The day I walked out of a build meet feeling like a dinosaur

I went to a local builders meetup last week over at Pete's Garage on Elm Street, you know the one. There was this guy probably 25 years old showing off his 3D printed jig for cutting dovetails and I just stood there nodding while he talked about G-code and layer adhesion. Three years ago I would have laughed at the idea of using a robot to cut joints. But then he handed me a dovetail he'd made and I swear it fit tighter than anything I've ever cut by hand. It got me thinking about all the tools I've collected over 20 years that are sitting in my shop collecting dust because I'm too stubborn to try new methods. Last month I finally bit the bullet and watched a YouTube video on setting up a CNC router and realized I'd been wasting time on layout marks that a computer could do in seconds. Has anyone else here made the switch from old school hand methods to digital tools and actually felt dumb for resisting it so long?

2 comments

2 Comments

martin.paige11d agoOG Member

Three years ago you'd laugh at robots but now you're just the new guy who can't cut a straight line without a screen.

the_sam10d ago

Oh come on, it's not like we're all suddenly terrible without a screen, just adjusting. Besides, that crooked line adds character nobody asked for.