Hi
I have been wanting to share a personal story which ends with a question to
see what kind of replies folks have.
The story starts like this: A few years ago I took up an interest in old
time banjo. I read a few books about the history of the banjo, and bought a
few CDs, an open back banjo, and learned to play a bit (earlier than that I
was infatuated with "acoustic-blues" guitar, but that story is over 15 years
long). I decided it would be "a good project" to build a minstrel-style
banjo. For one thing, the task seemed more approachable than building a
guitar--at least for a "first" project! ;)
I started with Compiano and Natelson's text on guitar making and found a
newsgroup concerned with building such banjos. I spent dozens of hours
reading about processes involved with building banjos that we're similar to
the banjos those used in the middle part of the 19th century. Along the
way, I became aware of what an interesting thing woodworking was/is (as the
typical reader here is well-aware, their really are 2 different contexts).
Then I read The Plane Book (every sentence, studied the pictures)and The
Sharpening Book. And I found this newsgroup which I read every day, bought
The Bandsaw Book, The Table Saw Book, at least 10 books on woodworking from
the used book store and the library, subscribed to 3 woodworking magazines.
I picked up two more for myself this Christmas including Woodworking and the
Router: Revised.... . That's not to mention the Grizzely, Rockler, and
Lie-Neilson catalogs! All of the activity I described in less than 2 years!
Currently, I am an apartment dweller, so I've just picked up a few hand
tools--I'll probably buy a tablesaw, drill press, and router when I can
provide a good home for them.
I "played" with wood and metal and electricity in the garage when I was
young, and I took all the shop classes my high school offered. Except for
working on my cars a bit (rebuilt carb, installed radio,etc.), that's
really all of the "practical" experience that I have. I think the single
most important woodworking lesson I learned in high school, over 25 years
ago, was about safety. Since high school, I've done considerable work in
math and computer science. Familiarity with the processes used in those
discipines I expect will contribute to my doing better woodworking. For
instance, since high school, I've acquired the patience to build a
prototype, and the idea of building a finger-joint and a dove-tail joint
just for the education that comes from working at it is appealing to me. I
don't expect to cut a dove-tail joint perfectly the first time. I don't
think I even have the right saw ;)
Tools...even math and computer science are tools...taking a step back, even
musical instruments can be viewed as tools, but for me I think the latter
are really instruments of curiosity. I have a guitar, (digital) piano,
banjo, and most recently picked up a fiddle--in fact two, the second in need
of my resetting the soundpost.
So I have provided you with some evidence that I may have possibly picked up
a tool affliction... So I ask you folks, who have been at this longer and
may even have a tool affliction worse than I do, what is at the heart of a
tool affliction? I have some thoughts about this, but I'd prefer not to
affect your answers. Comments obviously invited! Thanks for reading.
Bill
"Bill" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
|
...
|
| So for me, tools were like a magic sword that would
| bestow master craftsman powers to me the minute I would
| turn them on. I'd be a Norm or a Krenov or hell even a Scott Phillips.
| Didn't happen. No magic flows from the tools. It is something
| that happens within the individual. A good tool is a good tool and
| just that. But I didn't understand that until now.
|
| Now I await the "perfect day". Whatever that is and my tools
| still remain in their ready state. Sometimes I go into my shop
| and I honestly feel that they are hungry for me to JUST DO SOMETHING!
| I need to listen to that more often.
A phrase my father coined for this phenomena is "people try to buy skill
with their next tool purchase." It was something he said when I was a little
kid and he still says it... more than a few decades latter. He had served an
apprenticeship and worked as a tool and die maker early in his career... it
took me years to fully appreciate his sentiments.
I finally gained the appreciation while working in Colonial Williamsburg,
VA's crafts department in my late 20s. There I saw craftsmen create
wonderful furniture, guns, smithed and cast silver, leather goods, wheels,
iron ware, etc., with tools that seemed so very crude to me when I
started... wooden planes with hand forged irons; hand forged reamer bits,
twisted, hardened and tempered on an open forge; handmade drill bits; houses
made from pit sawn and hand planed boards, etc. It was while working there
it became clear to me that handmade, truly handmade, didn't have to mean
crude... I certainly learned a lot about skill and how to gain skills while
there.
There is a notion I call "a critical mass of knowledge" where once you learn
certain core skills you can take on just about anything successfully. Put
another way, you learn how to learn and how to solve problems. This not to
be confused with being able to speedily blast through every project, rather
it is about understanding how to approach the puzzles of making the project.
Perhaps that voice telling you to "just do something" should be listened
to.... so what if you make mistakes if you learn from them. Analysis
paralysis and thinking you don't own the right tools doesn't do you any good
and doesn't gain you any new skills.
