There's hope for me after all!
I stumbled across a web site for new woodworkers, www.newwoodworker.com, and was happy to find an article that eased my frustration about learning by making mistakes. The author--a relatively new woodworker himself--shared his own frustrations and theories. When he said his early projects wasted wood and had mistakes, I said, "Yes!" When he said he often got frustrated, I said, "Yippee!" And the best part is . . . he said there was light at the end of the tunnel. Here's an excerpt:
"New woodworkers should learn and practice workshop safety immediately, then avoid putting pressure on themselves to learn the rest. What is important is to have faith in your ability to learn, and have a good time doing it. Woodworking is and should remain fun throughout the learning process. There will be periods of frustration and even days when you should stay out of the shop. When frustration builds, learning suffers. Take a break and return with a clear head."
I feel much better after reading that. I've been reluctant to get back into the shop lately. I'm afraid to start the other side of the hutch, esp. the shelf part. Maybe it's because it took me so long the first time, I'm afraid I've forgotten how I did it. Or perhaps it's because I'm afraid I'll make even more mistakes--worse ones than before!
I'm definitely feeling the pressure from my husband to get this finished. He sees all the other mid-progress projects hanging around the house and is tired of things being half-done. Me, too. But every time I think about getting back to work, something happens. Either it rains--like today--which prevents me from painting. Or I've got only a couple of hours squeezed into the weekend when I can work. It takes me almost that much time to clear the vehicles out of the garage and get set up!
Oh how I wish we had a separate workshop building--a place where I could leave my project in the middle of the room til I'm finished with it. I could have room for a large workbench, router table, and lots of electrical outlets. There would be bright lighting everywhere--ceiling, walls, portable. I could work out there at night if I wanted! Plus, I'd love to have some kind of dust collection system and windows that open easily to help ventilate. (Remember that dust danger?! And don't forget pain fumes!) Not to forget storage--lots of it!
I remember when we started trying to landscape our backyard, my husband advocated cutting down the pecan tree (the only tree in our yard when we bought the house) so he could make room for a workshop. That was 10 years ago, and I thought he was nuts. Now, we have a huge oak tree in the yard, plus 5 magnolias that are growing like weeds. The pecan tree was vertically halved by last year's storm, and it's being eaten alive by insects. Cutting it down sounds good to me! Too bad we don't have the money to build the workshop now. But someday . . .
Hey, the rain's stopped! A sign--I need to get to Home Depot and buy those last 2 cabinets and MDF for the desktop. Get working, Tif!
"New woodworkers should learn and practice workshop safety immediately, then avoid putting pressure on themselves to learn the rest. What is important is to have faith in your ability to learn, and have a good time doing it. Woodworking is and should remain fun throughout the learning process. There will be periods of frustration and even days when you should stay out of the shop. When frustration builds, learning suffers. Take a break and return with a clear head."
I feel much better after reading that. I've been reluctant to get back into the shop lately. I'm afraid to start the other side of the hutch, esp. the shelf part. Maybe it's because it took me so long the first time, I'm afraid I've forgotten how I did it. Or perhaps it's because I'm afraid I'll make even more mistakes--worse ones than before!
I'm definitely feeling the pressure from my husband to get this finished. He sees all the other mid-progress projects hanging around the house and is tired of things being half-done. Me, too. But every time I think about getting back to work, something happens. Either it rains--like today--which prevents me from painting. Or I've got only a couple of hours squeezed into the weekend when I can work. It takes me almost that much time to clear the vehicles out of the garage and get set up!
Oh how I wish we had a separate workshop building--a place where I could leave my project in the middle of the room til I'm finished with it. I could have room for a large workbench, router table, and lots of electrical outlets. There would be bright lighting everywhere--ceiling, walls, portable. I could work out there at night if I wanted! Plus, I'd love to have some kind of dust collection system and windows that open easily to help ventilate. (Remember that dust danger?! And don't forget pain fumes!) Not to forget storage--lots of it!
I remember when we started trying to landscape our backyard, my husband advocated cutting down the pecan tree (the only tree in our yard when we bought the house) so he could make room for a workshop. That was 10 years ago, and I thought he was nuts. Now, we have a huge oak tree in the yard, plus 5 magnolias that are growing like weeds. The pecan tree was vertically halved by last year's storm, and it's being eaten alive by insects. Cutting it down sounds good to me! Too bad we don't have the money to build the workshop now. But someday . . .
Hey, the rain's stopped! A sign--I need to get to Home Depot and buy those last 2 cabinets and MDF for the desktop. Get working, Tif!
posted by Tif at 11:46 AM
1 Comments:
Rest assured...[sniff, sniff]...when your kids finally leave home...[sob]...you will have plenty of room for your workshop. (Can you tell my son moved out today?)
Post a Comment
<< Home