Noticing the empty benches at the trade school hit hard.

I walked by the trade school last week and saw the woodshop was closed. Ten years ago, it was buzzing with students learning dovetails and mortises. I picked up a lot just chatting with instructors there. Now, it's silent, and I worry about where new folks will learn. It's a different world for cabinetmaking now.

4 comments

4 Comments

the_diana1mo ago

I could hear students sanding in that woodshop just last year, and @elliotshah is right, that vanishing hands-on help is a real loss.

elliotshah1mo ago

It's scary to think where the next generation of makers will come from. Watching youtube can't replace having someone show you how to plane a board flat. That hands-on knowledge just vanishes when these places close.

harperp2414d ago

But youtube has way more experts than any local shop.

paul_ramirez1mo ago

Yeah, when Elliot said "watching youtube can't replace having someone show you," I felt that in my soul. My last attempt at a bookshelf from a tutorial left me with something that looks permanently drunk. We're gonna have a lot of wobbly furniture and zero people who know how to fix it.