Replies

1. 
   riverr1 | Sep 05, 2002 07:25pm | #1

   1 and 3 are up to you. Yes, Norm is a real wood worker.

2. 
   UncleDunc | Sep 05, 2002 08:12pm | #2

   A search of the archives will produce a raft of fascinating discussion on all three questions. These discussions will not _answer_ your questions, but I suspect you knew that when you posted.

3. 
   tedwick | Sep 05, 2002 09:13pm | #3

   Selecting tools is a journey during which you yourself will have varying points of view.  I started with a 10" INCA, a Swiss import that has served me well, (since 1977) but now I have outgrown it and have ordered a 12" INCA and am awaiting delivery of what is likely to be their last import.  Sadly INCA is downgrading their product to reach a consumer crowd so Garrett Wade is dropping their line. 

   A good table saw has large bearings and a sturdy shaft to mount your blade on to minimize wobble.  You can do most of your ripping on a good bandsaw which is much quieter and safer than a circular table saw, however you need to plane the surfaces when you are through.

   When does wood working become art?

   When what you do comes out of your head, your own thinking and design rather than a measure of how well you can follow someone else's blueprint. And of course, when someone besides yourself admires the artistic quality of what your hands (and heart) have created out of a tree.

   One could argue that the art is in the artist, in the case of wood it is also in the color and grain of the wood.  Nothing is quite so satisfying as resawing a board on your bandsaw and laying it open and viewing what was before locked up in the heart of a tree.  It is better than Christmas to open a piece of timber on your bandsaw and see the beautiful wood, color and grain.

   Ted

1. 
   quatersawn | Sep 05, 2002 10:07pm | #4

   Better than Christmas is right!!! Or the first coat of finish or stain, and you see the grain pop out of the surface, magic, pure magic. You'll know when your an artist. One day you'll be doing something, and all of a sudden it will hit you. The right combination of craftsmanship, engineering, design, will all add up to you, putting your hand, on your back, and saying, nice work! No one will have to call you an artist, you won't even have to call yourself one, you'll just become one, as your own original ideas permiate your work.

1. 
   tedwick | Sep 05, 2002 11:27pm | #6

   There was an editorial in the Washington Post in which the writer decided that Sam Maloof was not an artist.  At the time he (Sam Maloof)had about 60 pieces in the Smithsonian (Renwick Gallery) here in the DC area.  I was incensed at the arrogance of a writer who took it upon himself to decide what was art.

   So, I don't try to define art for someone else, but I recognize it when I see it.  Sam Maloof has it.

   Courage for the journey.

   Ted

4. 
   BG | Sep 05, 2002 10:18pm | #5

   Nice trick!  You took the three biggest threads in here and put them into one question...lol   smartypants...:)

5. 
   DonaldCBrown | Sep 06, 2002 01:38am | #7

   Three simple answers:

   1. A good one.

   2. Yes.

   3. When it pleases you to regard it as such.

   But good questions, even though the answers are simple.

6. 
   Kell | Sep 06, 2002 05:53pm | #8

   My three answers FWIW.

   1.  What table saw should I buy?  The next most expensive from what you've already decided you'd like to spend.  (One woodworker's excellent tool is another's piece of garbage.  Whatever you buy, you still need to learn how to use it properly and safely; and it's subtle nuances.)

   2.  Is Norm really a woodworker?  Woodworkers think so.  (I learn something nearly every time I watch his show and I've been doing this for almost 20 years.)

   3.  When does it become art?  When someone says, "What a beautiful piece!"  Up to this point they say, "Wow that's a nice _______."  (Calling it by name.)  I have occasionally created art but am satisfied with making furniture that people love.

   Great questions!

   Kell

7. 
   JeffKurtz | Sep 07, 2002 02:58am | #9

   Mark,

   I've nothing to add to numbers 1 and 2, but 3...

   Your work becomes art when someone is willing to pay 10 times what it's worth.  (Now, wasn't that simple and clear?)

   Jeff

1. 
   RSRose | Sep 07, 2002 03:21am | #10

   I have no idea how to define "art."

   But I think that work becomes art when on experiencing it, others find that it somehow means more to them the concrete object of reality that it is.

   It somehow gives them pleasure on seeing it or touching it or examining it. At some level, there is always some admiration. It somehow inspires them or encourages them to realize that the object represents (any or all) skill, crafstmanship, sensitivity, understanding, caring, knowledge, patience, diligence, insight, intuition, perspective, proportion, worth.

   Art can't be experienced without evoking a reaction, usually but not always positive. Non art can also evoke, but if there is little or no reaction, it is not art. (I've seen thousands of chairs. They are just chairs. But a quiet Hans Wegner "The Chair" sitting alone in a room can affect a hurried person, rushing by, who will pause, stop, look, touch, smile, admire and realize, that here is something of worth and value that transcends just being a chair.)

   Rich

8. 
   exhibitor | Sep 07, 2002 05:29am | #11

   Trying to fire it up, huh??  Maybe 'ol Steve She.... will weigh in on this one....

9. 
   Lar55 | Sep 07, 2002 05:45am | #12

   I agree with BG, you are wise!!!

10. 
    noone51 | Sep 07, 2002 06:00am | #13

    1. What kind of tablesaw should I buy?

     Humm. First buy her a Lexus then by your table say, you'll get a much better saw that way.

    2. Is Norm a real woodworker?

     Of course he is. This is a dumb question.

    3. At what point does woodworking become art?

     When you stand back after a long day and say "Jeeze, that looks pretty good".

1. 
   Luka | Sep 07, 2002 08:37am | #14

   1. One that works. The wheelie thingies have to spin around, and the blade has to go loop-de-loop. The blade even has to cut stuff, so be careful on that point.

   2. He works wood.

   3. Right about the same time the price goes up. Coincidence or conspiracy ? You be the judge.

   Quittin' Time