Change of the Era

[steven c newman]

Somedays..I will use a Router and router table....other days?
Tues. Morn, tool kit, chisels.JPG
I just want to give things a good bash.....

There IS one fellow..that only uses Candles to light his shop....and frowns on others IF they don't do the same....100% "Tree to Furniture" by hand tools ONLY...
More power to him..IF that is the way he chooses....I follow a slightly different "path"......

[Mike Allen1010]

Jim, it is not the tools, but the way we use them, and our approach to building (whatever you build).

Some here want to remain out-and-out users of hand tools. Fine by me. I consider myself a fairly traditionally-orientated woodworker, insofar as I prefer joinery which possesses both the greatest strength and longevity (which includes reversibility for repairs in 100 years). This means mortice-and-tenon joinery rather than dominos or biscuits. Yet I own both these machines. They have a place in the workshop, but not for my furniture.

Basically, I use machines for the grunt work of preparation of rough stock, and then hand tools for joinery and finishing. Sometimes I use machines for joinery and finishing. I do have routers and sanders. It just depends on what you are building, how quickly, and what finish you seek. This is not often, since hand tools are where the fun lies.

There is art in using power tools well. But there are shortcut that are becoming increasingly seen - a degree in computer science is needed to run a CNC or similar, and I view this as a different kind of skill, not one I am interested in. I can see dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists becoming resentful and threatened by this new generation, since programming on a computer takes the place of years of practice at a bench.

Recently I purchased a 20 year old Festool tracksaw. It is like new, possibly used once or twice in its life. Why did I get it? Partly curiosity and partly I see a use. It was dirt cheap. So I built a bench to run a track as well as store a number of systainers I have accumulated over the years. My decision was to build this with mortice-and-tenon joints, rather than use a Domino. 24 M&T joints ….




It will not replace this ..




Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek I appreciate your thoughts about how advances in technology influence practitioners/crafts people. i’m wondering if it matters what dimensions of the craft the technology influences – for example I’m guessing when powered tablesaws/bandsaws were created, woodworkers recognized they were simply making fundamental aspects of the craft (dimensioning Rough stock) easier and more efficient.

When stationary power tools evolved and became easy to surface stock and cut joinery that was probably another change that is harder to accept.

Today, personally I value the aspect of the craft that can’t be automated, which for me are: asymmetrical placed dovetails, through wedged mortise and tenon joints, veneering, hand planed final surfaces, inlay, carving etc.

Sometime soon I’m guessing those things will also be able to be done by machines/AI, which for me would suck the joy out of the craft. Likely I’ll be gone by then and I’m probably glad for that.

Best, Mike

[Derek Cohen]

Mike, we are on the same page here. Those who value traditional construction in the main will incorporate modern tools to assist with the process they have been dedicated to before. Using a handsaw or a tablesaw to form a tenon is within the same “family”, compared to joinery based on biscuits or dominos. Tradition continues. Preference for a handsaw vs tablesaw is another matter - this can be a toss up according to the circumstances.

I suspect that many newbies to woodworking may prefer dominoes and pocket screws because they are inexperienced, lack skills, and also because they have yet to appreciate the history and traditions behind fine woodworking. Some will change (presumably as they come to recognise the limitations of power-only-influenced design), and some will not.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

Derek I appreciate your thoughts about how advances in technology influence practitioners/crafts people. i’m wondering if it matters what dimensions of the craft the technology influences – for example I’m guessing when powered tablesaws/bandsaws were created, woodworkers recognized they were simply making fundamental aspects of the craft (dimensioning Rough stock) easier and more efficient.

Throughout history there has been resistance to new methods and/or mechanization. They have given us new words like luddite or saboteur. The luddites were English workers who thought machinery was going to take away their jobs. The saboteur moniker comes from rural workers who wore wooden shoes called sabots. The story goes these shoes were jammed into the machinery to stop them. Sabotage was the name given to the act of gumming up the works.

