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Carpentry continues to be one of the traditional trades that best reflects the evolution of manual work towards automation. It is one of those jobs that are being absorbed by the lack of generational change, as happens to the profession of bricklayer or plumber. Ángel Antona knows it well. He has been dedicated to wood for almost half a century and has seen how his profession has completely changed. From his beginnings at just 14 years old to today, where he runs his own factory in Las Ventas de Retamosa, his story is also that of the trade itself.
“I have been working in wood for 48 years. I started when I was 14 in Los Yébenes and then I set up my factory here in Las Ventas de Retamosa, where we dedicate ourselves to doing on-site carpentry: dressing rooms, wardrobes, custom doors. The raw materials come in and the finished work comes out completely,” he declares in an interview for the ‘Castilla-La Mancha Media’ YouTube channel.
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From manual work to automation
One of the biggest changes that stands out is the impact of technology on production times. What previously required hours of artisanal work, today is solved in minutes thanks to machinery.
“This type of drawing can take 3 or 4 minutes at most. Before that was half an hour.”
“When you started, Ángel, you didn’t have this machinery. This type of work was done with a milling machine by hand, one by one, and it was very laborious work. Now this has made things a lot easier for us.”
The current process is completely mechanized from design to final finishing.
“The first thing that is done is the design of the doors. The client asks us for the type of design they want, we do it and here we enter the coordinates into the computer and the machine does it for us.”
A creative job with a future
Despite automation, Ángel defends the artisanal and creative nature of carpentry, where each piece remains unique.
“Carpentry is a very creative craft. Taking a raw material, a board that is nothing and is in a warehouse, goes through all the processes and seeing in the client’s living room how it looks and how happy they are… is what I like most about carpentry.”
Furthermore, the sector continues to need training and generational renewal, something that in his case is guaranteed with his son.
“This is Ángel, he is my son, who is going to be in charge of the company.”
The young man responds: “I have been there for 15 years, I started when I was 20 and continue to this day.”
The work from within: materials and processes
Carpentry involves multiple phases, from cutting to final lacquering.
“We section it here on the machine, once the drawings are made we sand it, we do this whole type of process and we lacquer it.”
“First we are sanding them to then apply the first layer, which will cover the pores, and then, once it is dry, we can give it the second layer of paint… well, lacquer. Here is the last process: now we paint it and put it in the dryer,” says Ángel.
They work with different types of wood depending on the order.
“This particular one is spruce. We work with pine, we work with oak, any type of wood.”
A job that continues to train young people
The sector also continues to attract students looking for a stable job.
“I am studying an intermediate degree in carpentry, installation and furnishing to be able to have a job in the future.”
Despite the changes, Ángel’s message is clear: carpentry is still alive, adapting to the times, but maintaining its essence.
“What is asked of us all our lives: that we not lack work,” he admits sincerely.