I had the rare privilege to study metalsmithing and silversmithing at Skidmore College during my time in NY and the professor there was immensely talented, intelligent and fun to hang with. Couple that with the fact that he liked industrial stuff and we had a good time together. He taught me about metalworking and art and the fine, vague, and wavering line between art and industrial goods.
We were talking in private about how some of the other students either seemed to naturally grasp the concepts and pure labor of metalsmithing and how some others never really get it no matter how hard they tried. He then told me that, in his mind, everyone grew up either as a “Tree house Kid’ or a “Non-tree house Kid.’
He went on to tell me that in his view kids either grow up making tree houses, go-carts with lawnmower wheels and rope steering or chopper bikes, or they didn’t. It’s as if this mechanical and structural curiosity is inherited or innate and if it’s not there as a child that developing or learning it at a later age is very difficult. Kind of like learning a new language during middle age. Looking around the room at my fellow students it was easy to tell the tree house kids from the non-tree house kids. Just looking at the way the student positioned their work or held a tool in their hands spoke volumes. Just looking at the faces of the students as they solved the problems and did the work was instructive. The tree house kids were engaged and even smiling as they labored and the other kids weren’t having much fun. You just had to feel for them. They looked like I felt when taking chemistry.
I’ve thought about this concept a lot over the past 15 years since I went through that course of study at Skidmore and was sitting the other day talking about the ‘tree house kid’ concept with my good friend Carl Strong. He and I were discussing the influx of folks that want to get into bicycle framebuilding as a profession, and that while many of them are very nice and well intentioned they are people that are lacking the ‘tree house experience.’
I’ll bet that most successful framebuilders were the kind of kids that took their bikes apart for no reason other than being curious. They took tubing from a swingset and pounded it over the fork blades of their Stingrays to make super long chopper forks that looked so cool. I have an open shop here and as a result get a fair number of folks that want to hang out their own shingle stopping by to see how I do what I do. When I speak to them I’m surprised how many have never turned their own wrenches or made stuff of any sort. I’m not finding fault with these guys at all, I’m just curious as to why a well trained and well paid engineer or lawyer would want to walk away from their chosen profession to jump into the framebuilding game. As so many of them have never built anything it must not be the desire to do more of that, and to do it as a living, so something else is motivating them. Maybe it’s the current image of framebuilding or the idea that some out there think framebuilders are the cool kids in the bike world. I honestly don’t know.
I think Prof. Peterson was dead on. The world is made up of tree house kids and non-tree house kids. Not that one is better than the other but they are different. I was/am a tree house kid and that will never change and no matter how cool I think it might be to be a doctor and have the social status and income of a doctor it’s not in the cards for me………. Even if I’d like it to be. I’m a tree house kid pure and simple and my lot was cast as a 3 year old when I started taking stuff around the house apart………. And I wouldn’t change that for anything.
What I wonder about is why would someone who has never turned a wrench or bent a piece of metal want to suddenly become a framebuilder? This puzzles me to no end. When I put the shoe on the other foot I wonder how my accountant might feel if I were to walk into her office and declare I that I think accounting is cool, and that even though I’ve never done more than balance my own checkbook that I want to now become an professional CPA – right now! I’ll buy Quick Books Pro and then and I’ll do my dad’s taxes to get the hang of it and then I’ll be ready to take your hard earned money for doing yours. What could go wrong?
I try to be thick skinned and not let this kind of stuff bother me but, to be honest, it does. The idea that someone might think that without any fabrication or mechanical experience that they can buy a few tools, take a week long course and then start their business and earn money as a professional framebuilder is insulting to me as a professional and to the trade. It shows naiveté at best and a disregard for the skills needed and the time it takes to attain them at worst. I hope I’m not misunderstood here – I think most of these ‘framebuilders in waiting’ are very nice folks and well intentioned. Most I’d like to spend time with and go for a ride and then have a good Mexican meal and beer. If I could change anything here it would be to educate those who are considering jumping into the fray to the fact that this profession is like any other in that it takes time, sacrifice and dedication to be successful at it and that just because it looks like fun and that some think it’s cool doesn’t mean that a stranger to fabrication can just jump in and be a framebuilder.
