Joshua Klein, editor of Mortise and Tenon magazine, joins me this wek to talk about his love of traditional wood construction techniques, and the value of craftsmanship and manual work.
Many arenas of life can be referred to as the “Art and science of…”
My wife was a full charge book keeper and often works for rich people. Once when I was sitting at dinner with one of her professional-managerial class clients, he heard me refer to myself as a craftsman and he replied:” I am so sorry.”
I was an electronics engineering technician, a right hand man to engineers. In these last decades the world of electronics has miniaturized as customers want more power in less space. The days of anyone can do electronics in their garage, plugging ICs into sockets in the 1980s are gone. We electronics specialists are now jewelers working in tenths of millimeters.
The first time I was tasked to learn this work I was told, “No dishonor if you can’t do this, only some people can.” It wasn’t about intellect as most of the electronics disciplines is.
So the “ART and science” of electronics.
Now that I retired I build plastic models, very different from my youth in how it’s done as an adult. Part historian, part mechanical engineer, part artist, did I mention airbrushing?
A basic review of a built or partially built plastic aircraft model:
Does it have seams or visible gaps, fogged clear parts, misaligned wings, splayed landing gear, paint drips, or silvered petting decals?
A good modeler is a good sander, sanding paper, sticks, files and other accouterments. There are always mold seams from the parts sprue manufacturing process (flash) or from melted glue between joined parts. No mold seams on the real aircraft.
Many arenas of life can be referred to as the “Art and science of…”
My wife was a full charge book keeper and often works for rich people. Once when I was sitting at dinner with one of her professional-managerial class clients, he heard me refer to myself as a craftsman and he replied:” I am so sorry.”
I was an electronics engineering technician, a right hand man to engineers. In these last decades the world of electronics has miniaturized as customers want more power in less space. The days of anyone can do electronics in their garage, plugging ICs into sockets in the 1980s are gone. We electronics specialists are now jewelers working in tenths of millimeters.
The first time I was tasked to learn this work I was told, “No dishonor if you can’t do this, only some people can.” It wasn’t about intellect as most of the electronics disciplines is.
So the “ART and science” of electronics.
Now that I retired I build plastic models, very different from my youth in how it’s done as an adult. Part historian, part mechanical engineer, part artist, did I mention airbrushing?
A basic review of a built or partially built plastic aircraft model:
Does it have seams or visible gaps, fogged clear parts, misaligned wings, splayed landing gear, paint drips, or silvered petting decals?
A good modeler is a good sander, sanding paper, sticks, files and other accouterments. There are always mold seams from the parts sprue manufacturing process (flash) or from melted glue between joined parts. No mold seams on the real aircraft.
Here’s to ART.