Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
I took a class with Alan Batty, a person that had worked in the British Trades all his previous life making "parts" on a lathe. One morning before class I took him a bun foot I had turned. It was good but something about it was not as good as the bun feet I had seen on old furniture. Alan chucked it in the lathe. One end had been sawed off its support and its center lost. No matter, Alan spun it up, bashed it a few times, while spinning!, and it miraculously centered itself. To this day I regret not asking-"how did you do that?!".

Alan took no more than 1/32 from part of the large diameter circumference, and adjusted one side of the cove, again by no more than 1/32, and it just popped. I have saved it for inspiration, and a reminder that I will never turn enough to get "perfect" at making turned objects.

Only a turner would notice the differences, so lack of perfection does not need to be an obstacle to making stuff that most everyone will admire. I am sure that Curtis Buchannan would be embarrassed by the spindles in his early chairs, from 30,000 spindle hindsight. Never-the-less, I'll bet their owners cherish them.

Which brings me back to the point, if you want hand tool work to be significant then the design needs to include some element where hand tool work matters- for example turning, carving & shaping, and inlay.

This is not to say that attractive design has to include hand tool work.