knew a guy that often aplogized why he had all craftsman brand tools in his shop
but always said but look at my work
his stuff sold well and not cheap
most know the tools matter but the tool operator matters a lot more
for me and others doing more with less is more interesting and it is more challenging but more gratifying
if you get to make what you want and it brings enjoyment it just does not matter how you did it or what tools were used
From my experience working in the craft department at Colonial Williamsburg I had the realizations that much of the "world" was built without electricity and that "hand made" "crude." In comparison, I think we see quite a bit of crude stuff today that is the result of the limitations of power tools and their user's inability to perform tasks without them! I also recall my father telling the story about when he built our home nearly
60 years ago. He had the house weathered in and went to the bank for a mortgage to pay for the materials. The bank wanted plans... when he gave them the plans they said he couldn't build a house for that amount of money. His response was "come up and look at it." When the banker saw it he approved the mortgage and told my father that a lot of people build things that are worth less than the materials cost! I've never forgotten that sentiment... BTW, my parents still live in that house... the one my father built on weekends and evenings while in his mid-20s. He's seen a lot as a kid as his father, by then deceased, was a contractor who hired carpenters, etc.Electric Comet on Wed, 28 Mar 2018
09:47:00 -0700 typed in rec.woodworking the following:It is all about technique. Some have it, and some don't.
I recall an article in a wood working mag., Guy was traveling in that part of the world where all this marvelous furniture came from. Got a tour of a factory, and was surprised to discover that these intricately turned and carved tales and such, were done with a very small set of tools. And those turned table legs? Shaped with a hand plane and carved to final. Yowza.
Yep.
Although it would be nice to have a powered saw to rip a couple feet of doweling to use as decoration.
Why?
I started out that way but when I began to sell 90% of my work, and not cheap either, I found that better tools afforded me the ability to build faster quality products. That put a bigger smile on my face than working with lesser quality tools.
Well, that is, until you work with better quality tools. I have worked with both, I prefer better tools.
That applies in all creative fields. My hobby is writing and I've published two ebooks in the past year or so, with one of them doing OK for something from an unknown author. If the readers liked it enough to think they got their $2.99 worth and to recommend it to other people, then the background of the writing being done on a 12 year old laptop using 15 year old word processing software didn't matter - only the finished product.
That applies to both women and tools. ;-)
Why is it more gratifying? I suppose someone could use a rock to pound in nails to build a house. Would he be more gratified or grateful than someon e who swung a regular hammer? Or someone who used an air compressor and na il gun?
True on this. The end product, result is what counts. I suppose how you g ot there matters too. Maybe cutting a cord or two of firewood with a hands aw and ax makes someone feel better, more manly, than another who used a ch ainsaw. But usually the end result is the only important thing. If you ca n make a better cabinet or table with expensive tools, then I'd say use the m over cheaper more crude tools. The end result is what matters. Not how you got there.
Sure but it doesn't bring me happiness when the damned saw won't cut in a straight line. I refuse to be aggravated by my hobby. I buy the best I can afford (which has changed over the years) and only cry once.
Nice! I read quite a few such books (often Amazon will offer the first in a series free, as a hook). I think it's an amazing use of technology. It really takes the power out of the dead-tree publisher's hands and moves it back closer to creator, while making it cheaper for the consumer, too. Win-win.
Both are expensive. I wish I'd learned the lesson with tools as quickly as I did with women. I've had
I disagree. For a hobby, it matters a great deal how you got there. Doing woodworking to save money is a fools errand.
in nails to build a house. Would he be more gratified or grateful than som eone who swung a regular hammer? Or someone who used an air compressor and nail gun?
u got there matters too. Maybe cutting a cord or two of firewood with a ha ndsaw and ax makes someone feel better, more manly, than another who used a chainsaw. But usually the end result is the only important thing. If you can make a better cabinet or table with expensive tools, then I'd say use them over cheaper more crude tools. The end result is what matters. Not h ow you got there.
I disagree.
Even with the cost of my tools, I guarantee I've saved a ton of money by doing woodworking.
