Is there a metalurgist in the house?

Re: Fixed diamond vs. loose diamond

Wiley Horne

>Miles,

Great questions! It will take controlled experiments to answer them. Speaking of which, Steve Elliott is preparing to test the proposition 'what difference does it make to hone to very fine grits?' Some think that highly refined edges are more compact and therefore more durable. Others suspect that highly refined edges are quickly lost in planing, and are mainly good for thin shaving contests. Anyway Steve is going to test the question, and a few of us are very curious what the results will show.

Meantime, if you will obtain a 10X loupe, you will be able easily to see the gross differences in going from the belt sander to the 15-micron stone, and you will be able to see the extent to which the 15-micron scratches survive the blue strop. This won't prove anything, but will give you a real good feel for what is going on at the physical level. If it turns out that the 15 micron scratches are largely surviving the strop, then you might want to obtain a finishing stone of some kind just to see what difference it might make. Or you might not, if you're happy right now. Partly it's a matter of the steel you are using. For example, I've found looking through a loupe that it's a lot easier to lap coarse scratches out of O1 than A2 or any of the exotics, unless you are using an extreme abrasive.

Wiley

I agree

Adam Cherubini

>

Re: What do you do now?

Edward in Vancouver

>Well, yeah. There's alot of people who see th licensing as pure hassle and profit grab. BUT...Would you trust a non-licensed electrican to re-wire your house? A non-licensed gas-fitter hook up a new furnace or stove?

My view on the whole thing can be traced to my profession, cooking. I've got cooks of every shade and style coming to me, some with no formal training, some with a 6 or 9 mth course under their belts (but with no prior working experieience) all who claim to be "Chefs". Some can't cook with a darn, some can cook, but have no idea of hygiene or how a restaurnat actually makes money to pay salaries and costs, most have inflated egos and a minimum of real working experience.

If you put away the hassle/profit grab bit about gov't licensing for a minute and look at some positive aspects: The guy from Anchorage and the guy from Maine both speak the same vernacular, know the same methods, respect the same codes, and hopefully can run a profitable and honest business. This has nothing to do with style or indivuduality, but each one the same "basic training", a boot camp, if you like, or a level playing field that everyone starts from.

Re: What do you do now?

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>No, but I have no real objection to the testing and licensing, for pragmatice reasons such as wiring my home. I do object a bit to requirements that one attend school, apprenticeship, etc., having to qualify to even take the test.

Pam

Re: Same in NC in '60s + Question re Germany

VTAndy3

>Hi Wiley,

Sorry for taking so long to reply -- lost track of the thread.

Regarding "hanging a shingle," the Germans and Austrians have had to change their standards there somewhat due to membership in the European Union. However, if you go to a cabinetmaker, chances are you are dealing with someone who has formal training, and you can count on a baseline of skills at the very least.

Regarding the "stigma" of entering trades, I am hesitant to make generalizations, so my remarks relate solely to the individuals whom I knew personally. In my observation, there is less stigma attached to entering the trades in Austria and Germany than in the U.S. --- my observations being confined to considering the reactions of highly educated parents to a teenage son or daughter learning a trade. My experience of young people who really went the whole nine yards with a traditional "journey" after their apprenticeship is that most of them that I met came from families where -- if they were American -- they would have assumed the college track without hesitation. I also know many Austrians and German who live or lived in the U.S., and it is often shocking to them how much handwork is done here by untrained lay-people. One German friend in particular related that she had spent a year in the U.S. without once encountering a table that didn't wobble!

-Andy