So what are power tools?
Working wood for 47 years has left its impression on me. My hands work differently than other people’s hands and my mind wrestles through critical issues others never have to contend with. Had I never worked with my hands I could only present you with one perspective and that would be that power tools replaced hand methods because hand methods were archaic and we replaced them with something better because we are superior beings than men and women of old, right? Wrong.
If I tell you that I like machines and the functions they perform help me in my work I would be telling the truth. If I told you that machines were highly dangerous and that the woodworking group are recognized universally as the most dangers group of power machines used in any area of woodworking that would also be true. At one time we referred to machines only as machines. There was no other term used to describe them. Something shifted in the US and manufacturers of deadly machines changed the term machine to, you guessed it, Power Tools. Power tools are what get the job done and get it done yesterday. Faster, more efficient, easier, accurate are all terms used to describe this modern-day phenomenon. We never use other terms like dirty, dusty, invasive, non-creative, loud, damaging, unsafe, harmful and dozens more that equally inform us of truths we should know about the power tools.
Most woodworkers relying on this category of so-called tools fail to realise that this type of tool, which is nothing more than a glorified machine, not only dumbs down woodworking, but eliminates children from the workshop. So, I conclude that power tool woodworking and the New Yankee Workshop has served only to disempower children. Children find no place in the machine-only workshop and therefor to call them power tools serves only the cause of mass-machine makers and not the cause of getting the next generation of woodworkers into the woodshop.
Paul, nice summary, one point though, not sure what the young man in the bottom picture has in his right hand, but it looks like if it slips, it will go into his left. The only time I ever had stitches due to a cut in over 30 years of woodworking was with a 11″ handsaws. As I’m sure you know, safety is just as important with all tools be it power or unplugged
It looks bad but was fine. However, as a rule, all hands behind the cutting edge.
I once visited a construction site where a group of Romanian carpenters were constructing a traditional Byzantine chapel. The tour guide struggled with english when I asked how they were producing the wooden shingles to sheath the roof. He proudly said they had a “machine” for making shingles. In the next room he pointed to a shaving horse as the shingle making “machine”.
V interesting how perspectives change with different cultures.
Well said, I have two small children and its great to think they will be able to get into woodworking a lot sooner because I use a lot of hand tools.
Looking at carpentry videos online, I find two categories. One involves loud machines combines with loud music. he other involves human scaled noises.
I envy the advantages of the machine-based tools. I’d love to see information about human-powered drill-presses; table saws; band saws; drum and disk sanders; lathes.
Obviously a SHARP chisel can replace a number of these, but not all.
Tom
So what did those men of the past do in the pre machine age when just about the very finest of furniture, musical instruments and boats were made and built? No one denies their real value to working, but does that really mean EVERYONE wanting to do woodworking has to own thousands of pounds worth of equipment stowed in a garage to use once or twice every two weeks? That’s quite a footprint. Most woodworkers started looking for a practical alternative and found methods from the past gave them what they wanted and were indeed looking for and were more comfortable with. I think we just find out that a Windsor chair can be made from split and riven stock and that scrapers take out 95% of any sanding including belt, drum and disc. We see one group always fearful and wearing masks and ear guards and eye protection most of the time and then we stop and ask ourselves is this what we want. It’s hard to explain how some things feel to someone who never tried it or experienced it, but when you take steel wedges and a sledge and split an 18″ diameter oak log down its length and hear the pistol shot as the two halves pop apart you can can never understand. Then three or four days later you see it standing there in front of you on four legs, a Windsor chair, and still you never switched on a switch. Or what about a whole cello too. Two months of daily work and you never switched on a machine and there your 16 year old son is playing a cello. Guitar? Violin? That way we say one day,”Oh, that’s how Stradivarius did it.” And we smile and say that wasn’t hard at all OR that was quite a workout.