Page 4 of 8 FirstFirst 12345678 LastLast
Results 46 to 60 of 113

Thread: Paul Sellers an amateur woodworker

  1. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Lau View Post
    I have a load of respect for Paul Sellers, but can't agree with him on being an amateur.
    From his writing, he's been through the formal apprenticeship and journeyman stages under strict masters of the trade.
    He's more than qualified to be a master of the craft.

    I think that this qualifies the biblical teachings of--don't puff yourself up, lest others tear you down. Instead, let others praise your name.
    Sellers is very strong on self promotion; on woodworking technique, not so much.

  2. #47
    It might be fun to post a question on his blog asking him to explain why he calls himself an amateur. If he answers, it would certainly provide another perspective.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  3. #48
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,534
    Quote Originally Posted by Frederick Skelly View Post
    It might be fun to post a question on his blog asking him to explain why he calls himself an amateur. If he answers, it would certainly provide another perspective.
    This following insight might be of help;

    Paul Sellers’ Biography

    Overview



    Paul Sellers describes himself as a lifelong amateur woodworker, his insistence on amateur status comes from the fact that whether he got paid or not, he always worked wood.
    Last edited by Stewie Simpson; 11-15-2018 at 6:57 AM.

  4. #49
    Hmmmm. That's definitely another perspective, isn't it? Thanks Stewie!
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  5. #50
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    2,534
    Paul Sellers served his trade apprenticeship under George Mycock, a master joiner.
    Last edited by Stewie Simpson; 11-15-2018 at 7:59 AM.

  6. #51
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    San Antonio, TX
    Posts
    530
    My first thought as I skimmed this thread, is it more due to his status with the joiners guild/union? I know in some countries if you are not in good standing you can’t use the title. (Realtor vs real estate agent in the US comes to mind)

  7. #52
    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Mickley View Post
    Sellers is very strong on self promotion; on woodworking technique, not so much.
    No doubt about it on the first point, judging from the youtube following he has managed to create that no other hand-tool content creators before or after him have come close to achieving. I have no inside knowledge but the fact that he has moved to a new and much bigger studio suggests no other online classes are close to his in size.

    His self promotion is as much business-driven as his conviction that he can energize a new generation of hand-tool woodworkers, as Norm Abram did with his TV show, something, in my take, not even Roy Underhill managed to do with his show. Chris Schwarz started the wave of interest in traditional woodworking in print, but it is Sellers through his blog and free youtube videos who actually made hand tool woodworking look totally doable and easy to learn for many.

    As for his techniques, everyone is entitled to their assessments.

    Simon
    Last edited by Simon MacGowen; 11-15-2018 at 11:49 AM.

  8. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by Stewie Simpson View Post
    This following insight might be of help;

    Paul Sellers’ Biography

    Overview



    Paul Sellers describes himself as a lifelong amateur woodworker, his insistence on amateur status comes from the fact that whether he got paid or not, he always worked wood.
    He also calls himself a lifestyle woodworker. Along a similar line, he explained that woodworking has always been part of his life, raising his family, and his lifestyle is that of woodworking. I know of no other woodworkers who use that kind of label to describe themselves. May be that is his way of saying what we call fanatic or die-hard woodworkers.

    Simon

  9. #54
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
    Posts
    12,109
    Like me...it can keep Paul out of the local Pubs ( because I'm too tired to go, and no money to buy..)

    Seem to be splitting more hairs, than the people making Bamboo Whisks in Japan.....

    If anyone describes the word Amateur...it would be a description of me.....

  10. #55
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    New England area
    Posts
    588
    If he were employed in your small, professional furniture shop I imagine that you could hand Sellers drawings and specs for a reasonably complex furniture job that he'd never made before, along with a time budget, and he would deliver the piece on budget and without having to buy a new tool, read a book to remind himself how to cut a certain joint, research Moxon, Nicholson, and Wearing as sanity checks for technique, decide he's ditching oilstones in favor of waterstones and everything else is on hold until this is complete, so on and so forth.

    Very little head or a$$ scratching. Zero reinvention of various wheels.
    Last edited by Charles Guest; 11-15-2018 at 12:34 PM.

  11. #56
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Inkerman, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    1,383
    Quote Originally Posted by Charles Guest View Post
    If he were employed in your small, professional furniture shop I imagine that you could hand Sellers drawings and specs for a reasonably complex furniture job that he'd never made before, along with a time budget, and he would deliver the piece on budget and without having to buy a new tool, read a book to remind himself how to cut a certain joint, research Moxon, Nicholson, and Wearing as sanity checks for technique, decide he's ditching oilstones in favor of waterstones and everything else is on hold until this is complete, so on and so forth.

    Very little head or a$$ scratching. Zero reinvention of various wheels.
    Got to love that imagination

  12. #57
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hiawatha KS
    Posts
    66
    Quote Originally Posted by Charles Guest View Post
    If he were employed in your small, professional furniture shop I imagine that you could hand Sellers drawings and specs for a reasonably complex furniture job that he'd never made before, along with a time budget, and he would deliver the piece on budget and without having to buy a new tool, read a book to remind himself how to cut a certain joint, research Moxon, Nicholson, and Wearing as sanity checks for technique, decide he's ditching oilstones in favor of waterstones and everything else is on hold until this is complete, so on and so forth.

    Very little head or a$$ scratching. Zero reinvention of various wheels.
    George Carlin lives...

  13. #58
    Quote Originally Posted by Charles Guest View Post
    without having to buy a new tool, read a book to remind himself how to cut a certain joint, research Moxon, Nicholson, and Wearing as sanity checks for technique, decide he's ditching oilstones in favor of waterstones and everything else is on hold until this is complete, so on and so forth.

    Very little head or a$$ scratching. Zero reinvention of various wheels.
    That is why Sellers isn't necessarily a popular guy in some circles which depend on consumerism or reinvention to advance their sales goals, rather than refurnishing old Stanleys....

    Simon

  14. #59
    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post
    ................Chris Schwarz started the wave of interest in traditional woodworking in print .............
    Respectfully, I would question the finality of that statement.
    *** "I have gained insights from many sources... experts, tradesman & novices.... no one has a monopoly on good ideas." Jim Dailey, SMC, Feb. 19, 2007
    *** "The best way to get better is to leave your ego in the parking lot."----Eddie Wood, 1994
    *** We discovered that he had been educated beyond his intelligence........
    *** Student of Rigonomics & Gizmology

    Waste Knot Woods
    Rice, VA

  15. #60
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Jones View Post
    Respectfully, I would question the finality of that statement.
    I made that suggestion (his influence IN PRINT) based on:

    1) His PW blog, I believe, has produced the most number of posts on hand tools, and in those early days of blogging, I think few could match his output (and I presume, as part of PW, he had the largest audience among all hand-tool bloggers)

    2) He single-handedly moved PW from a power-tool publication to a hybrid one, and produced Woodworking, a magazine that covered only traditional woodworking. Before him, no publications had focused on handtools. He started the trend, and other magazines followed suit to include the handwork content.

    Anyone who thinks someone else in those days had influenced the interest in traditional woodworking (in the publishing world or social media) more than Chris is welcome to share their observations.

    Simon

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •