One of the benefits of having multiple interests is the ability to compare and contrast various trends and attitudes that take place within those interest. the hand tool v. power tool debate in woodworking reminds me of the free weight v machine weight debate from the late 70′s in the body building/ power lifting circles and the acoustic drum v electronic drum debate in drumming circles.

Mostly the debates broke along generational lines (as most do). With the lifting debate many of the old guard saw the new machines as being for wimps, posers, and women (it was a tad sexist back then. Was too young to witness it first hand, but some of the books and articles wrote during that time defiantly raised my eyebrows.); while the younger guys saw free weights as dangerous and inefficient. With drums, the old guard said electronic drums were for people who couldn’t play while the younger guys saw acoustic drums as primitive and limiting.

So what does this have to do with hand tool v power tools? Well, once again there is a generational divide. But here it get’s a little interesting. Most of the hand tool enthusiast, as I can tell, tend to be ageing baby boomers and young, neo hippies. In both cases there is a strong does of psychology going on here. With the baby boomers, these tend to be older men, many who came from working class backgrounds, and who went to college and got white collar jobs. These might be men (and they are mostly men) who either rejected all tools together or at least hand tools in specific. And by embracing hand tools, they are, by proxy, embracing fathers they might have spent the whole of their early adulthood trying to rebel against or escape from. For the neo hippies, they see hand tool work as a carbon neutral, environmentally friendly way of working.

So, what am I saying? Well what was the question? “Why should someone work wood with hand tools when power tools are available?” Well the true answer, the real answer, the only answer is, there isn’t. Plain and simple. But there’s no reason not to. In fact if one think this has anything to do with woodworking (or drumming or weightlifting) is missing the point. The real question is, “What is the psychological and emotional benefit of using this product, engaging in this activity, and doing so in this way?” Wood doesn’t care if it’s ripped with a 100 year old Disston saw or a brand new Grizzly table. Those only matter to the person doing the ripping and only the individual can answer that. We can say why WE work wood that way, but that’s it.

When I started working wood, I was a power tool only guy. Then after I couple years, I sold all my power tools and machines and went hand tool only. Five years and several thousand dollars later, I’ve just about replaced everything I sold off. What I found is I didn’t like using one approach over the other, I liked both equally. I like having both the ability and freedom to pursue both. But that’s me and only me.

Sure, it was a lot of work, taking over four months of a few hours here and there. But the satisfaction of knowing it was me doing all the work, and not my machines, is immense. I feel like I really accomplished something. It grew my skill set tremendously and gives me the confidence to do more ambitious projects. No more fears about awkward setups. Just do it.

Why do it by hand? For the pure joy of it.

Certainly that’s the hobbyist’s viewpoint, where I can afford to spend any amount of time, but that joy is the reason it’s a hobby.

The difference, mostly, is between our ears. It’s kind of a "do what you love and the rest will come" philosophy. Eventually a statement like that will come to matter.

Sign me, Enjoying the Journey,

Bests, Rob

My wife accompanied me to a wood working show one day, and while walking by the ShopBot booth, I commented that there seemed to be more of that type of woodworking presented than in the past. She replied,
"That’s not woodworking, that’s wood machining."

I gave her a big hug, and told her I love her.

I drive a 1931 Model A Ford truck almost exclusively, with a home-made bumper sticker on it that says "What would the Woodwright do?" I guess that plants me squarely in the handtools-only camp as well (though I do have an early-50′s Shopsmith hidden away in the back of my barn for use on those days when my joints are hurtin’…).

Ray