And the Winner is… David Taylor!

This morning the 3/8” beading plane giveaway contest is over. There were again a bunch of really great answers out there on Instagram and here on the blog. So many different facets to the issue were addressed.

Here was the contest’s question: 

Why do you believe celebrating historic furniture making by studying and recreating it is important for both woodworkers and the broader culture today?

Nathan Spalding wrote, “If we fail to understand our predecessor's methods of work…we handicap our current and future work” and Ethan from MO says it leaves us “doomed to IKEA”. Others contributed, “The old masters gave us the principles, standards and understanding of how to best use our tools." (@exoticwoodshavings) and “Learning how things work and learning how to [make] real things is the richest form of education and engagement.” (@thesallyfisher) 

Chris Hammerbach told us how we “discover that while the lives of our ancestors were different, their minds and hearts were much the same” which was aptly summarized by what @ericwrightdotgif described as “humans being human”. Overarching all this is the idea that “most people live in the hope that they will leave something greater than themselves behind” (@sledgehamner).

These are all excellent points but David Taylor’s answer hit me in just the right way as I sorted through all the responses. David wrote, “We are in danger of becoming a culture and a people who have lost a connection with the past that can tie us to the future, and recreating historical pieces strengthens that tie so that we as woodworkers can help society at large retain the tenuous relationship with our ancestors and descendants alike.”

Congratulations, David. You’ve nailed it. Send me an email with your info and I’ll get drop this plane in the mail!

Thank you to all who entered. What fun!