"jim rozen" wrote in message
...
In article , Harold & Susan
Vordos
says...

... For some,
so many years have elapsed since pride was a part of workmanship that
it's a
relatively unknown commodity anymore. How do we expect anyone to learn
a
craft properly when the mentors don't know the trade, either? It can
be
hard to get things square and plumb when you try. Imagine what you get
when
you don't care!

Just remember Harold that things maybe weren't as great as all that.

My house was built in the late 1800s, and yes it has rough-cut
lumber in it, it's solid, but there's not a right angle in it
and if you look close at the workmanship it's strictly so-so.

They made up for the fact that they put it up in a day, by using
oversize parts. I truly believe that this was a 'knock it
together' kind of dwelling.

Jim

Interesting, Jim. Makes one wonder if the construction trades have always
been a so-so kind of thing. Strangely, my father worked as a carpenter
until he lost his health and eventually succumbed, but my memories of him
are such that he was always struggling for perfection. He did rough
framing right down to fine finishing and cabinet type work and always kept
quality uppermost in his mind.

If you want to see an example of someone trying to do a perfect job, a visit
to our area would be rewarding. A good friend and neighbor, a retired EE
from Boeing, is building a huge exposed beam house. He's been working on it
as long as Susan and I have been struggling with our home. This guy is
doing it all, starting with large Douglas Fir trees, which he saws with his
own mill, permanently set up on his 36 acres. His view is priceless, a
perfect one of Mt. St. Helens, which is about 30 miles distant.
Wonderful workmanship, mostly with hand type tools, although many are
powered, such as his planer, with which he fine tunes the beams. Most
impressive.

Could it be that things haven't changed, that I'm the one that's screwed up?

Harold