noun
cabinetmaker; joiner
Refers to a traditional Japanese woodworker who makes furniture and joinery, especially using the sashimono technique (wood joinery without nails).
祖父は指物師で、箪笥や机を作っていた。
My grandfather was a cabinetmaker and made chests and desks.
指物 refers to the joinery technique or the furniture itself, while 指物師 is the craftsman who makes it.
From 指物 (sashimono, 'joinery, cabinetwork') + 師 (shi, 'master, craftsman'). The term 指物 originally referred to wooden items assembled by inserting one piece into another.