The roots of today's Schraffl’s carpentry lie in a labor-intensive past characterized by vision and entrepreneurial thinking. The evidence of the family's own craft history is displayed in an impressive and nationally unique carpentry museum located in our carpentry workshop in Welsberg.

The Schraffl family's carpentry museum vividly illustrates the use of simple tools in times gone by. It encompasses not only the complete inventory of tools from a carpentry workshop from a time when machinery was not yet in use but only in its infancy, but also a remarkable archive of written documents.

The centerpiece of this collection is the splendid trade chest that immediately catches the visitor's eye when entering the museum. Adorned with exquisite inlays, this piece of furniture dates back to the 18th century when the traditional trade guild system was threatened with dissolution as part of the Enlightenment. To strengthen their position against state and local authorities, the various craft guilds in San Candido, as well as in other places, united to form a community, each of which was given its own "Lade" – the name for the guild chest. Significantly, the exterior of the chest bears the guild marks of all the trades that belonged to this overarching community. The small office section within Schraffl's museum also houses a considerable collection of written and visual documents. Some of these deserve to be displayed in a showcase, which is scarcely feasible due to space constraints. Nevertheless, the precious seals of Innichen/San Candido guilds should not be kept from museum visitors.

A thorough academic study of all the archives here would produce a substantial book. Moreover, some of the works by the senior chef's father on display in the entrance area of the museum are well worth seeing, including a splendid masterpiece from 1903.

Before embarking on our museum tour, we let the entire room with its almost overwhelming collection of exhibits make an impression on us. The heavy wooden floorboards and robust paneling provide an appropriate backdrop for the museum's material, thoughtfully arranged with great care and affection. The whole offers a lively insight into the working world of a carpenter in bygone times. The function and handling of some of the tools are scarcely known today and, as such, require explanation from a knowledgeable guide.

When it comes to providing explanations, Master Schraffl, who once worked with all of these tools as a young man, is in his element. As he speaks about the work of his grandfather and father, as well as his own early years in carpentry, the individual exhibits, ranging from the simplest plane to the most primitive hand saw to the first mechanical devices, suddenly come to life. One begins to grasp the extent of effort required of carpenters of the past, who were true artisans in the purest sense, and how much craftsmanship they had to master, something that is increasingly being taken over by machines for today's trade professionals.

For example, a plane, the emblematic tool of the trade, is used today at best during assembly work to rectify minor irregularities and defects on site. However, who would still manually smooth a board supplied by the sawmill with the "Rachbank" and various planes? The "Rachbank" was used during the initial planing to remove the roughest unevenness of the board.

Nearly seventy years ago, manual planing was the primary task of carpenters, which demanded a delicate touch acquired through a great deal of practice.

It was the distant time when the poet Ferdinand Raimund had the carpenter Valentin say in his stage play "Der Verschwender":

Often my wife quarrels with me, O horror!
That doesn't make me angry;
I knock out my plane
and think: this is music to my ears!

And the father of today's senior boss still had the following saying prominently displayed in the workshop:

The carpenter doesn't care
whether he is poor or rich, 
because he sets the plane to work
and planes everything evenly.

However, as we delve into this journey through the past, our intention is not to awaken nostalgia, but rather to marvel at the craftsmanship of yesteryears. We wish to express gratitude for the remarkable achievements of the previous generations of carpenters.

With this mental preparation, we embark on our museum tour, starting from the entrance area and proceeding clockwise along the walls. The following images, along with the accompanying explanations, serve as guides and aids for interpretation.

It's worth noting that even a young carpenter must seek guidance on how to handle certain tools since this collection harks back to a time that only older colleagues can remember. What Candidus Schraffl Sr. has created here is undoubtedly a unique treasure, making a valuable addition to the Folklore Museum in Dietenheim, which is primarily dedicated to the former life and work of farmers. While most other carpenters have disposed of the old and no longer used tools and equipment, Schraffl felt it was important to lovingly preserve everything that had served him and his predecessors throughout many years of craftsmanship.