There is an important aspect of tradItional joinery up until the early years of the 20th Century that has perplexed me for years. Most of us in this group profess to be unplugged woodworkers but in reality we are not because all interior shop and tool photos posted here are illuminated by electric lights. My question is, and believe me, I have attempted to find a definitive answer, how did our predecessors see their tools and materials when doing woodworking in their shops. What light sources did they use? There is no doubt from examining early illustrations such as those Diderots works that trade shops had windows to let in as much light as possible. And, I know that in Sheffield and Birmingham, England that each individual craftsman making tool parts and assembling tools worked in little cubicles that had little windows above their benches. But, we are told that they worked 12 and even 16 hours per day which means that in wintertime when days were short that daylight was limited and thus most of their work shift was when there was no daylight available to see well by todays standards. I assume they used candles and grease lamps for light but I have tried cutting dovetails with the light from two candles and found it nearly impossible to see my scribed lines. Did they use water globes as did cobblers to focus light from a candle on their workpiece? Have we lost lots of our ability to see in dim light because during our lifetimes we have always lived and worked in bright rooms illuminated by electric lights? Did past truly unplugged craftsmen use feel as much as sight to allow them to set an iron in a plane or judge the exact location of a scribed line? There may be a simple answer to these questions. I can create a scenario in my mind in which a joiner prepared his materials, which mostly involved sawing and planing, during times when there was no daylight and then doing the layout, mortise/tenon joints, dovetailing during daylight hours. That is the way I would do it today if I had to do without electric lights. The next time you go into your shop take a handful of candles, place a couple on your bench, and light them. Now go over to that light switch and turn off the modern electric lights. What you will be witnessing is the exact environment in which joiners worked when there was no daylight. If you know of any primary documentation on lighting workspaces prior to electric lights, I would appreciate having the illustration or citation.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 03:58:28 +0000
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