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PSA: A young fella at the lumber yard asked me why my dovetails look hand cut, and it got me thinking about the old days
I was picking up a load of poplar in Grand Rapids last Tuesday and this kid, maybe 23, saw my sample board in the truck and asked why the pins and tails were uneven. I told him that's how you know a person cut them with a backsaw and chisel instead of a jig, and he just stared at me like I was speaking Latin. Forty years back, every shop I knew had at least one guy who could knock out eight drawers in a morning by hand and they fit tight enough to hold water. Now the big outfits run CNC all day and the drawers slide fine, but there's no story in them, you know? I'm not knocking the machines, my own shop has a shaper I'd never give up. Just wondering if any of you still teach the hand cut way to the younger folks, or if that's a ship that already sailed.
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adamgreen15d ago
Forty years back every shop had a guy who could knock out eight drawers in a morning by hand? I have been at this since the seventies and I never once saw that pace by hand, those old timers were fast but that sounds like a tall tale.
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terry_jones15d ago
Man, that "everything was better back then" thing is everywhere, not just woodworking. I swear every hobby and trade has guys claiming the old timers could do the impossible, and somehow nobody ever actually saw it happen.
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