Help me out

My long winded answer

Alan Young

I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker on the day job yesterday. Peripheral discussions were about "skills" in various marketplaces. Co-worker has vast computer skills/code writing and chip design analysis and broad knowledge of many other topics- he's always offering up ideas on fascinating topics-from bitcoin mining to next generation chip design fab facilities. He also comprehends "my world" of designing and machining mechanical devices etc. I started talking about the "modern woodworker." As a kid it seemed standard practice for a homeowner to have basic skills in utilizing a skill saw, hand drills and other tools for basic repair and maintenance around the home. These skills were deemed a normal part of life. Somewhere in the course of time these skills (might add various electrical and plumbing tasks to this discussion) became associated with your basic handyman-but not as a means to a "career." A generation of HS grads making a living with their hands on their own or in a factory morphed into a generation where a college degree was assumed to be the minimum requirement for a productive life. Here in the Detroit area several generations of "30 years and out" made a very good living going straight from HS to the auto factories. Now I see a new generation of "educated" individuals that seem to make a good living in all sorts of areas-finance, software development, even doctor and lawyering-but they are missing the joy/thrill/satisfaction that comes from doing something with your hands. I think it's great to watch a new generation-but it's coming at a cost- With the dominance of you-tube and social media there is an immediate and endless supply of tutorials on how to accomplish any task we can imagine- The problem as has been mentioned on this forum before-is the content driven videos miss out on many details that will truly educate a novice. These novices have enough $ to buy great tools but suddenly become teachers when they really are executing a variety of bad techniques. I'm not sure where that little ramble fits into your question-but it's something I've been observing.

Now from my last few months experience- I've spent No time in my shop making furniture- rather I've been trying to keep up with my 76 year old friend John-

whom we hired to do the bulk of the restoration work on our Carriage house. Now that the foundational and structural work is finished and the building has a coat of paint- It is difficult to see much of the great work he did. Working with John has truly expanded my concept of "elegance" as I watched him develop solutions to fixing this 140 year old structure.

A couple of examples that I loved watching were the way he took this rotting/ woodchuck eaten door

cleaned it up and "extended it"

Then remounted it in a new frame in a different location:





He did something similar with an old door from the property that he re-purposed for the add on shed.



Another sweet little detail is the way he cut out a rafter in the stairway he built on the inside of the building. Knowing that I was 6'3" and my sons are both over 6 feet- He realized a bit more head room would be an advantage-Notice the lovely little scalloped arch he cut into the rafter located over the bottom of the stairs;

So back to your questions:

Just to let you know what's been on my mind lately, I've been thinking about the role of woodworking in our lives: hobby? sense of accomplishment? DIY projects? livelihood/income production? other? What's the payoff?Then there's the type of woodworking we do: Furniture? Treen? Carpentry/home improvements? Musical instruments? Hand-tool/purism vs git-r-done? Loose/fussy?

I certainly can see this restoration project contributing to everything in your questions-This experience of watching/working with my friend has given me a broader "pallet of appreciation" for many skills and techniques.