Thank you Professor Peterson and thanks for reading.
Dave
The work of Mr. David Peterson.
Post scrip –
After reading a few of the comments I got from readers and then re-reading the above I can see how one might think that I was suggesting that doctors or lawyers or engineers might, by virtue of their chosen profession, not have hand skills or have been a tree house kid. What this shows, if anything, is that I’m a better framebuilder than I am a writer. I never meant to suggest that because one earns a living with their minds that they are incapable of earning one with their hands. I simply do not feel this way. My stepfather Jim is a great example of a trained engineer who has the ability to not only design very cool stuff but also to then go out into the shop and make it with his own hands. I’m sorry if I gave the wrong impression.
Thanks again.
Interesting post Dave. I don’t know about the either-or proposition. Growing up we built all sorts of tree houses, club houses etc. I still have my lawnmower wheel & rope steering go kart built with the help of my grandfather. While I may have been a tree house kid, I wasn’t necessarily gifted at it. It was fun, and building things still is fun. Next up, an organized bike storage solution for the garage. Fun, but definitely not a career option for me.
I think there’s a certain romance associated with being a gifted, world-class artisan. The fact that folks dream about, and even try to pursue framebuilding is a compliment to you and your peers.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!!
Hi Dave. I think I can shed some light as to why an Engineer or Lawyer would want to become a framebuilder. But first I question why you say that an Engineer or Lawyer isn’t a tree house kid? I am both. As a kid, I built a go cart from old lawnmower parts. I worked in a gas station from when I was 16, and when I got my first car, I did the repairs and tune-ups (And still do). I learned woodworking in high school and still do it, along with all the home handyman stuff. I had a beach house years ago and I re-wired it, and replaced all the plumbing after a sudden ice storm. It is because of this tree-house interest that I became an Engineer. As an Engineer, I used my treehouse skills every day. So, I’m sure there are lawyers and doctors out there that also have these tree house skills.
Now, to answer your question, there are some of us out there who admire you, Carl, and the other established frame builders. I had a great career as an Engineer, and I raised 2 great kids and sent them to college. But now I’m just tired of the corporate crap and I want a career change, one where I can have fun and just enjoy what I am doing for me, not for the stock holders. I attended the Barnett school for bicycle mechanics a couple of years ago, and in my class were an Orthopedic surgeon and a computer consultant, both my age and with the same reasons for being there.
With this being said, I do agree with you and Carl as far as going into business without experience. I have thought about frame building, and discounted it for that very reason. For me, I know it would take me forever to get the experience you two guys have. Not only would I not sell a frame without having the experience, I would not buy one from someone who does not have it. The reason I bought frames from you and Carl are because of your backgrounds, experience, and attention to detail. I wouldn’t pay the high price for one of these frames unless it is made by someone special. These opinions are the product of my treehouse and Engineering skills. I have a good appreciation of what it takes to produce a product like yours, so I will leave it up to the experts. As for my next career, I’ll stay with what I have experience doing, and that is fitting, assembling, repairing, and selling bikes. Not quite the glamor of a frame builder, but it’s my niche in a competitive world.
So thats it for now, I just wanted to give my two cents worth. I hope I can make it to Richmond this year and see you and Carl again.
Hey Bob,
So good to hear from you.
I certainly didn’t mean to insinuate that a doctor or lawyer or any other white collar professional couldn’t have been a tree house kid and have hand skills. I know plenty of guys like you who straddle that fence. The mystifying thing to me is more the guy who has never turned a wrench who suddenly wants to turn one as a profession. Maybe I’m dense but I just don’t get that.
I certainly understand what you mean about getting away from the corporate crap and making a living with your hands. I think that’s how I ended up here myself. Working for Serotta for all those years is as close to corporate as I care to get. I think it’s cool that you are working in the bike biz and having fun and I must say that having been on both sides of this bike biz fence that there isn’t a glamourous side. That’s not at all to say that I don’t like it, quite the opposite…… but I can think of much more glamourous ways to make a living that is for sure.
