Of all the things that have changed professionally over the last 30 years, the one that astounds me the most is how I make what I make.
B-a-a-ack in 1986, making a kitchen included drawing it with a pencil, ordering a large stack of rough lumber to make the doors, cutting plywood on a table saw, and using a drill to make the holes for shelves and hardware. There was a dumpster in case anything went wrong.
In 2016, making the same kitchen includes drawing it on the computer (want to see it in 3-d?), ordering the doors online from a specialty manufacturer (who will also spray finish them if you want), and using CNC to cut cabinet parts and do any machining required for shelves and hardware.
A story: last year I attended training sessions to better utilize the software I use. The learning curve has been fearsome, but worth it. During one of the breaks, I attempted to engage one of the other (younger) attendees in some shop talk. I asked him how long he had been in cabinetmaking. "Eight years," he replied. Newbie, I thought. "It must be hard, absorbing all this information."
"Neah," he replied. "I was a computer science major in college."
I don't have any nostalgia for milling 100 board feet of lumber, or marking out every single hole by hand. I don't even mind that a large chunk of my woodworking know-how is irrelevant to producing your kitchen. The fact is, a person with computer skills (and presumably some knowledge of cabinetmaking) represents the state of the art.
And I still have a dumpster, in case anything goes wrong.
B-a-a-ack in 1986, making a kitchen included drawing it with a pencil, ordering a large stack of rough lumber to make the doors, cutting plywood on a table saw, and using a drill to make the holes for shelves and hardware. There was a dumpster in case anything went wrong.
In 2016, making the same kitchen includes drawing it on the computer (want to see it in 3-d?), ordering the doors online from a specialty manufacturer (who will also spray finish them if you want), and using CNC to cut cabinet parts and do any machining required for shelves and hardware.
A story: last year I attended training sessions to better utilize the software I use. The learning curve has been fearsome, but worth it. During one of the breaks, I attempted to engage one of the other (younger) attendees in some shop talk. I asked him how long he had been in cabinetmaking. "Eight years," he replied. Newbie, I thought. "It must be hard, absorbing all this information."
"Neah," he replied. "I was a computer science major in college."
I don't have any nostalgia for milling 100 board feet of lumber, or marking out every single hole by hand. I don't even mind that a large chunk of my woodworking know-how is irrelevant to producing your kitchen. The fact is, a person with computer skills (and presumably some knowledge of cabinetmaking) represents the state of the art.
And I still have a dumpster, in case anything goes wrong.
 Oak board, circa 1986 |  Oak board, circa 2016 |
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