GOOD OL' AMERICAN CARPENTRY

I have nothing against the Finns or their carpentry. In fact, I admire the Finnish people and their history. Nevertheless, I am an American and I live in the United States; I must endorse the good ol' American style of carpentry. American carpentry is simple, pragmatic and durable. Yet in a spirit of multiculturalism, and in an effort to give Finland its due, perhaps I should refer to finish carpentry with a hyphenated name, American-Finnish carpentry (or is it Finnish-American?).

In any case, this kind of carpentry is one of the final stages of addition construction. If you have worked along with me this far, you should be revved up to get the job done so you and your wife can head down to the Scandinavian furniture store to buy new furnishings.

However excited you may be, it is not a time to rush. It is a time to be careful. Just as people will be judging the outside of the addition by the siding, people will be assessing your work inside by looking at molding, door frames, window sills and whatnot.

You see, good carpentry can make all the difference on whether your project looks like a professional did the work or whether people will shake their head slightly and avoid eye contact when you tell them you did the work yourself.

To make the woodwork as perfect as possible, you need the right tools and the right materials.

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