What type of lifestyle and/or job would you of picked hundreds of years ago?

If i had to step back in time i would probably do the same thing that i'm doing now. Overall, it's not such a bad life. As a Master of a trade you enjoy a little more freedom and variety than someone doing the 9 - 5 thing everyday.

It would be harder though. When i started out as an apprentice we still did a lot of our finish cuts with a hand saw. It was important to have a connection with a good saw sharpening man that could custom cut a thirteen point fine. I've still got that old signed edition Henry Disston in the shop somewhere but i haven't used it in years.

Nowadays it's all power tools. The work isn't as hard on the body because the machine takes the beating and not you. Production is four times what it was and i'm able to work with a degree of accuracy that i would never have been able to attain back in the day.



It's really all a series of tradeoffs. The pace of life was slower back then but the standard work day for a tradesman was 10 - 12 hours a day/five days a week. Saturdays you worked at least half a day. You worked hard an died in your 50's or early 60's because you were all used up.

I kinda like the way things are today. You bang the job out and it leaves some leisure time to enjoy the other things life has to offer.