The thing is trades Are always changing

IN woodowork you have the Carpenter and the Cabinetmaker (I'll claim
that the homebuilders who frame houses using a chainsaw and nailgun fit
under the realm of the carpenter, or some rough approximation of it.)

there was once upon a time a joiners, coopers, fullers, and hatters were
all respected and legitimate trades Who knows the diff between a joiner
and a carpenter now?

There was a time when a millwright was closer to a civil
engineer/dambuilder and dealt with line shaft shops where one rotating
shaft powered every peice of machinery or when there were 2 dozen types
of smiths that were common trades that have basicvally been cut down to
a blacksmith a goldsmith and a farrier, and they are rare themselves
compared to before.

IN a hybrid the Pattternmaker is an endangered species but he does still
exist.

And a lot of the metalworking trades and machinists are changing the
same way.

But the trades you mention basically require skilled work or repair
onsite and those are changing but safe.

Part is change and part is taking advantage of cheap lower quality labor
in developping nations to get the work done cheaper at the expense of
your nations own skilled trades.

Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:
In article ,
Grant Erwin wrote:


Mike H. wrote:


For those interested, Kizer Sheet Metal is hitting the auction block in
McMinnville, OR on Thursday - January 26

http://www.murphyauctions.net/kizer.html


I heard a rumor recently that China has been making a lot of sheet metal
ductwork and shipping it to this country in containers, and that this is the
reason a lot of sheet metal shops on the West Coast are shutting down,
particularly in Southern California. Does anyone know anything definitively
on
this subject? I'm considering routing my teenager to a union apprenticeship
program, and I don't want to pick one in a dying trade.

GWE
Washington State


My friends in the San Francisco Bay Area say the same thing.
All the simple ductwork is coming out of China.
It is making it very hard to find local shops for custom work.


Plumber, Electrician, Tile/Stone setter, Stucco, Finish
Carpenter/Cabinetmaker.

All these trades are well paid, and can't be exported easily.