This thread will illustrate itself. It will either spark a few thoughts, or you will click out shortly.

If you would video yourself, at the keyboard; then watch the recording .... what would you mostly see. I'm gonna guess it would be a poker face that barely changes from start to finish, for as long as you record. Material is scrolling by. There is an endless quantity of it. You don't have to find something in what you have, because more is coming. If you plop a four year old boy on the ground, and give him a dozen sticks; he will began to play with them. Maybe build a stacked object. Add a toy truck, and he'll start to haul the sticks. Add a box, and he'll park the truck in it, or haul the sticks to his "barn" and put them in the box. But, what if you removed the sticks when you gave him the truck? And then you removed the truck when you gave him the box? Not as much fun. No interplay of objects. One doesn't build on the previous layer.

What if after the box, you took sticks, truck, and box; and gave him a whistle. But, in five minutes, you took the whistle and gave him a soft ball. But soon, you took the soft ball and gave him a ball bat. Took that and gave him a paper airplane. And so you went on, until the child was upset, cranky, fussy, and arguing when you took things, and looking ahead to what was coming next. He was reluctant to become invested in any toy, because there was another just a few moments away.

Ah, Facebook described. A meme, a video, a recipe, a news item, a friend's picture, a warning that a disgusting parasite may be invading your body! But leave Facebook alone ... just settle into Google or Bing and you have six trillion clicks at your disposal. You don't collect the sticks, truck, and box. You click past them. Next, next, next. And the Poker face sets in.

1996. The net was special. You were learning your way around. People were learning how to use it. Hey!!!! This site has posted a thumbnail video with audio!!! It's fun. It's 10:39 pm and you check what's been posted today. It's interesting to you. But you cannot respond. It's not interactive. But it was fun to read. Great Pics. If it had a video ... that was magic. And someone had taken the time to assemble it for you to enjoy.

2017. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Hold 'em or fold 'em? By the time you go to bed you've seen SpaceX land it's booster on a barge at sea, seen the new Tesla, taken a 360 degree walk thru a subterranean cavern, clicked by Airgunrendezvous. So long as they are of equal production quality and subject matter punch .... they'll survive your rotation. You didn't comment on SpaceX's site, or the others.

Kelly showed me a site this am where you send a pic and they Laser engrave the pic on a pendant. It looked great. Nice and deep. Crisp.

Just made me think again, that the difference between a product in the left hand and a product in the right hand ... is in it's perceived unique features.

To be continued

Gary

Gary,

I suppose that many people in the world just want something quick, functional, and are not really that concerned about how it gets there. I guess I'm a little old-fashioned myself. I do care how it's made and I go out of my way to seek out handmade goods when available. I like the variation and craftsmanship that provides. Unfortunately, my budiet fights me on this. Sometimes I win, sometimes not. I'm still fighting. ..

Karl

I would bet the majority of the population 100 years ago would have a much greater respect for hand crafted items, nowadays many more ppl seem to like the cookie cutter items....don't get me wrong here a lot of the stuff we produce in this day and age is nice and functional, but that ornate aspect seems to be slowly dissolving....

This is a great place to see the art of craftsmanship.

Matt

Thank you Matt and Karl.

Solid points. And, I'll be mindful because I know there's a huge interest in "Laser cut, 3D Printing, CNC produced, and the other variations." I don't suggest it would be superior to cut out Kurt's Horse Arena Drag with a drill and hack saw. I'm real. I find industry fascinating. Thing I see that drives me nuts though is this phenomenon. Follow close now ....

Ok. People are finding the "imperfections in early generation 3D printed items" ... to be "charming!" The coin has completely flipped!! "Yeah ... I only had snot green fill wire, and the layers didn't melt in well, and it's kinda rough .... but I made it on my kitchen table from an open source catalog of components I put together. Neat project for sure ... but do you hear the "hand crafted" tone of the words used. Isn't that a hoot? It's the a reverse rebellion. There always has to be a turning away from tradition.

In 1974, when I opened business ... there was a Craft Festival Craze across the country. People wanted anything if it was Handmade. They were forgiving of nearly any old junk - and I found that maddening then. I made Handmade, but quality Handmade. Not with bent over nails hanging out. But .... careful ... you make "Handmade too well", and it doesn't look Handmade. The dings and dents and scratches add "Charm".

Now some Collectors went another route. They wanted Handmade, but absolutely sterile. Perfect. More perfect then machine made. Personally, I could appreciate, but wasn't into that. If you tour any museum, and find work with personality that catches your eye ... study it a few pixels at a time. You will find that it's not perfect. If there is a border of circles and lines, there will be slight variations.

I followed many paths that I found interesting. I was attracted by paths that required skill and patience. Things that were not going to be mastered in just a few years. And then I made sure I developed them well. The skill of forging Damascus, blended with the skills of carving and engraving. But one thing I see now is another rebellion. It's a rebellion against the time and patience required to master skills. It's become a bit stuffy. Snooty. Not free enough. Another component is that things should be functional, readily available, easy to acquire, and probably expendable. All the antithesis of Olde World Craft Guild System.

Funny that now, the "fine, crisp, detailed, inlaid, carved" ... is facing the "molded, printed, burnt, assembled" on the field of battle.

Gary

So; one of the odd scenic overlooks on this road I've driven is this: Carving and Engraving are always something the Craftsman has to fight for. Whattt?????

True. Think about it ....

It's very time consuming to master, and to perform; so of course it costs a bit. That puts it in the doubtful column.