John
Sun, Dec 30, 2007, 8:45pm [email protected] (Bill) did sayeth a
lost of stuff that mostly confused me - so I snipped it all. <snip>
You don' gots no harp?
So, did you ever actually make a banjo then, or not? I need to
get back on mine, but all I read was the Foxfire book that had a chapter
on banjos. It'll be fretless. And open back. And have pallet wood,
plywood, and some wood from trees on my place. And a bit of yellow
paint somewhere on it, in the back I think. Then I'll probably have to
learn how to play the bloody damn thing. Maybe that's why I haven't
finished it yet. LOL I suppose once it's finished I'll build a case
for it.
If you're serious about making a guitar, non-electric, here's all
the information you need to know.
http://www.cigarboxguitar.com/build.html
JOAT
If you can read this you're in range.
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:c3f89e28-9fc9-4fe5-a34e-2119998a09ad@h11g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Bill,
You asked:
>...what is at the heart of a tool affliction?
I think this is slightly idosyncratic to the individual. When
I had money (working full time), I couldn't wait to buy
the next tool. I acquired all the main machines (table saw,
drill press, router, etc.) but I didn't acquire the knowledge
on how to set them up and use them properly. Still don't.
My table saw sat in 3 garages until this year when I could
be set up properly by master woodworker. The drill press
has yet to cut a hole in wood after 4 years. I've used
my router, but I got 2 more recently. All haven't seen
a bit in years.
So for me, tools were like a magic sword that would
bestow master craftsman powers to me the minute I would
turn them on. I'd be a Norm or a Krenov or hell even a Scott Phillips.
Didn't happen. No magic flows from the tools. It is something
that happens within the individual. A good tool is a good tool and
just that. But I didn't understand that until now.
Now I await the "perfect day". Whatever that is and my tools
still remain in their ready state. Sometimes I go into my shop
and I honestly feel that they are hungry for me to JUST DO SOMETHING!
I need to listen to that more often.
MJ Wallace
MJ,
I highly recommend Bill Hylton's: Woodworking With The Router:
http://www.amazon.com/Woodworking-Router-UpdatedProfessional-Techniques-Woodworker/dp/0762108002/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200106120&sr=8-3
The book can be had for less than $20. It would give you plenty to think
about, and even more to do! As you may already know, the author is a real
advocate of building your own jigs, router table, etc. It's wonderfully
written and has lots of photos too--in fact, so many that I often get
confused by them when they appear before they are referenced within the
text. This morning I was reading about building fences, and he assumed I had
a jointer handy, however that is an exception, --for the most part his
assumptions are mostly minimal. Until I got this book I didn't even realize
why or how much I needed a digital caliper! ;) Anyway, I wanted to
mention the book. Do with the information as you please.
Bill
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:c3f89e28-9fc9-4fe5-a34e-2119998a09ad@h11g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Bill,
You asked:
>...what is at the heart of a tool affliction?
I think this is slightly idosyncratic to the individual. When
I had money (working full time), I couldn't wait to buy
the next tool. I acquired all the main machines (table saw,
drill press, router, etc.) but I didn't acquire the knowledge
on how to set them up and use them properly. Still don't.
My table saw sat in 3 garages until this year when I could
be set up properly by master woodworker. The drill press
has yet to cut a hole in wood after 4 years. I've used
my router, but I got 2 more recently. All haven't seen
a bit in years.
So for me, tools were like a magic sword that would
bestow master craftsman powers to me the minute I would
turn them on. I'd be a Norm or a Krenov or hell even a Scott Phillips.
Didn't happen. No magic flows from the tools. It is something
that happens within the individual. A good tool is a good tool and
just that. But I didn't understand that until now.
Now I await the "perfect day". Whatever that is and my tools
still remain in their ready state. Sometimes I go into my shop
and I honestly feel that they are hungry for me to JUST DO SOMETHING!
I need to listen to that more often.
MJ Wallace
Thanks for your very thought provoking post. Particularly the part: "No
magic flows from the tools. It is something
that happens within the individual". It is interesting to think about what
it is that can "happen". Perhaps someone would be willing to try to expand
on this notion. A motivaton for this being that the better idea we have of
what's supposed to happen, the more we can cultivate it. A few weeks I was
speaking with my wife, and I asked her to look carefully at of our little
tables (I paid $3 for it at a garage sale). Then I asked her to describe
for me what she might view as the "best" similar table--how would she change
it, what would the new table look like? She refused to play along...but I
thought it was a good exercise. I was trying to relate some of the "wonder"
that is available in woodworking.
