Robin Clevett Answers Your Carpentry Questions: Tools, Pricing, Vans & Traditional Skills
The Carpentry ShowShow Notes
Robin answers your questions on the tools he couldn’t work without, whether apprentices rely too heavily on power tools, and why traditional hand skills still matter in modern carpentry.
He also discusses accuracy, quoting jobs in uncertain times, handling awkward conversations with customers when projects change, and whether rising costs are making skilled trades unaffordable.
There’s also debate around expensive van leases, the government’s proposed crackdown on rogue traders, roof-cutting skills in the age of factory trusses, and the best way to move into fitted furniture and cabinetry work.
More from The Carpentry Show
Robin Clevett is joined by Quantity Surveyor Tim Philips and time-served carpenter Jason Joyce to explore how the trade has evolved, whether carpenters now need a broader understanding of the entire building, and how unfamiliar materials and systems can complicate even straightforward jobs.
Robin Clevett looks into retirement and is joined by fellow tradespeople Danny Madden, Jack Auletta and Gary Banks to discuss their plans for the future, from financial preparation and business succession, to finding a better work-life balance and exploring new ventures beyond the trade.
Robin Clevett looks at the dangers of working in hazardous environments and asks whether tradespeople are sometimes being put in situations where safety is being compromised.
Robin Clevett looks at the growing demand for fitted interiors and asks whether carpenters could use their existing skills to move into a new and potentially lucrative area of the industry.
Robin Clevett looks at neurodiversity in the trade — from the misconceptions surrounding it to the challenges neurodivergent people can face at work.