Editor’s Letter: What is the future of woodworking?

Imagine this: You’re lying in bed, thinking about a beautiful new end table you would like to build, with maple for the casework and walnut for the framing. You mentally run through a list of furniture styles and settle on Krenov. You know this is a complex style, but you are sure you have the skill and ability to create a professional piece. You connect to your neural link, mentally call up the appropriate file, and think: EXECUTE.

You hear the machinery in your shop begin the process of wood selection as you drift off to sleep. The next morning you walk out to the finishing enclosure. It has automatically vented, and the UV finish that was applied is hard as a rock. The end table is perfect, of course. You admire the flush joinery and the flawless finish. You congratulate yourself on your…