Dawson Saner-Jones – Woodworking Co-Op

The business I work with is called Premier Custom Built INC located in New Holland, PA. I currently work in the sanding department.  As I gain experience, I will have the opportunity to experience jobs in other departments and eventually move positions.  In the sanding department, I sand the wood down so there aren’t any bumps or scraped indents in the wood to make sure the finished product has a clean look.

My job duties are to sand and putty cabinets that are for the company itself or for someone who ordered custom-built cabinetry. When I walk into work I ask my supervisor what job I should be doing first just to make sure I don’t confuse anyone or mess anything up. After I figure out what job I’m doing I look at which sides need to be finished and which sides do not and mark the sides with a pencil to be 100% sure I sanded the whole thing. If there are any holes in the wood or deeper marks I couldn’t sand smooth I would putty it to fill the gap, the putty perfectly fills the gap so when it goes to finishing it won’t even be noticeable. I do that with all the cabinetry in the job and then ask what supervisor for the next job.

I normally work on 1 project a day since I’m not there full-time yet.  Each job takes about a whole day for me to finish. I work on a couple projects/jobs per week and sometimes I get side projects I need to finish for the company to keep things moving. During the end of the week, I stop sanding 20min before the day is over and I empty the sawdust that gets trapped under the buzzsaw. Then I sweep the floors so it isn’t so dusty. At the end of the day if I don’t finish a project I put a note on the work table to let the other people know where I left off and the person coming in the morning usually finishes what I didn’t finish.

This job has helped me grow in many ways, one of them being school. I’m not a very academic person when it comes to school.  This co-op program has helped me get to graduation and helped me pursue something I’m interested in.  It really has been a great experience and I hope I can stay here for years to come. I hope to grow in the business and move around more so I’m not just sanding.  I hope I can work in assembly or finishing over time.

Overall this job has been a great experience. It helped me become more independent and gain more knowledge of what I would like to do in the future. I would recommend this job to anybody who is interested in woodworking. The company is really understanding and also offers a lot of help if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. The people there are respectful which makes the workplace a comfortable place to work. The work there can be difficult sometimes because of standing up all day but at the end of the day, you feel accomplished.