefully the new buyers will want some more cabinets.

achieving our goals

Job a69 is wrapping up nicely. We have an intense day tomorrow, but I don't see any reason why we can't get it done. Both Gagan and myself will leave at the crack of dawn and drive to the job it will take us 90 mins to get there. We'll arrive at 7am. The doors that we are building for a69 are very impressive. Two out of the four are 2 1/8" thick, with glass panels. The size of the doors are daunting, the scale will really impress anybody. The good part is that all we are doing is hanging them and applying the weather stripping. Honestly that is my favorite part of installing the doors I find the hardware to be a bit boring. This job is our second municiple job, I hope we get many more. I like the municiple jobs, I like thier professionalism. The wood products are specified by architects. I like building things that are specified, it gives me great satisfaction that we can deliver goods per spec. It was a major goal of this week to complete a69 100%, and we will have done it barring and snafus tomorrow.

Esteban was able to ressume work on job b58 today. B58 is a major problem right now, the job is going no where and I mean the job site, it's like it's stagnating. I really don't like building cabinets this long before the install date. I don't like haveing all these cabinets hanging around the shop. It is a demoralizer to my team to see their work linger. I like cabinets to be built just as they are needed. However, b58 will be the best kitchen we have ever built and installed, it is a kitchen that I designed which makes me proud and all the more anxious to install and see it come into fruition. I think it will be ready for install in the next month perhaps a little longer we can only wait and see. I'm also excited about meeting the client and designer to find out about the their other cabinet needs. We have been talking about these for months but unable to make progress hopefully our scedualed meeting on Monday will finalize that and I'll be able to submit a proposal for that work.

skillers pants are the best

I love my new skillers pants. I have had them now for about two months. The are the greatest thing ever. As a mill worker I spend a lot of time on my knees. The skiller pants have pockets sown right into the pant leg for a knee pad to slide into. The new pad is a high quality gel type so it's very effective. Today I was installing a vanity and spent three hours on my knees, with out those pads my knees would have been very sore. The alternative is to have mats down on the floor. The mats can get in the way and bunched up and become a trip hazard. Or even worse a particle can slip under the protective matting and be unseen and really grind some nasty marks in a perfectly finished floor. The way the pants are made they have a twist to them so the knee pad always stays in the right place. There is also a very convenient slot for my pencil to go when I can't put it in my shirt pocket. I recommend these pants to any trades man who works on there knees and struggles with knee pads.I successfully installed the vanity for job b68 today. It went in beautifully and is yet another example of how well we do what we do. And by that I mean the whole process of designing to installing. On Friday Gagan will bring the counter top over and install that. The counter top is also wood with an under mount sink, we are doing several of those nowa days.Tomorrow will be a very physical day for me as I install a69. It will be the beginning of installing four enormous doors, 96" tall. I'm sure my back will be sore tomorrow I'm sure. Then on Friday I will be installing two more, and replacing the door jamb. Actually after installing the doors tomorrow I may have to run up to NH to the hardwood dealer to get some needed material for the Gagan to work with Friday, The timing is good because the hardwood dealer is open late on Thursdays. My only concern is that Betsy may not start. That's are van by the way. She is having difficulty starting right now. If she breaks down in the next two days I'll be hurting.

New Job c74

Recieved a deposit today from our newest client job #c74. There we will be building a wall unit for the entertainment equipment. This is a job where we will prove our skills that we sell not just cabinets but emotions. I don't say that like I'm some crazy artist and i don't intend on building some crazy artsy cabinet. I talknig about building a cabinet that has good function, fits the space, and has architectural interest. The clinet told me today that they live in that room, to me that means that they want to feel something special when they are there. something that they can't get in the outside world. I want kidder blaisdell cabinets to help creat that feeling.

It looks like we'll be doing some more work at our old friend, job#a33. It isn't clear how much right now. I'd love to go back in there, that was a great job for me I got so much persoanl satisfaction from that job.

My staff and I had a training day event today. For those who don't know what that is, it's a two hour event where we cross train each other about our work. It's good to get the painting guys have a sense of how to work in the production and vice versa. Today our trainging day was focused on changing the blades of the jointer and the planer. We have one training day every 4 weeks and they usually fall on fridays.


Looking ahead there is company fun event for the first quater in 2008. that is to be on Tuesday march 25. Wow how this long month is plowing by.

