About wood, the past, planks and carpentry courses with the power off, with Fane Pănăzan

For me, Facebook profile groups are a source of information, a way to stay permanently connected with the wood industry. I'm interested in the questions posted by those who are struggling with various problems or beginners looking for solutions related to woodworking, joining and finishing, but especially in the answers received. Among them I have often found the recommendation to ask some of the members of the group, recognized by others as specialists. "Fane will fix you", even silencing him, prompted me to see who Fane is and why everyone is so convinced he'll solve the problem before they even know what it is. That's how I met Fane Pănăzan.

A character that deserves more audience

Known virtually, because we haven't been able to see each other yet. Long before I contacted him, I appreciated the confidence with which he answered questions, his knowledge of the behaviour of wood in different situations, his original solutions, his passion for planing, and the humour with which he defused small conflicts that arose in the Carpenters group, where he is also a moderator. Over time I have come to realise that he is a skilled carpenter with a lot to say, a craftsman from whom one can steal profession, in short a character which deserves more audience. And I thought I'd contact him.

Among the good things about social media is that you can try to contact anyone, just as the person contacted can accept or decline to be contacted. So recently I sent him a message saying I'd been following him for a while and would like to chat, if he agreed. He accepted and we agreed to get together in the evening. The conversation that followed was a long talk about past and present, wood, mouldings, classical joinery. We started a thousand topics and I don't think we finished any of them. His memories triggered mine and vice versa, current stories intertwined with old ones, so it took another conversation to clear up at least some of it. Before the second call I prepared well, wrote down the questions with dashes in the margin, called and what do you think? We talked about everything and anything again.

He learned his trade growing up in the workshop alongside his father

Fane Pănăzan is from Sibiu, is 50 years old and doesn't show her age at all. The workshop, inherited from his father, is in the Gara Mică district. From his father he learned the secrets of the trade that now help him solve unsolvable problems for others. His father learned the trade of modelling at the vocational school run by the Independence and worked on the platform for a long time. Now the platform Independence is a ruin. When they tore it down years ago, the father, along with a few former colleagues, broke in just to retrieve a photo from the honour board. It was a photograph of the 1961 generation of modelers. There were 33 in the class, 5 left. Fane's father's gone, too.

(After our talk, Fane went to Szabo Tuki - one of the few remaining - to talk about the past. It was a very emotional meeting, with tears and memories. The next meeting will be with all those who are left, at Fane's workshop).

The Independence, the father was a specialist in metal and wood moulds. The moulds were unique, very difficult and went to factories all over the country and the world. The areas they were used in were diverse and so you had to know everything about the materials you were working with. To work wood well you had to know it better than a carpenter, to anticipate its behaviour in different situations. That's how he became one of the best craftsmen.

Unfortunately, due to a family problem that required his presence at home for as long as possible, he had to leave the factory in 1974 and set up his own workshop. He was the first of his generation to have a workshop. At that time it was very difficult to work as an independent craftsman. You had to be affiliated to craft cooperatives where you got different jobs. It wasn't easy, but he worked continuously and learnt all the time in order to be able to do the most demanding work. In time he also built his house above the workshop and Fane grew up with his father in the basement workshop.

No more work for pleasure, price and haste matter

Although he was more than ready, Fane was late in getting his carpenter's certificate. As his father had a workshop, the communist law allowed him to get his certificate, but they neglected it and in the 1990s the law was repealed. He had to take courses organised for the unemployed to get it. He didn't really understand what was going on there because he had learned carpentry with the Austrian names inherited from the old craftsmen, like all the carpenters in the area. At the end, everyone in the class presented simple work, joints made with screw-bolts or nails, and he came with a drawer with hidden targets, i.e. with Swallowtail joints. He admits he was a bit arrogant at the time and it cost him a bit, but he eventually got the certificate.

After his certification he set up his own company and started to work a lot, with great projects and important collaborations. He ended up at the topas he likes to say. He even made an iconostasis with Claudiu Buzduga, a work that made it to Boston. All worked with hand tools and a MUT (universal carpentry machine) Dorna 300, manufactured in 1986 and bought in '92 at auction. Before that they had such a car on loan from the cooperative, but after the revolution they had to give it back. Because they needed the machine, they participated in an auction and bought the MUT which is still in the workshop. They paid 300,000 lei for it. "There was money for three Dakas back then!" It's in very good condition even now, solid and sturdy. In the workshop he also has a lathe that can machine workpieces with large diameters, up to 2 m, a lathe made by his father. Fane made small improvements for safety, at the suggestion of a friend, and now it works perfectly.

