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My father-in-law is a woodworker who makes chairs that cost five digits, and canoes that run into six digits. He is the epitome of a good craftsman. He does no
by sgarland 3y ago
My father-in-law is a woodworker who makes chairs that cost five digits, and canoes that run into six digits. He is the epitome of a good craftsman.
He does not make his own tools. He buys them, because there are already extremely talented tool-makers who are very good at their craft.
- mgaunard 3y agoBut I'm sure he carefully reviews what tools are available and most likely still modifies them to fit his workflow. Certainly a lot of youtube woodworkers do that, can't say I work wood myself.
- sgarland 3y agoThat depends what your definition of tool is. He custom-makes jigs all the time, as those are bespoke for whatever particular shape of thing he’s making. But saws, blades, chisels… maybe he could make them, but why? Metalworking is its own subject of mastery. AFAIK, he doesn’t often modify any tools of that sort. He spends time selecting the one he wants, yes.
- mgaunard 3y agoMaking a tool doesn't mean making every component of the tool.
- qzw 3y agoHow many hours does it take him to make a canoe? I imagine it must run into the high hundreds, if not more.
- sgarland 3y agoA full canoe can take him up to a year, depending on the wood species. He made one once from ebony, which is extremely difficult to work. Also if it wasn’t clear, these aren’t intended for use. They all do (except for the ebony - he said the heat absorption from the dark color would delaminate the fiberglass coat within hours) float and work extremely well if you want, but given the cost, most people use them as art. He also makes paddles, which are still expensive (I think the cheapest starts at about $1000), but some people actually use those.