Thanks again for chiming in………. I look forward to catching up at the show. Stay warm.
Dave
Hey Steve,
I agree completely that it’s not an ‘either or’ thing. My step father is a great example as he’s a trained engineer who is very skilled with his hands and could make a tree house to remember. I just get confused by the people who have never made anything suddenly wanting to make stuff for a living and expecting that it will be so easy that they will be able to make a living at it right off and that their work will be worth the money they need to charge for it. It just doesn’t add up.
Thanks so much for the comment and thanks for reading.
Dave
Hi Dave. I think that was a swell post. Oddly enough, I DID have a treehouse as a kid. And I remember very vividly going to 1st grade (this is about 1969) and seeing dozens and dozens of the “bigger kids” bikes parked — they were all Schwinn Stingrays (which was THE bike) and they all seemed to have chopped forks with tiny front tires, or a gear shifter on the top tube like a stick shift, or some had gorilla bars or a super-tall backrest on the banana seat or some had even replaced the handlebars with a round steering wheel. It seemed then that to have a chopped Schwinn and be able to ride your bike to school was the apogy of cool. And I assumed it always would be — though in retrospect, it was just a brief moment in time, and now all the kids are on a bus and Schwinn is gone as is my old treehouse.
Truth is, though, I did enjoy Chemistry (and Physics — heck, I majored in Physics, but that was an age ago). And I think you’re right: I was a kid with a treehouse, but I was not really the kid to build the treehouse (I had help — maybe I was cut out to be a contractor). But even in the context of doctors, you will find that some treehouse kids go to medical school. And when they do, I think they become orthopedic surgeons and trauma surgeons. During a recession (a few recessions ago) we hired a friend who is a master cabinetmaker to help us do some kitchen work (that’s me being a contractor again). And watching what he does, it is remarkably similar to what I have seen an orthopedic surgeon do in the operating room.
With regard to doctors (and some friends in other professions), I think it would be a bit odd for one to drop everything and become a professional framebuilder. But I note a lot of docs sort of retire in stages, and in their mid-50s they slow down a bit and a lot of them seem to take up a treehouse-kid hobby. I know one who got a forge and makes knife blades, and several are mad crazy into woodworking. It is not really surprising — a 55 year old doctor probably has a garage and enough money to buy tools. But I confess that I don’t know any who seem inclined to buy liability insurance and try to make and sell bicycles. I mean, if I make a knife blade and it fails, it is annoying. But if I make a bicycle fork and it fails, then we’re back to talking to the trauma surgeon. And liability insurance is something doctors know all too well. So I don’t think you’ll be getting too much competition from my friends (translation: please keep brazing).
And please, don’t get any crazy romantic dreams of being an accountant. If you do, then I’ll need to call my other doctor friends. The ones who went into psychiatry. And they’re really non-treehouse people.
Dave–
Great post that I have shared on fb and twitter.
Thanks,
jared
Interesting post. There is an endless supply of types who think that because a highly skilled practitioner, be it a surgeon, a bike frame builder or what have you, makes it look effortless, then, by gawd, it must be easy. There is always an obnoxious combination of arrogance and naivete which makes some people believe “to hell with training and experience, I can do this too.” But I also believe some are seeking to rediscover something that maybe once was part of their profession but now, sadly, is not. I think many doctors fall into this category. Skyrocketing malpractice premiums, insurance companies who call every shot, a bevy of non-physicians with neither the training nor the experience who claim they can do it better, and the ever-intruding government all combine to make the practice of medicine a headache and a bureaucratic jungle rather than the rewarding “call of healing” it once was. Framebuilders like you and Carl Strong and others, call your own shots, work at your own speed, do things the way you want to–and that, in this modern dog eat dog world, is very appealing.
great post, Dave. my parents got sick of buying new alarm clocks {man, they have great parts for building things!} i was into building siege machines out of car leaf springs…………i can’t believe no one was killed! Steve Garro, Coconino Cycles.
