I am incredibly passionate about woodworking, but I find myself at a crossroads, unsure of where to begin. The artistry and craftsmanship of working with wood captivate me, and I yearn to bring my creative visions to life.
So Anyone, have idea about this one kindly reply
Replies
At the risk of sounding like "that guy"... just build something. Ideally something you can use every day. Cutting board, TP holder; it doesn't matter... make some sawdust and enjoy the results.
Figure out what part of woodworking you are passionate about and start there. Is it the feel of the wood? The smell of sawdust? The feeling of accomplishment?
Generally, I say start with the basics. Straight, flat and square. Maybe a cheese slicer or a cutting board. Mix it up with some nice edges or inlays. A table is next. Work your way up to a box with some clever joinery. Once you can make a box, you can make anything because everything is a box. A dresser is just a big box with a bunch of little boxes inside of it.
You will probably find some things appeal to you more than others. Do those things. Enjoy the journey.
Read everything you can on Sam Maloof. He closely embodied the life you are describing.
Woodworkers tend to overthink things. There is something about the sort of person that is drawn to the craft - the particular characteristics, that lead to this.
If not careful, you will be so afraid of not making something perfect that you will never begin, and nothing was every completed that was not started.
Be prepared to fail. Be prepared to fall short of your expectations. Delight in that which you produce regardless.
Every piece I make is better than the last, yet every one contains errors which annoy me. Every. Single. One.
I have seen raw beginners produce amazing pieces of woodwork simply by learning each new technique as need arises and above all else, giving the project the time it needs to be done right.
Above all else, be prepared to take time to make what you want to make, and the world will be your mollusc.
Rob,
Your wise words:
"Woodworkers tend to overthink things. There is something about the sort of person that is drawn to the craft - the particular characteristics, that lead to this.
..........
Be prepared to fail. Be prepared to fall short of your expectations. Delight in that which you produce regardless".
We modern folk can often get far too self-conscious, worrying about how we ought to look at and feel about something rather than immersing ourselves in the "something" itself. Words like "passion" are really over the top. Enjoying and liking are better places to be when woodworking, since the core of woodworking is really the process rather than just the result, even if the result matters as well - as a test of one's success at learning the processes, when first starting out.
"Creative visions brought to life". A bit hyperbolic, since what we actually do is mostly the more prosaic matter s of forming technical construction plans then making the thing that was planned, primarily as craft but with a bit of art in the details. The histrionics of having "a creative vision" might well be too overexciting so that we allow the tablesaw to cutoff a finger whilst "dreaming" of the gorgeous result we hope for rather than paying close attention to the business of making it.
But perhaps I yam just misunderstanding a use of the English language that is rather .... foreign, to a Limey. :-)
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As others have said, it may be best to begin the woodworking learning and doing process by making something well understood (like a box) to learn lots of joints, techniques, finishes et al .... but to do so with an eye to the artistic aspect of the design as well as the technicalities.
As you intimate, however, making mistakes (and lots of them) is not just an unavoidable part of it but an absolutely essential part, since mistake-making contains the most valuable lessons and stimuli to do it better that one can get.
Lataxe
It's inevitable that things will go wrong during the build process. It may be your fault, the wood's fault, or a tool's fault. But every misstep you encounter during the process gives you an opportunity to actually improve the piece.
I know that sounds counter intuitive but I find it to be true if you have the right attitude. While trimming the waste on the drawer dovetails I accidentally cut out a pin instead of a tail. I had no more bird's eye maple left so I couldn't remake the drawer front. So I had to figure out a way to fill the void adjacent to the shortened drawer front. I decided to add a piece with holes in it to accommodate a pen, pencil, sharpie and an exacto knife. Besides making the piece more functional the asymmetry made it more visually interesting.
I'll be "that" guy.
If you can't define what you want to do, how are we to help?
Do you just have passion or do you have skills as well?
Simply being captivated by woodworking is all well and good but you really need to try some simple projects and see if what you though about the artistry and craftsmanship still ring true.
Woodworking can be as easy or as complex as one wants to make it. While there is no limit to the artistry that can be achieved, there are also variables that come into play when using a natural material like wood.
Yes to all of the above, welcome to the woodworking road of perdition.
Hi Jones
If you are passionate about woodworking and want to bring your creative visions to life, here are a few steps you can take to get started:
1: Learn the basics of tools, materials, and techniques.
2: Acquire essential tools and equipment.
3: Take a woodworking class or workshop.
4: Begin with simple projects to build skills.
5: Join a woodworking community for guidance and inspiration.
6: Keep learning and experimenting.
7: Set up a dedicated workshop if possible.
8: Share your work online or at local exhibitions.
Remember, woodworking requires practice, patience, and continuous learning. Enjoy the process and let your passion drive you.
In my job ',in the day ,I traveled extensively by air.I NEVER traveled without a woodworking book or FWW Mag.I read rather than watch TV.I produced,as a result,over 200 pieces many of which you can see on carolynprue.com
Yes, read and study the "how and why" of woodworking from the experts. When I first started and tried to be creative or take shortcuts, I often ended up finding out there are often reasons why some things are designed the way they are. Or how designs depend on the use proportions, geometry, math, and construction materials, to look good. Learn those things first, then inject your creativity.
I think this is very important.
Far too many of these things are lost these days with the "learned from YouTube crowd".
Yes you can learn from videos but you need some foundational knowledge or it can be easy to get led astray or at least pick up bad habits.
Start with building stuff for your shop and the jigs that you will need for future projects. There will be lot to learn from doing these activities and you will start the process of purchasing the tools you will need.
Build a work bench, shop vac cart with cyclone, cabinets for tools, table saw base, router table, table saw sled, taper jig for your table saw, mortise and tenon jigs ....
Is it just me - the only one struck by the "near absurdity" of the initial post? I could be wrong, but this appears to be phishing/spam/baiting for traffic. Couple of things. Seriously, I've never met a woodworker who had trouble starting to build things initially- more like they couldn't stop (along with buying tools egad). Secondly, this "Jones8" had another post which I had a funny feeling about. Once this post got some interaction they added an avatar - which JUST SO HAPPENS to be for a business. Jones8 now has added too...blurb advertising about that business. This is happening frequently on forum. One in particular was baiting for traffic for their for profit YouTube channel in the guise of forum interaction. Potential key giveaways - absolutely absurd questions/requesting a lot of feedback and never any response once others have given feedback.
Yeah, but with no links added it's tough to call spam... yet. Plus, he started a conversation that some seem interested in continuing.
If you find that a link has been inserted into an old post reply to it calling out the spam. It will jump to page one again where it will get zapped.
I wouldn't necessarily call it spam but it appears its baiting for traffic...hence the added advertising blurb and business logo.
Just want to say I enjoyed and got something out of several of the responses here even if it was a borderline absurd question/spam. Your generosity and wisdom weren’t wasted. Thank you for making this forum a welcoming place.