The Eternal Attraction of Good Woodworking
One of the joys of woodworking is that it takes you out of the rut of daily life. For a few hours in the evening or on the weekend, you are transported to a place where your job, your family, and a million other vexations do not intrude. You're busy with much more important things like making the perfect cut, or sanding the table top silky smooth, or routing the perfect edge. The beauty of woodworking is how it totally engages both the hands and the mind in the creation of beauty. It is just dangerous enough, just complicated enough, just captivating enough that your concentration must be totally on the task before you.
In a way, it's like a mini sabbatical from your life. After a couple hours in the shop, I come away tired, but relaxed. It's the same sort of feeling I get from a long walk or from a bike ride. In addition, I also have a feeling of accomplishment. Something got done while I was out there. A board transformed into a face frame. A sheet of plywood became a cupboard. Something ordinary turned into something beautiful.
This whole idea runs counter to our consumer society. We are supposed to buy what we need ready to go, we then use it up or more likely throw it out when it goes out of style so we can buy some more. It is almost subversive that we set out to spend way too much time, to build something of such quality that it will clearly last much longer than we will. Very little else in this age is built that way. I can only think of expensive jewelery as being made that way. Cars are built to last 5-8 years. Expressways are supposed to last 20 years. Cheap furniture should last between 3 and 5 years. Expensive furniture should last 20 to 30 years. Appliances are only good for 5 to 10 years. Not even marraiges last as long as they used to. If you are a woodworker, you are bucking a trend that has swept the rest of society.
If you think about it, our woodworking will come to represent our age in the future. Long after everything else is just a layer in a landfill, our woodworking will still be displayed as a prized antique.
In a way, it's like a mini sabbatical from your life. After a couple hours in the shop, I come away tired, but relaxed. It's the same sort of feeling I get from a long walk or from a bike ride. In addition, I also have a feeling of accomplishment. Something got done while I was out there. A board transformed into a face frame. A sheet of plywood became a cupboard. Something ordinary turned into something beautiful.
This whole idea runs counter to our consumer society. We are supposed to buy what we need ready to go, we then use it up or more likely throw it out when it goes out of style so we can buy some more. It is almost subversive that we set out to spend way too much time, to build something of such quality that it will clearly last much longer than we will. Very little else in this age is built that way. I can only think of expensive jewelery as being made that way. Cars are built to last 5-8 years. Expressways are supposed to last 20 years. Cheap furniture should last between 3 and 5 years. Expensive furniture should last 20 to 30 years. Appliances are only good for 5 to 10 years. Not even marraiges last as long as they used to. If you are a woodworker, you are bucking a trend that has swept the rest of society.
If you think about it, our woodworking will come to represent our age in the future. Long after everything else is just a layer in a landfill, our woodworking will still be displayed as a prized antique.
posted by Greg the woodworker | 12:14 PM
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