What has your biggest challenge been?

I seem to run out of hands when attempting to glue-up a project now n then…

Have to learn what to do first so I can do something second, etc.

Frustrating…

I find myself getting all clamps preset for the approximate spacing and going through the motions (dry fit) to make sure it’s going to work when the glue gets applied.

Then, I always need that extra hand… when it gets right down to it!!

More fun.

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=1389"

I was dry fitting a cabinet support tonight… clamps everywhere, it was being contrary. I finally decided to take everything apart before the glue up and arrange them in order (clamps too) so I wouldn’t get confused. That is pretty frustrating.

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Finishing! I still hate doing it. The only reason I do it is because if I don’t my project will look like crap.

I get chills just thinking about it.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Gotta agree with Gary.

Finishing has been the biggest challenge. I have messed up a couple projects. I am slowly developing comfort with different finishes. Watching videos helps, as does practice.

My new mode: Always have a sample board done up before starting the project. So Finish first. Then the project build is less stressful.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Glue ups, definitely.
On the finishing note, John’s tip on finishing should be carved in stone somewhere. When I have deviated from this schedule I have had hell to pay.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Yep, I agree with Gary & Gizmo. Still trying to get that better finish.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Well fitting mortise and tenons. It took awhile, but I finally learned to cut the mortise first (I know that should have been obvious). Still getting the tenons to fit snug is a constant challenge. Sometimes they’re too loose and sometimes they’re too big. Of course, when I trim down those that are too big I tend to go too far and they become too loose. It’s a vicious circle.

-- When you give someone a chance it may well be their last.

hand cut dove tails and cabriolet legs,...but now i teach them…go figure…its a case of persistence pays off…

I would agree that finishing is at the top of the list. Being patience with the project is a big challenge for me as well. I am 40-something with two daughters and a wife, so time can be limited at times. Sometimes I try to hurry too much. I constantly need to tell myself to slow, whether it be with glue-ups or finish work. As far as working with tools, the router is probably my biggest challenge, as I feel less comfortable with it than other tools.

-- Tim from Iowa City, IA

I agree with Tim. Finding patience has always been a problem for me, in all areas of my life. Woodworking has actually helped me be more patient, because the effects of impatience are always evident in the finished project. (See my signature) Finishing, as others have said, is always tough. But life has gotten much easier once I just accepted the fact that stain, glue, and wood filler are not compatible. :-)

My biggest challenge has been trying to accumulate all the tools I want while maintaining a harmonious marriage. I thought about selling the wife and kids into slavery, but could not find any takers.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Staying off this site and getting to the shop (lol)

Patience and DESIGN. I have been able to be more patient by keeping it in the forefront while working. I try to break down the projects into sub projects and concentrate on each until it is finished.

Design is always a challenge for me. Both mechanical and style. I just cannot seem to get the finished project in my minds eye. But I am working on it. I think the mechanical will come with the use of different joints and learning their benefits so I will use the correct one for the particular situation.

Plug away, plug away..

-- Bill - If I knew GRANDKIDS were so much fun I would have had them first.

My two hurdles would have to be finishing and dovetails. I just don’t enjoy the finishing process. Dovetails are just difficult to get a great fit. I am wanting to cut mine by hand for a personal touch and so far they have been less than good o say the least. Hopefully I can get them perfected or close to perfection soon.

-- Steve-o

Finishing is very often a frustration, especially when fueld by time constraints. It is like the little old blue hair lady in the old blue Plymouth Acclaim in front of you on the way to work. She drives at her own slow pace and will get to where she is going in her own sweet time. Meanwhile you are having caniptions over her turtle like pace.
I would say my biggest challenge is a growing pain. I need a seperate room to finish my projects in so that I can continue working in the shop.

Tom

BTW, Russel, you are right on with M&T. When you consider that unless it is “perfect”, a tennon will always be either loose or tight.

-- Anybody can become a woodworker, but only a Craftsman can hide his mistakes.

