Trying to describe craftsmanship always brings me back to the Steve Jobs quote:

“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”

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mikkupikku 10 hours ago | parent [-]

Steve Jobs didn't really know anything about cabinetry, because using plywood / MDF in places where it won't be seen but which would benifit from dimensional stability is absolutely common and there's no reason it shouldn't be.

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ryandrake 10 hours ago | parent [-]

You might be missing the point of the quote. He's not talking about whether it is commonly done. He's talking about the mentality that justifies sacrificing the aesthetic and artistry, in favor of things like "dimensional stability". He is giving a reason why it shouldn't be done, and people can disagree about whether the reason is a good one.

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mikkupikku 9 hours ago | parent [-]

He's saying that carpenters who make nice things wouldn't use a material like that, but they objectively do and this doesn't sacrifice the aesthetic or artistry.

He specifically calls out the use of the material in a place it wouldn't be seen as something that the carpenter making beautiful cabinets wouldn't do, but that's actually something they absolutely do. He's trying to argue some other point by way of this analogy, but his analogy is wrong because he doesn't know anything about it. It would be like if I was trying to argue my point by way of car analogy but the example I chose was to say that car enthusiasts insist on genuine OEM parts, I'm only exposing myself as somebody who doesn't understand car people.

	▲	tehnub 7 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		There are plenty of furniture makers that use all hardwood construction. It's just that they charge like $10K USD for a cabinet
	▲	ryandrake 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		He's saying "carpenters who don't do X are craftsmen". And you're saying "But other carpenters do X." That's true, but those other carpenters are not craftsmen.
	▲	slopinthebag 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> He's saying that carpenters who make nice things wouldn't use a material like that If they do, then they aren't making truly great things. It's as simple as that really. If you cut corners, even if you think nobody will notice, some people will, and your product will never be truly great. Steve understood that.