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Are We A Part Of Dying Art?

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6K views 48 replies 35 participants last post by  OSU55 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I know this may sound really weird being posted up on a massive woodworking web site, but I am curious to see if anyone else is having this feeling. I am still very new around the saw dust so this may be a new kid on the block syndrome, but I just can't help but feel that this common passion we all share of woodworking is on a slow death roll. I'm not talking tomorrow, next year, or even 10 years …. I am wondering how many of us will there be 20 years from now…. or 30?

Some of the reasoning is I am constantly asked "Why are you doing this?"..... I always find this to be an odd question. The only answer I can ever come up with is "I has become a passion". I also find the majority of the folks who seem to enjoy my work are more mature people (trying not to say older folks…lol) or fellow woodworkers who knows personaly what all is involved. Maybe I am just being a tad sour, maybe I am looking to far into this, but I can't help but feel most folks don't really appreciate the work we do. Am I weird for feeling this way?

Well, last Saturday my bride and I where talking about woodworking & quilting. About how both skills are on the decline (again maybe we both are looking to far into this) and how it really is a bummer that not near as many new blood is coming in to pass along these skills.

I know this is a tad long winded just to ask if anyone else is getting this drift. Also to hopefully hear some words of encouragement that I am wrong. I truly want to be….

P.S. I also made a request to my wife Saturday after discussing this. I know I'm a little to young to be talking about kicking the bucket or what not (only in my mid 30's), but made one request about my tools. They are not to be sold. They are to either be donated to some sort of school or to a young person who has the desire to carry on the torch. If anything …... I want to help preserve my passion….
 
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#3 ·
i can maybe reverse the question, are you growing your own food? does your fruit and vegetables come from your garden? do you bake your own bread, raise and slaughter your own animals? knit you clothes etc…
so many things wich not so long ago pretty much everybody did, but those arts or occupations didn't die.
some people kept doing it and became prefessional, others do it for fun or neccesity.
if those or our woodworking art don't transform and adapt then they die, if woodworking hadn't become a moneymaking industry then it wouldn't have evolved that much and most of the powertools and such we use today wouldn't have been invented i guess.
it'sn not dying as long as there are trees ont his planet (or as long as they can genetically modify plants to grow into funiture themselves!)
 
#4 ·
kick all the buckets you like
do all the new pastimes

sooner or later
these things get booring

and many turn to craft
and art

for the personal rewards !
 
#5 ·
I guess where I was going with this is I don't see many young people getting into woodworking. Maybe because it is not in schools like it was back in the day, or what not. I don't see much interest in it around my regular crowd at least. Almost every other day I am being asked to build something for someone, but I have yet to have someone ask me "Will you show me how to do this"..... That is where I was going with this.
 
#6 ·
Dan -

I believe that the craft of woodwroking is still alive and well. I have been fortunate to take some workshops at the North Bennet School in Boston. In each workshop, there have been a significant number of young people either just out of high school or only a few years beyond that. Also, when we take a tour through the parts of the school that house the full-time programs, I am amazed at the talent shown by the young students there. The school admits students two times a year, and there is always a waiting list.

So, the craft may not always be out in the open, but I feel that it is not dying.
 
#8 ·
I think people had the same questions 100 years ago. Machinery did things that were always done by hand, and that won't change.

Some folks keep old skills alive and some have never changed from doing it the old way.

No doubt, it will be different.
 
#9 ·
Here I thought this thread was going to be about dying wood…

... like using TransTint … show polish… TransFast… or other dyes to artfully DYE wood…

... oh well… :) :)
 
#10 ·
As long as there are trees, there will be someone to create beauty from them.

While production techniques will always be changing, creativity will never go out of style. With the
internet now, people like never before are encouraged by others. I know my passion, ability and knowledge have grown stronger through the years. Learning methods and gaining knowledge will only grow the art. People will always need a relief from stress in life. What better way to do it than through woodworking.
 
#11 ·
I hired a girl the other day for our Construction company who had three years in Cabinetmaking. I told her this was an entry level position (basicly starting out as a laborer), and asked why would she get out of Cabinetmaking?

