Some thoughts by a carpenter

I am told that my family settled in southern Wisconsin well over a century ago. My forefathers traditionally were farmers and carpenters. One thing that I am now grateful for is that my dad, who owns a small construction company, insisted when I was but yet a lad that I needed to learn how to work and to learn his trade. It did not require much of a stint at college to reveal to me that I truly did love working as a carpenter.

I am presently working on a dining room table for my wife. I will soon share some pictures and some construction details for those who might be interested to see how one would go about building a table. For now, I would like to share some thoughts on woodworking and the trades in general.

While I have to say that I employ and even enjoy many of the “fruits” of an industrial era, I am dismayed by what seems to be a continuing decline of skilled artisans employing their hands and tools in an effort to produce a quality craft from which they can derive their income and contribute to the local community and economy.

Our postmodern society has become obsessed with a fast-paced, self-seeking, disposable culture that emphasizes immediate and momentary gratification. We no longer enjoy working or waiting, thus we are content to amuse ourselves by the cheap and trite offerings that a fast-paced industry is pleased to cast our way. We gorge ourselves with rotten, greasy food from the local fast food shack because we have no time or patience to sit down to a quality meal made with care. We have no desire to wait three months for a craftsman to build us a quality piece of furniture. We opt rather to throw some money for some cheap stuff made out of glue, sawdust, and plastic paper with an imprinted woodgrain. We know it won’t last, but it was cheap and we didn’t have to wait for it. It does not dawn on us that while the generations of the past were able to pass down quality goods that we collect now as antiques, there will be nothing left for us to give to our children. The particle board bookshelf would have sagged its way to the landfill by then.

When I build things for my family, I prefer to build pieces in the arts and craft style. The arts and craft movement, while employing a rather diverse spectrum of style, was unified in its abhorrence to Europe’s shift from a rural and agrarian culture to an urban and industrial one. William Morris, while born in the industrial privileged class, embraced the writings of John Ruskin (who viewed the results of industrialization as disastrous by way of destroying individual craftsmanship and local economy) and was instrumental in forging the styles of crafting that we now call Arts and Crafts.

The furniture of the Arts and Crafts movement is rather diverse, but could be described briefly as a form that emphasizes simple, solid, straight lines while employing the time-tested traditional joinery methods as well as the need of a skilled artisan to create it. Therefore, each piece usually displays exposed joinery. The movement desired to maintain the tradition of skilled craftsmen using hand tools rather than turning the artison into a factory worker that fed skilled machines!

For materials, many chose to use locally available domestic timbers such as oak and ash. Quartersawn oak was popular, particularly in America. Many pieces utilized other mediums such as custom made glass, leather, and fabrics. Hardware was often hand forged.

While I may not be able to bring back the cobbler, the blacksmith and the tailor, I hope that in some small way I can at least use the hands that God has given me to work and to exercise dominion over God’s creation. The earth is the Lord’s and all the fullness thereof, yet God has been pleased to enable us to do such things as till the land and to build things! I hope that if God is willing to allow me to live long enough, that I shall be able to pass along my meager abilities and knowledge to my own sons, and that perhaps someday a great grandchild can share with a friend, “My great grandfather built that!”

bob