Click on the photo above of the

Challenger V8 by Paul Knapp to

see a 15-second video of it being

started and run. The photos below show a small

sample of the kinds of projects

you will find in the museum.

Click on any image to see a

larger version. CLICK HERE or on the image

of the slide above to view a

PowerPoint® slide show

featuring projects by some

of the Foundation's

Craftsman of the Year

award winners. (Don't have PowerPoint®?

CLICK HERE to download a

free PowerPoint viewer

from Microsoft®.)

The "Art" of great craftsmanship "A person who works with his hands is a laborer. A person who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman. A person who works with his hands, his brain and his heart is an artist" —Louis Nizer Joe Martin was the president and owner of Sherline Products Inc. for over 40 years. The company is one of the few remaining American manufacturers of precision machine tools. Joe was also a model builder and toolmaker. As such he had much experience with precision tools at both ends of the size range. The quote above, recalled from the shop wall of Joe Martin's uncle, sums up his belief that craftsmanship goes beyond mere technical quality. While good machinery can produce parts of great consistency and accuracy when properly operated, without the craftsman's touch the results will be acceptable but not noteworthy. Pieces that truly grab our attention and admiration go beyond the minimum of what is required to add what we can only call the “ craftsman's touch. ” Anything from furniture to a stained glass window to a clock to a model steam engine that is made by a master of his craft is worthy of a special kind of admiration. This museum features works that represents the spirit and skill of individuals; not committees or manufacturing companies. These projects were built by people with skilled hands and brains, but, most importantly, they were built for the love of doing it. Coming from the hands, the brain and the heart, they should be judged not just as a collection of parts, but rather as art. Other forms of art, such as dance, painting, music and so on are sufficiently represented elsewhere, so we are concentrating here on small things made by hand by an artisan using the tools of his trade. The craftsmen represented here have devoted many hours over a period of years to develop the skills to produce these projects. The most worthy candidates are those who have contributed a significant amount to the body of work in a particular field over their lifetimes. This is not just a showcase for any particular project, but rather a place where you can see the work of the people who are acknowledged to be the “ the best of the best ” in a particular field. We also plan to add a “ projects ” section where the work of up-and-coming craftsmen will be featured, as often many innovations come from enthusiastic newcomers to a field. The featured rooms, however, are from those who have “ paid their dues ” and truly deserve to be called not just laborers or even craftsmen, but artists in their field.

Craftsmanship doesn't have to be complicated. Gerald Wingrove makes some of the finest model cars in the world, and has written a number of books on the subject. A budding craftsman in France bought all his books with the intent of making a fine car, but decided to start with something simple. What could be a simpler wheeled vehicle than a wheelbarrow? He crafted it entirely from brass, and Gerald says the craftsmanship is superb. The builder is now ready to move on to something more complicated, but whatever he builds will no doubt be done to the same excellent level of craftsmanship. This museum is dedicated to those who share this attitude toward excellence, no matter what the project. (Click on photo above to view a larger image.) What is Craftsmanship? J oe Martin's main reason for establishing this foundation is to attempt to make the average citizen aware of the beauty of great craftsmanship. An object that exhibits outstanding craftsmanship has a quality to it that inspires beyond the object itself. For most trades, competent work is good enough. It’s simply a case where standards are met and doing the work any better would be a waste of time, effort and money. The type of craftsmen we honor here are the few who use the skills of the trades to produce a form of art. Their level of work rises beyond what is needed to complete the job with competence to a level of perfection that can be recognized by many but achieved by few. Often their work will be building exact scale models of something that interests them, and they do so simply for the love of doing it. Their satisfaction comes from attempting to achieve perfection. Auto modeler Michael Dunlap* sums up the mindset it takes to produce work of this quality as follows: "The issue I struggle with most days in my shop is, “When is it good enough?” Whether I’m assessing the quality of an individual part or a complete model my answer is this: It’s good enough when, based on my current ability, any further attempt to improve it will probably cause it to be damaged. That having been said, my constant goal is to improve my abilities tomorrow over what they are today. For me, building models cars is a very personal expression. When I cease to improve my skills and thus, my models, I’ll go do something else." —Michael Dunlap *See Michael's work in his museum section or at his own web site at www.michaeldunlapstudio.com. GM's take on Craftsmanship in 1932 The General Motors Corporation used to run a contest for young people called the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild Competition. The challenge was for students to build a copy of the Fisher Body coach, a Napoleonic era coach used as the symbol on the Fisher Body logo. They supplied the plans and offered several 4-year college scholarships as well as prize money in gold to the winners. Their opening statement in 1932 had some interesting advice to the contestants regarding craftsmanship. Here is a partial quote from the introduction: "Learning the art of fine craftsmanship ...The desire to excel in craftsmanship should be uppermost in your thoughts. So, while you are building your model coach, think only of making it the finest piece of work you have ever produced. The praise of your friends and recognition by the Guild will take care of themselves if you have done your work like a real craftsman. If you adopt this attitude toward your work, you will be surprised how much easier it will seem and how much more pleasure it will bring you. Think of the fun it will be to make each little part of your model a masterpiece in itself, and then to fit each into its proper place and watch the solid, handsome coach gradually take form. The surest way to get the greatest rewards from your work is to keep the ideal of fine craftsmanship always before you." What Happened to Craftsmanship? Click on the linked title above by William Gould to read a thoughtful study of what craftsmanship is and what you can do to help it survive and flourish in this age of wanting it "right now" rather than wanting it "right." Exploring Craftsmen and Craftsmanship Walt Harrington has written a book detailing his experience in exploring the thoughts of fourteen fine craftsmen. Click on the title above to read a review of the book, Acts of Creation—America’s Finest Hand Craftsmen at Work. CNC Machines vs. Craftsmanship A current ongoing argument among craftsmen concerns whether the use of computer controlled machines can possibly produce what we think of as fine craftsmanship. • To read Deltic engine model builder Clen Tomlinson's thoughts on the subject, CLICK HERE . • To read CNC metal artist Christopher Bathgate's thoughts on the subject, CLICK HERE . • To read skilled machinist George Britnell's thoughts on the subject, see his page HERE . If you would like to submit an essay on your thoughts on craftsmanship, please send it to mecm@craftsmanshipmuseum.com. Essays should be thoughtful and non-confrontational—no vitriol please. Teaching About Manufacturing in Our Schools To read an article from Manufacturing Engineering by Michelle Bennett on re-introducing to America's students the process of thinking about how things are made CLICK HERE.