One of my favorite and most impactful classes I took in high school was auto shop. I was one of the lucky last few years (early 2000s) it was even offered, before being dropped entirely.<p>Among all my other AP classes, advanced math, science, literature, music, my one semester of auto shop was the only class that taught me the deep satisfaction of working with my hands. Doing something so immediately tangible. Understanding the intricacy and beauty of mechanical systems.<p>Like many of us on HN my career is in software, where things are so abstract and intangible. I work hard and exercise my mind, but so many days it feels like I have no evidence of progress.<p>That tangible, obvious sense of accomplishment is so lacking it's no wonder that it is such a trope that software developers retire into woodworking or blacksmithing.<p>It is a travesty that these hands-on skills have been dropped from high school curriculums. It truly opened my mind to a whole world I didn't know that I yearned for.
I wonder how much YouTube and younger generations are turning this trend around.<p>I got interested in machining as an extension of general making thanks to Adam Savage, ThisOldTony, and a host of others.<p>Between the pandemic and the Us-China tarifs spats the lead time on a new hobby lathe from someone like Precision Matthews is 3+ months, and prices are through the roof for both new and used old iron.<p>Anecdotally, a bunch of others in the amateur space seem to be knowledge workers and programmers who want to do something more physical.
This is one of my favorite books. Changed the way I looked at work and what I wanted to do with my life (always keeping a tangible output for my efforts). Along with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the pair are wonderful motorcycle books that teach a lot about life and very little about motorcycles.<p>I am a bit biased as someone who is fond of motorcycles, but they're both excellent without that, I think.
Every hackerspace/makerspace has been preaching this to anyone who'll stand still long enough to listen, too. Learning and doing things together is even more powerful than just learning and doing them in general.<p>It's tough times right now for in-person gathering and collaboration, but as soon as it's safe to do so, you owe it to yourself to see what communities have sprung up locally, and/or start another one.
Agree. I think a great hobby for us programmer types is woodworking. It's less art and more science. Follow the plans, be precise with your measurements and cuts, and do the tedious sanding & finishing work, and you will create beautiful custom pieces for your house or as gifts that you can be proud of. It's very relaxing to do some woodworking in your garage shop after a day of sitting in front of your computer.<p>You can get away with a basic shop for under $1000 (or even $500) worth of tools too. Table saw, some clamps, random orbit sander, skill saw for plywood, a screw gun or small finish nailer. It doesn't take much to get started. Add a miter saw and thickness planer later. Check out Woodworking for Mere Mortals on Youtube. Great place to get started.
> What ordinary people once made, they buy; and what they once fixed for themselves, they replace entirely or hire an expert to repair, whose expert fix often involves installing a pre-made replacement part.<p>It's of course the last part that really grinds me gears. Or worse, they depend on flowcharts and consumer idiocy to first replace parts that have been proven to be fine, or could be tested first. At least Ebay liquifies this used part market. <i>Always</i> sell your old junk. I've even sold a smashed up iphone for $50.<p>I had a cylinder misfire in a car and the dealership ignored my notes where I said I swapped around the coils and plugs several times but the misfire stayed in the same cylinder. Somehow they tried to sell me new coils and spark plugs which obviously were not the problem. Mindless flowchart followers, unsure if by design or by idiocy.
"I was sometimes quieted at the sight of a gang of conduit entering a large panel in a commercial setting, bent into nestled, flowing curves, with varying offsets, that somehow all terminated in the same plane. This was a skill so far beyond my abilities that I felt I was in the presence of some genius, and the man who bent that conduit surely imagined this moment of recognition as he worked. "
If you enjoyed Shop Class as Soulcraft you'll love The Anarchist's Tool Chest by Christopher Schwarz.<p><a href="https://lostartpress.com/collections/getting-started/products/the-anarchists-tool-chest" rel="nofollow">https://lostartpress.com/collections/getting-started/product...</a><p>This book is very practical and will give you specific ways to start making. With hand tools and wood. Mr Schwarz writing style is funny and very accessible.<p>You do not need to join anything to be satisfied by making real things with your hands. You do not need to speed a lot of money doing it. You can do it in your tiny apartment. Watch free Youtube videos when you need a new skill.<p>Don't buy a bunch of power tools. Skip that and go straight to hand tools. Even a pocket knife and a good piece of wood. I love my power tools. But sometimes wish I had spent my money on hand made hand tools and spent more time learning how to use use them.<p>I am a front end web designer that got a university degree in sculpture some twenty years ago. Immediately after graduation I got jobs in graphic design using early Photoshop. Years later I missed making physical things. So I made myself a little workshop and build on nights and weekends.<p>Respect! Good luck!
Crawford articulates important ideas. Highly recommend. While not a summary at all, my favorite theme interpreted from his work is that physical competence is moral.
In case you want more: the author expanded this article into a book<p><a href="https://www.matthewbcrawford.com/new-page-1-1-2" rel="nofollow">https://www.matthewbcrawford.com/new-page-1-1-2</a>
I’ll freely admit TLDR - I’ll get to it - but I strongly empathize.<p>I was in one of the last cohorts of my high schools shop class. I made some ambitious projects (nothing mind blowing). I learned to ship instead of starting a new project!<p>I learned CNC routing and plasma cutting. I learned CAD. I learned how to engage methodically with a dangerous system.<p>My first tech jobs were in machining and CAD. Today I’ve drifted away.<p>It’s hard to keep working and learning. Techshop closed. Makerspaces have soldering guns and 3D printers, no Haas mills. The few with real equipment want you to drop thousands of $$$ and 6 months of time on taking their cert classes, instead of just a safety checkout. Maybe the latter is impossible with insurance, but I’m still annoyed. I can’t afford a house in the Bay so I can’t start building my own shop.<p>Today I fiddle with hand tools and watch AvE and hope I’ll find a shop or mentor that works with my life. If I ever get “fuck you money”, I’ll go start taking machining courses at a trade school full time. If I ever afford a house here or move, I’ll aim to get a shop outbuilding and hire tutors to teach me the harder aspects.<p>Is there a better path?? I’ll read TFA and see if there’s anything actionable, but I think it will just make me sadder. I guess I could go work in CAD again...
Some past discussion:<p><i>Shop Class as Soulcraft (2006)</i> - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8280379" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8280379</a> - Sept 2014 (18 comments)<p><i>Shop Class as Soulcraft. Maybe software too?</i> - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=189003" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=189003</a> - May 2008 (1 comment)
“Indebtedness could discipline workers, keeping them at routinized jobs in factories and offices, graying but in harness, meeting payments regularly.”<p>So much more cost-effective than slavery.
Didn't read the link as I've already read the book, but the books amazing. So is his follow up. Really worthwhile and very though provoking for folks in tech.