On a recent rainy Saturday morning, Rogowski proves himself to be a patient and genial instructor to about a dozen students learning how to fashion dovetails. Some students have driven two or three hours to attend the all-day class. He demonstrates proper technique as he exchanges easy banter with the class—“You need to practice. Hey, Milt. This won’t just come to you the first time you pick up a saw.”

Rogowski stresses the importance of dedication and integrity. A person who sits in a chair someone else spent hours crafting may not be able to see, may not even care, how it was constructed. The maker, on the other hand, knows the painstaking toil and attention that went into every joint.

“ This isn’t really about making stuff,” Rogowski says. “In the end, the work is what makes you.”