As I was filling the programming data into the fields displayed on the TV screen this morning, I heard the audio in the background from the programme that was on the channel I had selected to record my wife’s soap. She is working out of the home, and I am home most of the day, so I usually record her soap for her.
Anyway, the female host of the home reno programme that was on was telling her homeowner couple that, “…if you do this and use this paint, no one will ever know your moulding was home-made.”
[:O]
How contrary to what so many of us strive for in this hobby, where being able to claim that what we have accomplished was done with simple materials, time, determination, and with our own hands! The finished product, in either case, is hopefully something that fools others into thinking it is professionally done, but for the couple doing the renovations it would not be cool to admit that it was done in-house. For us it is bragging rights. Odd, eh?
I actually got into the hobby because my late father was one of those who refused to buy (or pay a professeional to do) any he could do or make himself - and there was precious little that he couldn’t either do or make for himself. As an example when my brother and I built our first model train layout as kids, he built the power pack to operate it. When I accidently left the power on with an aluminum car shorting out the track, he took apart the transformer, removed the fryed windings and rewound the core (after he hid all of our aluminum pax cars!)
From my dad (he died in 1967) I gained a healthy respect for those who can “do it themselves”.
Interesting. I hope to get back to trains tomorrow because I will have finished putting up all my own homemade moulding in the living room. I thought it looked ok.
Last March I took three weeks off and built my benchwork. I have the usual assortment of power tools, Radial arm, mitre saws etc, etc. I also have boxes of very old tools that my great grandfather brought to Canada in the 1800’s. They are all wood and iron. No plastic or other material on these babies. Anyway he apparently was a master carpenter on the Chateau Lake Louise ( a hotel built by CP rail) when it was built. He had been brought out from England to work on the project and I gather from my late mother that these were some of his tools that he used on that project. Anyway I found myself using these antiques on my soon to be CP layout and was wondering what he would be thinking about that.
Getting back on topic I just wanted to say that I got great pleasure in using wood planes that were made out of wood with just a steel blade or clamps where even the thread of the tightener is a wood thread. It takes longer to do something with hand tools but the satisfaction you get cannot be compared to using power tools
Brent
PS; Yes I take very good care of them when I use them.
The professional remodeler - Never, Ever, admit that someone didn’t need the services of a professional! The sky would fall and the world would end if people ever learned that they really can do things themselves.
The homeowner - It really is nice, and I’m proud of it, but if the buyer figures out that an amateur did it they’ll want a discount.
The (potential) buyer - That looks good! (or ghastly, or somewhere between.) The buyer doesn’t care if the work was done by a licensed professional or a chimpanzee, all he cares about is the final result.
The time when people valued craftsmen as well as craftsmanship is, unfortunately, past. We in the model railroading hobby are unusual in that, when we say we made something ourselves, our peers reward us with compliments. In the mundane world, the usual response is, “Why? Couldn’t you hire a professional?”
I don’t hear that, somehow. Maybe people have a different mentality around here. People do lots of their own work, and are very proud of it. Across the wall (the cubicle wall, not the cultural barrier, although there can be that too) is our QA manager, who built his own house and is quite willing to tell all about it. Everybody I know, seemingly, has fixed up an old house, or built a chopper, or something, and even if the result isn’t perfect they are usually inordinately proud of it.
Maybe that’s why there are so many model RRers around here…
The response I usually hear is “I wish I could do that”, or else “Yeah, my dad and I plumbed the whole house with copper last weekend, it was fun.” And then I feel a little less proud.
Around here you do it your self. I live in a very rural area and I guess that have something to do with it. Around here a person should be able to take care of him/her self and be able to everything that is needed. I grew up in Stockholm which is a big city. There the spirit was more like that what Chuck describes. So my guess is that area will influence the general sentiment. Around here we NEED to be able to take of out self’s. Otherwise I’ll freeze to death during the winther.
Thanks for your replies, Gentlemen. [:)] It was one of those moments when you are busy doing something else, but your brain is still registering and processing other information. I paused for a second and it came so clear that there was a huge dichotomoy between the orientations in one form of work and in ours. And we wonder why politics is so divisive!
I was a carpenter/cabinetmaker for over 40 years - specializing on historical renovation and trim work. I could write volumes about do-it-yourselfers that should have been shot - as well as those whose work was on par with any professional!! The only problem for most is knowing when to call for help. My grandfather used to love to tell the story of coming home late from work to find my grandmother had removed a wall!! Only one problem - IT WAS A BEARINGWALL!!! He managed to get it braced up befor the house fell down!! Again - know when to get help!![:)]
This is a good point. I never do any plumbing for instance. If something goes wrong with that I can loose the house. If a plank on my my train house is a bit “wrong” it doesn’t really matter. As long as the house it self is safe. Knowing what one can do is great. Knowing when to call in the pros are also great.
I thought you couldn’t build anything yourself any more… Isn’t that why Walther’s and Woodland Scenics are charging out the bazzoo for models built by someone else in a faraway land? I thought our job was to swipe the credit card and open the box!
