Well I could not disagree more.
Send a person to my home and I will teach them. Anyone willing to learn can. My attitude is that a craft as defined is not something that is given at birth, but can be learned. There are certain steps required to do certain projects. You are saying you can do these steps you show in your pictures, etc and some one else can"t. I do not believe that, not for a minute. I am not demeaning you or anyone. But woodworking is just a bunch of steps using tools to create and any one can follow these steps.
No matter how hard I try I can not paint a Mona Lisa. But I definitley could build any furniture piece if by nothing else trial and error. Eventually even the worst woodworker will succeed if he just keeps learning from his mistakes.
My cousin Vince graduated from the Art institute in Chicago and he was born with a gift. He could actually draw perfect portrait of any person at about 8 years old. Some things in art can be taught, but mostly it is a god given talent.
I truly believe in my heart if someone else can build it, then I can build it. I know I can. And if I can, anyone can. I just do not see woodworking like cabinetry and doors and furniture as beyond the learning capabilities of ANYONE willing to try and put forth the effort required.
I can make any Krenov piece. Thats being a craftsman. I can not design the pieces like he does, that is his art.
Now your entire paragraph except for the last sentence proves my point. You LEARNED from doing it for 5 years at this and then did that. And anyone else can learn to. God gave you what ability that someone else can not learn, name it and I will listen. ANYONE can use the tools in a sequence to perform a stated task. Credit for hard work I do give do. But not credit that you can hold a router a certain way that I can't.
I have made so many pieces and people say I could never do that and I say, yes you can.
If anyone believes you are born with it, then a whole bunch of people here are going to throw in the towel and bail because they failed so many times at a nice project and now you are saying it is a god given gift. They say to themselves "oh I can not do it. I wasn't born with it", bull! Anyone can learn woodworking if they have the desire. And anyone else with two hands have the same gifts, they just have to learn to use them.
When teaching kids woodworking their are always some kids that take to it right away, but I have never ever met a kid I could not teach to become a good woodworker.
Besides, Fred can make anything I can make. His back might hurt more though
Nickao