From: afmartp@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov (PETE MARTIN)
Subject: Re:      Re: WARNING (response to...)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: ORGANIZATION??...Who has time to be organized?
Distribution: na
Date: 11 Jan 1993 08:25 EST  

In article <93Jan8.161533cst.15559@utdallas.edu>,         Jeff Roberts <JROBERTS@UTDALLAS.BITNET> writes...
>On Fri, 8 Jan 1993 13:39:12 -0600 Chris Lewis said:
>>In article <64770027@hpcss01.cup.hp.com> markw@hpcss01.cup.hp.com (Mark
>>Williams) writes:
> 
> <deleted>
> <deleted>
>>
>>Unlike the Amish, the Shakers would probably have used power
>>tools for joinery if they had been available at the time, *and* the
>>results were satisfactory..
>>
>>I don't think the Shakers had an aversion to electricity like traditional
>>Amish..
>>
> Well times are a chang'in even for the Amish.  I was watching a PBS show on
> the Amish, traditional, pious, as you would expect, except......for........
> that.....pneumatic butterfly sander with half inch air supply hose he was
> using to sand that beautiful china cabinet with!  Hey, competition
> was getting tuff.  Or my Grandparent-in-laws who live in Lancaster PA who
> were
> telling us about an Amish aquaintance who decided a phone was a necessary
> evil......so she put it in the barn!  Everything is O.K now.  I wonder who
> she talks to with it?
There is quite a contingent of Amish residents just to the south of Akron, 
Ohio.  My wife and I like to go spend the day driving around there every 
so often.  We were taking some friends around just before Christmas, they 
were looking for an Amish made hutch.  We were on a small county road and 
saw a small sign nailed to a tree that said "Furniture" and an arrow.  We 
followed it a few more miles off the beaten track, and finally came upon 
the home and shop of this craftsman.  He had quite an impressive shop set 
up.  It was a stand alone building, about 600 sq ft of floor space.  When 
I walked in, I immediately started checking out his collection 
machinery.  He had a 10" UNISAW, an 8" jointer, a 16" bandsaw, power miter 
box, LARGE panel sander, belt sander, etc etc etc.  Just about every known 
power tool.  I was quite impressed.  Then it kind of hit me; wait a minute,
this guy is Amish, that means NO POWER.  So as my wife and the couple we 
were with began talking to the man, I started looking a little closer.  
This whole collection of originally electrically powered equipment had been 
converted over to run on compressed air!!  I looked closer to see that each 
of the tools had a flexhose and valve that ran to it, not to mentiona huge 
pile of sawdust underneath each tool; right next to the kerosene lamps!! 
Just how do you order tools like that?  Can you imagine going up to your 
local Delta dealer, " I would like that 10" UNISAW.  But could you leave 
the 3 HP motor off and substitute an air turbine?" 

    As we left the shop, I looked around to verify that I hadn't imagined 
the whole thing, no there were no power lines to be seen, and then I 
spotted the gas fired air compressor! 
***************************************************************************
* Pete Martin                                                             *
* NASA Lewis Research Center                                              *
* Cleveland, OH                                                           *
* (216)433-8731         afmartp@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov                      *
***************************************************************************

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