Good question. The advent and proliferation of automated joinery machines has already and will continue to affect the prospects of carpenters who build timber frames. The bigger shops who use these don't employ as many carpenters -- that's a fact. and the one's who are employed are required to do less carpentry (and more material handling).
I know there are different kinds of CNC companies out there and some of them use it as just another tool and continue to do cool and challenging things and employ skilled and creative people. But...
This is a half truth (in bold).
There are a few good companies doing CNC work that are able to have more timber framers and carpenters on staff. One company is able to support 10-14 timber framers - from apprentice to 'master', a crew of 8 carpenters from journey man to seasoned pro, and a complete custom cabinet and woodshop.
Mike,
Whether we like it or not, the fact is the CNC machine replaces hand work. That means it replaces hands.
Perhaps as some companies made the leap to automation, they were able to grow their sales fast enough that they actually added people rather than letting carpenters go. That's great. But to do the same volume of work without the machine would require even more people. Automation replaces people -- that's a simple fact.
I am sure there are responsible users of this technology, but that does not change the fact that all automation replaces man hours. That is the point of it. I hear it called "brute work" or "drudgery" or "repetetive tasks", but in the end it is all work and it all used to be done by a guy with a tool in his hand.
I'm out of time once more, but I am enjoying everyone's perspective on this and will look forward to continuing later.
