Woodworking #101 Part #1

Ok, now I'll tell you everything you need to know about woodworking... Well... maybe not... The truth is I am certainly not the greatest woodworker on the planet, I don't create great works of art or stunning pieces fit to be seen in some posh gallery downtown. But then again that's not really the point of it, or at least it isn't for me.

I've been woodworking my whole life with little more than simple hand tools and have loved every minute of it. I know people that make absolutely fantastic creations out of wood and probably don't get any more enjoyment out of it than I do. You see, when it comes down to it, I am not really overly concerned with what I'm making, or how impressive it comes out, as long as it comes out reasonably decent, I'm good with it. I'm not trying to impress anyone.

For me there is just something so magically relaxing about the sound of a hand plane sliding over a piece of knotty pine, or block sanding some rough hewn lumber down to a silky smooth finish. Beveling an edge purely by eye and having it come out perfectly equal just brings a warm fuzzy feeling all over that's hard to describe. I find reading or watching movies very relaxing, but with them, when you are done, there is nothing for you to grab a hold of, nothing solid you can hold in your hands and say to yourself "I made this".

These pictures show a display stand I made the other week for a replica blunderbuss pistol I picked up at the medieval fair over the summer, and this is a good example of exactly what I am talking about. I really liked this pistol and didn't want to put it away until next years fair, so I got out my tools and went to work on a new piece of pine. This isn't en extravagant project, it didn't take weeks of meticulous, labor-intensive work, in fact except for the staining and lacquering, and the entire thing was completed in a few hours. But it really made for a relaxing Sunday afternoon, it wasn't some massive job that took weeks and weeks and hundreds of dollars, and when I was done I had a nice functional item that I could be proud of.

If you watch some of the woodworking shows, you may get the idea that you have to have thousands of dollars in equipment filling up your garage (I don't even have a garage, this was done in my kitchen, 'women insert derogatory remark here'), and spend thousands more on the finest exotic woods, and have master designs laid out, but this just isn't the case. You don't have to break the bank to make some very nice things, and I didn't even have any plans for this, I just sort of followed the vision in my head, planning it as I went.

It really is a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon and you just might find your wife would prefer you creating something nice, even if you have to take over the kitchen for an afternoon, rather than you sitting there watching football games all day... well, maybe as long as you clean up the sawdust afterwards and don't cut into the kitchen counter top...