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08-06-2015 04:16 PM
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Hello men and women of the dust, another great day. I have been going through with-drawl from woodworking, been at it for 40yrs now and seem to be loosing interest. My memory goes back to when I used to try and encourage the “old-timers” to stick with it. After all they would surely miss it when they stopped. Now that I can finally claim old timer status I am beginning to understand their train of thought. The mind is as sharp as ever, but the joints and muscles seem to be uncooperative lately. Arthritus has invaded the fingers and so most days three hours is all I can take. The best way to describe it is, I no longer see challenges in woodworking, yet the old time machines I started out with still hold fascination. I have had the new machines and have found some advantages, yet, there is nothing like an old time table saw or band saw or wood lathe, to make you feel at home. Started out doing everything by hand, first 10 years and then started to put the shop together with tools that guys would push to the curb because of some malfunction. So, over the years I have built my shop from fixing and replacing, then trading or selling for a piece of equipment that seemed better than what I had. At this stage of woodworking, I find I still have interest in fixing and repairing the old beauties, so have started to rebuild the shop with machines form the 20’s and 30’s. Thanks for letting me rant, here’s a short prayer I have on the door of the shop, “Lord let those who do not work in wood, find something else that’s half as good. Clarkie.
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3 replies so far
#1 posted 11-17-2015 02:06 AM
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I am close to that same boat or at least on the dock to that boat! I used to spend hours in my basement shop nearly every day and sometimes late into the night. Now I have more tools and more time but much less inclination. I believe that the contributing factors to my lack of woodworking drive are:
- I see projects from others that are orders of magnitude better than I want to put into a project.
- I just hate the clean up after the cutting, planing, sanding, and finishing.
- I am retired and the cost of the wood seems to be going out of sight.
- My favorite lumber yard closed after 110 years and I don’t feel like creating a new relationship at another yard.
- My rheumatoid arthritis gets annoying in my cold garage shop.
-- "I never met a board I didn't like!"
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#2 posted 11-17-2015 02:24 AM
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I just retired…and my hobby I was going to pursue was woodworking. Been planning on spending all my new spare time on it,but nothing gets done! I understand the cleanup dislike….hate that too. I find I do more putzing around than woodworking….there’s always a tool to be fixed or sharpened, or something to be cleaned or derusted. I also got a big kick out of fixing old machines…fixed up and old (1960) unisaw, delta 14” band saw,etc. After taking them apart and putting them back together I got certain feeling of mastery over how the machine worked, and wasn’t afraid of breaking it. But now it seems driving myself is harder to do,than when I worked for someone else..didn’t expect that.
-- Al,New Jersey -To thine own self be true
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#3 posted 11-17-2015 12:49 PM
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Hello old novice and Big Al, thanks for responding. It always helps to know others are going through the woodworking blues, lol. A few things I’ve been doing to keep going is to watch more of the old dvd’s on woodworking, not that helpful though. Then I started ordering materials for reading and have found that I set them aside also after looking through them for a couple days. Finally stopped thinking about what I couldn’t do, or wouldn’t do, and started right back in the shop that I had come to dislike. Now I find I’m gaining on the time spent in the shop and appreciating the knowledge of what I am able to accomplish. Part of the idea of losing interest was listening to people who claim our choice of work is a thing of the past. I’m sure that the “old timers” heard that also. I praise the Lord that I have the ability He gave me, and hopefully will now find the time to pass it along to another. Thanks for listening and have fun, make some dust.
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