Furniture Carpenter – Solid Wood

Confidential

Negotiable

Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE

Full Time

10-15 Years

Male

N/A

Posted 4 days ago

Job Details

We are hiring experienced furniture carpenters who make solid wood furniture by hand. We are a traditional workshop, not a panel factory: you will cut, joint, assemble and finish real timber – oak, walnut, ash and teak – into dining tables, beds, chairs, cabinets and custom made joinery.

What you will make
Everything is made to order, one piece or one set at a time, from solid timber. A typical month includes:
• Solid oak and walnut dining tables up to 3 metres, with mortise and tenon or dowelled leg frames
• Beds, headboards, bedside tables, sideboards and chests of drawers
• Dining chairs, benches and bar stools with shaped and jointed frames
• Outdoor teak dining sets, sofas, sun loungers and daybeds
• Bespoke fitted joinery: wardrobes, media walls, bookshelves and kitchen furniture
• Repair and restoration of customers' solid wood and teak furniture

Key responsibilities
• Read the shop drawing or sketch, check dimensions, and plan the cutting list before touching timber.
• Select, mark out and cut boards for colour and grain match; allow for movement in solid wood.
• Machine timber square and to size on the planer, thicknesser, table saw and spindle moulder.
• Cut and fit traditional joints by machine and by hand: mortise and tenon, dowel, domino, dovetail, bridle, tongue and groove.
• Glue up, clamp and assemble square and flat; fit drawers, doors, runners and hinges so they run true.
• Sand through the grits and prepare surfaces for oil or lacquer; apply hardwax oil when required.
• Check your own work against the drawing before it goes to finishing and raise any problem with the foreman early.
• Keep tools sharp, machines clean and guarded, and the bench area tidy; follow all safety rules.
• Help with delivery and installation on site when a job needs the maker's hands.

Requirements
• 5 or more years as a furniture carpenter making solid wood furniture by hand in a workshop, not only site fit-out or MDF/laminate carcass work.
• Portfolio or phone photos of furniture you have made yourself.
• Can read dimensioned drawings and work accurately to the millimetre.
• Hindi, Urdu or Malayalam for the workshop floor; basic English to read drawings and labels.
• Physically fit for a full day of workshop work and able to lift with a partner.
• Takes pride in clean joints and a clean bench; asks when unsure rather than guessing.

Practical test at interview
Shortlisted candidates spend half a day in the workshop making a small frame from a drawing: mark out, cut a mortise and tenon by machine and clean it by hand, glue up square, and sand ready for oil. We look at accuracy, joint fit, surface quality and how you set up and leave the machines.

Skills and techniques required
Area
What we expect
Joinery
Mortise and tenon, dowel, dovetail, bridle, tongue and groove, mitres; cut tight by machine and cleaned by hand
Machines
Table saw, panel saw, planer, thicknesser, spindle moulder, bandsaw, mortiser, router, domino, sanders; safe setup and use
Hand tools
Chisels, hand planes, marking gauge, squares; can sharpen and keep an edge
Timber
Understands grain direction, movement, quarter-sawn vs flat-sawn, moisture; selects boards for colour and figure
Assembly
Glue-ups that come out square and flat; fitting drawers, doors and hardware
Finishing prep
Sanding sequence, grain raising, defect filling; working with hardwax oil and preparing for lacquer
Drawings
Reads dimensioned drawings in millimetres; can work from a sketch and a sample

Languages

Any

Nationality

Any

Company Size

11-50