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| yamatetsu:
--- Quote from: RandyT on May 12, 2023, 02:44:04 pm ---So while I understand the value and appreciation for "hand-made", I still find myself asking why, when amazing tools exist to produce the same results with hugely less effort. Is it just something to pass the time? --- End quote --- Yep, it's a hobby. There is something very satisfying about turning something that's in your head into something real with your own hands vs just pressing a button. I went more than 40 years telling myself that I'm no good at doing something like "art" or woodworking, now that I actually tried doing some stuff I found out that it's not so hard after all, and it's fun. I'm catching up. There also is a practical reason for doing things by hand: Money and space. I can't afford a laser cutter and I don't have the space for it anyway. |
| RandyT:
--- Quote from: yamatetsu on May 13, 2023, 04:32:54 am ---Yep, it's a hobby. There is something very satisfying about turning something that's in your head into something real with your own hands vs just pressing a button. I went more than 40 years telling myself that I'm no good at doing something like "art" or woodworking, now that I actually tried doing some stuff I found out that it's not so hard after all, and it's fun. I'm catching up. There also is a practical reason for doing things by hand: Money and space. I can't afford a laser cutter and I don't have the space for it anyway. --- End quote --- Well, it's more than just pressing a button. Without the design files, you can press all the buttons you want and it won't do anything for you :). I.e. producing something like this with a laser is still "art", or at least it can be, just a different form. Based on what I see from your works, I'm guessing a computer is already part of the process anyway, unless you are hand drawing the pattern on the material to begin with. A small 40watt import laser will probably fit on your existing bench, and they don't cost all that much. If you like tinkering with your tools, that one should be right up your alley. And like Zebidee stated, you could probably sell some of your works and generate the cash for one. But I do understand that there can be therapeutic benefits for some in taking the "long road." If the point is the journey, I get that. |
| bobbyb13:
I really like the whole "by hand" method of this. One of my grandads was a pattern maker at a metal foundry, shaping the parts -out of wood!- to cast all kinds of things in metal. Want to talk about careers that have gone by. I used to enjoy watching him make some pretty detailed stuff in his home workshop, and the fretsaw hobby reminds me of those things. I have fond memories of this type of work myself. For me there is a zen aspect to tasks like these that can't be replicated with a lot of technology interjected. The core of it is like any of the other stuff we do here really, yeah? Get the right tools, learn the techniques to use them well and practice until you get what you like. --- Quote from: yamatetsu on May 13, 2023, 04:32:54 am --- --- Quote from: RandyT on May 12, 2023, 02:44:04 pm ---So while I understand the value and appreciation for "hand-made", I still find myself asking why, when amazing tools exist to produce the same results with hugely less effort. Is it just something to pass the time? --- End quote --- Yep, it's a hobby. There is something very satisfying about turning something that's in your head into something real with your own hands vs just pressing a button. I went more than 40 years telling myself that I'm no good at doing something like "art" or woodworking, now that I actually tried doing some stuff I found out that it's not so hard after all, and it's fun. I'm catching up. There also is a practical reason for doing things by hand: Money and space. I can't afford a laser cutter and I don't have the space for it anyway. --- End quote --- |
| yamatetsu:
--- Quote from: RandyT on May 13, 2023, 12:09:20 pm ---Well, it's more than just pressing a button. Without the design files, you can press all the buttons you want and it won't do anything for you :). I.e. producing something like this with a laser is still "art", or at least it can be, just a different form. Based on what I see from your works, I'm guessing a computer is already part of the process anyway, unless you are hand drawing the pattern on the material to begin with. A small 40watt import laser will probably fit on your existing bench, and they don't cost all that much. If you like tinkering with your tools, that one should be right up your alley. And like Zebidee stated, you could probably sell some of your works and generate the cash for one. --- End quote --- I'm using a computer for converting images into patterns, which I then spray-glue onto the wood. But that is just the prep work, from then on it's manual labor. I'm not opposed to using computers, but to me using the computer to do everything is like producing something vs. making something. Making something is much more rewarding. As for a small laser fitting on my existing bench, nope. My "bench" basically consists of two wooden boxes clamped together, giving me a surface area of 33x30cm to work on, which is about one A4 sheet and a half. I don't have a dedicated work space, I'm doing my fretwork in my bedroom, sitting on my bed and sawing merrily away. --- Quote from: bobbyb13 on May 13, 2023, 10:03:01 pm ---For me there is a zen aspect to tasks like these --- End quote --- Yep, right until some delicate part breaks when sanding. Then it switches over to being a much more mundane aspect, like swearing and cursing :) |
| RandyT:
I guess the way I view it is that the laser would only be taking the place of the saw. After being cut on the laser, there would still be quite a bit of "artistic" work (sanding, shaping, painting and final assembly) to get the end result. But yes, if that is the extent of your working environment, and you enjoy the process, it's certainly not a wrong way to do it. :cheers: |
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