Is woodworking gaining or losing popularity?

[Brian Ashton]

Actually if it's declining in popular that's a good thing for us cause tools will fall in price.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

i think that it is losing popularity. In general, it appears that young people are doing less of mechanical things too. When I was a kid(that sounds strange), many boys wanted to fool with engines and cars and you see very little of that now and it is not really possible with car and small engines.

A lot of schools have also dropped shop programs. All of this is unfortunate as there is a real need for hands on people in all kinds of jobs. The newspapers always talk about high tech jobs but there is a huge need for the trades. It is amazing what is charged if you have someone come out to do a simple home repair.

No idea on the popularity, but Larry, what kind of dog is your avatar? For some reason I thought it was a bassett for years, but this morning I noticed the resemblance to the girls daschund.

[Mike Cutler]

I'm 56 now and I got to tell ya', I like the kids that are entering the workforce lately. They're bright, want to learn, and seem to be willing to listen if you present a topic in a concise logical manner. I believe that they will gravitate to the "manual art forms", because they need to express the creativity that's been inhibited in them. The young girls today really want to explore their creativity.
They're somewhat hamstrung by their mechanical aptitude skill set, because they just haven't had an opportunity to develop it. Schools all across the country dropped programs like wood working, metal shop, auto shop, etc due to insurance liability. Even basic art classes were dropped due to budget problems. They haven't been given the chance to explore their own hands yet.
Once you explain concepts to them, they pick them up pretty quickly. They just have holes, but it's not entirely their fault. Just start at a very remedial level. They pick up quick. ( For those of us working in industrial environments, do them and yourself a favor. Teach them "soft to hard, hard to soft, and metal on metal hurts a fella." )
Wood working can be utilitarian, but it can also be a art form, and I think that younger people today are going to approach it more from the art form, than the utilitarian aspect.

I think it's just at a low point in a cycle now.

[Jim Koepke]

When my grandkids visit some of them want to spend time in the shop making stuff.

Now one of my neighbor's sons has approached me to teach him about carving and woodworking. So in my case it looks to be growing.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ck-on-the-Door

jtk

[Rick Potter]

Jim Mathews brings up a point. When you are able to buy a house, you need to buy or make stuff for it. That is how I got started. I was not looking for a hobby, I needed a bookcase that fit a certain spot in the house. My dad had a table saw, and made things, but I never paid attention at all. I am now 72, and still making stuff for the house. Years ago, my grown kids asked me for special beds, and now their kids occasionally ask me for help building something.

I rarely make anything for fun, still mostly stuff we need. That is why I consider myself a DIY guy.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I think the economics of woodworking, associated space and tools are the main reasons a lot of folks don't into woodworking until later in life after their finances and family situation has stabilized or downsized (empty nesters). When I had children in school and college, there is absolutely no way I could have afforded my woodworking shop or tools.

Every generation tends to look down on the younger generations often caused IMO by a different tastes in life other than what we the older generation accept as our norm. In 2000 I had the opportunity to ride an US Navy aircraft carrier with our youngest son, a ship's company officer, from San Francisco to Bremerton, WA. In 2002 my wife with our son rode the same carrier from Pearl Harbor to San Diego to Bremerton. She and I both came to the same conclusion when comparing experiences later. There are still a lot of terribly intelligent, hardworking young adults in this world! They listen to different music and dress differently than we did at the same age but "they are same just different".

In fact, my wife is currently in Port Orchard, WA visiting our oldest grandson who is a US Navy jet mechanic of 8 years service IIRC, his lovely wife, his 5 year old son and 7 month old daughter. Our grandson has a history of buying older homes and remodeling them extensively. He did it in Virginia Beach and I will bet he did the same thing in Port Orchard. He has already owned 2 more homes than we did at his age. I never bought one during my 8 years in the US Navy.

A lot of those who are into woodworking today are from the baby boomer generation, part of the post WWII population explosion. Fewer public schools are teaching woodworking as a result of law suits.

Now neighbors of my generation are selling the multi-story homes with shops and buying single story homes in retirement communities so they can physically handle daily life.

So is woodworking losing it's popularity? It could just be declining due to the aging population and will increase again when they younger generation has more available finances for things outside of life's necessities.

[Matt Schroeder]

Last year I attended a couple meetings of the local woodworkers' guild and found a similar demographic to that mentioned above. I felt I was the youngest in the room (at 44) and although there were a couple that were close to my age most were in the retirement stage of their life. The schedule of upcoming events reflected that fact--meet at Joe's shop on Friday morning to make toys for the upcoming Christmas charity giveaway, come to Rob's shop on Wednesday afternoon for a beginning box making class, etc. I decided now wasn't the time for me to become too involved with their group; with the limited amount of time I can carve out from family and work life I would rather be in my shop than driving to a meeting to hear about things I can't participate in since I'll be at work. They are supporting their group with activities at times that reflect their priorities, and when I get to that point I will jump in with that group with glee.

