Gayus Wood

Old Ways of Working Wood a review

Id like to recommend a fascinating book I picked up at the library last week: Old Ways of Working Woodby Alex W. Bealer. The author clearly states his position on modern woodworking in the opening chapter:

"The machine, not the craftsman, dominates woodworking today. The result has been an artistic tragedy."

Those are some pretty strong statements. Are we, as power tool enthusiasts fooling ourselves into believing that we are actually creative, let alone artistic? Are we merely button pushers and no longer craftsmen? Sadly, as a confirmed power tool user, I agree with  Bealer — to a point.

Push-button woodworking

It takes no particular skill to rip a board on a table saw. Im pretty sure monkeys could be trained to do it. My miter saw hacks out 45 degree angled cuts with a positive click stop on its table. I push a button and it cuts with relative precision. My benchtop planer is the ultimate example of push button technology in my shop. I stick a board in one end and it comes out flat and thinner on the other end. I dont even have to push the wood through: rollers pull it through at a constant speed. Its produces a loud, almost frightening scream letting me know whos really the boss. Most of the finesse required to use these machines involves continually tweaking them so that they run straight and keep doing what they are supposed to do.

In todays shop, we solve woodworking problems by making jigs and figuring out countless ways to best exploit the machine. In a sense, we are slaves to the capabilities and limitations of our machines. Moreover, if a certain power tool doesnt provide the results we desire, we go shopping for a bigger or better machine that will. If we want to create a certain router profile, we buy a pre-made bit that will suffice. Or settle for one thats close enough to what we envision. Want to make mortises? There are machines that bore perfectly square holes. At what point are we no longer working the wood, and just cutting out dough with cookie cutters?

Woodworking once required working wood

Bealer points out that all of this has, for the most part, come about within the past hundred years or so. Before the 20th century, a man literally worked wood, starting with the tree itself. He understood the growth of trees and had knowledge of the ones surrounding him. Building with wood began by felling the tree. From there the woodworker would hew and split the wood. Saw it, plane, bore it, chisel it, turn it, and cut joints. A craftsmans imagination wasnt limited to the tools he had on hand or could buy. If he needed, say, a specialized plane for something he dreamed up, he made his own. Woodworkers viewed their tools as highly personal objects and saw them as extensions of their own hands. Each project was unique because the craftsman was intimately involved with the wood.

Each chapter of Old Ways of Working Wood describes in great detail each of these traditional woodworking techniques. It is educational and at times, awe inspiring. Would you know how to correctly fell a tree with a single ax? Ever used an adz? Bealer has learned these methods from people who actually use them and manages to share it all in a lively, easy to read manner.

So where does this leave us?

Using power tools doesnt diminish my joy of building woodworking projects. In fact, power tools increase my pleasure, because I dont have to spend years as an apprentice honing skills that can only be learned through repetition. Power tools enable anyone to become a hobbyist and create things. In the past, I suspect woodworking want much of a hobby. People devoted their lives to it because they needed to. But are we artists? Most of us probably arent. But neither were most traditional woodworkers. They built things they required.

Old Ways of Working Wood makes me want to learn to use hand tools and really get in touch with the materials I use. Its inspiring. But the reality is, I dont have the time to start from scratch. I am a product of the 20th century. And here is where I find disagreement with Alex Bealer. My table saw may not be an extension of my hands, but it is an extension of my imagination. And Im perfectly cool with that.