One big change in technology in my lifetime was the transistor. One of my father's skills was repairing televisions. This was back in the day of tubes. When the transistor started to get used in radios he felt it was just a fad and wouldn't grow in to a much wider field. He was resistant about learning solid state electronics. As TVs changed over the years, he stopped working on them. He was in error on his judgement toward transistors. Though the fears of workers from centuries before were correct, the transistor and solid state electronics has pretty much eliminated the viability of a TV repair business.

Many years ago I worked on computer mother boards on a component level. Today so much of it is surface mount one would need specialized equipment to test, remove and replace components.

It is pretty much the same story in many endeavors.

If one is running a commercial production shop, they will do well to embrace the technology available to them. Hobbyists or traditionalists can do as they please. If one is trying to make a living at something they have to either work efficiently or have such a high standard of production buyers will gladly pay a premium for the effort.

jtk

[Graham Haydon]

We bought the big Domino at work, somewhat reluctantly. However it has proved to be versatile and paid for itself.

I don't personally see using a domino as less skilled than using a tablesaw. In addition I think it's much safer. I've been trained in an environment where all circular saws need a crown guard and a riving knife.

Even the paraih that is a biscuit jointer can be useful for alignment on difficult jobs.

What is wonderful for the home woodworker is that a bandsaw and a good selection of hand tools is a very enjoyable way to work. It's also an approach that works well when space is limited.

Although I don't really follow the visible hand tool people much, one service they offer is keeping the craft visible. We would all still enjoy what we do whether the celebrity du jour exists or not, but what they do is keep drawing new people in. That's a good thing!

[Thomas Wilson]

I follow Israel Martin (@lacabraenlaescalera) for his high level of skill with hand tools. Most of his instagram shows the upper level of his shop. It is beautiful. But he has shown the lower level of his building too that has a collection of standard power tools. He doesn’t talk about ever using them.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I will always remember the day I discovered pocket screws had been invented. I was re-creating a ready made base cabinet to accommodate a dishwasher. Cutting a style out of the face frame with a dovetail saw. My previously very sharp dovetail saw and I felt severely betrayed. Now I make that cut with a hacksaw or jigsaw with a metal cutting blade.

[chris carter]

CNC is the future. *Almost* any professional woodworker that doesn’t have one yet will have one in the next five years. Failing to do so will make it difficult to compete on price with competitors because of the massive amount of time they save, particularly with anything requiring multiples. My industry (recording industry) went through one of these massive evolutionary jumps shortly after I got into the business when we switched from tape based recording systems with large analog mixing consoles and racks full of gear for mixdown to now mixing everything “in the box” meaning entirely within a computer. Today, mixing for record labels, it’s virtually impossible to get work mixing the old way. If I didn’t mix in the box I basically would have a very difficult time getting any jobs and major label jobs would probably be impossible.

I have nothing against power tools or CNC. I’m a hobbyist and I’m 99% hand tools because it’s just more fun to me and I have all the patience in the world. But if I were a professional I would be overwhelmingly power tools because throughput is the name of the game. And if I were a professional you’d better believe I would buy a CNC. If I was a small craft professional I would buy a laser engraver because there is such a demand for it and you can nearly double the price of a cutting board, coat rack, coaster set, etc. Bottom line, the technology gives 99% of customers what they want.

That all said, referring to the OP’s post, I usually have to resort to saying “no electricity” instead of just “hand tools.” When I say “hand tools” people usually think powered tools you hold with your hand or even powered tools that you push the stock through with your hand. That means that to most people I talk to a table saw qualifies as a “hand tool.” Even sometimes when talking to woodworkers!

[Charles Guest]

Blended woodworking. power and hand tools, is well over 200 years old at this point. For small shops, small operations -- easily 100+ years old.

If you honk up a project workpiece, knowing that a new one - four-squared from rough stock, is literally minutes away as a replacement - makes "hand tool" woodworking far more palatable. One can dote on beautiful dovetails to heart's content when if a drawer side for some reason goes wrong, a new piece of stock ready for virtuosity is available in about ten minutes of machine time, if that.

Material budget? What's that? Throw enough money at it until it's built. I just won't take a picture of that big pile of screwed up parts. Nobody will ever know it took me twice the amount of wood that it should have. "I'm not happy with the kerf width of this saw." "Didn't I see where some fellow was making one with plate 25% thinner?" "Here's my Visa card, how quick can you ship?" And on and on...