Job a72 is completed and sitting idle in my shop, funny thing is that the client paid extra because they said they needed it in a rush but now it just sits. That makes two jobs that are sitting unistalled in my shop. It's hard to manage cash flow when that schedualling stuff happens.

monday grind

literally, I did more profiling today. I'm getting better at it. Though you may not see it, I really am. Today was super challenging I tried making a set of cope and pattern knives for set of doors. It was a mess, my wheel and guide are different sizes and all the widths didn't match up. I ended up having to customize the template while i was making the knife, how very unprofessional.

Today started out with a very positive upbeat staff meeting, I'm starting to think that the location of the meeting has something to do with that. We held our meting today by the window where the sun was shining in. I think it affected everybody, usually we have been holding the meeting on the other side of the shop.
Esteban held the meeting today, And again it was his ad lib that really left an impact on the other guys. Esteban has leadership skills, I think slowly he has been getting the confidence he really is a smart guy, I haven't reminded him of that lately.
We are working our way thru job a69 and b68. Things are going well. The real test of my profiling improvement will be on Wed. when we put the tooling to work. I think we can have these parts built by the end of this week, starting on Monday we'll be waiting for the glass only. We should squeak by the deadline. The install of b68 will have to be put off till early next week. shouldn't be a problem I think the client will be OK with that.
I feel like I came across a little snippy to a new client today, thru an email. emailing takes a conscience effort to insure proper meaning, and it so easy to miss communicate feeling. Definitely no place for sarcasm.

I made the second molding today from the knives I made on Sunday, everything went well. The molding came out perfect. I'm very excited about this because it opens up so many great opportunities differentiate ourselves in the market place.
Gagan and I moved the other jointer out into the shop today maybe we'll start to use that more and the second line of production will come in to play.
Late yesterday afternoon we finished c66. I know I've said this before but that cabinet came out so well. I can only imagine that the client must be so pleased, I certainly would if I had that cabinet in my house. One of the things I took from that job was the value of prefitting all the doors and drawer fronts in the shop. We used to fit those on the job site with primer only and then bring them back to the shop to be finished painted. IT worked well but it took longer and it is hard to fit a door and drawer fronts when the cabinet is installed. When we do it in the shop the cabinet is laying on it's back and it is much easier and faster. We also discovered how it easy it is to get the remote controls to work thru doors that are solid. We bought a part at Radio Shack for 39.95 that worked very well and was a sinch to set up.
I had to go to Raybern today to pay our bill and buy some more supplies. Raybern is a great business. They are located in Somerville Ma. in Teele Sq. They supply us with hardware that we use in our cabinets. Oddly enough they are the supplier of lacquer paint products which we use exclusively in our finishing department. I always have my eye's open for new clients when I'm there. Weather it's home owners or contractors. When i pulled up to Raybern today I noticed a contractors truck with the name H.B. Pratt builders or remodelers. I took down there company name and went inside with business cards ready to go. At the desk after some small talk I introduced myself to this prospect who utimatey was grateful for me doing so and may have a job for us to do. It made me realize that one, going to Raybern although I despise for its waste of time zI could have the stuff delivered with little aggravation could also be one of my best sources for meeting new contacts, as it is the primary shopping place for highend hardware and attracts the target client of mine. So as I try to live the modo of 08 which is "Delegate in 08", I should be concerned about the impact on who I can meet at these places that I don't want to goto anymore.
I met with a women today who wants a new entertainment cabinet built for her living room. It is a perfect job for me and my company. We could execute that with ease and perfection. We are building cabinets like the one she wants so well now, I don't think she could anyone to do it better. People just can't picture the difference between Kidder Blaidell cabinets and the competitions cabinets. I learned that it would have been useful to have pictures on my PC ready for viewing so she could see the difference. If I only had a picture of c66 to show her. I learned that today, that having pictures at my finger tips can be a very useful tool for educating my customers at how far in depth we are when it comes to building cabinets. And how beautiful our cabinets are. What we sell is an emotion, not only a cabinet but an emotion that you feel every time you come home from work and live with our cabinets.
I looked today at the possibility of doing a kitchen cabinet in Milton, the only road block I see is I don't get to meet the client. right now I'm only talking to the Designer. I don't think that the designer can sell my work, it'd be tough. If I can only get the designer to get in front of the home owner for 30 mins. I'm sure I could sell our work, I'd the laptop ready to go with all the needed pictures to convince the client that she couldn't get better cabinets or service anywhere else, because I know that she can't. I'll be bidding both those jobs, and also be keeping my fingers crossed, we need the work.

