The document provides an overview of the carpentry field in 3 paragraphs. It discusses the career overview for carpentry, including typical job duties, education requirements, and average pay. It then examines the different types of carpentry, such as rough carpentry, finish carpentry, cabinetry, trim work, and ship building. Lastly, it outlines the various tools used in carpentry, grouping them by function like measuring, cutting, drilling, and more. The document serves to inform the reader about the key aspects of carpentry as a career path.

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Brandon Howard
Mrs. Tillery
British Literature
October 3, 2011
Carpentry
“Universally, a carpenter is considered a person who is skilled in constructing objects and
buildings with wood” (Burgess). Carpenters are those who have an expert knowledge of the
materials they use and are very adept with using an array of tools. “Following blueprints or other
specifications, a carpenter builds, assembles, installs and repairs fixtures and structures that are
made of wood” (McKay). “Carpentry is the art or trade of a carpenter; specifically: the art of
shaping and assembling structural woodwork” (Merriam-Webster). Carpentry has been traced
all the way back to 8000 B.C. in which they used stone axes and other hand tools. The three main
things that are needed to know in the field of carpentry are the career overview, the different
types of carpentry, and the tools they use.
First of all, the career overview for anybody entering the field of carpentry is very
important. “Carpenters construct, erect, install, and repair structures and fixtures made from
wood and other materials. Carpenters are involved in many different kinds of construction, from
the building of highways and bridges to the installation of kitchen cabinets” (Occupational
Outlook Handbook). Carpenters work throughout the construction industry. They are the largest
group of the building trades’ workers. They saw, shape, and fasten wood to build houses and
other buildings. They also build cabinets, doors, and other objects made of wood. They work on
construction sites, inside buildings, in factories, and in small woodworking shops(“Carpenter”).
Most carpenters are employed by contractors or builders. A carpenter has certain education and
training requirements. A carpenter does not have to have a high school diploma although one is

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preferred. The classes that should be taken in high school are woodworking, mechanical
drawing, and mathematics classes. “The best way to become a carpenter is to complete a union-
contractor apprenticeship program” (“Carpenter”). A formal apprenticeship program takes three
to four years to complete. The program consists of about eight thousand hours of on-the-job
training and at least 144 hours of classroom instruction for each year of the apprenticeship
program. “On the job, apprentices learn the techniques and operations of carpentry from
experienced carpenters on a less formal basis” (“Carpenter”). After becoming a carpenter there
are other job opportunities available after becoming an experienced carpenter. Almost all
carpenters become contractors after years of experience. America has about 1.2 million
employed carpenters today. Although the carpentry industry relies heavily on the economic
outlook of America. Depending on the type of carpentry one could work mostly indoors or
outdoors. Carpenters must have a good deal of stamina because their work is active and
somewhat strenuous. Prolonged standing, climbing, bending, and kneeling often are necessary.
“Carpenters risk injury working with sharp or rough materials, using sharp tools and power
equipment, and working in situations where they might slip or fall. Consequently, workers in this
occupation experience a very high incidence of nonfatal injuries and illnesses. Additionally,
carpenters who work outdoors are subject to variable weather conditions” (Occupational Outlook
Handbook). “Most carpenters work forty-hour weeks. Higher wages are paid for overtime work.
Overtime is generally available depending on the job and its deadline for completion. Many
carpenters belong to labor unions” (“Carpenter”). The average pay for a carpenter is about
$17.00 per hour. Along with the career overview of carpentry is the different types of carpentry
involved.

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Secondly, there are many different types of carpentry involved in the industry. “The
specialized field of carpenters, while broadly similar across the industry at the beginning of a
carpenters career, has different avenues that carpenters can focus on throughout their career.
What this means is that a carpenter will pursue kinds of jobs that asks for and develop the
various skills needed for different levels of carpentry” (Graham). In carpentry there are five
different types or styles..Two main types of carpentry dominate the field of carpentry. Rough and
finish carpenters are the two main types of carpentry. A rough carpenter is usually involved in
structural construction work, framing and roofing. Other jobs that a carpenter may have could be
pre-construction work, floor construction, frames, insulations, deciphering blueprints,
measurements, cutting wood products, assembling wood or metal structures, understanding the
types of damage that can affect wood, digging post holes, building support structures, and
woodworking. The other main type of carpentry is finish carpenters. “Finish carpenters are the
ones that work on the style, look and image of a finished structure” (Bradley). The types of jobs
that finish carpenters do are decking, roofing, sidings, interior trimmings, remodeling, drywall
detailing, and intricate woodworks. Rough carpenters are the ones that handle the dirty work
while finish carpenters clean it up and make it appealing to others. The other types of carpenters
are cabinet makers, trim carpentry, and ship carpentry. Cabinet makers make interior cabinets or
storage facilities. Trim carpentry does all the ceiling trimmings, moldings, and windows. Ship
carpentry does nautical woodwork projects and shipbuilding (Graham). “A trim carpenter is a
professional who specializes in installing trim and molding, such as baseboards, door casings,
and mantels. Trim carpentry is known for the precision required to complete tasks properly” (A,
Mark). For this reason trim carpenters typically use a large number of highly specialized tools in
their trade. Ship Carpenters build and repair boats according to blueprints and client

