6:4. Hand tools vs power tools
See note in 6:3 for an idea about how, in typical american homes, shop space would be a problem for amateur woodworkers hoping to buy power woodworking tools
Notice in the section 4.3 that Popular Homecraft
reports on the rapidly expanding use of power tools in the 77,000 home workshops
reputed to exist in America as the 1920s decade closes.
(Where
this figure, 77,000, comes from is a mystery. It is an example,
unfortunately, of just another undocumented claim, a claim that I
hope in the future that I can document with a more solid source
than simply "recent figures indicate".)
Arthur Wakeling's running
account in Popular Science Monthly in the 1930s shows that by 1938,
there are 500 local chapters registered of the National Homeworkshop
Guild:
Woodworker's Manuals #7:
Arthur Wakeling and the
Formation of the National Homeworkshop Guild in the 1930s
In addition, check out this page:
Woodworker's Manuals # 8: Authors
of Woodworker's Manuals Advocating Homeworkshops for Boy's in
Woodworking Courses (Under
Construction)
