# STL354: Go and Do the Thing

- Show: [Shop Talk Live](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live)
- Published: 2025-11-14
- Length: 57m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2025-11-14-stl354-go-and-do-the-thing
- Listen: https://shoptalklive.podcast.static.taunton.com/stl354-go-and-do-the-thing

## Summary

Erik Curtis, a furniture maker and YouTuber based in Philadelphia, joins Shop Talk Live to discuss the realities of running a woodworking business, teaching, and creating content. Curtis and hosts Amanda and Vic explore the myth of the solitary furniture maker, arguing that modern makers must diversify through teaching, writing, and media to sustain their craft. They debate the role of YouTube in woodworking, distinguishing between entertainment-focused channels and those that provide substantive technical education, while addressing the accessibility of high-end tools versus the necessity of skill. The conversation also covers design philosophy, emphasizing the importance of grain selection, proportion, and stripping away excessive ornamentation to achieve clear, functional aesthetics.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2025-11-14-stl354-go-and-do-the-thing#t=6) Introduction: Erik Curtis and the Myth of the Solitary Maker
- [5:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2025-11-14-stl354-go-and-do-the-thing#t=304) The Reality of Furniture Making: Teaching, Media, and Side Quests
- [10:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2025-11-14-stl354-go-and-do-the-thing#t=658) YouTube as Education: Distinguishing Makers from Content Creators
- [18:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2025-11-14-stl354-go-and-do-the-thing#t=1089) Shop Accessibility: MFT Tables, Festool, and the Gatekeeping of Tools
- [30:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2025-11-14-stl354-go-and-do-the-thing#t=1853) Design Philosophy: Grain, Proportion, and Stripping Back Ornamentation
- [55:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2025-11-14-stl354-go-and-do-the-thing#t=3303) Designing Without Limits: Joinery as a Secondary Constraint

## Topics

- [Creator business](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/creator-business)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Fine Woodworking (company)
- Shop Talk Live (other)
- Gorilla Wood Glue (material)
- DAP Weldwood (material)
- Festool (tool)
- Veritas (company)
- Woodpecker (tool)
- Lee Nielsen (company)
- Stanley (company)
- Boland Woodworking (company)
- MFT (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [277: Phase 2, set it on fire.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2020-09-18-277-phase-2-set-it-on-fire) (Making It)
- [Episode 040: How does content creation change you?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2015-10-09-episode-040-how-does-content-creation-change-you) (Making It)
- [Episode 177: A lot of hats that you shouldn’t wear](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2018-08-03-episode-177-a-lot-of-hats-that-you-shouldnt-wear) (Making It)
- [394: You Grow Into Being a Human](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2023-04-07-394-you-grow-into-being-a-human) (Making It)
- [436: In Case I Saw A Witch Fly By](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2024-03-29-436-in-case-i-saw-a-witch-fly-by) (Making It)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/shop-talk-live/2025-11-14-stl354-go-and-do-the-thing. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Shop Talk Live.