Tools and Craftsmanship

Do more tools make a better craftsman? Do better tools make a better craftsman? Do better tools make a better product?

The answer is probably not. It’s a bit like saying fancy pans make a good meal or a high-end camera takes nice photos. Sure, they help, but they are not much use with out a little bit of knowledge and skill and the same goes for other tools too. Many years ago I was told only a poor craftsman blames his tools. This seems to hold true in my experience – if you can’t do something with a economy tool and some time, you probably can’t do it with an expensive tool either.

This is even more evident when we see videos of craftsmen from far away lands creating amazing works with homemade and improvised tools. Often times, better tools are traded for time; they increase efficiency; they create shortcuts; but mostly, they allow us to make mistakes faster. I’ve had many times where I though just one new tool would open up new opportunities; just one new tool will allow me to reach untapped potential; just one new tool will solve my problems. In some cases, this is true, in other cases, this is an excuse to buy a new tool or procrastinate rather than solving the problem and doing work.

I came across this recently – I was looking for a drill press. I knew I needed one. I had to have it. It was the only way to get the job done. I had to have the best one. It would solve my problems. I shopped and saved and looked at reviews and videos. I finally picked the one I wanted. And I bought a Milescraft DrillMate drill guide instead. It was under $40 and it solved my problem: drilling holes perpendicular to the work piece. I needed to drill some 7/8″ holes about half way through a 3/4″ piece of wood, and some 1/4″ holes all the way through. These holes are a critical step in my wooden plane manufacturing process and being inaccurate shows in the final product when the wings don’t fit quite right or are a bit crooked.

I knew I had a problem to solve and I knew how to solve it. Only I wasn’t solving the problem at hand, I was solving something else. I was solving my desire for a drill press. By examining the problem at hand (and my unwillingness to spend many hundreds of dollars at the time) I was able to define the real problem (drilling perpendicular holes accurately) and explore solutions. I used the DrillMate successfully on two airplanes and only when I got comfortable with that method, which takes more care, more time, and more planning, would I consider getting a drill press. The economy solution required proper preparation, a bit of planning, and more time. Time for which, at the time, I could make allowances. I knew this would take some more time to get right so I added some time into the production schedule.

I had gone through this before: if only I had ____. I could make ____ if only I had ____. In these cases ____ usually meant some semi-expensive piece of equipment I thought I needed. In this case, I proved to myself I was able to do the job if I got something capable of meeting the need and spending the time the task required. I traded time for a better tool.

I’m at a point where I don’t have three weeks to produce each airplane so I now have that drill press – I need to trade money for a better tool to trade for time in the other direction. I now realize I didn’t need the better tool to begin with, I needed to give the work the time it required and make progress rather than excuses. Slow down and work intentionally and examine the processes. Let them tell you what the need in terms of materials, tools, and time.