She said the trade is dying out, too many big companies pushing the little shops out of business.

Maybe that's what she's been told, but every small shop in our city that we do business with cannot keep up. They are looking for helpers, apprentices, installers, you name it.

I think it is still alive and well, depends where you look.

I didn't want to bring this up again, but in this "instant - gratification" society, where everyone wants it all right now, it will deter some from taking the time to draw or study a plan, buy the rough lumber, machine it, cut the pieces to size, assemble and finish the project…

It isn't for everyone!
 
#12 ·
I do not see this as a dying trend. I see many younger folks taking up the hobby. As long as people have imagination and the drive to create…woodworking will remain vibrant. Even with schools dropping industrial arts right and left there are still young folks that want to learn - I get friends asking all the time if I would show their kids some of the skills.

When my grandfather was teaching me some of his skills…he used to say that the younger generation is loosing interest and will not keep this art alive….but I think there are more now (based on tool sales) then there has ever been…..

As long as you see engineers making innovations in tools - check out the new Bosch slider - due out Oct 1, 1010 (Fine Woodworking site)...you will see more folks take up this hobby….and now more women are finding the passion for this hobby (which is a wonderful thing by the way). I think woodworking has many more miles left on the tread.
 
#13 ·
I just think the entry age for woodworking is getting older for several reasons.

Kids don't look for creative outlets these days. They don't need it as a hobby as they have other things to keep them occupied (Internet/TV/Friends… probably in that order). In high school they are being trained to go on to college, and MOST of those kids won't get into a vocation like woodworking, so they don't worry about it.

I'm willing to bet that a very solid majority of the people here got into woodworking well after their life/career were established. If only because up until that point they were spending all of their energies getting to that point.

And finally woodworking is wtfexpensive. In the last 8 months I've wrapped up about $4,000 in tools and $500 in my workbench, and that's just basic power tools. I have no hand tools (which are darn near as expensive) nowhere near enough clamps to do any real glue-ups, and I've bought zero hardwood (can't believe some of the prices). I'm not sure where kids are supposed to get that kind of funding. Most of the money I spent came from a lot of overtime and selling my car.

No, I don't think woodworking is dying. Quite the opposite… I think it's making a comeback, just in a different capacity. The commercial side of it has, and will continue to die down (but never go away completely). I think as long as there are bored middle-aged men and women with a nack for building things, there will be plenty of new woodworkers.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have sold a few woodworking related tools over the past year. The age of the buyer varied greatly. Last weekend I sold a sander and bandsaw to a person who is in his twenties. He already has some tools and is constantly looking for more. I believe most crafts and professions have highs and lows. Wood is a renewable resource and very earthy in nature. Woodworking goes back many thousands of years and will continue.
I don not think it is an expensive hobby. Many people throw down 50,000 dollars and more for a travel trailer or motorhome and use it maybe 1 month a year. Investing 5,000 to 10,000 as a hobbyist or 50,000 to 100,000 to start a small shop is not that much money. Consider the number of years of enjoyment one can get from the investment. Also, the tools will retain some value if quality tools are purchased and maintained.
 
#19 ·
I think for the 1. time we here in Denmark are ahead of you , sadly but true
maybee becourse we only have alot of pine some ash,marble, and oak
so now if you want to learn anything about woodworking the comerciel way
in one of the educationschoolsprogram for adult you be learned in a combination
teaching something between a carpenter and maschine worker
if you don´t want to go into a industri design school where you can if you are lucky
to have a teacher that say make something in wood
thats how it has been the last many years and if you want to learn it in your sparetime
luckely we have a great evening schoolprogram were you can learn what interrested you
from yoga to turning ,knifemaking and other trades
but no real woodworking education here anymore, I gess its becourse we don´t have
some of your lovely darker wood here in Skandinavia like mahogeny and walnut
if we want to go down to the locel woodsurplyer all what we can get is sheedgoods and lausy pine
and some pressuretreaded wood
even thow we can see that there is many many people who tinkle around and make things
with there hannds becourse they are tired of steal, plastic and the concept buy and trow away

my gess is we come back slowly to time were you can have such a job as woodworker
becourse people want qualitat when they buy things now

so look at the bright side we ain´t dead yet :)

