1) The works are advertised as "hand-carved" and this video is described as "hand carving". This is not hand carving. You use handheld power tools; therefore this is hand crafting. You also explicitly stated that you did work with a hand-guided router. That's a fabrication machine, not a powered hand tool. It's been on a fabrication table; therefore, it's a mechanically fabricated work even if all the machining was done by hand. Misrepresenting your work as hand-carved is an attempt to overprice it. You could argue that it is still hand-crafted and possibly win the argument, but there is no way this work could be called "hand carving". (Disagree? Ask an Amish woodworker that actually does hand-carve everything.)
1) So, because he used hand guided tools on part of his projects, the actual manual hand tool carving he does in addition suddenly is not hand carving? So unless he does EVERYTHING from start to finish with manual hand tools, it is not "hand carved"? You sound completely ridiculous.
2)I know several professional woodworkers who smoke in their shops. Is it safe? Maybe not. Is it proof he is not a professional woodworker? Not in the slightest. This is just more circumstantial nonsense woven into a big web of bullshit theories.
Carving with hand tools is hand carving. Hand crafting with power tools is not hand carving. A piece crafted with power tools is not hand carved, even if some hand carving was done to finish the work. This distinction does directly impact the value of the item no matter what is being produced.
Since you know of woodworkers that endanger themselves, their peers, and customers, while quite possibly violating local business and safety laws, that also claim to be professional, I must therefore be wrong despite having actively been involved in the industry. Despite having praised the quality of the work I am somehow lumped into a mysterious crowd of people making a scam accusation. Let me make this perfectly clear.
I am not accusing WoodCollector of scamming, or attempting to scam anyone.One does not need to be a professional to do quality work, and I maintain this is quality work. It just isn't what was advertised, which is "hand-carved artwork". It's not; it's hand-crafted. That doesn't make it any less quality. It was
misrepresented, and that is my one and only complaint and reason for not being interested in what is otherwise superb and beautiful craftmanship offered by a skilled artist.