Titus wrote: There is artistry here. Yes, there is function, but form is so
vitally mportant to the entire aspect of it. Function is more easily defined
and quantified, but form, being subjective, allows a lovely freedom to
admire the beauty, simplicity and/or complexity.
The thoughts expressed by MJ Wallace and Titus both validate my use of the
word "wonder" in the name of this thread.
Bill
"John Grossbohlin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> A phrase my father coined for this phenomena is "people try to buy skill
> with their next tool purchase." It was something he said when I was a
> little
> kid and he still says it... more than a few decades latter. He had served
> an
> apprenticeship and worked as a tool and die maker early in his career...
> it
> took me years to fully appreciate his sentiments.
Your father had some wise words
Tanus, I'm sorry for misspelling your name in my previous post. I could be
wrong, but I doubt you are related to that roman emperor... Corrected
version is below.
Bill
"Bill" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:c3f89e28-9fc9-4fe5-a34e-2119998a09ad@h11g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> Bill,
>
> You asked:
>
>>...what is at the heart of a tool affliction?
>
> I think this is slightly idosyncratic to the individual. When
> I had money (working full time), I couldn't wait to buy
> the next tool. I acquired all the main machines (table saw,
> drill press, router, etc.) but I didn't acquire the knowledge
> on how to set them up and use them properly. Still don't.
> My table saw sat in 3 garages until this year when I could
> be set up properly by master woodworker. The drill press
> has yet to cut a hole in wood after 4 years. I've used
> my router, but I got 2 more recently. All haven't seen
> a bit in years.
>
> So for me, tools were like a magic sword that would
> bestow master craftsman powers to me the minute I would
> turn them on. I'd be a Norm or a Krenov or hell even a Scott Phillips.
> Didn't happen. No magic flows from the tools. It is something
> that happens within the individual. A good tool is a good tool and
> just that. But I didn't understand that until now.
>
> Now I await the "perfect day". Whatever that is and my tools
> still remain in their ready state. Sometimes I go into my shop
> and I honestly feel that they are hungry for me to JUST DO SOMETHING!
> I need to listen to that more often.
>
> MJ Wallace
>
>
> Thanks for your very thought provoking post. Particularly the part: "No
> magic flows from the tools. It is something
> that happens within the individual". It is interesting to think about
> what it is that can "happen". Perhaps someone would be willing to try to
> expand on this notion. A motivaton for this being that the better idea we
> have of what's supposed to happen, the more we can cultivate it. A few
> weeks I was speaking with my wife, and I asked her to look carefully at of
> our little tables (I paid $3 for it at a garage sale). Then I asked her
> to describe for me what she might view as the "best" similar table--how
> would she change it, what would the new table look like? She refused to
> play along...but I thought it was a good exercise. I was trying to relate
> some of the "wonder" that is available in woodworking.
>
> Tanus wrote: There is artistry here. Yes, there is function, but form is
> so vitally mportant to the entire aspect of it. Function is more easily
> defined and quantified, but form, being subjective, allows a lovely
> freedom to admire the beauty, simplicity and/or complexity.
>
> The thoughts expressed by MJ Wallace and Tanus both validate my use of the
> word "wonder" in the name of this thread.
>
> Bill
>
>
On Jan 1, 1:23=A0pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Bill,
>
> You asked:
>
> >...what is at the heart of a =A0tool affliction? =A0
>
> I think this is slightly idosyncratic to the individual. When
> I had money (working full time), I couldn't wait to buy
> the next tool. I acquired all the main machines (table saw,
> drill press, router, etc.) but I didn't acquire the knowledge
> on how to set them up and use them properly. Still don't.
> My table saw sat in 3 garages until this year when I could
> be set up properly by master woodworker. =A0The drill press
> has yet to cut a hole in wood after 4 years. I've used
> my router, but I got 2 more recently. All haven't seen
> a bit in years.
>
> So for me, tools were like a magic sword that would
> bestow master craftsman powers to me the minute I would
> turn them on. I'd be a Norm or a Krenov or hell even a Scott Phillips.
> Didn't happen. No magic flows from the tools. It is something
> that happens within the individual. A good tool is a good tool and
> just that. But I didn't understand that until now.
>
> Now I await the "perfect day". Whatever that is and my tools
> still remain in their ready state. Sometimes I go into my shop
> and I honestly feel that they are hungry for me to JUST DO SOMETHING!
> I need to listen to that more often.
>
> MJ Wallace
Good discussion.
My tools have too waited for me to give them the proper time they
deserve.
In my opinion, time is worth much more than money.