Great post! I started out as an irrepressible tree-fort builder, followed by several years working in a cabinet shop, then law school and finally medical school. Long story. I currently practice as an anesthesiologist in Chattanooga, TN. A few years back I began experiencing many of the pitfalls of medical practice that Paul mentions and in my search to find some inner peace I rediscovered my love of wood. Three years later, my three-car garage is packed full of wood and tools. Drives my wife nuts! I build custom furniture and mantles. Mostly Greene & Greene stuff, but really whatever strikes my fancy. I take on commissions when I have the time and the piece feels right. Have I given up my day job? No. I do this because it heals me, not because I need a living. The folks who seek me out do so because they feel like they can connect with my work. They believe in the artistry and the quality. I suspect the same is true for the real frame builders out there. People who are looking for a frame that is a functional work of art will continue to find you. The market right now has 100s of posers with a torch trying to make a buck building bike frames. Folks who don’t know any better will pay for their junk and later regret it. Those who take the time and are passionate about cycling will keep guys like Dave, Carl and Steve in business for a long time to come. Robin Oscar
Excellent post Dave! I think you said it well. If I might be so presumptuous to attempt to add to what you said, I’d say that it’s not just about mechanical aptitude but also experience and repetition. Nobody comes out of med. school or law school or plumbers programs ready to perform as a real pro. Once these programs are completed then the real learning occurs. I think this parallels the learning curve of frame building. The building of the first 10-100 frames is akin to the academic training in other professions. After that experience coupled with mechanical aptitude, one starts to grow into a pro frame builder. It seems in other professions there’s enough built in mechanisms to clue in individuals as to the logical chronology of the career path. Unfortunately frame building doesn’t have this but I think these sort of discussions are valuable to all interested parties.
Hey Curt,
Welcome and thanks for chiming in.
I agree with all of what you said and have a slightly different view of the whole thing. The confusing thing to me is why someone who has never been curious enough to learn to spin wrenches on their own bike or to have done a bit of any sort of fabrication building anything, would want to get into a field that is nothing but working with tools and fabrication and at the same time think that they can just jump in and start a business doing what it takes most folks many years or decades to learn to do well.
I think some of what is happening here is that framebuilding has become cool and that some people want that ‘cool’ and don’t really realize that many hours of hard and dirty work go into each bike. It’s as they don’t really want to learn to build the best frames they can, they just want to be known as a ‘framebuilder’ and have the cool wash over them. The reality is, as you very well know, that this is hard, physical, manual blue collar labor with a twist………… but at it’s core the builder stands for 8 hours a day at a bench and that in the end doesn’t really feel at that as cool as it might seem.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the labor part of it. Anyone who has ever known me knows that I like good hard labor and to have it on my own terms is a very nice thing. But the cool image that building might have only comes home to roost a few times a year at trade shows and the rest of the time you just grind the metal and take small pieces of metal and hook them to one another to make a bigger piece. I love that part!
Thanks again,
Dave
Dave
I am a family doc and learned the alphabet on the linotype and how to spell by picking letters out of a type drawer. We made lead pigs that cast each line of type for the newspaper. I also had an elderly neighbor who taught me how to take apart, reassemble and tune up my bike. Of course my best friend and I had a fort we built and made our own captain america shields, swords, etc.
I still feel some of that same creativity when working through complex medical problems or doing fine surgical procedures. I also enjoy throwing pots and building cedar strip kayaks.
Much of what I had learned in training had to be refined or unlearned in active practice. I consider myself a lifetime learner and explorer. So although I would not want to put out my shingle as an artisan after my few pottery classes
I have discovered things about myself through artistic expression.
Being involved in some way in the construction of a custom bike frame and fork might have that same appeal primarily because the tree house effect runs so deep.
Maybe these people being drawn to your art are responding to a deeper longing that has always been there and has either been forgotten or is a potential that has up to this point been undiscovered…
You may be right. I think that there is something deep inside many people that pushes us to make things with our own hands.
Dave