Bill Hack said it. LJ’s takes too much time. I think design is my biggest hurdle. I have certain types of furniture that I like, but am always trying to come up with something a little different. I have folders full of photos of furniture, buildings, bridges, sculpture, etc, that I’ve saved for inspiration, but it comes very slowly. When I do come up with a new idea, it usually takes months, if ever to get to the building stage. Mainly due to making sure that the joinery, techniques, etc will make it a piece that will stand the test of time.
As far as some of the other things mentioned. Take one and become obsessed with it until you have it down pat. I’ve done that with joinery, finishes, methods of work. I guarantee that someone will always come up with something new for you to learn about.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

Jumping in the boat with Bill and Tim.

Design for a project takes much more effort than execution. I’ve downloaded ‘sketchup’, but if it’s like my effforts with other cad programs, I’ll be back to pencil and paper in no time….

My biggest challenge is finding blocks of time were I can work on a project. I find that I need a couple of hours to embrace what I’m doing. 15 minutes here and there is only enough time to get started and shut down again…

Q

-- I don't make sawdust...I produce vast quantities of "Micro Mulch."

I’m with many of you on finishing a project. But, when I get to a point where I’m “uninterested” in the build (the finish), then I tend to lose focus. The assembled, unfinished project might sit in the corner collecting dust while I’m off building something else…. adult AAD, I guess… lol. I’m trying to slow down, and finish a small scrap piece at the very beginning of the project while I’m still really gung-ho, then I have that for inspiration for the resulting finish on the piece that I’m building. I’ve found that this helps me go all the way and get the project done, instead of letting it sit.

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Right now it’s making my Incra Jig work properly, make half blind dovetails, for a drawer I’m making. Incra supplies an excellent how-to DVD, 1 hour long, showing how to use it. I think the problem is my short term memory, AAD (Adult Attention Disorder), the more gray hair you get the shorter it gets. ;0)
I do, like most of you have problems with finishing and joinery is another.
John Gray in Effingham, IL

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Some of you have mentioned dovetails…. I just read an interesting article by Chris Schwarz about how dovetails have evolved from their original purpose. Before the days of good glue, they were just a quick-and-dirty solution for holding joints together. Pre-20th century woodowrkers didn’t care what they looked like, because they almost always covered them up with molding. Now, hand-cutting tight dovetails has become some sort of woodworkers badge of honor, but this is not really based on longstanding tradition…. it’s more of a modern fad.

I don’t mean to downplay the high degree of skill required to hand-cut a nice, tight dovetail. Personally, my shop time is just too limited to spend that much of it trying to perfect one small aspect of my woodworking.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Well, Charlie… then I’d fit right into the Pre-20th century woodworker class… I’m still looking at light thru mine!... lol

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Right now, our biggest challenge is getting out in the shop. We have been helping everyone else finish up projects (all of which will be repaid with them helping us when we start in on our big projects) that we haven’t had time to do any of our own. I think I am going to take our two rugrats down stairs today and see what kind of organization I can come up with so we can get the stuff moved out of the garage into the basement. When that gets done, then we can run the propane for heat, a couple extra 110V outlets for the Heater & AC, insulate and sheet rock the garage. Hopefully after that I can get to building our Torsion box, so we have an assembly table for my MIL’s laundry cupboards that we are going to build for her. Somewhere in all of this we need to replace our patio door and four bedroom windows and do a little remodeling on our kid’s bathroom.

So the lack of TIME to ourselves is our biggest challenge.

-- “There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper … and the buyers who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.” John Ruskin

Has to be design for me right now. Trying to learn Sketchup and it’s whipping me.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

Measure once cut twice is it?

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

I would have to say for me its coming up with a project in my mind. If I have a picture of something I can do it. I wish I had more of a artistic mind. I think that has been really hard for me. Also drawing is a big pit fall for me. I have no idea where to even start on that. But if I can see something I can do it. Also finishing work for me is not fun. I love doing the whole project, then I have to sand, sanding sucks. Thats it for me.

-- Davesfunwoodworking

im with betsy skitchup’s got me goggled but i’ll get there i wont let the bugger beat me lol

andy

-- cut it saw it scrap it

I forgot to mention that sanding for me is a part of finishing. Design and execution have always been fairly easy for me, but when I get to the finishing part I tend to do it as fast as I can just to get it over with.