Dennis
 
#20 ·
I was about to post the same thing as John. I went to a local meeting of woodworking enthusiasts for the first time with my two oldest daughters and saw a lot of old time folks. It was then that it hit me. I am there (39 years old) only because I can afford too do this hobby now. Check out your own experience. Did you have a tough time deciding to buy a table saw or diapers? Priorities in life make the natural progression of passion secondary to the more immediate needs. I started getting into (seriously) woodworking at about 3 years ago. I think if you did a survey and asked "If you have a family, when did you get serious in woodworking?" It would be somewhere in the mid-30's to early 40's I bet.
 
#21 ·
Kevin
it has nothing to do with when you get serius about woodworking that is the big question
its when did you get the bite from the big wood/DIY bug in your life
if it hasn´t come across you when you was young I daubt it ever will
we simply have to have good schools with both education in books
and education in making thing with you hands and be creative with them its the only way forward
children is both the best and the worst resourse we have , you can nurse there brain or you can dump them
and say what do I care
 
#22 ·
From a hobbyist point of view, John makes some good comments. The woodworking guild in my area consists mostly of retired guys with disposable income.
Off course, woodworking can be done without a large financial outlay. Hand tools! Guess that is just too slow and labor intensive for most. Blame it on the influence of our modern instant gratification, consumer driven society. That's why the tool shops are smiling and coming up with more and more ridiculous gizmos!
I work wood for a living, so some thoughts from that side. The craft of woodworking as such is dying, yes. As is many other crafts. The task of making basic wooden things has been taken over by machines and sweatshops.
At the same time, craftsmanship is also dying and that is our savior. More and more people are beginning to recognize the lack of craftsmanship in consumer production goods.

Good craftsmanship is becoming contemporary art. People are starting to value the exclusivity of good craftsmanship and design and they are willing to pay for it.

I can go on and on, enough said.
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
On the matter of hand tools- they aren't as good an entry to woodworking as they could be.

  • they're hard to learn to use from books or videos - one really needs a skilled mentor to teach skills much beyond the basics.

  • few other woodworkers use them, making finding a skilled mentor difficult.

  • high quality hand tools can be quite expensive - enough so to be daunting to an in-experienced woodworker who isn't familiar with how hand tools should perform

  • cheap hand tools frequently perform like crap - enough so to be very discouraging to an in-experienced woodworker who isn't familiar with how hand tools should perform..

  • hand tools are slow. A pretty big hurdle for the instant gratification generation.

Beyond the hand tool issue, I can identify for certain one major bar to young people finding wood working.

Wood isn't very common in our lives anymore. Few people use wood heat, most floors are carpet over plywood subfloors, the majority of affordable new furniture is made of particle board, and the toys we grew up with are plastic and electronic.
 
#25 ·
AnnaEA, woodworking is NOT for those that want instant gratification. They won't last!

Quality USED handtools can be found at VERY realistic prices.

There are no better teacher than DOING and PERSISTENCE. It is not that difficult. Skill can only come with practise.
 
#26 ·
First off Dan age has no hold on longevity, just buried a 34 year old friend this last week. But am glad to hear your thinking about such matters and what should be done with your tools. Speaking of tools my daughter will inherit mine. As for the craft dying off I don't for see this happening myself. But as john has stated young people have many other things to think about and do that take up a lot of their time. I have quite a few young people (trying not to say kids LOL) that know me that want to come in the shop with me because I have the toys. Yes its true that mature people are more settled in and have the time to invest in a pretty much stationary hobby. In fact my neighbor came by to ask how to do something as she is just getting into woodworking. She just got a scroll saw and is starting out with small craft items. I think the longer your at the game you will find that there are more people around you that are as well. In fact there are a lot of things that I am now finding the time to do myself now that I'm older. As you stated your new to getting around the saw dust yourself, and so will others when the desire comes to them. Heck I still am trying to get use to todays technology myself and if I don't understand something or need to learn something I ask a young person as they know all about this stuff today.
 
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