Woodworking In The Future?

[cabinetman]

I was reading this article in PC World about what the automotive technological advances may be made fifty years from now. Made me think of what might happen with woodworking.

Do you think that in the near future there will be a "high tech" color coordinator? It might have a reader/scanner that is placed on a color, and then it's placed on the bare wood and will calculate as to what finish you want, the exact mixture for that wood and the mixing ratios, for all types of stains and dyes. It might also give an ongoing finish schedule for all available materials, for each coat and further recommendations. Of course, you'd get a printout of where to buy, prices, availability, etc. This technology may be sooner than we think. One of my paint suppliers has a non contact reader that they place close to a painted surface and delivers a paint code for the same pigment mix.

Do you think in the near future there will be a "high tech" wood identifier? When placed on the wood will give the exact species, pertinent technical data, moisture content, pH data, and also identify the type of finish and its age.

One day in the near future when a high tech product makes its debut, one of us might think back to these times saying "We talked about that years ago". What advances can you think up, or want to see.
.

[Bruce Cohen]

Nothing will ever replace the look, feel and coolness factor of hand-cut thru dovetails, even if they're not totally perfect.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Bruce

[cgallery]

In the future, Festool will invent a machine that joins wood at any angle by "stitching" the wood fibers of the two pieces to one another, so the two pieces become one.

It will sell for US $184,000. Accessories will run another $240,000. And people will line up to buy them.

[jackellis]

Part of the future is already here, I think. Isn't there a CNC-type machine for wood that's inexpensive enough for hobbyists?

[pecker]

I think in the future you will just place an on-line order to some craftsman in China who will make whatever you wanted to make for less than you could buy the wood.

[smorris]

In the future Festool will produce an argon laser table saw, they will use argon because the beam is green.

Actually a laser table saw would be nice, no dust, just put in an exhaust hood for the smoke.

[pacwind3]

Laser bandsaws!

[cgallery]

All joking aside, I do see a future full of stronger and faster joinery machines. I guess I'm rather odd in that I kinda like my biscuit joiner. I also do dowels from times to time. But the Domino is the first radically new joinery machine I've seen during my woodworking career (maybe 20 years?), and I suppose the price tag is enough of an incentive for others to figure out better ways to join wood.

[Mr__Bill]

Isn't Woodworking In The Future called daydreaming?

Actually, I see the day when the decedents of woodworkers will be using some composite material that is fused together. Real wood will be so expensive that it will only be used for on conference table tops.

When the day after tomorrow comes and we start burning all that composite wood the fumes will kill us all and we won't have to worry abut freezing to death.

If you think about it, for all of known history all cutting is and was done with a refinement of two basic tools. The sharp piece of stone and fire. I can't see much of a change from that. The materials we work with is the only place for real change and we are seeing that now. Man made granite counter tops, trek decking and the like. For some reason I see the plastic 50's in the future.

Bill, on the Sunny Oregon Coast where trees are trees and some are older than the country.

[LCHIEN]

I was reading this article in PC World about what the automotive technological advances may be made fifty years from now. Made me think of what might happen with woodworking.

...

Do you think in the near future there will be a "high tech" wood identifier? When placed on the wood will give the exact species, pertinent technical data, moisture content, pH data, and also identify the type of finish and its age.

...
.

sure, given the way things are going...
There will be a machine that will sample the DNA of your wood.
it will tell you the species, the genus and the subclass, and where it was logged and if it was legally cut; by then there will be only a few trees left for legal logging. If illegally cut it will call the government forestry agency to come and seize your wood and woodworking tools...

[OpaDC]

Laser cutters, hmmmm, that seems quite possible once the price becomes reasonable. How about some safety equipment such as sensors that detect when organic material (i.e. skin) gets within 1/2' or so that instantly stops a blade. Or one that detects a board lifting and shuts it down to stop kickback.
Or how about computer programs that allow you to set the fence or miter adjustments and automatically adjust everything for you.

Wonder if they were thinking about future tools years ago! (oh, to have a saw that cuts this wood into usable boards in 5 minutes and do it straight, or maybe a drill that doesn't take all day to do these holes)

Not sure where the line is between convenience and extravagance is! Some like hand cut dovetails, others prefer jigs. Not saying either is wrong or right, just an observation. (Not telling how I feel.)

[LCHIEN]

ok, i've thought about it some more and here's my scary vision of the future.
Technical and social Trends:
Risk Aversion
Robotics
AI

we will have personal robots that will perform manual taks for us.
The main limitation of us woodworkers is the ability to hold things carefully and repeatably. We rush and take shortcuts. We take risks with dangerous sharp and heavy machinery, high voltage toxic fumes from dust and finishing etc. We risk our eyes and ears.

So the future will have robots to build the items in our shops for us. Just as our forefathers used hand planes to make family heirlooms, we now proudly point to machine cut dovetails, power saws and planers, our sons will show and tell items their robots built in the basement. No more personal danger.

Early robots will be general purpose and have to interface to existing machinery, but they will be able to control it better and safer than we are. Future robots will be specialized, perhaps a Shopsmith model with interchangeable arms that can cut, finish, joint, plane drill and polish. we'll just draw it up in sketch-it and the robot will pick it up wirelessly and build it, informing us by text message when to come down and see it.

[MilDoc]

Visit to the BORG. No wood there since all the trees are cut. Just samples.

Pick one, then take all your grass clippings, weeds, left over foodstuffs, etc. to the Big Orange Machine in the back.

Load it all in, put the wood sample in the reader. Set the size you want.

Push button. Lots of noise and lights.

And out pop a rematerialized absolutely perfect, straight, properly dried, and warp-proof piece of chestnut, or whatever sample you picked, in the size you set!

Only $2 / BF.

[cwithboat]

In the future woodworkers will be geneticists. They will manipulate the genes of the chosen wood type, produce a seed, plant it, and in three months the kitchen cabinet will be harvested,

[Mrk67mark]

Visit to the BORG. No wood there since all the trees are cut. Just samples.

Pick one, then take all your grass clippings, weeds, left over foodstuffs, etc. to the Big Orange Machine in the back.

Load it all in, put the wood sample in the reader. Set the size you want.

Push button. Lots of noise and lights.

And out pop a rematerialized absolutely perfect, straight, properly dried, and warp-proof piece of chestnut, or whatever sample you picked, in the size you set!

Only $2 / BF.

Sorry, but if it comes from Borg, it's still going to be crooked, bowed, cupped, warped or all of the above.