Marcus Sly - Furniture Making and Design

Machines have the ability to either humanise or de-humanise us. Designed and used wisely they can free free us to make greater use of our higher faculties by removing unnecessary drudgery. They can allow us to work more effectively and efficiently while still experiencing that intelligent interplay of body, mind and heart that is at the root of meaningful work.  Instead of replacing skilled work, machines can enhance it. Poorly conceived or thoughtlessly used, however, machines result in the merciless drudgery of the production line. Work then becomes a mere matter of survival, rather than the integral and deeply satisfying part of our lives that it has the potential to be.

In the introduction to his thoughtful book Tools for Conviviality, Ivan Illich writes:

To formulate a theory about a future society both very modern and not dominated by industry, it will be necessary to recognise natural scales and limits. We must come to admit that only within limits can machines take the place of slaves; beyond those limits they lead to a new kind of serfdom .... I have chosen 'convivial' as a technical term to designate a modern society of responsibly limited tools.

Finding a convivial approach to machines takes a bit of thought and experimentation. I wouldn't be without my powerful electric bandsaw which saves hours of laborious hand ripping and thicknessing of timber. This work would exhaust me, leaving little energy for the more contemplative and creative parts of the work. Intelligent use of the bandsaw saves a great deal of time and energy, while still necessitating me to accurately hand plane the timber to its final dimensions. This gives my clients the chance to own furniture that has that special live quality which you only find in hand-worked things.  At the same time it allows me to work through the application of skill while not being deafened by the noise, and choked by the dust, of a table saw or thicknesser.

Convivial working is a lot about finding a balance that works for us and our particular situation. Sometimes electrical assistance is a blessing. Sometimes pure handwork is best. Sometimes the right way lies somewhere in the middle. Cutting inlay without mechanical assistance is very slow, and inefficient. A bit of help is much appreciated. You can get electric scroll saws, which do a very good job, but I prefer my treadle-powered fretsaw. It's quiet and effective in use. It speeds up the process enormously, while still requiring lots of skill, coordination and judgment to get a good result.  It is a pleasure to look at, to listen to, and to be around. Perhaps it's not totally fanciful to think that this pleasure might find some expression in the quality of the work I do with it. I like to think so.

For me what matters is not whether a technique, tool or machine is modern or old-fashioned, or a mixture of the two. What matters is whether it allows for both efficiency and skilled, convivial work. My bandsaw is very modern with ceramic blade guides and a powerful, braked motor. I feel lucky to own such a machine. The fretsaw is close to a hundred years old and the technology is basic. Wisely used, both are appropriate technology - and have the potential to be used as "responsibly limited tools".