Gradually, he stopped working on large projects that he managed directly. Discussions started to be more and more about money, everything had to be done as quickly as possible, and so the pleasure of working disappeared. Now he works less and avoids working for the end client. He collaborates with friends, with other carpenters, with designers. Lately he's been working a lot with Vali Oltean, a well-known designer from Sibiu. He is much calmer and devotes more time to his passions and family.

More expensive wood is cheaper than cheap wood

I ask him how he deals with wood, where he buys cheap wood. "More expensive wood is cheaper than cheap wood", comes the answer.He tells me that he also proved to a good friend, who is also a carpenter, that it is better to buy quality wood, even if it is more expensive. Quality wood is calibrated, straightened, eliminates many of the operations needed to bring a wood into workable, finished condition.

Fane only works with wood. Very rarely, when friends ask him to, he repairs a piece of furniture made of chipboard. And the joints are also made of wood. He told me that in the past, a representative of a US company asked for samples of coffins made only of wood. The coffins were to be burned and the requirement was that they should not give off any fumes and that no metal should remain after burning. Of all those who came forward, only the coffin they made was made entirely of wood. The others had a staple and a screw left, but they had nothing. In the end, when they were about to sign the contract, they realised that the American company wanted a quantity far beyond their production capacity and gave up.

The pleasure of collaborating with friends in the guild

He tells me he's sometimes mean and arrogant, maybe that's why he works harder with clients. I contradict him by telling him that, from what I've seen on the groups, he helps everyone who has problems, who asks for help. He admits that he likes to help, to teach those who want to learn classical carpentry, the one made with saw, chisel and ruler. He taught two of his groupmates how to make wooden stairs with a central spade by making live on messengerwhile working on such a ladder.

He admits that he learns from others. Radu Vădanfrom Cluj, saw him working on the lathe and taught him how to make it safer and easier. He also turned to Radu when he wanted to buy some more expensive chisels without his wife's knowledge. I understand that this is a common practice among carpenters, who spend large sums on high-performance or rare, collectible tools. They call on each other to buy them and escape the reproaches of their wives who then don't know how much they spent on tools. (Don't rock the boat, I'm allowed to give away the house 🙂 🙂

His collection of rendele Stanley (Stanley plans) is another topic discussed in groups. He has collected rhinestones by buying them at auction in the US, UK and Romania. He bought all the numbers, from 1 to 11, but number 1 has not arrived yet. She's expecting it in two weeks. On Sundays she usually goes to the workshop to polish and sharpen them. She then posts videos on Facebook and makes you sick all craftsmen. He recently posted a video of translucent veneer cut from a piece of wood with one of the edges freshly sharpened.

At the rindele, it is best to get along with Lucian Todor. And he is very passionate, even if he is not a carpenter. He's also a go-to guy when it comes to secret shopping. Well who could understand him better, they share the same passion.

Carpentry courses with the friend from the Oak Tower

The pleasure of sharing what he knows has led to the emergence Oak Tower, a new Facebook page that aims to present instructive video material, made together with Mihai Ursu (Creative Bear), good friend and collaborator. He films the work step by step, explaining where problems occur and what needs to be done to solve them.

This year they have also started to hold work-shops with physical presence. They had one free and one paid one. The demand is high, there are many people interested. Business owners who want to learn the secrets of the trade have also come to the courses.

"In the first course we showed them how to master tools and machinery if hazards arise during woodworking. You need to know how wood reacts in different situations, how to catch it so you don't hurt yourself. I want to teach them how to work with the saw, chisel and ruler, how to cut the current when it's running. All done by hand, no machines."

Some business managers would like to have such courses held in their locality, so that they can send all their employees. But it's difficult and for now they prefer to hold the courses in their workshops in Sibiu.

With Fane you can talk for hours and still not cover everything you wanted to ask in the beginning. He has lots of stories, moves quickly from one topic to another, is humorous and personable. But mostly he knows his stuff and likes to teach others. In my opinion, this is his greatest quality. Fane, nice to have met you!