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> "I can't think of any reason to acclimatize them this way instead of" .... I bet the expert woodmakers doing this job have very good reasons. Reasons that yo

> "I can't think of any reason to acclimatize them this way instead of" .... I bet the expert woodmakers doing this job have very good reasons. Reasons that you haven't thought of.. Seriously, these people are experts. They probably know their job, really, really well.

DannyBee 8y ago
"I bet the expert woodmakers doing this job have very good reasons. Reasons that you haven't thought of.. Seriously, these people are experts. They probably know their job, really, really well." This is just a random appeal to authority. If you would like to be constructive, please be constructive. First, there is one person doing this. Or was. It was Jerry Lee, who recently retired. He did it for 30 years. In fact, for giggles, i reached out this morning, and Jerry Lee says he is not an expert by any means in any of this. He was just a pattern maker who thought he could be helpful. He had no particular expertise in this when he started, and he would argue he is in fact, not an expert. When I asked, he said they just didn't need to do it faster. So it turns out no, they aren't magical experts trained in the artisanal art of ladder making with information passed down from the ages, and no, there are no magical reasons that only the wood cognoscenti have thought of. Sorry. They just use the forestry handbook data and info like everyone else!
- donarb 8y ago
  Isn't a forestry handbook a "random appeal to authority"?
  - tptacek 8y ago
    At the point where one of us literally called up the dude who was doing the work and asked, can we dispense with the message board rhetorical kung-fu and just have the rest of the conversation? Thanks.
  - DannyBee 8y ago
    Actually, no, it's a very very very well thought out resource that has references to where the research comes from and citations for it's data. It may come as a surprise, but this really is engineering. People have been studying wood as an engineering material for a very long time, and there are a large number of published studies on pretty much anything you can think of from drying rates to density to you name it. Take a look at https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/publications/several_pubs.php?grouping_id=100&header_id=p https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/publications/several_pubs...
- pm24601 8y ago
  > When I asked, he said they just didn't need to do it faster. There is your really good reason.

DannyBee 8y ago

"I bet the expert woodmakers doing this job have very good reasons. Reasons that you haven't thought of.. Seriously, these people are experts. They probably know their job, really, really well." This is just a random appeal to authority. If you would like to be constructive, please be constructive. First, there is one person doing this. Or was. It was Jerry Lee, who recently retired. He did it for 30 years. In fact, for giggles, i reached out this morning, and Jerry Lee says he is not an expert by any means in any of this. He was just a pattern maker who thought he could be helpful. He had no particular expertise in this when he started, and he would argue he is in fact, not an expert. When I asked, he said they just didn't need to do it faster. So it turns out no, they aren't magical experts trained in the artisanal art of ladder making with information passed down from the ages, and no, there are no magical reasons that only the wood cognoscenti have thought of. Sorry. They just use the forestry handbook data and info like everyone else!

donarb 8y ago
Isn't a forestry handbook a "random appeal to authority"?
- tptacek 8y ago
  At the point where one of us literally called up the dude who was doing the work and asked, can we dispense with the message board rhetorical kung-fu and just have the rest of the conversation? Thanks.
- DannyBee 8y ago
  Actually, no, it's a very very very well thought out resource that has references to where the research comes from and citations for it's data. It may come as a surprise, but this really is engineering. People have been studying wood as an engineering material for a very long time, and there are a large number of published studies on pretty much anything you can think of from drying rates to density to you name it. Take a look at https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/publications/several_pubs.php?grouping_id=100&header_id=p https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/publications/several_pubs...
pm24601 8y ago
> When I asked, he said they just didn't need to do it faster. There is your really good reason.