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Most of the clear vertical grain fir from the Pacific Northwest now goes to Japan. They value it highly and pay a premium price. What do they use it for? Post and beam construction. My research led me to this video:
http://www.dwell.com/great-idea/arti...panese-joinery
Something about this leaves me profoundly saddened.
It runs precisely counter to my efforts to learn these same skills, now automated.
It took humans more than 20,000 years to master these techniques and they should not be abandoned.
Wonder bread has not stopped artisan bread makers and home bakers.
Amazing. Iir those traditional structures tend to withstand earth quakes better than modern concrete and steel earth quake resistant structures. I wish some of that fir stayed here for domestic use, but I guess it's a market factor. CNC timber frame prefab.....wow. I have a book on that type of joinery, wonderful expression of human skill, must have taken some skill to program and design the factory too.
Thanks for posting the link Andrew. I enjoyed the video very much.
Hate to be the guy that breaks off a tennon
Funny, for millennia hand work was done not for some love of the craft, but because there was no other way to do it. Its been a single liftime since men had the luxury to wax on about how much better handywork is than automation. I for one cant wait to own a CNC so I can spend more time designing and less time pushing wood.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Matthews
Somehow, selling off our natural resources bothers me.
I admire the joinery and precision that they create. I have always been interested in timber framing. The precision involved rather than bashing together butt joints and nails. For quality buildings, this CNC joinery can't be beat economically. I would really appreciate the artisan that would produce this by hand.