I had a conversation the other day with a younger shop owner and it occurred to me I've been at this a long time, well over 30 years now. In that time, I have been witness to some products that have dramatically changed (for the better) the way that we do things. I'm sure there are many changes that pre-date me and there will be many more changes to come, but I thought I'd share a few just for a light hearted topic. Let me know if I missed any.

-The random orbit sander. Before Porter Cable came out with their revolutionary random orbit sander, we relied on the Porter Cable 505 and 330. The ROS revolutionized hand sanding.

-Impact drivers. I suppose a decade earlier you could say cordless tools in general.

-Sliding compound miter saws. More for field work than shop work, but still a revolutionary tool. Before that you had to haul a radial arm saw to the jobsite if you wanted that kind of capacity.

-laser distance measuring devices.

-CNC. For the first 5 years I was in business we used a Ritter double line drill. Some shops also used pnuematic drilling machines to drill for dowels, but we subscribed to the staple and screw method (and still do). Our first CNC was a SCMI Unitech Point to Point. Ironically, we abandoned our Tiger Stop at our chop saw station and have been using Quick Loc by Advanced Measuring Systems for the last 10 years. Not everything is better with CNC.

-Computers. My first Estimates were prepared on a word processer (not a computer, it was an upgraded typewriter) and then mailed out in an envelope with a stamp.

-the internet and Email. When I first started the internet and email was just beginning to be widely adopted. My first computer was a 386sx 25 and had a 33k modem connected to our land line. I think DSL was a big part of things back then as well.

-the cell phone. My first cell phone was a motorolla bag phone. I paid $30 a month for 30 minutes.

-The smart phone. Before that I had a Palm PDA and before that I had a Filofax.

-flat screens. First was the plasma. I remember the first cabinetry we did that was designed for a Plasma screen TV. It was huge, 42" I think, and cost the customer about $6,000.

-CAD. My first jobs were hand drafted. My first cabinet software was KCDdos. It was later replaced by KCDw. Later on I went a different direction.

That's just off the top of my head. What do you guys remember?

Laser levels. Finding the high and low point of a floor and ceiling quickly is huge for install.

One area that has improved is the widespread adoption of undermount slides with adjustment. When I started the standard drawer slide was the Blum white side mount. I think I was paying $2.50 a pair for them. Now every job is soft-close undermount with four way adjustment with or without metal box construction. I probably save ten minutes per drawer on face mounting alone.

When my father was young, he was a carpenter. At that time, he used a simple table saw to cut wood boards. He had to mark the board with a pencil before each cut. Every time he worked, he would put a pencil behind his ear, and every carpenter at that time seemed to do the same. Now CNC machines can design the dimensions directly in the system, no longer need manual measurement, the machine will automatically complete the cutting according to the software command. Everything has become faster and more accurate.

All great answers. I remember putting the first Tandem ever put on in DJS’s shop in 2002 a few months after my career started in this industry.

I believe the biggest changes I have seen would be in this order:
1) the smart phone. I run my shop a couple states over from where I sell most of our product. I no longer travel hundreds of miles for sales meetings or to measure homes. All due to the smart phone.
2) water based finishes. I initially tried switching over in 2006 to WB. Honestly the stress of trying to get a quality product out the door with WB was worse than the solvent and so I switched back. When my body literally could take no more solvent a few years ago I was forced to switch and on the stain side I think we get a better product now and the paint side we are 95% of the way to a top grade solvent finish.
3) Sawstop. Of the 4 cabinetmakers that are meaningful in my life and myself I’m the only one with all of and undeformed digits.
4) Outsourcing, the internet and trucking. We are able to order in our five piece doors in from Canada and our drawerboxes in from another state. We have back up vendors in other states. All a click away. Even the Amish we use for drawerboxes email. We use a handful of trucking companies. Household names and small family businesses to get product and ship product all over the western US and Canada.

Great thread. Funny how time flies. We rarely use MDF but whenever I do the smell transports me back to 2002 and instantly I’m in my early 20’s listening to 80’s music and getting barked at by my German trained foreman in DJS’s shop. MDF it’s like a Time Machine!

I remember when we had to make box sides off a table saw. Now we get them flat packed, ready to staple together. And doors - we had to make the parts, then shape the parts, then assemble....days and days. Same with drawers - solid Maple, dovetailed. Now they are vinyl, v grooved miterfolds. The doors are drilled and look just like everyone else's. And finishing - toxic clouds drifting thru the shop. Everything is pre finished now.
And the guy down the street does the same thing we do, or do we do what he does? No matter, our work is all the same, with little or no differences. I found out use the same drafting service, and take off services.

Yep, the good old days are gone. These are tomorrow's good old days, right?

Mitrefolds is a big one. Man we fold up some really dumb stuff from a single panel that just wouldn't be logical to attempt without with a cnc.