Maybe I just have more patience with the execution part. I have done many things over and over until I got them right.

As far as design goes, I think you just need to just have a general picture in your mind of what you want and then start building. I know for a fact that if you have drawn out detailed plans the build goes much faster. All your thinking is done up front and it’s just grunt work actually making it.

CAD programs aren’t really necessary, but do help greatly if you can’t get the entire picture in your mind. I find that a rough hand drawing can work just as well to keep you on track.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Patience… or lack thereof. How many times have I, in the rush to finish a project, rush into the cutting wood part only to find that I measured wrong. Like I just did five minutes ago. Argh!

-- There are three kinds of people... those who can count, and those who can't

My biggest challenge is trying to keep my shop clean, & organized.

Whenever I start a new project, I spend to much time digging for everything.

My bench top my tablesaw, my router table, are always cluttered.

My problem is, when I finish something, I never get straightened up before the next project.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

carving and sculpting was my challenge.. I needed to get out of simple linear shapes so I took a chair course and learned how to do it. I still have a long way to go but my confidence went from zero to 7 out of 10 now.

-- making sawdust....

Getting my guys to actually do something without me having to tell them what and how to do it. For once, I’d like some one to understand what they are building and use a brain cell or two to solve problems and take responsibility for what they are doing.

Instead I get….”The saw doesn’t work….” (plug it in.) “How come this doesn’t fit….?” (because you cut it wrong.) “How long is this supposed to be….?” (what does the paperwork say?) “What paperwork….? (The paperwork you’re supposed to punch in on and be working from.)

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist

My biggest problem is finishing a project. Not as in staining, shellac, top coat etc. I actually like that part, and really like trying out different recipe’s.
No my problem is getting the job to completion. I will get started on a project, maybe get half way thru, then start on another. And if I have a commission piece to do, then I usually build a prototype first to work out the kinks. I get just far enough along on the prototype, that I can finish the commission piece. Problem is I dont go back an finish the prototype before I start working on something else. Consequently I have about 6 to 8 projects in various stages sitting around in the shop. I keep telling myself that I must make a new rule:
NO STARTING A NEW PROJECT TILL I COMPLETE ONE !
But, heck I dont listen to myself anymore.

-- MISSION FURNITURE-My mission is to build furniture

saying no. i think that was my biggest overcoming. saying no i’m not going to use pine even though it is cheap and spending a bit more money on hardwoods. also trying to convince customers to go hardwood (unless they want a natural finish on the pine). and for finishing i am able to do more because hardwoods are easier to finish especially stain and i am able to dye them up to look like other woods. the spray gun i am planning on getting will really help me to do this better though. i think that spending a bit more money on hardwoods has really helped me and my woodworking a lot.

TAWW, we used to have a saying at the Gallery, when I was up in Maine: “No P’s!” Paintings, pottery, or pine.
I charge a “Pine Penalty” when someone wants something made out of it. If a piece falls over, or you drop something on it, you’ve got repairs to make. No, Sir, it’s not cheaper!
Someone said they hated sanding. I do to, but I started sanding pieces as I got a group of them cut out and broke up the long chore of standing there sanding an entire piece at one time. Now it makes it something that’s just part of the process and I don’t mind doing it anymore.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

My biggest challenge is prepping lumber with only hand planes. I can’t stand it, I suck at it, but it’s my only way to go so I have to learn how to do it!

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com

Finding enough shop time is always a problem and finishing ranks right up there on the challenge list too. But my biggest hurdle, and one I still haven’t completely gotten through my thick head is learning to never work without a plan or sketch of absolutely everything. I’ve gotten a lot better at it but every time I think I can take a short cut or wing it as I go, I find myself at least working inefficiently or at worst having to recut some parts. I’ve been slowly learning how to accomplish this in SketchUp but 10 sq/inch graph paper works fine too.

-- Use the fence Luke

Doug S.

oddly enough another one of my hurdles is the exact opposite of yours. learning to use the plans as a guideline and not a law. like many people in the beginning i stuck to a plan like it was the law. but now i have learned to flow free and have what takes place in the field dictate what i do. i can get a good idea with a sketch and always sketch it first but only roughly and then work the rest out in the field with the actual wood and everything actually there cut to what it actually is. that has helped me out alot and everything seems to fit great now because it is all cut to what is actually there and not what should be there.