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specifications. All of these types of carpentry have different needs and qualities on order to do
them. Also, each type of carpentry needs much of the same and different types of tools to do the
job that is required.
Lastly, there are many different types of tools involved in the industry of carpentry.
Carpentry tools are tools for carrying out wood work or artistic crafts on wood by carpenters.
“Wood working tools help a carpenter or a woodworker in making or repairing objects made of
wood or work done in wood, especially wooden interior fittings in a house, as moldings, doors,
staircases, or windowsills” (“Carpentry Tools”). Also, there are an innumerable amount of tools
for carpentry and are needed to perform carpentry at its best whether in the construction of
furniture, building, decorative or other objects. Although, specific crafts and wood work can be
made easy if carried out with woodworking or carpentry tools. Carpentry tools can be divided
into carious groups for the various amount of tools available based on the criteria of the functions
that the tools perform. The basic carpentry tools include: carpenters pencil, hammer, drill, saw,
tape measurer, and nail bars (Allen). Other carpentry tools can be divided into specific groups
based on their function. The groups are: measuring tools, cutting tools, fastening tools, drilling
tools, woodwork hand tools, and woodwork power tools. The functions of carpentry tools are:
measuring and marking, sawing, holding, chiseling, planning, striking, boring, checking,
sharpening, lengthening or widening joints, and framing joints. “Carpenters also use a variety of
mathematical tools, such as a right-angle ruler, which may seem unusual to those outside of the
field” (O'Neal). “Sometimes the mathematics that carpenters use is relatively easy. Using simple
arithmetic, a carpenter can, for example, calculate the number of two by-four studs needed in a
wall of a given length when the studs are 16 inches apart, being sure to include the extra two-by-
fours needed around doors and windows and at the top and bottom of the wall” (O’Neal).

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Sometimes though the mathematics can be more challenging and take a much better, more
experienced, carpenter to be able to figure out the problem at hand. Fortunately, carpenters have
mathematical tools to make most problems easy to figure out and make them very accurate.
“One is a carpenter's square, which is a right-angle ruler with calibrations that measures angles.
The other is a construction calculator, which is programmed to solve construction problems and
gives measurements in eighths and sixteenths of inches rather than in decimals” (O’Neal). All of
these types of carpentry tools help in the field of carpentry and are essential to have for most
types of carpentry jobs.
The career overview, different types of carpentry, and tools they use are the three things
that are needed to know in the field of carpentry. The career overview includes the background
information, education and training, outlook, working conditions, and earnings. The different
types of carpentry are rough carpentry, finish carpentry, cabinet maker, trim carpentry, and ship
carpentry. Also, the types of tools are based upon the function that they perform for various
methods of carpentry. All in all, these are three basic topics that are needed to know about the
field of carpentry.

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Works Cited
A, Mark. “Types of Trim Carpentry Tools.”MerchantCircle.N.p., 2011. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://experts.merchantcircle.com/articles/Types-of-Trim-Carpentry-Tools/1017525>.
Mark A explains the style of trim carpentry along with all the tools they use. The article
also gives specific definitions for both trim carpentry and for all the tools they use. This
article gave specific information about a common type of carpentry and the basic tools
they use. The information provided will give greater depth for anyone reading.
Allen, Gary. “Carpentry Hand Tools.” carpentry-tips-and-tricks. Gary Allen, 2010. Web. 26
Sept. 2011. <http://www.carpentry-tips-and-tricks.com/Carpentry-Hand-Tools.html>.
Gary Allen gives tips and descriptions on a wide variety of tools used in many types of
carpentry. He gives his own personal insights on most tools. An example of this may be,
“I use Staedtler 120-2 Noris HB Pencils. I always keep them really sharp to make sure
my marking is accurate”. Along with a brief description he provides a link for each tool
for a greater in-depth look. The goal of the information is to provide a clearer
understanding of what each tool does and how to use them. Each description provided a
greater understanding of each tool and let me know how carpenters do their jobs.
Bradley, Dean. “The 5 Types Of Carpentry Specialists.” Melbourne Carpenter. Melbourne
Carpenter, 6 Nov. 2010. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://www.melbournecarpenter.net.au/
articles/the-5-types-of-carpentry-specialists/>. Dean Bradley explains the different types
of carpentry in the industry. The website gives a complete description of what each type
of carpenter does and how they do their job. The website gave two very in depth
description about the two biggest types of carpentry and how they differ. He went on to