[Rob Young]

I'm quite happy to mix and match technologies in furtherance of a project.

I have (too many?) hand tools and I greatly enjoy using them. They are my first choice for most tasks. But I also have a tablesaw, bandsaw, small power jointer and lunchbox planer because lets face it, some things are tedious and sometimes I just don't have the time.

But to this I've added a small gantry CNC (Shapeoko) and a Shaper Origin (which I really do enjoy using). The primary use of the Shaper Origin is to make templates for other tasks and to help me make jig parts. I've whipped up custom shooting boards from MDF and plywood using that to do angles and while I haven't yet completed it, I've done the CAD for a compound angle design.

Sure, I could make those with hand tools and my more standard power tools but it was a way for me to increase skills in CAD and become more familiar with what the CNC and SO could do.

And in the end, my time and my money are my own so I can choose how to spend both.

[Bryan Lee]

I think this is an interesting topic. I get a little out of sorts when I see things advertised as “handmade” just because it was hand sanded, but otherwise made on CNC machines. I have had a long time love affair with fine English shotguns, and it has come out in last years that some firms, whom charge in excess of $250k for a “handmade” shotgun/rifle actually use CNC at some steps. I think a lot of this probably goes on in our world of woodworking as well. I am not sure where the line is drawn in terms of electric “hand tools” and manual hand tools. That’s a hard one to draw.

[Bryan Lee]

I would imagine a lot of this has to do with newer generations enjoying and spending more time on computers, so when they want to get into wood working, it’s a natural tendency to go the CNC route. That same person might not find spending a few hours with a scrub plane and a rough sawn board much fun. I enjoy that type of work, and really don’t enjoy computers at all. I think there’s just a different mindset and set of skills. I know most of the shop classes in schools now are teaching CNC rather than how to set of a handplane.

[Jon Snider]

My transition has been a little different than others posting here. Coming from strictly a power tool background, I’ve been building wooden dories now for a few years with ever increasing use of hand tools. I just like it more, especially when I figure out a new way to use something other than a router. My hand tool collection has significantly increased, especially hand planes, due in no small part to many here in this sub forum. (Where can I send the bill?����).

Will i be giving up my power tools, especially my band saw, sliding table saw, Sawstop, and huge collection of DeWalt cordless tools? No.

[Edward Weber]

I would imagine a lot of this has to do with newer generations enjoying and spending more time on computers, so when they want to get into wood working, it’s a natural tendency to go the CNC route. That same person might not find spending a few hours with a scrub plane and a rough sawn board much fun. I enjoy that type of work, and really don’t enjoy computers at all. I think there’s just a different mindset and set of skills. I know most of the shop classes in schools now are teaching CNC rather than how to set of a handplane.

This is a problem IMO.
Sure, it's a natural progression to use what's available at the time you're starting the craft, but you still need to learn about the wood. I don't care what tools you're comfortable using, you need to understand the wood you're working with. This is what seems to be disappearing these days. It seems too many are just cutting out shapes in plywood on a CNC.

I saw something similar happen with the introduction of the Domino (which is a great tool). It let people just cut mortises Willy-nilly, without much regard for adhering to any proper joinery/wood rules. If there was more knowledge about the wood, species, grain direction and orientation, this would not happen. If you don't understand the wood and joinery, it doesn't matter how fast or with what you cut the wood.

I also think one of the points along the timeline of this "change of era" should be the use of solid wood or manufactured woods like plywood.

JMHO

[Mike Allen1010]

I think this is an interesting topic. I get a little out of sorts when I see things advertised as “handmade” just because it was hand sanded, but otherwise made on CNC machines. I have had a long time love affair with fine English shotguns, and it has come out in last years that some firms, whom charge in excess of $250k for a “handmade” shotgun/rifle actually use CNC at some steps. I think a lot of this probably goes on in our world of woodworking as well. I am not sure where the line is drawn in terms of electric “hand tools” and manual hand tools. That’s a hard one to draw.

I hope the Purdys are handmade if I’m writing a check that big!