Finding enough space in the shopto work on something. LOL

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Grumpy, I have the space- but- mine is just really unorganized. So, as there is stuff EVERYWHERE, I “really” don’t have the space… lol. I need to get organized.

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Steve,I do a lot of work outside the shop like assembly sanding & glueups. One thing though, no matter how cluttered thing can get I can still find things without a lot of looking.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

That’s why I like my shop at the lake. It’s outdoors, & lots of elbow room.

The wind blows the fine sawdust away.

The shop at home is pretty crowded.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I did it again… in my enthusiasm to see the final product, I did the glue up before it was ready to be glued up. Argh!

-- There are three kinds of people... those who can count, and those who can't

Slacker, I thought I was the only one that did that! Sometimes my enthusiasm gets the best of me, and all I can think of is “Hurry Hurry Hurry!” (Sometimes I don’t think at all…. lol)

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Glue, Glue, and more Glue. That is my answer and that is my problem. I have never got the glue thing down and with intarsia that’s what you do. You glue and glue. and I always glue to much, scared to death that middle piece is going to pop out right when you don’t want it to! Which in turn causes a domino effect unless you glue right. I must have every kind of glue made when I finally came to the realization it was not the glue but the gluer. And that I still have not figured it out.This is an interesting thread . I happen to love sanding. I am THRILLED to sand something. Of course I am not sanding a big piece of furniture. Just little pieces, but I am always waiking around with sand paper and something that needs sanding. Maybe we could make a bartering system, sanding for glueing! LOL!!!
PEACE!!!

-- Allison, Northeastern Ca. Remember, Amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic!

OH, B.S., It’s getting up in the morning!

-- Odie, Confucius say, "He who laughs at one's self is BUTT of joke".

1. Getting the sharpest edge on the blade of a hand plain and using it correctly.
2. Sanding, sanding, sanding: I hate it! (the challenge is trying to enjoy doing it)
3. Like other getting the right finish.

Here’s a tip for those without enough hands during glue up – milk jugs filled with sand. The will keep wood stable until the clamps are applied.

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

Time in the shop.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

Getting wireless internet to work properly & the lack of technical support from the provider.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

This is easy for me to answer, I see a couple others said the same thing… PATIENCE! Woodworking is actually helpin me to learn patience. I’m still trying to fully break the habit of rushing or shortcutting as it’s always a mistake when I do.

-- Tim D. - Woodstock, GA

Cussing! !!^&**# When I really mess something up and have to sit back and fix it. I’ve yet to find something I can’t fix, but when I’m doing frustration I can always find ways to screw it up more.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Like Tim and others have said patience. While WW has helped me to learn patience, I still have a long way to go. Probably 90 % of my mistakes and problems are directly due to a lack of patience, the other 10 % are do to not knowing what the heck I am doing which is in a way related to a lack of patience I suppose.

-- Glenn, New Mexico

My biggest frustration so far comes down to an epiphany I had about a week ago when I was dry-fitting the pieces to a very simple pine box I’m building.

I don’t have any way currently to properly joint or plane my pieces, and I realized that the most important lesson I need to learn is what many on this post have mentioned… patience. I want to charge ahead so I convince myself that even though I don’t have the precision fittings that I could get if I could joint/plane my pieces, I’m gonna do it anyway, and then I get frustrated because they don’t fit properly!

I think it’s really a matter of me thinking that tools will solve my problems, but the real epiphany was that I realized that until I learn to be patient, and do it the right way, all the tools in the world won’t make me a good woodworker!

-- Ryno

sanding! i used to hit it with 120 by hand for all of 2 seconds and say i was done. that changed though. now i think my projects come out better somewhat because i sand more.