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explain that a roughing carpenter is pre-construction work, and he explained that finish
carpenters are post-construction work. This excellent website gives insight to the types of
carpentry, and I would say is the best source at explaining the types of carpentry.
Burgess, Steve. “The History of Carpentry.”Toolbox Renovations.N.p., Aug. 2011. Web. 12 Oct.
2011. <http://www.toolboxrenos.com/history-of-carpentry.html>.
Career Information Center, prod. “Carpenter.”Gale Virtual Reference Library. Ed. Mary Bonk.
9th ed. Vol. 4: Construction ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. Web. 15 Sept.
2011. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/
i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX2586800273&v=2.1&u=cant48040&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w>.
Mary Bonk’s article includes: Definition and work of being a carpenter, the education
and training to become a carpenter, and other aspects of being a carpenter. The overview
of her text gives you an idea of what it is like to be a carpenter and what work they would
do. This article in Gale Virtual Reference Library gives valuable information that is
needed to know if you are researching anything to do with carpentry. Telling a broad
overview of the topic in many areas could make others want to become interested in
carpentry.
“Carpentry Tools.”IndiaMart.IndiaMARTInterMESH Limited, 2011. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://sourcing.indiamart.com/engineering/hand-tools/carpentry-tools/>. The article
provided by IndiaMart states the various types of carpentry tools in different categories.
The articles tells us how all these various tools are used and why they are used. The
article also gives you the function of all carpentry tools such as, “Lengthening/ Widening
Joints”. This article is strictly an informational article with no opinions or bias in the

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article. The information in this article would give anyone basic knowledge or insight to
the world of carpentry.
Graham, Mariano. “Carpenters industry: types of carpenters.”Free Articles. Articlesbase, 19
Nov. 2009. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://marianograham.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/
carpenters-industry-types-of-carpenters-1475445.html>. Mr. Graham states how big of an
importance carpentry is to the construction industry, and he also states how they are
equally important in residential projects. He goes on to explain the differences in two
major types of carpentry that most can be broken down into. The goal of this source is to
present knowledge about the two main types of carpentry. This article gave me some
information that is on previous sources, but still presents new information in a different
and easy to understand way.
McKay, Dawn Rosenburg. “Carpenter: Career Information.” About .com Career Planning. The
New York Times Company, 2011. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
<http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occupations/p/carpenter.htm>. Mr. McKay provides
facts and details about the requirements to become a carpenter, along with the outlook
and earnings for a carpenter. This article lets the reader know what the career outlook for
a carpenter is like. An example of this would be, “Median annual earnings of carpenters
were $39,470 and median hourly wages were $18.98 in 2009”. The document provides
factual data that is both reliable and useful to the reader. This fits perfectly into my
research. I can go back to this site for any amount of information since the source is
reliable.
Merriam-Webster, prod. “Carpentry.”Merriam-Webster.N.p., 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carpentry>.

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Networx Systems LLC, prod. “Types of Wood.” networx.Networx Systems LLC, Sept. 2009.
Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://carpenters.networx.com/info/wood-types/>. The article on
the website explains the many different varieties of wood that can be used for
construction. Also, the article explains the difference in hardwood and softwood. Lastly,
the article explains the differences in the two types of lumber. The article is objective in
the choosing of a type of wood by saying, “An uneducated choice of wood for a deck,
closet or even bookcase can lead to all sorts of problems, from rot to termites”. The
information presented in this article is like none other in any other number of sources
previously used. This article will be useful in helping me with not only research, but
choosing the type of wood for me to use for my own project.
Occupational Outlook Handbook, prod. “Carpenters.”Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.
Department of Labor. 2010-2011 ed. Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment
Projections, 17 Dec. 2009. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos202.htm>.
The occupational hand offers many types of information, such as: Significant points,
nature of the work, training, and job outlook. This specific source offers the most
information, and goes more in depth than most of the other sources used. Reading about
the outlook of the job makes me less likely to pursue a career in carpentry, but still
remains a useful tool i would like to learn and have interest in.
O’Neal, Michael J. “Carpenter.” Mathematics.Ed. Barry Max Brandenberger. Jr. Vol. 1. New
York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 79. ed. Gale Virtual Reference Library, 15 Sept.
2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/
retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GVRL&u
serGroupName=cant48040&tabID=T003&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIS

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T&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=6&contentSet=G
ALE%7CCX3407500046&&docId=GALE|CX3407500046&docType=GALE&role=>.
Michael J O’Neal explains the mathematics that go into carpentry. Calculations for every
tiny detail must be precise and can sometimes be difficult. An example of this is, “A
carpenter building a staircase is faced with the difficult problem of making sure that each
step is the same width, that the rise of each step is the same, and that the stairway fits into
the space available without being too steep or too shallow”. The article states the
difficulties of mathematics in carpentry clearly in the article. This will help me to do my
project and be ready to deal with more mathematical problems that may arise.