That being said I do look at their monthly online newsletter and see they highlight several new members each month. Most of them seem to be newly retired and "looking to find a group to help them grow their skills in a hobby they have enjoyed for a long time, and now have the time to devote to improving their skills". So, I am not sure the hobby overall is losing participants, but maybe the places we are looking for that activity is making it appear that is the case. Perhaps it is not the traditional woodworking hobby that the current retirees remember from their youth, but as also highlighted above the homeowners and frustrated artists in the younger crowd are still making sawdust on the weekends and in the evenings. I don't think we would see the plethora of online content or new products geared toward woodworkers if the overall activity was declining--businesses are pretty good at not wasting their money. We may not be attending woodworking shows, subscribing to magazines, or have had an opportunity to learn woodworking in high school as those of the past, but the underlying desire to make something that lasts is still there in my opinion, and is finding other ways to manifest itself.

Matt

[Kelly Cleveland]

I think if most high schools still required shop class there would be more younger people getting into woodworking as a hobby and a profession. I am now 16 and I have been woodworking for about 5 years. I got started after taking a mandatory shop class in 7th grade which really sparked my interest. At my high school we only have a small 20 student shop class that runs for half the year, from what I have heard it is a lot of paperwork and most of the kids really interested in the woodworking quit before it is finished. Most of the kids that would sign up for shop classes are encouraged to do the engineering and design courses instead.

[Brian Holcombe]

Well, I'm 30 and the local guys seem to be either around my own age or 50+. One of my recent neighbors has two kids and they found very quick interest in woodworking as soon as they learned of my hobby.

[Judson Green]

Have you not heard of Lumbersexual!


The Man Issue (Portlandia): http://youtu.be/dTcvmmOkqJI

I suspect it's more you getting older and noticing different things in your life. There never really has been a time when late teens to early thirties people were all that interested in manual arts hobbies. Yes, you an an idividual may have been intested in such craft but im talking about generally. Cars being the exception, I suspect because they're a great way to attacked girls or satisfy the adrenalin need of all young men. Where as a new hand plane does little to attracted the opposite sex or give that adrenalin high that can only be gotten from nearly killing ones self. Also, most don't have the space or the facilities to get involved... when you're older you have more cash, more room like a shed or garage, and a desire to do things with your hands again... I've been a rabid woodworker since I was 10. All my teachers simply left me alone to do as I pleased I was so obsessed with manual arts but when I hit my early twenties, apart from paid work I had no time left in a day to play with wood or any desire to. I was too busy getting pissed, chasing skirts or cheating death on my bike to be bothered with such nonsense. Come my mid thirties and partying being too hard on my body, a lack of desire to kill myself on a bike and having a wife I was back to making stuff with my hands again. And now in my early fifties and having divorced myself completely from the profession I like woodwork even more now.

It's one of the many cycles of life.

[Jesse Busenitz]

I'm 23 and trying to make a career out of it, and I have two close friends who aren't that much older who do it full time. Maybe as a hobby it's waning .... For me it started as a hobby when I was 14, now it's an addiction, forget the
X-box or whatever you wanna put there.

[Brian Ashton]

I think if most high schools still required shop class there would be more younger people getting into woodworking as a hobby and a profession. I am now 16 and I have been woodworking for about 5 years. I got started after taking a mandatory shop class in 7th grade which really sparked my interest. At my high school we only have a small 20 student shop class that runs for half the year, from what I have heard it is a lot of paperwork and most of the kids really interested in the woodworking quit before it is finished. Most of the kids that would sign up for shop classes are encouraged to do the engineering and design courses instead.

TBH you're saying nothing new to when I was your age... The only exception is there were shop classes with heaps of guys wanting in to them, but when we all graduated we stopped the hobby. Wait till you hit your late teens/early 20s and see if you are still making things with any real passion. Maybe you will but you'll be one of a very few. I guess it comes down to which would you rather do. Go hang out at the lake or ocean with some nice minimally dressed girls and a few mates on a hot summer day enjoying a few wobbly pops, or make shavings in your parents hot garage on your own.

[Jim Becker]

Woodworking is no different than many other avocations...interest comes and goes, but sadly, there is less interesting to begin with within more recent generations. Some of that has to do with other distractions and some of it has to do with zero exposure in school. With so many activities and things competing for what little disposable income is available for "fun"...actual exposure and experience is key to generating interest. While I didn't take wood shop in high school (chose two other options for that elective...electrical and drafting) I was at least exposed to it. And then in my 40s, I actually chose to pursue it. A much lower percentage of schools have shop programs these days and even when they do, there are many other electives that compete.

Nature of the beast...

[Prashun Patel]

The desire to create with ones' hands is innate to humans. Every time I show one of my kids' friends something I've made, their eyes light up. They WANT to do it. It's we adults who have failed to foster that passion. There are many distractions, and we cannot bemoan the fact that the Ipad and the Xbox attract more visitors than our shops. Every time I've offered to show kids how to use a lathe or make a little box, I've had more takers than I can handle.

Also, there are many new materials that are being increasingly incorporated into design and pushing the envelopes of what can be done.

We need to find ways to make things interesting for kids instead of crying about how they don't want to do what we did.

It's not dying, it's changing. Wood is beautiful and will always be beautiful, and people will always be attracted to it.

[Mike Henderson]

One advantage of woodworking is that you can create something that will live on for centuries and be treasured by the family. It's hard to think of something else that falls into that same category - maybe writing a book.

And looking at woodworking schools, it appears that people still seek out education in woodworking. It's usually older people, but that's the only people who have the time to devote to woodworking.

I think woodworking will continue to be about the same, neither growing a lot or declining a lot.

Mike