I would consider myself in between a beginner and intermediate woodworking. Just a guy in his mid-thirties in a garage (usually at night when the kids are in the garage). But with the current health concerns I’m finding myself getting a bit of cabin fever and when I do have a spare hour (in between entertaining/hour schooling said kids) I end up just sitting in my workshop frustrated, not knowing what I want to build but know I want to build something.
Does anyone else have this frustration? Is it something that will pass? I find that I just don’t want to build the 2×4 projects with pocket holes I see elsewhere. I want to build something beautiful like I see all you build. How would be the best way to go about that when I don’t feel like I have the right tools, right wood, and nothing is working?
I’m just wondering if this darn virus has anyone else pulling their hair out?
Also, this forum and being a member here has really helped my skills and I find a ton of inspiration from all of you – thank you!
Josh
Replies
Hello Josh,
I’m an academic with a background in public health and higher education and I’ve been woodworking for over 20 years now. Like many, I find myself homeschooling a young child on top of my (thankfully, still relevant) professional duties and college teaching obligations (frustratingly now all online) and can attest to “quarantine fatigue,” as well. Getting into the shop lately has been vacillating between both frustration and solace.
One tactic to defeat this project malaise that I have found helpful is to get lost in the details. I break a given project into very small and discrete steps. Doing so has allowed me to focus on the minutiae and move forward slowly rather than getting lost in the entirety of the project. As for how best to proceed without the right tools and such, perhaps you could come up with a list of small(ish) items that you need/want around the house and start devising a plan on how to accomplish them with the tools and lumber you have on hand. For me, I enjoy the planning and organizing phase of a build and find that focusing on any logistic challenges helps focus my attention towards executing it with the tools and materials I have on hand.
Also, the frustration you described in your post is affecting all of us around the world. From my public health perspective though, the data supports the fact that the physical distancing is working in many areas of the US and around the world. While it is often darkest before the dawn, as they say, this news is encouraging and, on a personal level, strengthens my resolve to stay home and get in the shop as often as I can.
Stay well Josh; this too will pass.
What timber have you got or can you get in the present circumstances? Access to high quality wood can be an inspiration all by itself. Conversely, it can be difficult to built "something beautiful" if all you can obtain is run of the mill softwood of no great character and too much pitch, knot and warp.
There are many "simple" designs that can nevertheless be beautiful objects. Small boxes might be a good start, as they don't require loads of wood but can demand quite a few different techniques. In fact, it can be more challenging to built a high quality and beautiful small box as every detail must be good. If not, the poorly-executed details will stand out as they're likely to look bigger or more obvious in a small box than they would in an eight place dining table.
What tools do you have? Your most challenging lack might be a good bench with work-holding items on it. I spent my early WW years using a half sheet of 1" ply held in a workmate. I managed but after building a heavy weight WW bench with two twin-screw vices and plenty dog holes, I realised just what a limitation that workmate had been!
A lot can be done with few tools though. A couple of saws, some basic chisels, marking-out tools, a plane and perhaps a router. May be an electric sander .....
Another tack might be: who in your wider family wants a piece of furniture that might be do-able (i.e. doesn't require 50 different moulding planes and a similar number of carving chisels). A bookshelf perhaps? A small table with a drawer?
Or perhaps you could make yourself a tool cupboard. This could even be made of unremarkable (and inexpensive) softwood. I fact, I just made one myself out of left-overs from a construction project. It has given me pine-phobia though. :-)
Lataxe
Thank you for the encouragement. I’m glad I’m not the only one. I think my problem is lumber. I just bought a dewalt planer a few weeks ago and have been “practicing.” At this time, the hardwood stores near me are closed so I’m forced to use dimensional wood from HD. I’ve noticed that having to use softwood is irritating me lol. Once things open up I’ll be better ;)
Hi Josh,
I live in an apartment in San Francisco and have been locked out of the community shop where I usually build. I was starting to go through woodworking withdrawal when I realized that I could build something in my kitchen with hand tools only. The lumber yards are still open so you can still get whatever lumber you need. For my idea I looked to a Mike Pekovich posting of what he called an “over stuffed bill cubby”. I used a poplar board (easy to mill by hand), a couple of hand planes, a couple of hand saws, a few chisels, a shooting board and bench hook and some cheap clamps. The only tricky part was cutting the dado slots for the shelves by hand. Luckily I had a small routing plane from Lie Nielsen that really helped with that. See attached pic. It was a really fun challenge to build with hand tools only. Hope the idea helps.
Dave
Very nice Dave! I just moved from Modesto to Idaho a few months ago, but I’m glad I’m not stuck in the city!
Im sure you can make something worthy out of pine, just wash your mind from the sensless 2x4 designs. Elaborate thinner furniture. Take risks on that. Im sure you will feel plenty of emotions that way and you probably end up with something nice or at least weird haha. Try making a stool, an atypical stool that only you have made.
I am not nearly as productive as I imagined I would be given I am home so much. Do the best you can and don't beat yourself up over it.
Fine woodworking has posted some good projects that don't require too much time or commitment to make. Paul Sellers has done the same as well.
One of the things I learned in a time management class is set a timer and dedicate 20 minutes to doing something. It does two things. One - it gets you started and once you get over the hump you may get more done than just 20 minutes worth of work. Two - even if you stop after 20 minutes, it is enough time for some progress. 5 days in a week is 100 minutes.
Before this thing hit I started to build a dresser and have all material milled but just can’t get into it so started building boxes for the front hall and I feel things Are getting a little easier so just hang in there and if you have to just build boxes.
This happens to me since I am a kid and its not from not having wood or tools, which I always had plenty. I sit in the shop on a stool and just cant get going on anything, it usually ends in a general clean-up but I do not generate chips. I look at the wood rack, the tools and just cannot get started on anything. The point is that when you go in the shop, you need to have a project and you will find the wood ant tools to achieve it, not the opposite. So I spend more time on the drawing board and once I find a project, I enter the shop and make it work.
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