"Viva La Difference"

[captainkirk]

Some more of the "Truth"

There are those that truly lament the passing of the "good old days' when this site first began and the resurrection of metal shaping was in its infancy.
Every day it seemed like a great new post hit the threads and everyone was learning something new then something started to change?

It was slow at first a little "ruffling of someones feathers"....a bit of a tiff here or there then full blown fights and struggles for power ensued.

So what happened to "the good old days'?........Money!

At first it was going to be all for the love of relaunching the art of metal shaping, then began the quest to make money from the new found resurgence.

Old pieces of crap tool were drug out of the corners and sold for "big" money, legends were born...."The Mighty Yoder" once worth scrap prices now actually selling for tens of thousands of dollars. Hammers going for $1,200..."Magic Hammers" from the likes of Pexto and others, tools thought to somehow contain the "Mysteries of Metal Shaping".

Torches appeared that claimed to be able to do everything up to and including slice and dice and make Julienne fries (whatever they are?)

People came out of the "woodwork" claiming all sorts of things to be true and throngs of people with fistfuls of money lined up for a chance to own "A magic tool"
People found out there was real money to be made and they started to vie for their slice of the pie...and the "Evil" crept across the land. Greed had come to metal shaping and along with it turf wars.

Everyone fractured off into groups of thought...Hammer guys over here..English wheel guys over there...Stump and bag and hand tool guys over in the bushes (they didn't have allot to sell)

Everyone wanted to be in charge because then the line with the cash would line up in front of them..."Experts were created overnight" Masters in a craft that had died long ago sprang out of hiding from what rock they had been under for hundreds of years.

Motorcycles with long forks and "custom tanks that didn't hold fuel" were sold for Hundreds of thousands of dollars.....

And just like "The Housing Bubble" and "The Dot Com Bubble' and "The Stock Bubble" (but much smaller) the greed destroyed the joy and it all started to collapse.

What was left was scattered groups all sniping at each other all lamenting the loss of the good old days when money flowed like water. People scraping for whatever scraps were left.

Truth was there wasn't any magic tools, no perfect tree from which to make the perfect stump to shape in, truth is it was hard work shaping sheet metal
No magic torches, no mystical hammer of the gods..... just hard work and still little real knowledge.

We all stood looking at each other clutching our hand made bowls wondering what had happened, wallets empty there we stood still not knowing weather to call it Form or Arrangement.
Not even knowing what steel to use as the "Great AK debate" was never settled...there we stood front end of our choppers broken in half gas tanks leaking all over the ground Sandra Bullock gone....our collective bubbles burst.

Perhaps a "New New New Metal Shaping site" will spring up and the "Good Old days" will return???

We didn't even figure out what the best type of stump was to use

Your King

Sitting on his stump with his Dillon,Henrob, Cobra, DHC 2000 still trying to figure out how to get 4lbs of gas to it so the magic will spring forth.

"Truth" we don't want the truth we can't handle the truth

[thehammerworks]

Kirk kirk kirk! Im sitting here gobsmacked .you must be psychic i havebeen thinking same thing for years.but why the long winded lead up to thisrevealing statement lol keep up the good work

[anders nørgaard]

I have to ask! Is this thread doing this site any good?

[Bill Gibson]

I think it is...... And I sincerely hope that it is..... It should serve to promote tolerance between all who share this site. And have us all look at things with open and less judgmental eyes.
If we all realize that there are many "right" ways to do something, and that as learning and understanding and technology progresses, so do the possibilities. The truth is actually a moving target, and it looks different from every angle.
Do we just want to teach history as a bunch of factoids to be recited as rote ... or do we want to study history and use it to improve. If we just do the same things we've always done, we will always get the same results. Have we gone as far as we need to go??? I sure hope not, otherwise there was no need for me to get out of bed this morning..!!!
There are always new ways to look at anything, and there is a time for everything. There is a time for doing things the most expedient way in order to give someone a product and make a profit, and there are times to experiment and think about what's going on in order to seek better understanding, which will lead to innovation. All of which will benefit the metal shaping community. If we can't examine ourselves from time to time and self police ourselves, then rather than progress, we are doomed to repeat the past, and that will benefit no one.

[jlrussell4]

It appears to me that the group is starting to take sides as they always do when these sensless meanderings get posted. Kirk, you have divided this community many times in the past. This one of the reasons I was asked to moderate this forum i.e.: stop the divisive postings.

If you want to post, post something positive and helpful to the actual performance of metalshaping and stop denigrating the helpful posters.

This thread is closed.