DIYbanter - View Single Post - Michael Fortune

charlie b (in ) said:

| Morris Dovey wrote:
||
|| What you've described is the approach required for CNC woodworking,
|| where nothing can be done until the design is fully specified in a
|| CAD drawing which is subsequently converted to a part program
|| (think: _software_ template) which is subsequently used to produce
|| parts using CNC tooling.
||
|| Once the part program has been produced, it can be used to make as
|| many copies as needed.
||
|| When parametric programming is used, the part can be automatically
|| modified according to the parameter values (to draw from your
|| example, perhaps to change the diameter of the mirror or to allow
|| for elliptical mirrors by specifying major and minor axis values)
|| to produce an entire family of similarly-styled pieces.
||
|| It works - and it's fun!
|
| But it has no soul. There's no Hands On. And he does use wood
| files and scrapers and sands to blend shapes and curves so they
| flow - one into another. And his larger laminated pieces -
| chairs for example, just don't lend themselves to CNC because CNC
| is subtractive - cut away antyhint that doesn't look like an
| elephant.

I don't buy that "soul" comes from the tool. I'd argue that the "soul"
of any work comes from the mind of the creator and the ability
(craftmanship) to create a real-world object that faithfully reflects
the creative vision.

If the vision is flawed or poorly rendered, then the "soul" of the
work will be diminished.

| I have two chinese "silver chests", one done probably in the early
| 20s and another done in the late 70s. Both have carved cedar
| panels in the doors and sides. The older piece is very three
| dimensional and obviously carved by hand - with very fine 3
| dimensional work - faces, hands, trees etc. that are clearly done
| by hand and done by someone who was well versed in carving. The
| newer one looks similar - initially. But a closer look shows the
| limitations
| of the power tools used to create them - though eased a bit, what
| should be rounded isn't - corners where there shouldn't be
| corners, acute intersections just don't lend themselves to
| machines.

It sounds like a rendering skill/quality issue. FYI there are machines
/can/ do both rounding _and_ acute intersections quite well. If the
craftsman uses the wrong tool - or uses the right tool incorrectly -
does it really seem sensible to attribute the result to the /tool/?

| You see the new one when you walk in the door. The older one
| is around the corner - where it's less apt to be dinged. That one
| I enjoy for its craftsmanship. The other one just keeps dust
| and stuff of the silverware housed in it. One has soul, the other
| doesn't.
|
| Now I have no problem with using machines to do the grunt
| work. I do have a problem with stopping there. And if the
| wood itself isn't a major issue in the design of a piece then,
| to me, something crucial is missing.

Interesting comments. So where is the boundary for "grunt work" then?
Is it when the log has been reduced to a blank which does not yet
contain any resemblance to the piece? Or is it when the piece has been
shaped to within 0.0002" of its final form?

Or are you saying that the design isn't done until the piece is done?
If so, then you're arguing in favor of trading off discipline in favor
of "accidental" excellence.

| There's a place for "affordable to the masses" stuff - everyone
| should have access to a copy of a painting by a master and
| better a fairly nice veneer over mdf table than a plastic one.
| But there should also be pieces that can be appreciated for
| generations - something I doubt Ikea pieces will do.

I think you're painting with too broad a brush. I have a delightful
(to me) bronze by an artist whose work I've long admired; and to my
mind it's the best of all his works. Are you claiming that its
artistic quality is diminished because it was cast rather than hand
carved? Or are you saying that its beauty was diminished when the same
mold was used to produce the _next_ casting?

Methinks you have too closely associated the ability to produce
objects repeatably with cheap materials, weak artistic vision, and
poor craftsmanship - and I'll suggest that close association is, while
all too common, not a given.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto