"Swingman" wrote in message
...

"John Grossbohlin" wrote:
"Swingman" wrote in message
...

On 2/2/2013 7:35 AM, John Grossbohlin wrote:

You took it upon yourself to reply to my post flatly stating that this
practice was a waste of time, and a "burning distraction", obviously
without any experience to back it up.

You are totally wrong in that statement, and in your assumption, for that
is what it is, an assumption, based on nothing but conjecture.

I'll ask you the same question asked of Dave ... Where does one buy "custom
sized" tenons in order to forego this imagined waste of time and money of
yours?

Let me hear a reply based on experience ... enough assumption and
conjecture.

I often wonder how threads on the rec spin out of control... There was
nothing in my posts that should have gotten you all hot and bothered. The
first one about "time" had an exclamation point no less! Thus there was no
need for personal attacks about experience, skill, or anything else. That
said, my experience and skills are adequate to have gleaned me a box full of
woodworking awards from multiple shows and have kept me on the
lecture/instructor schedule for the past decade or so. I've lost actual
count of both... My experience as a management professor and project manager
never let me stray far from cost/benefit analysis.

Being treasurer for the Northeastern Woodworkers Association's Mid-Hudson
Chapter for about 9-10 years has afforded me the opportunity to see a lot of
work, a lot of shops, and meet a lot of professional woodworkers (all kinds
from local to the internationally famous), writers and editors. TV
woodworkers too... Abram, Marks, Underhill--I originally met him while I was
working at Colonial Williamsburg, VA when he was the master housewright. As
such, I've got a pretty good idea how things work and fully appreciate that
there are often myriad ways in which a task could be completed. Thus I was
making an informed observation about time.

All that said, I generally use mortise and tenon and/or hand cut dovetails
in my solid wood work. For the one off furniture and cabinet work I do
there hasn't been a time where mortise and tenons were a problem. My solid
wood casework and drawers are typically done with hand cut dovetails with
some frame and panel pieces thrown in too. Splines, loose tenons, biscuits,
nails/screws and glue show up in some works depending on the fineness of the
work and the intended use.

I am reminded of a dinner discussion the Saturday evening of Woodworkers
Showcase 2008 with Doug Stowe, Peter Korn, Wayne Barton and others. Chris
Schwarz had made other plans for that evening that included drinking beer...
;~) During the discussion a comment was made by Peter that amateurs will
continue to do the best work as professionals do not have time to do so and
make a living. That theme permeates most of the discussions I have had with
professional woodworkers... they need to get the job done as quickly,
efficiently and workmanlike as possible in order to make a decent living.
There are only a few professionals whom I know who work in the
museum/gallery markets who command prices high enough to strive for
perfection in their work--I wouldn't call any of them rich. The "production
shops" (that do jobs like built ins and interior trim for hotels, banks,
churches, hospitals, etc.) seem to be more acutely aware of the time costs
than the others as 5-10 minutes per unit adds up to hours and even weeks of
shop time on big jobs. This time cost is less visible in one off work but
still impacts the income surplus at the end of the year.

John