TMT
Bill,
You asked:
>...what is at the heart of a tool affliction? =A0
I think this is slightly idosyncratic to the individual. When
I had money (working full time), I couldn't wait to buy
the next tool. I acquired all the main machines (table saw,
drill press, router, etc.) but I didn't acquire the knowledge
on how to set them up and use them properly. Still don't.
My table saw sat in 3 garages until this year when I could
be set up properly by master woodworker. The drill press
has yet to cut a hole in wood after 4 years. I've used
my router, but I got 2 more recently. All haven't seen
a bit in years.
So for me, tools were like a magic sword that would
bestow master craftsman powers to me the minute I would
turn them on. I'd be a Norm or a Krenov or hell even a Scott Phillips.
Didn't happen. No magic flows from the tools. It is something
that happens within the individual. A good tool is a good tool and
just that. But I didn't understand that until now.
Now I await the "perfect day". Whatever that is and my tools
still remain in their ready state. Sometimes I go into my shop
and I honestly feel that they are hungry for me to JUST DO SOMETHING!
I need to listen to that more often.
MJ Wallace
Bill wrote:
<snip>
>
> So I have provided you with some evidence that I may have possibly picked up
> a tool affliction... So I ask you folks, who have been at this longer and
> may even have a tool affliction worse than I do, what is at the heart of a
> tool affliction? I have some thoughts about this, but I'd prefer not to
> affect your answers. Comments obviously invited! Thanks for reading.
>
> Bill
>
>
There are dozens of regular contributors
to this NG and that will yield dozens of
answers to your question. All of them
will be valid, and most will be well
thought out.
The most obvious answer is that one has
a tool affliction, or a desire to
acquire yet another tool, to get a
particular job done that the present
tools are inadequate for. The most
obvious and the most practical.
It is, of course, much more than that.
Is the targeted tool new or used? If
new, does it do something new, if that's
possible? Or does it do something that's
familiar to the craftsman, but better -
or in a different and more efficient
way? Does it take the craftsman into an
area he/she has only dreamed of before
but couldn't with existing tools?
If old, does it have rich history
and/or sentimental value? Was it owned
by a loved relative? Or even a relative
that wasn't loved, but knew how to make
the instrument sing?
For either old or new:
Is it shiny?
Is it sexy?
Does it do (or claim to do) sexy and
shiny things?
Is it wonderfully engineered so that
it's not only a joy to use but a wonder
to behold?
Does it make the new owner smile?
There is no single answer to your
question. Answering yes to one or more
of the above approaches the heart of a
tool affliction.
There is artistry here. Yes, there is
function, but form is so vitally
important to the entire aspect of it.
Function is more easily defined and
quantified, but form, being subjective,
allows a lovely freedom to admire the
beauty, simplicity and/or complexity.
--
Tanus
This is not really a sig.
http://www.home.mycybernet.net/~waugh/shop/
Bill wrote:
> Tanus, I'm sorry for misspelling your name in my previous post. I could be
> wrong, but I doubt you are related to that roman emperor... Corrected
> version is below.
>
> Bill
>
That's ok Bill, but thanks for the
correction. No, I"m not related to any
Roman Emperors AFAIK, but I haven't
studied my genealogy that far back.
This nick is Egyptian, although I have
no affiliation with them either.
They, however did do some work with
wood, so it works. sorta
--
Tanus
This is not really a sig.
http://www.home.mycybernet.net/~waugh/shop/
"> Bill wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>>
>> So I have provided you with some evidence that I may have possibly picked
>> up a tool affliction... So I ask you folks, who have been at this
>> longer and may even have a tool affliction worse than I do, what is at
>> the heart of a tool affliction? I have some thoughts about this, but
>> I'd prefer not to affect your answers. Comments obviously invited!
>> Thanks for reading.
>>
>> Bill
>
Tanus" <[email protected]> wrote:
> There are dozens of regular contributors to this NG and that will yield
> dozens of answers to your question. All of them will be valid, and most
> will be well thought out.
>
> The most obvious answer is that one has a tool affliction, or a desire to
> acquire yet another tool, to get a particular job done that the present
> tools are inadequate for. The most obvious and the most practical.
>
> It is, of course, much more than that. Is the targeted tool new or used?
> If new, does it do something new, if that's possible? Or does it do
> something that's familiar to the craftsman, but better - or in a different
> and more efficient way? Does it take the craftsman into an area he/she has
> only dreamed of before but couldn't with existing tools?
>
> If old, does it have rich history and/or sentimental value? Was it owned
> by a loved relative? Or even a relative that wasn't loved, but knew how to
> make the instrument sing?
>
> For either old or new:
>
> Is it shiny?
>
> Is it sexy?