I do not mind sanding, but putting on the finish is my biggest challenge. Dealing with the runs, drips, staining, etc can make a good project look bad. So I keep working at ways to make it better. Sometimes finishing pieces before assembly has worked ok. The pieces are smaller and easier to move around to stain and put on the finish. Once the finish is on, it helps with keeping the project clean during glue ups. If the glue squeezes out, it is easy to clean off of varnish or shellac. Then I do not have to worry about uneven stains, missed spots in sanding, etc.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

My biggest challenge…. That would be the first time I bought woodworking equipment. I had to explain the benefits of buying the equipment to my wife. Let’s just say that she would make any union negotiator feel humble. So after almost selling my soul, I was able to begin my love affair with making sawdust.

Shop cleaning. My children used to do it cheap. Then they heard about child labor laws. The price skyrocketed overnight.

I dunno, they begged and begged to use the shop vac. Somewhere after the first two times, the thrill was gone for them. Kinda like, “Daddy let me (insert wash dishes, vacuuming, push the mower here). Please, please? I can do it, I know I can. It will be fun!” Yeah, right. It’s fun for a time or two, then it becomes a boring chore.

-- Randy, Tupelo, MS ~ May I become more like the Master Carpenter every day.

My biggest hurdle??? Patience. I want it, and I want it now. So patience is a skill I’m still learning and still having the hardest time overcoming. Taking patience with repetitive cuts; patience with sanding; patience with finishing.

But you know, when it’s done and everyone says “That’s sooo cool!” then having the patience was all the more worthwhile.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Organization is tough. I do good work but my shop has a lot of tools and it’s awfully tight, making it difficult to get everything put away enough to actually do stuff.

Large pieces are a serious challenge…..I did this bookcase there, and had NO space to work. I’m surprised that it worked out. The pieces are almost 4’ x 8’ x 14’ deep, and I had to wing it and hope that measurements were good, b/c there wasn’t room to test-fit it in the shop.

I have this terrible problem of using a tool, pencil, tape measure, etc… then, instead of putting it back where it needs to go, I just set it down. I hate it… can’t break myself of the habit. I’m always searching, searching, searching…. I do more searching than work…. it’s terrible.

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

execution of a design. Not in the terms of actually getting shop time, but I can go out to the shop and spend all day measruing and re-measuring and worrying about messing up. Lately I have been making myself just jump in and build. Though I can fall in love with a piece of lumber I have to remember worst case scenario if I mess up I can get another piece.

TopE5, that is the mark of a true craftsman, Sir… the ability to fix and hide his/her mistakes.

I’m the same way when I remodel a house… everyone is stunned and inside I’m thinking, “don’t look at my mitered crown molding that I shimmed, don’t look at the extra quarter round on the baseboard…”

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Yes Steve, but I bet you are the only one that notices it. The trick is not to point it out to anyone.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

My biggest challenge, is staying focused on one project or sticking to a design!

Callum

-- Look great, get your TTK merchandise now! http://www.printfection.com/thetimberkid/ Check out my site http://thetimberkid.blogspot.com/

Acceptance.

Knowing when to say when. As my girl says, “Better is the enemy of Good”. Which is to say that sometimes the next step is backwards.

Doing it instead of talking it. Someone else will always be better, so just do your thing. If you should happen to meet the “world’s greatest woodworker” good on you. After exchanging pleasantries she/he will probably want to see your shop, your d/c, and wonder what you do with your offcuts . . .

Making the leap between nearly finished, and finished.

For the complete skinny on this, go see my blog on Procrastination.

For the abridged version: I get to a point where I’ve succeeded in getting a number of steps completed on the project, and then I hit a wall where I’m afraid to go on because my luck is against me and the next step is the one that will mess it up. I dither, I sit and look at the unfinished piece, run through my mind on the next sequence, measure everything up, and repeat this particular sentence upwards of two to three weeks, until something clicks and I execute the same things that I agonized over. 90% of the time it goes as planned. The 10% bothers me some, but I just go get more wood (if needed) to fix the mistake and do it again, usually with success.

-- Making scrap with zen-like precision - Woodbutchery

Woodbutchery, don’t feel bad… I’ve been “making a curio cabinet for a couple of my wife’s cookie jars for about three years… lol. I look at it, then tell myself, “ah, I’ll get it later… don’t have time for that right now.”

I’m guilty too.

