For those on the fence about starting a project

[wintersedge]

My story: I have had wood tools for about 3 years. At first it was a few hand tools then I picked up a second hand unisaw, the next year I picked up a lunch box planer, the year after that I bought a 6" jointer and a bandsaw. All the while I picked up woodworking magazines and DVDs with the thought that I would gain more knowledge and then get to work doing serious woodworking. 

This year I finally decided to just dive in, bought a subscription to TWW, bought 50+ bd/ft of wood, a sander and vacuum, and printed out this quote to hang in the shop:

“If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.”

- CS Lewis

 

I also purchased the Benchrafted hardware and am ramping up to tackle the wood bench project. 

 

I hope this give someone the nudge to just dive in and get started making some dust.

 

Cheers

[Guest]

It is interesting, it seems a lot of people go down a route similar to yours where they start accumulating tools with the hopes of building projects but have a hard time get those first few projects started.  For me my path to woodworking was more of an extension of home improvement projects.  I had a SCMS that I bought for a deck project, then did some molding, then saw a wooden bench my wife liked but thought "$800 for that bench, I could build it for a fraction of that cost"  Of course I have since spent multiples of that on tools and machines but find myself getting better with every project. 

 

Some nights I go into the shop and just run a few rough sawn boards through the planer just to get some shop time in.  Right now I have more lumber than I have time for projects but hopefully 2014 will allow some more time.  But it seems everytime I get ready to get started on one of the bigger projects on my list (dining table, 2 coffee tables, bookshelves) something small comes up.  Right now I am on the hook for christmas presents and charity auction projects and those have pushed the real projects to the end of the line. 

 

But don't laugh, the best reason to get into woodworking.....  My wife thinks its kind of hot.  I am a dorky office guy by day so her seeing me doing something constructive and manly is apparently a turn on.  Who knew.  

[sjeff70]

I share - perhaps a common fear - of investing in a (few) tools to only find out woodworking didn't live up to my expectations.

I will find out after buying a table saw. 

[Rapid Roger]

Quite some time ago when I was still working, I bought a cheap scrollsaw for hobby working. When I figured out how the saw worked, I jumped right in and tried to do a fret work piece far over my abilities but, I stuck with it and it came out OK.

Then I needed some way to cut down wood small enough to fit scrolling projects so I bought a used Crapsman table saw for $50.00 and ended up making whatnot shelves and step stools also.

Then as Mama always said "One thing leads to another!"  and the projects got bigger, the tool collection got bigger and better and somewhere along the way, I got a bit better after each project.

I've been retired for eight years now and although I'm not all that good of a woodworker yet, I still enjoy the hobby and now am always wondering what to build next!

I guess what I'm trying to say is "Things take time". You can start from anywhere and NOT have all the tools, and NOT have a lot of talent but, if you want to do something (anything) you can get there eventually but the "magic ferry" isn't  going to make it happen overnight. But, if you hang in there and just keep trying, one day  at a time, someday you will look back and say WOW!! I did do it!

My previous hoby was racing Go Karts...The laydown, enduro type, 100 MPH jobs. There again I started with a $200.00 frame and a $300.00 motor and a whole bunch of STUPID. But, I wanted to road race and this was the cheapest way to get started so, I jumped in and did it.

My first race I finished DAL (dead @$$ last) 13th out of 13 entries. Still, I stuck with it, got a bit of help and education, got better equipment (read more expensive) and within 3 years, I won the points championship for my class. I DID IT!

 

Rog

[Andrew Pritchard]

This mimics my story too. I did a lot of home renovations to a run down house my wife and I bought. As a result I ended up with a lot of woodworking tools.

 

Then I saw Marc's Fancy Raised Panel video and I was hooked. I started collecting tools, upgraded my table saw, got a better router (still not a great one, but it's got a 1/2" collet) etc etc etc. But I still hadn't actually made any projects.

 

This year everything changed. I decided I was going to actually get things done. And to my credit, I have. I built my wife her birthday present - a blanket chest. Bit off way more than I could chew and took 3 months longer than it should have done. Learned a lot doing that project. Not least some of my limitations. Those limitations haven't held me back and I continue to persevere. Winter is now upon us so I've had to move out of my barn workshop into the house. I've taken the time to set up shop in a small room at the back of the house and every Saturday I spend in the shop. Managed to do the whole of the Woodworkers Fighting Cancer young artists easel in there.

 

Next year is going to be even more productive. I spent so long building myself up to get my wife's blanket chest done, I wasted a lot of time. I realize I need to be more disciplined and focused on the projects at hand to get where I want to go at a speed that I'm comfortable with. The move to the much smaller winter workshop has also meant I can train myself to be more organized in my shop. I'll have to be so I can be efficient in that space. I've already started putting up shelves. I've decided that the shelves are not allowed to be deep. Deep enough to allow one tool and one tool only in that space. The discipline will be training myself to put the tool away on it's shelf as soon as I've finished with it to keep the work spaces clear. The shelves are a french cleat system so that I can move the shelf if I find the tool is in an inefficient place. There's a lot of work to do but it's going to be fun doing it!

[JoshC1501]

I also fell into this trap. I was bit by the bug several years back.  I had quite a few tools, most of them not very good.  I had been doing remodeling and home renovation projects for many years.  Usually on a tight budget, so just bought whatever tools I could afford.  When I got the bug, I was convinced that I couldn't get the results I wanted with the tools I had. I did a few small projects, which really didn't turn out that great, thus my beliefs where confirmed and I got frustrated.  I think it was more a "confidence in your tools" thing, then the actual tool!

 

Then early last year I decided to buy a few of the bigger and better tools I thought I needed.  That gave me the confidence and motivation to jump right in.  I actually decided on a good sized project and purchased the rough lumber before I even had the tools.  I just collected them along the way.  Surprised my wife didn't kill me considering how much money I spent!!  I don't regret it though as woodworking has been a great hobby for me. It allows me to unwind from a extremely stressful & demanding career.  

 

Regardless, with every project I take on, I find myself without certain tools that I need.   I am learning to work with what I have.  The challenge is that when I start a project, I have goals and expectations for myself, and if I can't get the result with the tools I have, then I feel the need to go get the right tools.  

 

Josh

[woodbutcher74]

Seems some of you guys beat yourselves up about how long a project takes to complete. Not me. It's not how quick you can get something finished but the journey to completion. If someone asks me to build something for them the first thing I make clear is that they get it when I get it done. No deadlines. Woodworking is my hobby. There is enough pressure at my full time job about productivity.I also have other interests, hunting, fishing,spending time with my family. If I want to go fishing or it,s deer season I go. Also I'm fairly particular about how a project turns out, so if I start having a bad day in my shop and things just aren't going well I go do something else for awhile.I love my time in the shop to much to have to feel like I am forced into be in there. It's my hobby!!!

 A lot of the people on here do this for a living so they might not have a choice but as a hobbyist it's just safer and more enjoyable my way. Just my take on things. 

[sjeff70]

Seems to be a common path.  I've been collecting tools as I finish my home too.  Sometimes trying to complete a project without a better tool for fear it won't be used again, but the tools I buy are good ones.  I've put off wood working until getting this house done.  If I don't discipline myself this way it will never get done.  So after stumbling across Marc's website and podcasts I've gotten more done in the last year than I have in the previous two.  

 

Rule #1: Patience  

Lack of it does many things, among them sucking the enjoyment out of any project.  

But perhaps the worst is the affect it has on the quality of work/craftsmanship.