>
> Does it do (or claim to do) sexy and shiny things?
>
> Is it wonderfully engineered so that it's not only a joy to use but a
> wonder to behold?
>
> Does it make the new owner smile?
>
> There is no single answer to your question. Answering yes to one or more
> of the above approaches the heart of a tool affliction.
>
> There is artistry here. Yes, there is function, but form is so vitally
> important to the entire aspect of it. Function is more easily defined and
> quantified, but form, being subjective, allows a lovely freedom to admire
> the beauty, simplicity and/or complexity.
>
> --
> Tanus
Great post! Thanks.
Bill
>
> This is not really a sig.
>
> http://www.home.mycybernet.net/~waugh/shop/
The phenomenon is not unique to woodworking, but it is common within
this realm. I freely admit to the affliction, although with different
perspective than yours. Many here refer to Lee Valley or Lie Nielsen
tool catalogs as "tool porn", an obvious reference to addiction. And
after I've honed/polished my chisels and plane irons to mirror
finishes and scary-sharp tolerances, I'm sometimes reluctant to use
them because I don't want to dull them. I manage to overcome.
Mountaineers/backpackers with such an afflictions are known as "gear
weenies". I 'spose some of us could be called "tool weenies", or
something else. And there's a distinction to be made between us
Neanders vs. the Normites.
For me, the "heart of the affliction", is the desire to own the best
possible set of woodworking tools, with some jealousy/enviousness
towards the greats (the Greenes, Stickleys, Frids, and of course, Tom
Plamman). I recognize that the ulimate challenge is to MASTER the
tools, not to just own them. But like you/I said, it's an affliction.
-Zz
On Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:45:33 -0500, "Bill" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Hi
>
>I have been wanting to share a personal story which ends with a question to
>see what kind of replies folks have.
>
>The story starts like this: A few years ago I took up an interest in old
>time banjo. I read a few books about the history of the banjo, and bought a
>few CDs, an open back banjo, and learned to play a bit (earlier than that I
>was infatuated with "acoustic-blues" guitar, but that story is over 15 years
>long). I decided it would be "a good project" to build a minstrel-style
>banjo. For one thing, the task seemed more approachable than building a
>guitar--at least for a "first" project! ;)
>
>I started with Compiano and Natelson's text on guitar making and found a
>newsgroup concerned with building such banjos. I spent dozens of hours
>reading about processes involved with building banjos that we're similar to
>the banjos those used in the middle part of the 19th century. Along the
>way, I became aware of what an interesting thing woodworking was/is (as the
>typical reader here is well-aware, their really are 2 different contexts).
>Then I read The Plane Book (every sentence, studied the pictures)and The
>Sharpening Book. And I found this newsgroup which I read every day, bought
>The Bandsaw Book, The Table Saw Book, at least 10 books on woodworking from
>the used book store and the library, subscribed to 3 woodworking magazines.
>I picked up two more for myself this Christmas including Woodworking and the
>Router: Revised.... . That's not to mention the Grizzely, Rockler, and
>Lie-Neilson catalogs! All of the activity I described in less than 2 years!
>Currently, I am an apartment dweller, so I've just picked up a few hand
>tools--I'll probably buy a tablesaw, drill press, and router when I can
>provide a good home for them.
>
>I "played" with wood and metal and electricity in the garage when I was
>young, and I took all the shop classes my high school offered. Except for
>working on my cars a bit (rebuilt carb, installed radio,etc.), that's
>really all of the "practical" experience that I have. I think the single
>most important woodworking lesson I learned in high school, over 25 years
>ago, was about safety. Since high school, I've done considerable work in
>math and computer science. Familiarity with the processes used in those
>discipines I expect will contribute to my doing better woodworking. For
>instance, since high school, I've acquired the patience to build a
>prototype, and the idea of building a finger-joint and a dove-tail joint
>just for the education that comes from working at it is appealing to me. I
>don't expect to cut a dove-tail joint perfectly the first time. I don't
>think I even have the right saw ;)
>
>Tools...even math and computer science are tools...taking a step back, even
>musical instruments can be viewed as tools, but for me I think the latter
>are really instruments of curiosity. I have a guitar, (digital) piano,
>banjo, and most recently picked up a fiddle--in fact two, the second in need
>of my resetting the soundpost.
>
>So I have provided you with some evidence that I may have possibly picked up
>a tool affliction... So I ask you folks, who have been at this longer and
>may even have a tool affliction worse than I do, what is at the heart of a
>tool affliction? I have some thoughts about this, but I'd prefer not to
>affect your answers. Comments obviously invited! Thanks for reading.
>
>Bill
>