Europe’s best at joinery at 23 – “There must be no space between two wooden elements, not even for a sheet of paper”
He made garden benches as a child and recently became European champion in joinery at the age of 23. Despite his young age, Dániel Nagy from Székesfehérvár is already teaching the joiners of the future at a woodworking vocational school in Pest. What were his tactics at the competition in Gdansk, Poland? And what is the situation of the joinery profession in Hungary? We talked to him in a room full of workbenches, machines, and inlaid cabinets, and this interview became the last one in our series of articles with EuroSkills winners.
Started with a garden bench and a doghouse
Dániel Nagy, a European champion in joinery, welcomes me at his workplace at the Kaesz Gyula Woodworking Vocational High School in Zugló, Budapest. He has been teaching teenagers the tricks of the trade since September.
"Nowadays, the two are no longer separated, and students learn joinery and cabinetmaking together. While a joiner basically deals with windows, doors, and staircases, a cabinetmaker, by name, deals with chairs, tables, and so on," he explains. The walls in the office are decorated with carefully crafted wooden frames. They are the work of young people who have competed in previous world competitions, and the table where we are talking is also the work of a competitor.
The Woodworking Vocational High School is an important venue, every year the best young carpenters of the country gather here, and the winner of the competition can represent Hungary at the WorldSkills and EuroSkills.
Daniel finished eighth in the 2022 WorldSkills and won a Medallion for Excellence, which qualified him to compete at EuroSkills in Gdansk, Poland in 2023. He went there to win and came home with a gold medal, but let's start at the very beginning.
"Growing up in a family house, we were always doing something DIY, a garden bench or a dog house. Even in primary school, I loved working with wood in crafts class, " he recalls. He graduated from the Mihály Vörösmarty Vocational High School in Székesfehérvár and went on to study the vocational part in the 14th district of Budapest, where he completed his technical training.
"The reputation of the whole country depends on it"
The 23-year-old Dániel's preparation for the European Championship was led by Csaba Babanecz, a joiner and wood engineer.
"From eight in the morning until five or six in the afternoon, I was exactly scheduled for what I was going to do. During the preparation, you often get discouraged even over half a millimetre, and it takes two or three years before the fruits of your labour are ready to be reaped when you become European champion," he continues.
In September 2023, in Gdansk, the joiners had to make a wooden frame: a window sash, and a case in three days. "We learned what the task would be exactly only 15 minutes before the competition: what nodes, wood joints, and taps would be needed to make the frame. They change the dimensions up to the last minute, adding different complications to the task," he explains. There are very strict rules for the gaps and joints.
"There must be no space between two wooden elements, not even a sheet of paper could fit into the gap. Even 1/100th of a millimeter matter” – he says.
"I can only perform at 100 percent or above in a competitive situation. On the second day, I finished the sash part of the window in the morning, glued it together and the glue was able to set during the one-hour lunch break" he explains. And that gave him an advantage. "You have to be tactical, steal time. Some people can do it by speeding up and then taking a break, but I tend to keep a calm, monotonous, fast pace." In the building carpentry section, the Danes, the French, and the English are strong opponents from 12-13 nations.
At the results ceremony, Dániel was the first member of the Hungarian team to receive a gold medal. After that, the winning streak was on. "The Hungarian team won three gold medals within five minutes, which was a great experience," he says. Hungary finished second in the European standings, after Switzerland. Dániel says it was a great honour to compete under the Hungarian flag. "They didn't nominate somebody's somebody to represent the country, but really the best in each profession. The reputation of the whole country depends on it," he stresses.
"It's good to see them improving week by week, month by month"
From this academic year, Dániel has been a teacher at the Kaesz Gyula Woodworking Vocational High School. During the day, he teaches future carpenters: they start from the basics, from which tool is which, and how to use them. His students can usually take home what they have made: picture frames, and boxes.
"It's good to see students improving week by week, month by month. They are respectful to me, even though we are only eight or nine years apart. Fortunately, it's not a big age difference, so I understand what they're saying," he laughs. - A lot of people struggle with problems, some find it harder to understand the material. Not because they don't want to, but often they don't have the skills. You have to be able to deal with that too, it all depends on how you explain things," he says.
"It's worth learning a trade besides graduating from high school - that's what I tell everyone. If you like DIY or welding at home, try it for yourself." - he says.
The question is how many will stay in the trade. If you are ambitious, you will prefer to go your own way as a self-employed entrepreneur. "Unfortunately, in big companies, they often don't trust newcomers, even though if they were given more space they would develop a lot. Many companies prefer to look for joiners who have been in the trade for ten years" he says.
Workshop, machinery, wall of fame
With a clear aim to encourage as many children as possible to participate in world competitions, he also works with students after class. He even shows me the workshop where one of his prospective competitors is practicing. Each year, it is in this small hall that it is decided who will represent the country in the current world competition. At the entrance, the hallway is lined with wooden beams and finished furniture: inlaid bedside cabinets, and drawers. He says that in the early stages of the preparations he only worked with oak since the material used for the world competition is also oak or ash.
Inside, there are desks, and machines everywhere. "The fastest way is to work with hand-held machines: circular saws, milling machines, grinders" he says. Daniel says that he has learnt to work with extreme precision and speed as a result of EuroSkills. It made him realize how much you can do with one tool.
The workshop features a special Wall of Fame with photos of the furniture and joinery winners who have consistently brought home medals from WorldSkills and EuroSkills in recent years. "For a young person, a competition like this will certainly add five or six years to their career," he adds. The European Skills Championships have so far seen five gold medals for furniture and joinery, with the young Hungarian professionals taking first place in the latter category for the third year in a row in 2023.
Our interviews with other Hungarian medallists from the 2023 European Skills Championships are available here .
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