Woodworkers – What makes a Great One?
- on 11.15.08
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Sawdust in My Veins
Hey, can I ask you a question? What separates a good woodworker from a great woodworker? Heck I might just as well ask you to predict who will win the next Super Bowl, or where will the stock market go on Monday. The answers to those interesting questions have as many answers, some of which may even be correct, as there are people who reply. We all can think of attributes that make up the great woodworkers.
For me the answer to that question is also a curse that marks many woodworkers, the desire for perfection. I have been told by my wife that I am my own worse critic, and I have to believe that I am not the only woodworker who lives under that same umbrella. How many times have you spent hours, days or weeks working on a project, and some place in the project you made one or two small mistakes? A cut that wasn’t perfect or a blemish in the finish that you can only see if you hold your head just right, If you hold your head a little to the left, and hold the light in your other hand and look…………
I recently read an exceptional editorial in Fine Woodworking that pointed out as a woodworker we shouldn’t be so harsh on our selves. Most people, non woodworkers that is, can’t imagine ever taking a piece of raw stock and turning it into a finely crafted woodworking project. To you and me, we can’t imagine not doing that.
I recently installed the last of the kitchen cabinets, that I have spent the last year building, standing back looking at them all installed on the wall, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit personnel awe, “ I really built those”. But then I saw that joint that I goofed up on the base cabinet next to the sink. My wife, who has helped with most of the finishing, loves them and can’t see the imperfections.
So am I a perfectionist? Nope, Just a humble woodworker. So I’ll go on to the next project hoping to perfect my skills just a little bit more.
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