Back in '98, we'd mix a whole batch of mud by hand for a chimney rebuild

Now my apprentice just wheels over the mixer and plugs it in. The job's done before lunch, but I kind of miss the quiet rhythm of it (and the forearms I had back then). Anyone else feel like the machines took some of the craft out of it?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_riley1mo ago

Ask stellawood straight up: would you trust an apprentice who'd never mixed a batch by hand to know when it's too wet just from the sound of the machine, or would they end up with a wall that slumps next season? I mean, I get that the mixer is faster, but how do you teach that feeling of the mud gripping your trowel if you never had to fight it yourself first? Seems like you'd miss something real specific in the texture, like when the clay gets just sticky enough to hold a vertical line without sagging.

stellawood3mo ago

Wasn't there a study a while back about how doing a physical job by hand changes how you learn it? I get what @ray_coleman41 is saying about the skill being in the know-how, not the sore arms. But mixing by hand gave you a feel for the material that you just don't get from listening to a motor. The machine makes it faster for sure, but that old quiet way taught you something a mixer can't.

ray_coleman413mo ago

Eh, it's just mud. You still have to know how much water to add, when it's right, and how to lay it up straight. The machine just saves your back. The craft is in knowing what you're doing, not in how sore your arms get.