Changing terms, changing livestyles
As early morning sunlight filtering through low clouds sends its long pointing fingers across the village, my assessment on the last few weeks point forward fromto past for me to somehow debrief the different occurrences and happenings that will shape our future courses while the results of the month are still fresh in my mind.
I said all of the above to preface the reality I find that many so call hobbyist woodworkers ( term I hate) have in their way that same sense of contentment when they start working wood because they love doing that and they are not trying to be recognized as somebody. A fellow I knew kept entering competitions. When he didn’t get first or even second place he felt cheated and never recognized that the work of others had qualities his didn’t. Replication is a fine thing, but new designs carry a quality that cannot be replicated. My reasons for disliking the word hobby so strongly is because it carries a certain second rate connotation when in reality it might well have been a first rate vocational calling latently developing in a modern culture that has redefined how we work to the point that we no longer are able to actually make our living from it. I think that this is an important point in people wanting to develop not a hobby but a large percentage of their lifestyle. Life style should indeed be two separate words to convey the strengths of two dynamics. Life form is the way we live and work. It’s culture empowering the creative spheres of our daily life. A very beautiful thing when you discover that the power of real woodworking is actually captured in the hand tool realms more than machines.
Paul, I have to agree with you. I am a carpenter and plumber by trade. I started out in the early nineties, as a laborer, then graduated to a carpenter, and within 3 months as a carpenter I was helping a plumber, drill holes and made boxes for showers. After working with him for a few weeks he ask me if I would like to learn plumbing. I agreed because it paid a little more.
Looking back, I am glad I became a plumber, but I should have stayed in carpentry. The reason is now a days with pex tubings, push on fittings almost anyone can install plumbing. Plumbing isn’t a trade anymore, As a matter of fact here in the U.S. a plumber is now called a technician and with six months of training anyone can do it.
Although carpentry, is still a trade worthy of perusing. I enjoy working with wood. It gives me a sense of pride with every finished piece. Now I am looking forward to creating pieces without power tools, screws and nails. Just wood, and glue.
Thanks William. All this helps, you know.
William, every time I tackle a DIY project around the home and it involves plumbing, I call a plumber. You guys are needed and appreciated. ( and worth every penny!)
When we bought the place it had the flexible tubing going overhead in my garage to a water spicket on the opposite side. When we started remodeling I had the plumbers come out and install copper, the proper install in my mind.
I could envision that plastic leaking on my tools or machines and ruining them.
Plumbing and other trades where there is craft and pride involved really aren’t dying down… IMHO. It is just cyclical, most are just waiting for the plastic tubing, toilet flanges, IKEA and such to fail… then they’ll come to their senses.
Thanks, J Guengerich I appreciate that.