Rob Keeble
Member
- Messages
- 12,633
- Location
- GTA Ontario Canada
While working away at sharpening chisels yesterday I had a few thoughts I got to wondering about....hence my questions.
Does a lack of a particular skill prevent you from doing different facets of woodworking? Say adding a bead or some fancy effect like a carved edge or inlay ?
Or is it the fact that a weekend warrior or hobbyist has limited time to get er done and hence seeks to follow the trail of the quick fix and seek the avenues of woodworking that provide a more instant gratification like say turning or simply making a ply cabinet.
Or do you consider cost in that piece you have a desire to produce but wonder if its worthwhile and going to be appreciated case in point is a bed I was to make for my youngest son. If the eye of the beholder cannot tell the difference between hamburger and steak well why give em steak? In this case I would argue if they never have it they will never know or learn to respect the difference.
I can see pros that do woodworking for a hobby being conscious of the cost benefit but I have also seen evidence of them doing the right thing regardless of cost. My case here is Chuck Thoits buying very decent hardware for his own kitchen. Aware of the opposite side.
So what affects your choices related to woodworking........why do so few of us seem to venture away from rather narrow paths.
Few of those pieces (save for Kens Shakers ) of the past that we all admire did not make use of either carving, inlay or veneering or fancy combos of carved turnings.
What stops you from venturing down some of these other vortices? Besides most of these avenues take up far less space to practice and enjoy and some like carving are even portable. And speaking of skill as an excuse well think back to that high school project and there was a time when you could not even chop out a tenon and mortise without being shown first. Now we seem content to just cut square edges and plane smooth surfaces.
Does a lack of a particular skill prevent you from doing different facets of woodworking? Say adding a bead or some fancy effect like a carved edge or inlay ?
Or is it the fact that a weekend warrior or hobbyist has limited time to get er done and hence seeks to follow the trail of the quick fix and seek the avenues of woodworking that provide a more instant gratification like say turning or simply making a ply cabinet.
Or do you consider cost in that piece you have a desire to produce but wonder if its worthwhile and going to be appreciated case in point is a bed I was to make for my youngest son. If the eye of the beholder cannot tell the difference between hamburger and steak well why give em steak? In this case I would argue if they never have it they will never know or learn to respect the difference.
I can see pros that do woodworking for a hobby being conscious of the cost benefit but I have also seen evidence of them doing the right thing regardless of cost. My case here is Chuck Thoits buying very decent hardware for his own kitchen. Aware of the opposite side.
So what affects your choices related to woodworking........why do so few of us seem to venture away from rather narrow paths.
Few of those pieces (save for Kens Shakers ) of the past that we all admire did not make use of either carving, inlay or veneering or fancy combos of carved turnings.
What stops you from venturing down some of these other vortices? Besides most of these avenues take up far less space to practice and enjoy and some like carving are even portable. And speaking of skill as an excuse well think back to that high school project and there was a time when you could not even chop out a tenon and mortise without being shown first. Now we seem content to just cut square edges and plane smooth surfaces.