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

I agonize over the degrees of accuracy, the order of application needed to complete a predesigned plan, avoiding deviation from that plan, and the patience required for cleanup and finish. Carpentry and woodworking both require the above, but fine woodwork has a very low tolerance for imperfection compared to the forgiving nature of carpentry. Shims, caulk, or trim relied upon for carpentry work cannot be relied upon for their intended purpose in any fine woodworking project, relaxed labor time, precise measurement, and intricate joinery are not an technique often demanded on a job site. When these requirements are necessary or not will have a major effect on success or failure determining the final outcome. To apply these when required, neither going above or below their appropriate application is easier said than done.

-- Ciao, gth.

My wife asked for a spinning wheel. Good grief, I had never made a spoked wheel or knew anything about how they were made. Further, my 53 year old lathe does not have outboard turning ability. First thing…off to the public library to see if I could find anything to throw light on the subject. Not much there. In any case,
I cut segments to make a 24” wheel. I then bandsawed them to roughly inner & outer diameters leaving lugs to screw them to a backer plate. I marked the backer plate for locating 5 spokes & transfered these locations to the segments. I kept the scraps from the bandsawing & used them to center the segments on the drillpress for drilling. I then used double sided tape to re-affix the segments back on the backer plate plus screws through the lugs. I mounted a 1hp router onto my RAS, centered the backerplate assy under the router & machined the inner & outer dia. of the wheel , plus a face recess, flipped the wheel segments & machined the face recess on that side. Next the segments were removed, drilled for dowels in each end & then glued up on a flat surface. The next step was to route a recess in the outer edge of the rim for the drive cords. The hub was then turned, then split in half on the bandsaw, then bolted back together & the spoke holes drilled. The spokes were then turned & cut to precisely the same length.
For glue up the wheel rim had to be perfectly flat with a porthole for the hub. Glue in the wheel rim spoke holes as well as the half of the split hub, then a bolt pressed through the axle hole in the hub, glue applied to the second half of the split hub, slid down over the bolt to seat on the first hub & spokes. Nut & washer on the bolt & tightened.
After set-up & with some nervousness replaced the bolt with a smooth fit dowel & tested the wheel by spinning it. Whoooo Hooo it rotated smoothly with no wobble. The rest of the spinning wheel was a snap.
Hope the pic comes out okay. If it doesn’t I’ll put the pic on the projects page.

Lee

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v161/LeeInEdmonton/Spinning_Wheel.jpg[/IMG]

-- Lee

Rats…the pic failed, so the spinning wheel pic has been posted on the “projects” page.

Thanks for looking.

Lee

-- Lee

Lee-

I’m terribly impressed… that sounds like a hard one to work thru. The spinning wheel looks great, it turned out fantastic. Here is the link for those who are interested….

—Steve

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Building my shop is my current albatross. Been at it over a year, and though I’m close to finishing, it has been a huge undertaking.
(no comments, Doug)

-- Ned - 2B1ASK1 http://nedswoodshop.blogspot.com

I’m such a newbie to woodworking, everything is challenging. Perfectly straight cuts, chip out, finishing, learning my equipment, you name it. But the biggest challenge I’m facing is not that different from many of you more experienced “arborial reconfiguration specialists” (love that!)—finding the time. I’ve got so many things I want to try and do, and so little time to devote to it. I’ve got projects lined up that at this rate will take the next 3 years to complete.

I’m having so much fun with this, even though it’s very challenging for me right now. It’s just frustrating that I’ve finally found a hobby to get excited about (and can afford), but can’t find the time to invest in it.

-- "The only thing that counts is faith, expressing itself in love." --Galatians 5:6

Currently, acquiring small quantities of acceptable lumber is my biggest problem.

-- Go STARS!

My biggest challenge has been trying to find the other end of my thumb. Second is hand cutting dove tails.The biggest challange of all time is covincing the wife that I really need that new tool.

-- 10 in 9 1/2 out the otherside. watch them finger eating tablesaws

Finishing… especially since I do all my woodworking and finishing in the same area. I have to vacuum every little speck and then wait a few hours for the dust in the air to settle and then vacuum again. All to make sure no dust gets on the piece while it dries.