I ran my moldings yesterday, from the new profile knoves that I made over the weekend. They came out very nice, the blades worked very well. TOday we are installing the doors and drawers at c66. IT is going beatifully, c66 is such a nice cabinet for sure the best one we have nade this year.

profiling

Over the weekend I spent several hours profiling. Which means making knives that we run on the shapers to make moldings. I'm just starting out and really have little knowledge or experience of what I'm doing, but I remain very interested. made two sets of knives one is for a chair rail and one is for door casing. Both of which are for job a69, a municipal job. Some other cabinet shops say that they turn away municipal jobs because of the lack of professionalism found there, that and the fact that they don't pay anything until the job is done. Well if they saw how unprofessional some of the jobs that I find myself on than they may reconsider. I'm proud to be on municipal jobs and I think that my work will stand a long time and get great use and be admired by many. Today it's a town hall vestibule tomorrow it may be the state house or the office of the governor. I treat it as an "a" job. which means it gets the utmost attention to detail and highest level of service. The profiling went well the first set of knives took 2.5 hours and the second set took 1.15 hours, so there is a learning curve. My profiling machine is old and difficult to use but it does the job. I'll learn on an old machine and fight my way thru the mistakes and build up my strenght so when I have a new machine I'll be smooth as glass. It takes finesse to profile you don't just jump out of the gate and make beautiful knives it takes lots of practise. Some day I'll be making my own knives of designs that I make for every type of molding and detail that goes into my cabinets making my designs very unique and hard to duplicate without serious study. Other people may have profile machines but what they don't have is the vision that I have for cabinets, they don't have the same library that I've read to get the vision, they haven't studied cabinets like I have. talk is cheap, the proof is in the pudding It may take a life time to get where I want with my cabinets, and uin that sense I may not have enough time to get it done. Life is short.

One another topic, my newest employee challengd me today at the weekly staff meeting. I was telling Ventura are painter that if he was next on the chopping block if he didn't follow the instructions that I gave him at the by-annual reviews. Gagan asked me quite matter of factly do you think he undestands you? I was at a loss....... The answer is no probally not. Good for you Gagan, we might as well not play games here and pretend he undestands. Sometimes I just get going and forget that he doesn't speak english. It is that kind of frank feed back that I need to run a successful buisness. Its hard for me to take intially but we're the better for it. I hope you decide to work for me for a long time Gagan becasue you don't B.S. and you will call it as you see it, and not worry about me lashing out at you, which is the case with so many other employees both past and present. Scared to talk back to the boss afraid that he will pull the trigger. Well if I'm going to pull the trigger than the sooner it happens than the better. I don't like lashing out at anybody and it is something that always try to work on. Just today Esteban glued up some oak stair treads with some badly colored wood after I asked him not to. I almost went off on him but I didn't. I'm very happy about that I just sucked in a big breath and let it not get to me and calmly asked him to fix it. my problems shouldn't be emotional it just make us look bad when the boss is freaking out and being irrational.

Another compliment

One of our clients walked slowly up to our newly installed cabinet and was looking at it intently and said "You guys are good at this". Truer words could not have been spoke. No one is trying harder than Kidder Blaisdell at designing, building, finishing, and installing cabinets. And no other companies like ours are working this hard in the trenches.
C66 is not completely done yet but we are close and man what a great cabinet that is. I so proud of that cabinet it flows so well, the time spent in design was well worth it. My first renditions of that cabinet were not that pretty. We had to do some difficult moves to execute that job. Lots of different size cabinets combining to make one seem less cabinet. I have to give alot of credit to Andy who did the touch-up, he does a really nice job. We chose to build the cabinet in a difficult fashion in the interest of aesthetics. Not many cabinet companies would do that. We really care about how it looks when it's done. We did a new move with the crown and I think it worked brilliantly. The crown is made from three pieces, the complexity is subtle. and the molding seems to be in harmony, it maybe tad to big relative to the overall cabinet but that is arguable. The finish on the cabinet is absolutely stunning. it is as smooth as glass I think it's one of our best pieces. And there is only more to come, it is the good fortune of our future clients.

Attention to detail

We recieved a great compliment today,

Job b64 had us today installing a music cabinet. Just myself and Andy went, the install went very smooth other than it raining today forcing us to switch vehicles with Sondu and Gagan who are installing c66 and could have used the bigger truck. The install took less time than I thought and was easier than I thought. I used the power plane alot today, I think we need to buy another one of those. We could have used a shop vac today as well and we should probally buy another one of those while we are talking about the tool purchase wish list. I'd like to find a smaller power plane that is lighter. The client at one point said to me: "I just can't stand work people who don't care about what they are doing. I could tell that you really care about what you do by your attention to detail." I take that as a compliment, it isn't how I'm dresses or how I can talk it's how attentive I am to the details that evokes feelings that I care about what I do. This is a very important point and it should be brought up at the next marketing meeting. Which is march 26. Also for that meeting I'd like to stress that it is not what we do but how we do what we do that is more important.

