One Man's Dilemma
I've got a small problem. I've accepted a new job that requires that I travel 100% of the time during the week. I do get the H bonus with it however. I get to keep the house. Right now, I think the new job means no more fading into my workshop for a few hours of woodworking at the end of the day. I've gotten quite fond of taking big boards and making piles of saw dust and little boards out of them. I know it's not a marketable skill, but still I am good at it, and I take pride in the fact that there is so much sawdust at the end. It's not unlike the purest form of whittling practiced down south where the goal is to produce a pile of uniform fine shavings at the end of the day.
There aren't many who can aspire to this highest form. The pressure to actually make something gets overpowering at times. Only those who are totally dedicated to wasting vast amounts of time can become a true whittler. I personally have seen more than one potential whittler meet his downfall when suddenly he realizes that he is making a whistle or a chain.
It's the same with me. So far I've resisted actually making something useful with all that equipment out in the workshop. Instead I make different qualities of wood dust. I like the look of long shavings that come off the planer. If you want volume, the planer is your tool. The router is also one of my favorites. It too can produce copious wood chips, plus there is the attraction of having sharp tool steel whirling around at a hellacious clip. I don't want to leave out sanding dust either. The stuff is so fine that it cakes your hair, and grinds into your clothes to the point where it is impossible to get out. This is my wife's favorite too.
I'm going to hate leaving all this behind. My wood working during the week will have to be confined to thumbing through copies of Fine Woodworking magazine in airports waiting for flights. Life is full of these funny little trade offs. I have to work to keep the house that has the workshop that I cannot use because I have to work. I'm not sure that I get the joke though.
There aren't many who can aspire to this highest form. The pressure to actually make something gets overpowering at times. Only those who are totally dedicated to wasting vast amounts of time can become a true whittler. I personally have seen more than one potential whittler meet his downfall when suddenly he realizes that he is making a whistle or a chain.
It's the same with me. So far I've resisted actually making something useful with all that equipment out in the workshop. Instead I make different qualities of wood dust. I like the look of long shavings that come off the planer. If you want volume, the planer is your tool. The router is also one of my favorites. It too can produce copious wood chips, plus there is the attraction of having sharp tool steel whirling around at a hellacious clip. I don't want to leave out sanding dust either. The stuff is so fine that it cakes your hair, and grinds into your clothes to the point where it is impossible to get out. This is my wife's favorite too.
I'm going to hate leaving all this behind. My wood working during the week will have to be confined to thumbing through copies of Fine Woodworking magazine in airports waiting for flights. Life is full of these funny little trade offs. I have to work to keep the house that has the workshop that I cannot use because I have to work. I'm not sure that I get the joke though.
posted by Greg the woodworker | 8:21 PM
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