Harold, I don't think that things have changed since Christ was a carpenter,
literally. I think that there have been jobs that needed perfection and
workmen who needed to do "perfect" work, and jobs and workmen who were
"journeymen". Framing a house when the key factor is getting it done in
three days - you'll get a house that's hopefully sound, reasonably square
and plumb, but really needs to be covered with drywall - no exposed joints
here! Your friend is building a million dollar house, if he had to pay
people to do it - maybe multi-million dollar! Pride of workmanship for the
other guys is getting the frame up in three days, meeting the deadline and
maybe getting the bonus!

In car restoration these days there is a new breed of perfectionist - guys
who spend thousands of hours duplicating the scrawled chalk marks, the
overspray, the drippy seam-seal, the really rather poor assemblywork of
mid-sixties cars - including not only the Chevvies and Fords, but the
Ferraris and Maseratis, which were built like tractors!

Pride of workmanship isn't dead - I'm often very proud of my workmanship!

Cheers, Brian


"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
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