Page 4 - CMA PROfiles Winter 2015

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Life Lessons Learned

by Matt Krig, CMA President
rowing up around the business, there was never a shortage of things that needed
to be done. This was great when I was a teenager needing money for a mountain
G bike or parts to build a go-kart. I began working the summer I turned 13. That
year my dad purchased the building we are currently in. From there we spent several
months planning and executing the new shop, setting it up so that everything would be
just right. Like most teenagers working their first summer job, my brain ran like a taxi
meter, constantly keeping tabs up to the minute, so I knew how close I was to my next
big purchase. My mind was never so much in my work as it was dreaming about dirt bikes, new fishing
equipment, maybe even a Camaro or Firebird, if the grass grew fast enough (my lawn mowing/ fertilizer
scheme that blew up in my face is a story for another day).
That first summer of work, my grandfather had recently retired and was spending a lot of time and ef-
fort helping my dad out with things around the new building and was also keeping an eye on me and my
projects. I was a wet behind the ears expert who didn’t like being told how to do things by my dad and my
grandfather. More often than not, I found myself working with just my grandpa at the new building, while
my dad was busy running the business in the old building. At first it really wore on me being corrected
on everything from how to correctly use a hacksaw to how to properly operate a push broom. I quickly
learned that there was a right way and a wrong way of doing things, and that I needed to give my full at-
tention to the job in front of me. Not that my grandfather was impatient or mean; in fact, he was the exact
opposite. He did, however, expect me to be on my toes and always thinking a few steps ahead.

My grandfather grew up very poor and had seven kids of his own, so money was always tight. As a result, he
spent a lot of time building things he needed from scratch or salvaging this or that and just making do with what
he had. Even though he eventually lived in the suburbs, he always maintained a pile of scrap iron (named the
junk pile by us grandchildren), surplus projects and parts in quantity that would make any farmer proud.

Best of all, he had his “junk” all inventoried in his head for just the right time and application. I really can’t
think of too many things he owned that weren’t recycled from a previous life. There are a few worth mention-
ing: a homemade air compressor, made from a well tank; a 1” edge sander that was powered by a car genera-
tor with a simple adjustment and tensioning system that used strips of old 73” timesaver belts; mountains of
baby food jars filled with salvaged nuts and bolts as well as nails he had painstakingly pulled from boards
straightened and organized. There was also an old garage a few blocks away that he disassembled piece by
piece, hauling it home a trailer load at a time, reassembling it in his backyard to store more projects and parts.
Not to mention, tool boxes full of gadgets and gizmos to make mechanical projects easier and faster. My per-
sonal favorite was the homemade water vapor injection system he installed on his car’s carburetor to increase
gas mileage, which he tested on a cross country summer vacation with the family.
I was always welcome to bring a project into my grandfather’s workshop to challenge his mechanical
mind, but the rules were clear: he’d help me solve the problem and figure out a game plan, but in a way
where I learned to figure it out and draw on previous experiences. Often, he helped when I was stuck or
doing something wrong, but was careful to have me do the actual work so that I would develop practical
skills rather than theories.
There was one exception: welding. My grandfather was a master welder, so for many years there was
simply no point in trying to do what he could do with regard to welding. It wasn’t until thousands of welds
almost 15 years later that he finally asked me to do some welding for him. Even though nothing was said,
we both knew there was room for improvement on my part.
My grandfather drilled into me the importance of going the extra mile, maintaining the equipment and
keeping fluids up and grease topped off. He probably felt so strongly about taking care of things because
he couldn’t fathom what they cost in the first place and because he spent so many years before he retired as
a tractor trailer mechanic, so often repairing much of what he felt was preventable.
Occasionally, Grandpa would show up for a surprise inspection in the Red Caprice with the ever-growing
rust spots on the doors and grill me on the last time that I’d greased all of the bearing in the shop. He
always had a way of keeping me on my toes.
continued on page 6

The Cabinet Makers Association is fortunate to have qualified leaders. Associations need excellent leadership in order to remain
healthy and grow. The Board of Directors has been established not only to direct the course of the Association, but also to meet
your needs, act as a point of contact and answer association related questions.

4 PROFILES • Volume 15 • Issue 1, 2015 • www.cabinetmakers.org