Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
There were dozens of exhibits at the Maker Faire at FVCC on Saturday, but the quality of the exhibits was uneven. Many exhibitors displayed the objects they made, but provided little or no written or visual information on how they made their objects. Only a few exhibitors had displays showing both what they made and how they made it. Most were there to show and talk.
Master explainer Alan McNeil’s 3D printer exhibit, for example, featured his printer manufacturing 3D objects, a three-panel display explaining what 3D printing is and how it works, and examples of the objects he has manufactured with it. He attracted dozens of people, especially rapt young people whose questions he answered with patience and precision.
I suspect some exhibitors were there simply to advertise their wares, and were loath to provide any information on how they make what they made lest they disclose their methods and impair their competitive advantage. That’s human nature, I suppose, and akin to a cook’s hoarding a recipe. But I think such fears are exaggerated.
At least two highly accomplished luthiers displayed their exquisitely crafted fiddles and instruments. Even if they had provided me with detailed blueprints and instructional videos, and all the necessary materials and tools, I could not have returned home and begun producing comparable stringed instruments. Knowing how a master craftsman builds something is not the same as being able to build it just as well yourself. You can take home the drawings for the fiddle, but unless you also take home the luthier, you’re not going to make the same music.
My advice to next year’s exhibitors: provide written and visual materials that explain how you make what you made.