These Two Can Be a Great Combination
For
many years, Popular
Woodworking has been an important resource for learning and an
inspiration to many woodworkers – including myself. Whether it’s a new
technique to learn, a skill to perfect, a tool to consider, a design to be
inspired by or a plan to build, the publication has been and continues to be as
important to woodworkers as any tool in the shop.
One
of the great things the magazine does for its readers is to introduce them to
the joys of woodworking through an emphasis on the importance of craftsmanship,
developing skills with hand tools and good techniques with power tools.
Expanding what we know and what we can do is how we all become skilled and
passionate woodworkers.
In
recent years, the magazine has taken a step beyond tools that you can touch and
introduced woodworkers to a software based drawing tool: SketchUp. And, it’s
along those lines that leads to what my job will be as a contributor. For
readers interested in new tools and techniques I’m going to take you farther
down that path and introduce you the new world of digitally based tools, show
you what they can do in woodworking and explain how to use them.
Yes,
we’re talking about the world of CAD (computer aided design), CAM (computer
aided manufacturing) and CNC Routers (computer numeric control). That’s a lot
of acronyms and it can be a little confusing. So, when it comes to using these
tools in woodworking, I prefer to lump it all together and call it: Digital
Woodworking. Digital technology and woodworking may sound like a little strange
combination at first, but I’ve found that with the right approach and some new
techniques these two can work together beautifully.
At
first it may seem odd that computers could be considered proper tools in a
woodworking workshop, but as we already know, there’s a lot of ways to do
woodworking. Just as hand tools are right for some tasks and power tools are
appropriate for others, digital tools can find their place in a modern
woodworker’s shop. I really believe that the combination of different
approaches is ultimately the artistic sweet spot for creative woodworkers to
explore.
So,
what does all that mean to you as a woodworker? Certainly, if you’re a
dedicated hand-tool-only woodworker, Digital Woodworking may not mean as much.
But, just as many hand tool craftsmen and women appreciate the benefits of a
few power tools on occasion, woodworkers of all types might be curious about
what can be done with new tools like CNC routers. Or Laser Cutters. Or, other
exciting tools coming your way soon. Where technology and woodworking intersect
will be the primary focus of my blog posts and articles for the magazine.
Other Woodworking Topics I’ll Cover
I
also plan on writing about other topics, too. I’m a full time furniture maker
who produces a lot of pieces in a small shop. Therefore, I have to be hyper-efficient
in my work. I love finding ways to work better, quicker and more
accurately. I’m constantly thinking about every single step, every movement and
every technique I use and try to improve on them. I’ve found that in teaching
woodworking classes, there’s a number of methods, techniques and skills that
professionals use to be more efficient, more accurate and less prone to
mistakes that are just as valuable to passionate woodworking hobbyists in their
home shops. I’ve seen plenty of mistakes happen because some of these
principals aren’t observed. I plan on sharing as many “tricks of the trade” and
techniques as I can.
The
final subject I’ll be covering is design. Before I got into woodworking, I had
a long and successful career in design. Being a designer has been invaluable to
me as a woodworker and becoming good at design should be important to you as
well. Too often, there’s a key misunderstanding about what design actually is.
Despite what a lot of people think, design is not an instinct based or gut
feeling means of expression. It doesn’t work that way. It’s a real skill with
numerous visual techniques that good designers master and use repeatedly in
order to get excellent results no matter what visual problems there are to
solve.
Just
like woodworkers learning to hand cut dovetails, the basics of design and how
to apply them can be learned. Circling back to my main topic, it just so
happens that design is the trick, the hidden secret, that special sauce,
when it comes to getting the very best out of Digital Woodworking. Really. The
same is true for all woodworking, for that matter. Just more so when it comes
to the digital world. Since good design is important I’ll share techniques and
tips wherever I can.
What’s Coming Up
In
upcoming posts and articles I’ll discuss how I started in woodworking and how
digital technology has been an important part of my work from the beginning.
I’ll talk about what I do in my shop with these digital tools. Down the road,
I’ll cover hardware like CNC Routers, Laser Cutters and other specialized
tools, computer based tools like CAD, CAM and other specialized software. I’ll
explore exciting upcoming technology, interesting new projects you can make
with digital and/or traditional tools, a new workbench design, custom flexible
toolboxes, ways to learn this stuff and many new techniques and skills and
tricks that are unique to working with wood and digital tools. Plus, a way that
you can take advantage of CNC Routers to make your patterns even if you don’t
own a machine by using outside services. There’s definitely a lot to cover.
Looking
down the road, I can tell you up front that Digital Woodworking comes with many
of the same woodworking problems to solve, several new skills to learn and many
old and new challenges to overcome. Fair warning. This kind of woodworking will
never be as simple as clicking a mouse. That’s because woodworking is quite
complicated. What would be the fun in “simple”, anyway? We’re woodworkers. We
like to be engaged, challenged to improve our skills and we like to build
things. Going digital offers all those things, too.
Finally,
I want to thank Megan, Jon and Rodney of Popular
Woodworking for the
opportunity to introduce the readers and fellow woodworkers to Digital
Woodworking. It’s a big step for a magazine focused on woodworking to enter
this new world. And, just as it was in the past when power tools first showed
up in woodworker’s shops, it’s a natural step for the magazine to introduce and
explore new technology, as well as support the readers along the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment