Mzdadoc Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 All I do is eat, sleep, drink about WW and my beautiful wife supports me. The one thing she as my best friend has noticed is that I buy tools, and plans but find it hard to pull the trigger on getting a project going. I over analyze and have conversations with her about all the ways to make it go easier. Is it normal for a new WW such as myself to be SO hesitant to get started or in my current project get it finished? I love doing it but honestly I'm afraid to ruin what I've created by doing something wrong a long the way. I know that's how you learn and believe me I'm learning tons but my wife is starting to think I'm in it just for the tools..... LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Try building things that don't really matter for awhile. Shop stands or cabinet are a good place to start. If they are not perfect who cares, you can either live with it or rebuild later down the road. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Scott Bailey Posted October 22, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 I have the same problem. one thing I did to get my feet wet so to speak is started working on refinishing some outdoor deck furniture which some years ago We received as a gift and I did a HORRIBLE job of finishing the first time. it got me off the planning and thinking horse and put some sandpaper and wood in front of me without the worry that I'd miscut or make some mistake. It also gave me a nice project to practice finishing which is a little intimidating to me as well. That's actually a pretty big project as I still have 2 chairs and the table to do but I am happy with my results so far on the first chair (I only have 3 chairs, one of them broke some years ago and I stupidly threw it away). I then dove in and made a cutting board that turned out OK, not great... I made some mistakes, some of the cuts weren't aligned perfectly, and I had to make a couple replacement cuts, and part of the glue up went poorly and I had to figure out how to work around that (and more importantly, how to avoid it next time). the result is usable but really just my practice first project, something I'll keep forever though because I made it!. Once I started doing that the mistakes started being less of a worry and more of a learning experience. I think maybe one good trick would be to buy some cheaper wood (maybe poplar) and just make a practice project...a box or something. for me the trick to getting over the hump was realizing that mistakes aren't "waste" but valuable learning experiences. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 I have the same problem. The thing is, thinking about a project won't prevent mistakes and less than perfect results. I gotta get out there and make some mistakes to gain the skills. Preferably on shop projects. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Keep in the back of your mind that there's nothing that can't be replaced, repaired or re-made. Approaching a project with this mentality takes a lot of the pressure off . Besides, if any of the above needs to be done, consider it a skill builder! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 All I do is eat, sleep, drink about WW and my beautiful wife supports me. The one thing she as my best friend has noticed is that I buy tools, and plans but find it hard to pull the trigger on getting a project going. I over analyze and have conversations with her about all the ways to make it go easier. Is it normal for a new WW such as myself to be SO hesitant to get started or in my current project get it finished? I love doing it but honestly I'm afraid to ruin what I've created by doing something wrong a long the way. I know that's how you learn and believe me I'm learning tons but my wife is starting to think I'm in it just for the tools..... LOL No one , no matter how experienced, does it perfect! Get out of your head and into the shop, make sawdust, build a small arbor, a tool box, a shop cabinet.... If they turn out badly, you learned something, and made kindling, so what's the problem? And, never avoid asking a question, here is where 90% of the answers are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Bailey Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 I only want to add that nothing makes me feel better after a tough day at work than going home and cutting something. well almost nothing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scholastica Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Welcome to my world!! I am sure that I over analyze everything and am paranoid about making a mistake..."what if....." When I finally DO get started I work really slow as it's so stressful for - but oh so rewarding! I'm getting better and am giving myself more slack. Reading/Listening to the people around here and other places is encouraging - but I make the mistake of comparing myself to them...many of whom already have lots of experience. Not just in woodworking but working with their hands. I am way too hard on myself. Does this sound at all familiar? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 I'm working on Marc's guild build where hand cut dove tails are required. Well not really but he all but said to put your big boy pants on and get the saw out. I did in fact buy some not so cheap poplar and made some practice cuts and the last two made me proud. Now to the real cherry, cause I was ready! Two extra trips to the lumber yard and $180 later, I finally cut some that I was pleased with. If you're unsure of yourself using the tools safely, maybe some helpful advice from other woodworkers is in order. If your unsure of the results of your project, quit procrastinating. Buying all those tools and not making sawdust is like going to work and not bringing home a paycheck Cut a board, sand it and show her how smooth it is Good luck and good woodworking. