I was talking with somebody the other day and we got onto the subject of trainspotting in our youth. I was encouraged to try it out when I was about ten and survived a few days ticking off the train identification numbers in an 'I spy' book when they passed through Chippenham station. I subsequently preferred identifying cars. However, in conversation with this bloke he mentioned the term 'Fudgers Junction' which I thought would make a catchy title for one of my You Tube (Woodomain) videos. It means a trainspotter who makes a false claim about a train such as the Flying Scotsman having been spotted in say - Redruth, Cornwall when in fact it never ventured down there (so I'm told).
It crossed my mind whether the term might apply to woodworking - for instance a secret mitred dovetail is a highly complicated joint to achieve and a real sign of masterly craftsmanship but all you see actually is a mitre from the outside, so who knows - could this be a case of Fudgers Junction?
And then what about all those designer makers who don't actually make the designs that come under their name (on the price tag) at the auction houses? Even Chippendale might have been a Fudgers Junction kind of guy. I think there are quite a lot around and if over the many years of woodworking and furniture that I have made with my own bare hands, and creations that are entirely mine and not derivations of others' ideas, the only epitaph I deserve in my contribution to the world of woodworking, is 'the guy who introduced Fudgers Junction to woodworking', then, all I ask is that you don't confuse me with a 'bodger' or a more commonly used term that seems to resemble fudger!
