These days we use heavy compound miter saws, dewalts. setting angles and compounding them is a cinch, so why is cutting crown so damn hard? SHouldn't it be an easy straightforward task?
I watched my boss spend an hour the other day running down the ladder back and forth to the saw to get pieces to fit properly. He is a master craftsman. I am not. We both agreed that there was some sort of secret to doing this a better way, but were at a loss for what it was.
It got me thinking about what life as a carpenter was like in ages past. How much thought went into tasks we use machines to do for us now, and how we have lost an entire set of skills over the past 50 years by depending upon machines and electricity to do the thinking for us.
What kind of Carpenter was jesus anyway? Was he any good, or was he just another fly by night pot head/alcoholic framer doing jobs for cash as fast as he could. Did he get along with ihs fellow carpenters? Were framing Carpenters all red necks back then too?
What about the middle ages when castles were being slowly built and stone masons depended upon carpenters for there scaffolding and cranes? Did the people building the jigs and support material for the masons get choked on how slow stone took to work with? Were carpenters getting screwed by other tradesmens scheduling problems as so often is the case today?
I wonder often about these things, while cutting on a table saw, or planing hardwood on an electric planer. Before routers existed how long did it take to quarter round and edge? Did carpenters receive respect for their work? or was it much like today where building with your hands is considered blue collar, and the boys in the cubicles and desks are getting the respect of the world.
I am whole heartedly in love with my work, it is never the same, inconsistent and challenging and above all constantly rewarding. What took a full day to do the first time can often take minutes the next time. I can think of little else in the world as easy to love as this kind of work.
I think Bob the Builder is a hack, and might be in love with Farmer Pickles.....
ReplyDeletegood rant/insight Matt, in the movies, the carpenters usually say, "Paint will fix that!"
Hey, Matt: Chuck here, Denny's friend from his Montana days. Reading your blog I am reminded of the effects of the Indust. Rev. on family owned "cottage industry" in which excellence in craft was a matter of pride, not profit. There is a book by John O'Neill called "The Poverty of Postmodernism" in which he lays out the process by which production and craft were snatched from the hands of the people by commercial interests. I'm not sure you'd want to read the whole thing, but the chapter on this topic is on spot with your complaints. Good luck with work and family, Chuck Hall.
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