IMO, carpentry is not what it used to be in the old days. Everything is mass-produced and machine-made these days. Carpenters are a kind of artist. My father used to be one for a few years. Too bad machines are taking over.

 

If you pay top dollar...you still can get *some* handcrafted labor. However, I agree with you....the craftsmen of the good old days are....dead, and the talent died with them. If you ever visit mansions, palaces, etc of the olden times, you simply CANNOT get that kind of work...regardless of money....the skill involved in it is dead.

 

[QUOTE=NFRs2000NYC,Jan 3 2007, 05:16 PM]If you pay top dollar...you still can get *some* handcrafted labor.

 

[QUOTE=ytdlite,Jan 4 2007, 11:07 AM] many craftmen continue to practice their trades. i have worked along side younger men and women who where eagar to learn and develop their skills.

 

My brother in law does work on mostly high end (read muiltimillion $) houses. He is very detail oriented and can do very intricate work. He built one wooden spiral staircase in a mansion that he billed over $50,000 for.

He may be the exception to the rule, but there is still custom work being done.

 

I have a friend who does custom work in Manhatten, and makes good money. He does work in high-end homes (Park Av, Central Park West, etc) where the clients think nothing of spending a million or more on a remodel.

He's been in the business for about 20 years now.

 

Argue all you want, it doesnt exist. The palaces in Italy, the homes in Spain, are impossible to replicate. The work CAN be done with a machine, but it looks like it as well....