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G S Haydon Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 First time you do anything it's likely to be utter crap. That's part of the fun, you'll be surprised how good you'll get by getting stuck in and doing it and moving on from the not so good jobs. Nothing in life is perfect and wanting first projects to be flawless will be punishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barron Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Well we don't get better just by thinking and the suggestions above are good. Most mistakes are fixable and are actually good learning opportunities. Marc has some great starter projects (like this years cancer charity build), and you can google "Getting Started in Woodworkings" for other ideas. Since the Holiday season is rapidly approaching, the book "Beautiful Boxes" starts with simple and moves on to more advanced. You can develop skills and build presents all at the same time. Have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 In battle, those who attack may survive. Those who are reluctant usually lose or die. It's always a battle to accomplish anything. Attack. When staying with a friend a while back, and working on his house, he asked me one night if I was planning how I was going to do whatever it was the next day. When I said no, he asked how I would get it done if I hadn't previously planned it out. I said, I'll use my normal method. He asked what that was, and I said, Attack. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I find that making designs in sketchup help tremendously in getting into the shop and being effective and efficient. I really can't say that one too much. Even making a cuttingboard I at least want to know in advance how big the final dimensions are and how much wood I need to glue-up to reach that point. When making the sketchup design I will come across dozens of problems that while in sketchup are easy to solve, but if I were to try to do on the fly would result in a complete loss of all cuts up to that point or a massive redesign which in turn would take many hours. The sketchup process also really excites me because I get to see how the project will look when done. I enlist my girlfriend in this process once I have the final creation. She will have a lot of input about where a stretcher should be or how big to make something or "that table really needs some breadboards" etc and her excitement over a project once she can actually see the design is itself infectious. So bottom line, sketchup is your friend. If you don't know how to use sketchup, no worries, its actually pretty simple to pickup for a lot of things and there are a LOT of videos online to teach you how to do basic things. Literally in under 4 hours of tutorials you will be able to make any piece of furniture that doesn't have curves in sketchup and you will know enough to figure the curves out with a few more tutorials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mzdadoc Posted October 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 This is exactly why I come here every day to unwind after work! Thank you!!! K Cooper it's funny that you mentioned sand something and show her how smooth it is.... I did just that! LOL At my unplugged class we hand planed two boards glued up and totally uneven. Smooth as silk and flat as glass! She was the first person I shared it with and she gets a kick out of my child like enthusiasm.... I know I didn't become a master technician over night but cars always just made sense to me. I'm going to put my two chairs together this weekend and start on my grandsons toy plain!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher74 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I find that over thinking something causes more stress which usually makes me more prone to making a mistake. I used to have a t- shirt that said If it Feels Good, DO IT! That's now my philosophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefmagnus@grics.net Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I make 20 plans and delete 19. The final product doesn't look like the plan. I have 3 days a week of down time with dialysis. So I play a lot with sketchup now. I was bummed when my license for Chief Architect expired but now with sketchup I am back into the plan making business. Chef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I'll gladly trade you my deficiency of time for your dithering. Nothing would stop me from building if I could just get out there some morning with a full night's rest and no other work that had to be done. People in my position find people in your position quite annoying. Quit whining and get out there and BUILD. Learn to enjoy the journey. Screw the mistakes. Build. The more journeys you take, the fewer mistakes you make. That's a poem. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mzdadoc Posted October 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Chef I understand about your three days. I only have one kidney same as my mother. We decided to give one to each of my nephews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Hey doc, would be a good idea to save your first builds to enable you to look back in coming months to see your progress. I started out making decorative boxes and still have my first one. Occasionally I'll learn something new and think, that would have looked neat on my first box. And sometimes, after a good cold beer, I'll look at that first box and think, shoot, I didn't do too bad of a job on it after all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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