Right from the get-go I bought a cheap circular saw and drill and built my own platform bed for much cheaper than I could have bought one. SWMBO and I enjoyed it for 37 years.
With some slightly better tools later on, I built oak bunk beds for my boys that I probably couldn't have afforded to buy. That bunk bed, now split into singles, is still in use 30 years later. i.e. another 2 beds tha t didn't need to be bought.
I built my deck for the cost of the materials plus a tool or two (or three? ) but still way cheaper than having somebody else build it.
I built a pretty nice rustic bed for my daughter from reclaimed wood and didn't have to, but did ;-) buy a single tool.
The pair of book cases I'm building now would have to be custom made to not only match each other but also fit correctly in spaces that differ by about
2.5".The list goes on. I started doing woodworking both for the fun and for the savings. I couldn't afford what I wanted, but I could afford the tools, the materials and the time. When you spread the cost of the tools across multip le projects, the savings pay for them eventually.
Things built worth less than the materials reminds me of the buildings I read about on McMansion Hell (well, the McMansions at least, couple of recent posts divert from the formula).
Elijah
------ some really insane roofs on those things
I built furniture to save money... ;~) So it kinda started as a hobby to save money. I built our first couch in 1978 and most every thing else was hand me downs. My tools quickly paid for themselves as most of the furniture in our home, and my son's home, I built.
It is shocking, what is considered to be good furniture, costs today. One piece in our home easily paid for all of my Festool tools. Another easily paid for my SawStop. And we have 11 large pieces of furniture, that I built, in our home. The smallest is a 7 drawer dresser that I built in 1980. And I have sold 90 percent of what I have built. ;~)
The factor you miss is time. To some, time is money, to others, not so much. If you make $75/hr at work, plus benefits and it takes a week or two to build that bunk bed set, or chair, or dresser, plus tools, materials and work space, well, you ain't likely saving money unless bunk beds cost $3-6000 or so to buy. Of course if it's a hobby, and you build instead of watching Dancing with the Stars...
Leon on Wed, 28 Mar 2018 17:21:25 -0500 typed in rec.woodworking the following:
And sometimes, - "eh, it is done." If I'd had a [fill in the blank] it might have been different. It might even have been better.
Leon on Wed, 28 Mar 2018 17:21:25 -0500 typed in rec.woodworking the following:
I used to make small wooden boxes. All by hand as my power tools were limited to a drill and circ saw. Lots of fun, but as I would say "I can see why power tools were invented." I kept track, from the time I selected the boards to "done" took about 8 hours. "Even if I just charge minimum wage, you can't afford this."
tschus pyotr
Jack on Fri, 30 Mar 2018 10:41:00 -0400 typed in rec.woodworking the following:
Essay in one of the Mags, was the professional stating that some of the finest cabinetry he saw, was made by his neighbor the accountant. Who had the time to pick each board, redo any booboos, make sure everything was "perfect". Whereas he, the professional, needed to sell something soon to keep the shop open. Not great, but Friday."
te:
nd in nails to build a house. Would he be more gratified or grateful than someone who swung a regular hammer? Or someone who used an air compressor and nail gun?
you got there matters too. Maybe cutting a cord or two of firewood with a handsaw and ax makes someone feel better, more manly, than another who use d a chainsaw. But usually the end result is the only important thing. If you can make a better cabinet or table with expensive tools, then I'd say u se them over cheaper more crude tools. The end result is what matters. No t how you got there.
You are making the assumption that I missed that factor. Just because I didn't *mention* it doesn't mean I *missed* it.
Are you implying that I took time off from my $75/hr job to build the beds? Regardless of my salary/hourly wage, I don't work 24/7. If I'm not using an y of my $75 hours to do the woodworking then my wages aren't even part of the discussion.
It doesn't need to be a hobby to be a money saver. Building decks, mowing lawns and painting kitchens (taking a lunch break from that right now) are not on my list of hobbies. However, I do all of them to save some of those $75 chunks of cash that come in from my real job.
that would depend on the someone
i will say using a air nailer is fun and certainly gratifying but when i use a hammer and nails that is good too
if the rock was the only thing around to drive nails then i might find it gratifying when i was done
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