Why let the machines have all the fun?

為何讓機器有手作的樂趣?

有時候人們會問：「為什麼要使用這麼多的手工具?」

這是他們沒看到大型數量眾多的電動機具出現在工作室時的疑惑，因為大家總認為木作需要用到這些機具。但是，請仔細一想，家具、樂器以及其他精巧的木作製作可以追溯到好幾百年前，那時這些電動工具和機器都還沒發明呢!而這些傳統的方法和工具不會突然因為新機器的發明而不管用了。

對特定的工作而言，電動工具或機器不一定比較快。舉例來說，許多人認為精細光滑的表面，一定經過數小時的打磨，但是使用爺爺留下來的手刨刀就可完成電動砂光機數小時才能完成的工作，而且還做得更好。

差別在於，任何人都可以在幾分鐘內學會使用電動砂光機，但學會使用手刨刀就恰恰相反。學習使用手刨刀的基本技巧就需要花上幾個月，要能熟練則需要好幾年的時間。

電動工具和機器的好處在於能快速反覆的製造完全相同的東西，前提是要能精準地設定桌鋸；而這種設定的技巧跟使用手刨刀一樣，需要長時間練習。完成設定後，操作人員就可以在短時間內被訓練，以很少的支出，在幾小時之內製作出數百個相同的零件，再組裝成不同的部件。

但是，我們不是工廠，不需要製作幾十件相同的產品。我們每次製作的都是單件獨一無二，手工打造的作品。

使用機器有很多缺點，具有危險性、需要很大的空間、很吵嘈且讓工作室和我們的肺部都充滿細小的粉塵。如果使用機器，我們就不會有讓人們覺得安全舒適且可以近距離看到施作過程的工作室了。

也許，最重要的原因是：一旦你學會如何手作木作後，它就會是度過你閒暇時間的方式。所有的過程都充滿美麗的景象、聲音甚至是氣味；看到一塊粗糙的木頭，經過自己的手中之後，變成實用、耐用和美麗的東西，真是一大滿足啊!
所以，為什麼要讓機器擁有這種樂趣呢?

Sometimes people ask "why use so many hand tools?"

Because people associate woodworking with lots of large machines and power tools, they seem confused when they don't see them in our shop.

But think of this: furniture, musical instruments, and other examples of the very finest woodworking date back hundreds of years, long before the invention of electric tools and machines. The traditional methods and tools didn't suddenly stop working just because new machines were invented.

Power tools and machines are not always faster for a particular job. For example, many people assume that fine smooth finishes must be the result of hours of sanding. But in just a few minutes Grampy's hand plane can do what takes the electric sander hours, and do it much better.

The difference is that anyone can be taught to use an electric sander in a few minutes, but to use a hand plane this well? It takes months just to learn the basics and years to truly master.

What power tools and machines are truly good for is making exactly the same thing over and over very quickly. Once a table saw is set up for a very exact cut (and this setup is a skill that, like the hand plane, takes a long time to master), another person can be trained very quickly and paid very little to turn out hundreds of identical parts is a few hours, which can then be assembled into dozens of identical pieces.

But we don't make dozens of identical pieces: everything we make is unique and made by hand, one at a time.

And machines have a lot of disadvantages. They are dangerous and they need a lot of room. They are noisy, and they fill our shops and our lungs with fine dust. We could not have a small shop where people can just walk in and feel safe and comfortable and see the kind of work we do up close.

But maybe the most important reason is this: once you learn how to do it, working wood with hand tools is a wonderful way to spend an hour or a weekend or a lifetime, all full of beautiful sights and sounds and even smells. It's a great pleasure to see a piece of rough wood turn into something useful and durable and beautiful right under your own hands.

So why let the machines have all the fun?