Woodworking in America: Eden Klinger

We’re interviewing makers from across the country. Today we’re featuring Eden Klinger, a furniture maker and designer from Louisiana.

How did you get started woodworking? Who were your mentors?

Woodworking didn’t really enter into the picture for me until 2020. My partner and I had been wanting to start keeping chickens for a while, and with a little bit of experience working construction in college and a lot of hubris, I decided I was up to the task of building a coop. I bought a circular saw, made myself a simple carpenter’s bench in my backyard, and went to town. Things just kind of snowballed from there — I decided I wanted to keep making things and I set about figuring out how to do that.

That being said, as I became more interested in finer work, I felt like I’d hit a wall. Watching videos and reading articles online, it seemed at every turn that at the very least I needed a table saw, probably a planer and jointer too. Aside from the fact that I couldn’t afford any of that, I was still working outside (and am currently, for that matter), so even if I could get them, I’d have nowhere to keep them. I initially decided I’d save up and buy the cheapest jobsite table saw I could find (thank god that didn’t happen), but then I came across Rex Kreuger’s “Woodwork for Humans” YouTube series, which had a huge impact on my trajectory. I’d highly recommend his channel in general. The knowledge that I could build almost anything with a handful of portable tools was enormously freeing and helpful. From there I started hunting for old hand tools, learning to restore them, and making my own when I could. Now I’ve got just about every tool I use in a Dutch tool chest with a ~2.5’ square footprint.

As for mentors, I haven’t really had anything close. Aside from all the people putting out information in the form of books, videos, and articles on handwork (Rex Kreuger, Paul Sellers, Mortise and Tenon Magazine, Peter Galbert, Curtis Buchanan, Chris Schwarz, to name a few), I’ve had to figure things out on my own. Classes have always been out of my reach financially, and I haven’t come across anyone locally that could really fill that role for me. The online woodworking community has been extremely helpful in general, particularly my friend Jack Basset (@competentwoodworks on Instagram), who is a font of information and support.

What do you think is your best or favorite work? What kind of work do you do the most?

I’m kind of split on this. I think the work I’m most proud of is the Mission Style Oak Sideboard I recently finished. It was the greatest undertaking in my career so far, and there were many a moment during it’s making when I thought I’d either miss the deadline or not be able to finish it at all. Making the entire thing by hand really tested me in every facet of my work; design, stock prep, joinery, finishing, all of it. It also gave me a lot of insight into what preindustrial craft would have been like for the average cabinetmaker. With the time crunch, I was definitely working some of the 12+ hour, 6- day weeks that would have been standard all year round for many woodworkers of the past. It really helped me take a second look at the efficiency of my work, from large scale things like order of operations down to the minutiae of how I was using my body and orienting the tools on my bench from minute to minute.

From a more aesthetic point of view, I think my favorite work is my Crescendo Table. The design itself is definitely my all-time favorite, and I’m really pleased with how the use of round chairmaking joints came together with the very linear geometric overall look of the table. You don’t often get to see a dovetail and a tapered cylindrical mortise and tenon in the same piece.

What advice would you give to someone that wants to start woodworking or pursue it as a profession?

For the woodworker that’s just starting, I’d say try not to be overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of the craft. There are so many different things that fall under the umbrella of “woodworking,” from spoon making with little more than an axe and knife, up to full shops fitted with CNC routers and top of the line machines. A lot of marketing and dogma can make it feel like you need this tool or that (both in the machine and hand tool realm), and it can be really difficult to figure out what you actually personally need to achieve your goals. Most simple furniture can be made with little more than a plane, chisel, and saw. Start small, maybe find a local community workshop for access to machines and advice on how to use them. Once you start making things, you’ll soon figure out what excites you and what doesn’t, and where you’re being limited by what you currently have to work with. Knowing that will go a long way towards keeping you from buying unnecessary tools and keeping your time in the shop as enjoyable as possible.

In terms of pursuing it as a profession, I wish I had some more advice to give – I’m definitely figuring it out as I go. One thing I can speak to is valuing your work properly. When taking on early commissions, it can be very tempting to work for whatever price the client is willing to pay just for the sake of having work. I’ve fallen into this trap myself. The issue is, most people have no idea the amount of work and overhead that goes into making quality furniture, and if you haven’t done much of it in a professional context, you might not have a great grasp on it either. Sit down and really think about how much your time is worth, how much overhead you have in your tools and space, and how much realistic work it’s going to take to get a piece done. The classic joke that “it always take longer than you think” is a lot less funny when you end up effectively working for free by undervaluing your skill and underestimating the time a project will take.

What’s your best hands-on tip or woodworking technique?

Learn to trust your hand and eye. This mostly applies to hand work – machines are usually inherently jigged, and to use them safely for many operations a jig is necessary: safety always comes first. Hand tools, however, afford a lot more freedom in these regards. Some jigs like a shooting board or bench hook certainly have a place, but others such as 90 degree fences for hand planes, or the dovetail jig are (in my opinion) detrimental. Not only do they slow down the flow of work, but they keep you from developing inherent skill and muscle memory in those tasks by outsourcing precision to the jig. There’s a concept in hand tool work called “working free” – the idea of using things like planing stops and bodyweight to hold your work in place as opposed to methods that require an extra step to operate, such as vises and holdfasts. Obviously I still use vises and holdfasts at times, but this ties right into it. The closer you can get to working with just your tools, the more efficient you’ll be, and the more skill you’ll build. This isn’t to say that jigs and vises never have a place – they do, and I use some – but next time you pick up that dovetail jig, ask yourself if you really need to use it, or if it’s just keeping you from learning to cut freehand.

Is there anyone you’d like to shout-out or recommend we follow? Who inspires you? (Doesn’t have to be woodworking related, either.)

Absolutely! Robell Awake (@robellawake) has been doing some of the most exciting work and research in chairmaking I’ve seen lately. Robert L Simon’s (@bored.robby) design explorations have been very inspiring to me, as has Jason Marc Legear’s (@jmlmodern) recent work in veneering. Local New Orleans artist Caroline Hill’s (@chillplease) paintings have been long-time favorites of mine. The aforementioned Jack Basset and his partner Katie “Bell” Williams form @hammerandbell where you’ll see some of the best looking architectural woodwork around. Some other great follows are: @claes.kamp, @ksullivanrestoration, @doomwoodcraft, and @bradleybowers.

See more of Eden’s work on Instagram @edenklingercraftworks.

This interview was lightly edited for clarity.