Then, if the collector is of the "Clean" school, engraving and carving is out.

Then, if the collector is if the "Function" above all. No extra baggage. Ornamentation is out.

So; funny as it is .... you can easily end up in a situation where some Knifemaker cuts out a niche for himself where ..... he makes Black tactical knives. Probably synthetic black handle. Obviously no carving. No engraving. Just a rather harsh angular design. THEN, Knifemaker two COULD make ya a Damascus blade - nah ... just keeping it practical. He COULD carve yo.... Nope. COULD engra..... don't think so. And you end up where the first guy is swamped with work for his knives which any first year knifemaker could make well. Maker two has to find clients who will ALLOW him to use the skills he's taken a lifetime to master! Crazy.

Just what keeps me up.
Gary

Gary
I've alway said that if people could walk a day in the artistic shoes , they would appreciate the effort more . Isn't that why they call them " starving artists "?? The REAL craftsmen are few and far between. That's fer SURE

Thanks
Kurt

Gary,
Now take this a step further into the medical realm. People want the same cookie-cutter approach to health care as you can get with a CNC or 3D printer. There are plenty of good machinists/operators that can make either device work well. But what if the material.has imperfections? What if there is a void or chunk of carbon in the middle of that steel bar? What if the piece of steel has been banged around and abused for 60 years? Often the bit breaks or binds in the automatic machine because it can't compensate for the extra variables.
It really takes a Craftsman to be able to compensate for all the extra variables. What is going to happen when we quit making new Craftsman? Do we just throw the imperfect stock out and only work with the perfect materials? That's how some countries want to manage health care....
I hope I didn't take this too far off topic.

Scott

No, you are right on topic Scott,

They coined the phrases "pushing the envelope" and "out of the box", for artists. With all due respect, they built robotics to take swift advantage of uniformity of materials, technique, and process. An artist will find every possible way to avoid repetition - robotics depends upon it. An artist will recognize the spalted pattern in a tree limb crossection - robotics will kick out the material as substandard. An artist will create interest in a new idea. Industry will survey common patterns to exploit.

Being an artist, I write from that platform. I do not degrade industry. I love the tools it produces. I use them in my craft. I note their advantages. In fact, my thread suggests that it has become harder and harder to practice "Art and Craft", when society has entered another phase when mass produced items are king. Cell phones anyone? Digital Cameras? Wireless anything? And our 3D printers and CNC. My earlier comment was that the clever usage of said items is now considered to be a "Craft!" I'll not forget the computers "I built". The Aps "I made". And so, I work to save the concept of "Sole Authorship". That ONE mind, two hands, and tools; can take an idea and make it into concrete reality. And it will have a unique soul.

Great thread All,
Gary

Hi Y'all,
I thought this might fit with the CNC vs Handcrafting theme. Kelli and I have built the Kraken.

We have started mixing CNC with handcrafting kayaks to add some artistry that is beyond my current skill. It is very difficult to cut veneer as the blade will always want to track with the grain. It is also beyond my capabilities to reproduce some of these designs faithfully when duplicating from bow to stern. So I stole my wife Kelli's CNC machine. Don't worry, she's still looking for her old iron I use for steam bending the cockpit combing. Here is the result of her $230 Brother Cut and Scan. Using some tape to reinforce the veneer is key to this hack.


This is after epoxy and sanding flush, then laminating under fiberglass.




The tentacles over the bow and stern were hand cut from bubinga veneer. Like the strips used to build the kayak they were handcrafted to fit the space.



This is the handcrafting in motion.



Yes, it was cold, wet and windy at the Chattajack 31 this October.
Kent

Hey! Great to see ya.

That's a very worthy project. An intense duration of focus. Beautiful watercraft. I'll bet there are a few drips of epoxy on the barn floor after that project.

I remember your thorough testing to determine saturation properties of the veneer to hull bond. Making certain that you weren't building in a cold shut (Forge welding term) between your layers. All that takes s lot of foresight. And it's paid off in a fleet of sound boats.

It does look like a lovely day in your picture. Burrrrr.....! Seriously, do you have heated seats in there? I'd think you'd freeze your tailbone after hours sitting against water, even with foam.

I know you really guys use what you make. That's admirable and I know it's satisfying.

I couldn't help note your synchronized paddles and their emblazoned logos. Now ... do you publish advertising rates for that blade space??? Barnes Pneumatic's marketing division will be in touch ....

Thanks Kent!
Gary

Kent
That looks like a fun project . The task definitely calls out for a little help from the CNC and saved many hours I'm sure . Race day sure looked like you'all hadta bundle up and paddle extra hard to keep blood flow out to the fingertips.

Thanks
Kurt

Beautiful kayak Kent.

Lon

Hey Guys,
Actually from the mid chest down we were neoprene wrapped into the kayak and warm as could be. The water was 20 degrees warmer than the air, so hands were good. In between its was 48 at the start and 41F at the finish. The paddle boarders that fell in to the water lingered for a while to warm back up!

I like to buck the trend of cookie cutter boats etc. The majority of wood boat builders (a very small group) don't adorn their boats with additional personality. I find the challenge of designing a theme as well as implementing the plan in functional wood and epoxy what makes the boat mine. Most others feel the basic unadorned boat lets the "craftsmanship" show. I find the addition of some tech has expanded my decorating possibilities.

Kent

Iron for steam bending wood!! Why haven't I seen that on the Acoustic Guitar Forum!? Nice!

Lon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2017 04:20PM by Bigbore.