Originally Posted by
FBinNY
I think you've found the essence of the difference between older and newer builders. It's in the culture.
Those who learned before the internet, focused on skills rather than "better tools". Our better tools were the little tricks learned from masters.
In another thread, I posted a
method to build quality wheels quickly and easily without the tools many have come to rely on. it's highly abbreviated but the big picture is clear.
Those willing to throw off the training wheels might give it a shot.
Easy now. I delve into building wheels because I like the tools, making my own equipment. And the analytics. It's not always about the fastest route to a end product. I like fussing over it, looking at pretty graphs, and chasing numbers. It gives me my OCD fix. I also make telescope optics by hand and enjoy the analysis and getting as close to perfection as I can where tolerances are measured in the 10s of nanometers. I've made enough of those to last me years, so this is the new thing.