Throughout history, the role of a cabinet maker has largely remained the same. Some cabinet makers work independently, and some work for larger manufacturers. Either way, the artistic talent that goes into making cabinets is still a large part of this profession.
Before the dawn of the Industrial Age, cabinet makers were solely responsible for creating all wooden furniture items. During this time, each piece of furniture was carved by hand. Once the industrial age surfaced, steam machines were able to mass produce all furniture. While many people enjoyed the lower cost of machine-made furniture, middle class citizens across the world sought out hand made pieces.
Thus, the number of cabinet makers grew significantly. Following World War II, the art of cabinet making began to increase drastically. Today, cabinet maker jobs are not as abundant as they once were, though some traditional cabinet makers still exist. Most cabinet maker jobs can be found inside of large factories, since machines cannot create wooden furniture entirely.
Cabinet makers are a large part of industrial assembly lines. These workers hardly every carve a piece of wood from scratch, but they do piece cabinets together. Since the main focus of an industrial cabinet manufacturer is to increase production, almost all machine-made cabinets are built in the same manner. Often, traditionally trained cabinet makers can apply their skills to assembly line production, since basic techniques remain the same.
Some cabinet maker jobs include the actual assembly of a cabinet, while other job positions may be focused upon one particular area of cabinet making. Workers are generally split up into various departments within a large company. Some workers may be asked to place handles on cabinets, while other workers are responsible for gluing sides of a cabinet together.
Generally, those applying for cabinet maker jobs do not need to have any type of educational training. Almost all skills required of modern cabinet makers can be learned in the workplace. Cabinet maker jobs can be found through job banks, by applying directly to employers, or through job placement agencies. Those people wishing to open independent businesses should attend trade school in order to learn cabinetry skills. While cabinetry is not as popular as it once was, fine furniture is still in high demand all over the globe.