Thankfully the riengs of job a69 have come in, I was hoping and thinking they would. The job is not quite ready for us. Which gives me a little breathing room. I'll be able to give other more pressing jobs my attention, like a66, b67, b68, a72 just name a few. b67 being the largest project, a66 requiring special attention as it's a different kind of piece, it is fabrication and delivery only.

C66 seems to be progressing very nicely. We could improved on a couple of areas. our client doens't have hardware which means I'm reluctant to install the fronts becasue we'd then have to put the blue tape on the doors which stinks becasue it leaves marks where the adhesive residue remains. And the timing of the drawers is not really going great we could really use them right now, I better call and make sure those are coming. We can put the drawers slides on now that is not going to change, and the shelves. I haven't seen it yet since the crown molding and base has been installed so I'm anxciouse to see, we tried a new approach with the crwon molding, Sondo says the install was easy and Gagan says it looks killer, that is some good feedback.

c66 is going well, we are I think over the hump relative to the install. All of the major cabinet parts are on-site and I think in, everything fits which is good because remaking major cabinet parts is a real drag and very time consuming not to mention expensive, also in the eyes of the consumer we are incompetent. It appears as thuogh we have some snags, some of which could have been caught back in the shop when we dry fit the cabinet. Some of our mistakes just have no reason for happening. We over looked the cut on two of the base cabinet tops, meaning that we had to return those parts to the shop and cut them and then paint them, bring them back to the job and install. all the time losing prescious time. We are lucky that this job is close to our shop, in fact that is a real advantage. Perhaps I should consider that when estimating.
We are also doing a little face lift on a vanity at job c66. It also is going as well as expected, I really don't like that kind of work, it's just that working around old plumbing is stressful, in the end the bathroom will be the better for it.
Tomorrow I will be installing b64, that is going to be high stress, another very demanding client, who will accept nothing less than perfection. It should only take one day as it is just one cabinet. But it is a bamboo cabinet, a different material than the normal stuff so repairs are going to be very tricky.
A69 is right on my heels wanting to know when I'm going to be installing, that also is very tricky. I'll have to make a few custom knives to pull that job off. Which isn't a problem but again it just takes time, which is something I don't have.
My first of five service calls is happening tomorrow. I'll be going to job a47 I think was the number for a consultation of the problem. we'll think of a game plan to service the problem. I know I said a few days ago that i wanted to do the service part for good reasons, but I don't think I have the time.
Best news of this week is that we have an old employee join us again, and man it is like a breath of fresh air. I have become so lieniant with my people and whats expected of them. That this new person Gagan is his name is showing these guys a work ethic that I don't think they new existed. I could not off asked for something better to happen to my team than Gagan's return. I have forgotten what was like to have him work for me. My buisness is the better for it. And for any of my staff reading this I say this: if the tide comes in all the boats rise.

Working with my staff is one of the rewarding parts of being me. I wouldn't otherwise have the chance to get to know these people if they were not in my employ. Working with other people is a challenge, the road with another person is always slower it requires patience. Andre is a great helper so that makes it easier for me he'll do what ever I say without complaining. I wish I knew porteguese or he spoke better English. I could have prepared the van better for that install, we were short a few tools. It's hard in the winter because you can't leave glue or caulking in the truck over night it will freeze up, so we are constanly moving tool boxes in and out. We have all these different jobs going on and it's hard to keep the tools of the van organized.
We are in a tough week. we have many demands and lots of deliverables. In addition to trying to install three jobs I have three service jobs. By service job I mean going back to completed work and tweaking things here and there. What is important about that is that we are willing to do it. If any of my clients have a concern about there cabinetry as long as they have been reasonable with me I'll take as good as care of them as I can. I am thinking that I should embrace the service as much as possible and do it all myself. It is such an important part of my company and what we offer. It is the service that makes us different and if I pass that down to an employee than I take the chance of clients being displeased. I think from the clients point of view if the principle comes out to do the service then they are ciked, and they know that I take them seriously. Also I can monitor the qualiity of my finished work and see how it stands to the test of time. So I urge my clients to call me back if there are any problems, I can use that info moving forward.