Becoming Confident in Woodworking
Beginners really don't know what they don't know, and every new thing excites them. That enthusiasm carries them through a rocky road of poor and mediocre results (or in the case of the careful few, excellent if lengthy success). I remember the first shot of that enthusiasm, when moving into a new apartment and knowing I needed bookshelves.
On a plan provided by my prior roommate (who had built a set of shelves for my previous room) I bought a router, a 3/4" router bit, a set of countersinks, a pile of 1x10 pine, adjustable-height feet, a can of stain, and a box of wood screws. I already had a jigsaw, a couple of clamps, and a circular saw that my roommate and I bought at a yardsale. And some how, miraculously, I cut dadoes and rabbets, drilled holes, cut away the base to accommodate floor moldings, and ended up with two new sets of bookshelves that matched the ones I already had.
I didn't know I didn't know what I was doing: I just did it. And my wife and I are still using those bookshelves today:
They are simple, functional, and plenty strong. Many years passed before I was able to dive into a project like that again without worrying, and ultimately poisoning my experience with feelings of inadequacy.
Over the last few weeks, as I've worked to fix some problems with our house—like the rotted riser I wrote about earlier this month—that confidence has come back full force, and I've realized how much of success is just confidence and a willingness to act. It's important to know that you will achieve the results you want. It's good to forget what you don't know and be sure in your woodworking. And you don't have to have a lot of experience for that to be true.
On a plan provided by my prior roommate (who had built a set of shelves for my previous room) I bought a router, a 3/4" router bit, a set of countersinks, a pile of 1x10 pine, adjustable-height feet, a can of stain, and a box of wood screws. I already had a jigsaw, a couple of clamps, and a circular saw that my roommate and I bought at a yardsale. And some how, miraculously, I cut dadoes and rabbets, drilled holes, cut away the base to accommodate floor moldings, and ended up with two new sets of bookshelves that matched the ones I already had.
I didn't know I didn't know what I was doing: I just did it. And my wife and I are still using those bookshelves today:
They are simple, functional, and plenty strong. Many years passed before I was able to dive into a project like that again without worrying, and ultimately poisoning my experience with feelings of inadequacy.
Over the last few weeks, as I've worked to fix some problems with our house—like the rotted riser I wrote about earlier this month—that confidence has come back full force, and I've realized how much of success is just confidence and a willingness to act. It's important to know that you will achieve the results you want. It's good to forget what you don't know and be sure in your woodworking. And you don't have to have a lot of experience for that to be true.
Labels: Personal Note
posted by rookster at
11:26 PM
3 Comments:
Good for you. Woodworking is a great hobby if you always know where your fingers are. In in 36 years of woodworking, I never make a saw cut without stopping to think about where I'm standing/sitting and where my hands/fingers are. I did however once cut through the power cord on my radial arm saw. I attribute that to old (60s)age. I stumbled on this blog, and will return later to read other posts. I like it. Ken
Karl,
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. You've hit on the reason for the saying. You dove into the bookshelf project not knowing that you didn't know what you were really doing. You just knew you needed bookshelves. The stair riser project too was driven more by need than by a desire to increase your woodworking knowledge or skills.
When it comes to the projects you "want" to do, that aren't really driven so much by need, the knowledge you've gained as a woodworker gives you just enough pause to wonder if you really know enough to build the project. When the project is driven by need, you don't worry so much about proper technique or aesthetics, you concentrate on getting the job done satisfactorily in a timely manner. That’s exactly what the professionals do (or at least what I do). Sure, I try to improve my skills, quality and speed with every project but the primary motivation is to get the job done properly and profitably.
I just spoke with another professional woodworker friend who is thinking of starting a woodworking school. The discussion revolved around how much over-thinking there is in woodworking today. The television shows, magazines and books come up with hundreds of convoluted ways of doing even the simplest things. As humans we often like to over-engineer things or make things much more complicated in our minds. Much like your stair riser, sometimes you just need to remove the old and put in the new and move on. Nice job, btw.
Ken: I imagine it was a scare when you cut through the RAS cord. Congratulations on keeping the fingers so far: I've been reading and rereading the Mark Adams series on safety in Popular Woodworking in hopes of keeping my fingers.
Chuck: I think you have it right. The need (or at least the focus outside of the project for its own sake) helps keep focused on what matters.
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