For some people woodworking is, and should be, done in the style found in the previous centuries where there were no power tools that used electricity. The only power tools were driven by water power or like sources. These can be found in places like Shaker villages in the north, Hancock Shaker Village is one that Norm Abram once visited for project ideas. I have been there and enjoyed seeing the workshop and all the hand tools that were used to create such wonderful work. There are power tools there driven by water, but not the same kinds of tools we’re used to seeing today.
One of the reasons the old ways are loosing ground in my view is how hard the work is to gain a result. There are easier ways now, and there are far too many people that simply do not want to work so hard to do a project, I’m in that group. I’ve watched the Woodwright Shop on PBS, and while I think that show demonstrates some great skills and keeps alive the old methods used in years gone by, few are going to actually routinely do woodworking in that fashion. The thing I get from those shows is how antiques were made and use that knowledge to repair them. It takes a skill and drive that is seldom seen these days to use the old hand tools and no power other that muscle.
I enjoy and use power tools, many power tools, and I feel that with the advancement in technology, there is also a viable reason to use advancements in woodworking techniques. There are some that say modern woodworking isn’t really woodworking, and the fact is that if you like the old style then that is what you should use. If you like modern work, then that is what you should use. One fact I see is the lack of young people today getting into the skills such as woodworking. If using modern methods is the way to attract the youth to this skill, then I feel that by all means we should go for it. I use many power tools, including computers and CNC as seen in another post on my site. I recently added a laser to my shop and found it easy to learn and the results are very interesting. There are many very interesting things to be gained from this kind of technology. The fact is lots of people today want a result reasonably quickly for their work, and they’re expecting it to look like something really nice on the first try.
Now don’t get me wrong here, I do have hand planes, and some other older hand tools that you just have to use for some things, so power isn’t the answer for everything.