It is good to grasp one and not let go of the other.

After my first blog post I went on Facebook to check out how the linked looked, and there was my face, filling the whole screen in an unflattering way.  I knew then the first improvement to this blog would be a more appropriate photo.  So now you will see me wielding a hewing axe silhouetted by the sunrise, a typical saturday morning.

Looking at this photo in context to my last post got me thinking about the woodworking process and it's ancient tradition.  It's technology has evolved from the dawn of creation from whittling a spear with a sharp piece of flint to modern day CNC machines that can mill wood to micro tolerances.  This vast variance in technology has created a lot of strict camps among craftsmen.  What do I mean by strict camps?  I mean there are those among us, traditionalist, who would never even think about letting a machine cut their joinery for them.  Then there are others who would say you're a fool for not embracing the convenience and efficiency of modern technology.  Feelings about the "right" way to go about woodworking run deep and cause many divisions in the craft world.  A basic battle of tradition vs. progression.

So, am I firmly rooted in tradition or do I move with the movers?  What to do...Well let me pull some wisdom from the book of Ecclesiastes (yes I spelled that wrong the first time) to clarify what I believe.  Chapter 7:14-18 abbrev. "Do not be overrighteous...Do not be overwicked...It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other.  The man who fears God will avoid all extremes." Balance, that is the answer.  So you will see me using a hewing axe in one moment and then using a power tool in the next.  The question in life and in the wood studio then becomes; what tools do I use and which do I disregard?  This is the sticking point where a person ought to spend his lifetime soul searching to determine what is right.  If we cling to our traditions to tightly we will lose perspective and relevance in the world, but if we plunge head first into the tidal wave of modern technology we will forget the fundamentals that got us here in the first place.

A big thanks to my Uncle Kevin Gronli for
Supplying me with the Oak to build this
shaving horse

This is why I think Heritage Tree (see previous post to learn a bit more about Heritage Tree) is so important.  The latest and greatest thinking is often attractive and easy to move along with but it takes discipline to reflect and learn from the past.  I want to take both the tradition and technology of wood craft to help us be disciplined and look to our elders and learn from them.  This so that we can look to the future all the wiser and shape a better world with both the spokeshave and the power saw.

This shaving horse is almost ready to help me make some chairs