Carpentry

building · skilled trade · working with wood · construction

Cutting and shaping. Carpenters use saws, chisels, and other tools to cut and shape materials, mainly wood, into pieces that fit together to build structures.

First and last on site. Carpenters are usually the very first workers to arrive at a construction project and the very last to leave because they do both the initial framing and the final finishing work.

Learning the trade. Most carpenters learn through a four-year apprenticeship where they work under experienced carpenters and then pass a competence test to qualify.

Beyond just wood. While carpenters traditionally worked only with natural wood, today they also work with many other materials and build everything from ships to concrete forms to beautiful furniture.