It is hard for me to get in the shop anymore. I work lousy hours and have a wife two young (7 and 3) kids and an 8 acre property to look after. So I don’t get in the shop 3 or 4 evenings a week like I used to.
I find my eye isn’t what it was. I cut a mortise today that was at least off by 1/16. The shop never seems in order and the changes I need to make in shop layout don’t get done, because when I do get in the shop I want to make something.
I haven’t made a major piece for over a year and instead I am doing little volunteer jobs for the church. Believe me, my most recent poor box ain’t going to make the cover of FWW.
Woe is me. Then again, running around on the lawn with the kids is fun too. The Philadelphia High boy is going to have to wait!
Replies
Frank- I'm just the opposite. To be quite honest, I've gotten really burned out on woodworking over the past year. I think I just got sick of saturating myself with the stuff night and day. I guess it could be worse.
John E. Nanasy
Gee, it's not all that bad. Start by getting eyeglasses and installing good lights. I had 20/13 vision, and still do for distance, but when I hit 40 the close up sight started to go. Getting my first ever pair of glasses was an admission of middle age, but now I actually look for them when I'm working close up.
Why not let go emotionally of the highboy and consider it a retirement project? Spend time in your shop with your kids. It can be some of the best quality time because you can talk to them, unlike watching them at a ball game or vegging out in front of the TV. My shop attracted all sorts of neighborhood kids. We had some wonderful conversations over bookshelves and skateboard rails about everything from God to hockey.
Your volunteer projects are appreciated and, after all, you weren't given your talent for nothing.
If you were in your shop for months on end the fun might very well wear off. So, enjoy it when you get in there and don't let it be another object of stress.
What in the heck is (I had 20/13 vision) 20/20 is perfect, some have
20/15 So tell me please what this is?Chuck Yegar airplane pilot had
20/15 Vision !If nothing sticks to Teflon,how does Teflon Stick to metal. Huh
20/20 vision isn't perfect vision, it's normal vision. A person with 20/20 vision can see from 20 feet away what a normal person can see from 20 feet away. People who have 20/40 vision need to be 20 feet away to see something a normal person can see at 40 feet. Someone with 20/10 vision can see at 20 feet what a normal person needs to be 10 feet away to see.
Standard Snellen charts go down to 20/10 because there are a fair number of people who can see that well.
Here are two references.
http://www.midwesteyecare.com/talkinghealth/owhq&a76.htm
http://www.tedmontgomery.com/the_eye/macula.html#visual_acuity
When people hit middle age they loose the ability to focus close. This is called presbyopia. "Presby-" means "old", like in presbyterian. Even so, distant vision can be maintained quite sharply.
Hey I learned something today! TY so much! was not aware of that,always thought 20-20 is well great but know of someone with 20-15 vision. ty so so much for the information on eyes!If nothing sticks to Teflon,how does Teflon Stick to metal. Huh
By " eye" I wasn't talking about vision. I meant the ability to sense when something is off a hair without measuring, or holding exaztly to a line etc. It comes with practice and is part of the Zen of wood working- part of what makes craftsmanship.
Y'know, I'd bet that you haven't lost your eye; rather, you probably are just kinda in a hurry, cause your time is so short. I've got similar problems, kids, work, etc. If I'm slow and methodical, I do ok. Try to actually make visible progress...well...
You have my empathy.
Charlie
BISCARDI
Is a client waiting on that "high-boy"? Didn't think so! Your shop should be a place to relieve stress, not induce it. You have no dead-lines and the other things are more important. The shop will be there when the time is right.
I would not let WW become an obsession when you don't depend on it for a living. Balance is the key to "becming a man for all seasons"...
Regards...
sarge..jt
Proud member of the : "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I hear you Frank! 7 acre yard, a 6 year old and a 5 month old, and ridiculous hours due to another business venture. I'm trying something this summer, a hired groundskeeper. I figure maybe that might free up one good part of a day per week that the girls and I can use to just play and build stuff.
I bet you've been building that high boy in your mind, so you're not exactly skipping out on major projects, just planning them. Have a good day,
Frank ol'buddy, I feel your pain. Its hard with kids, house and job. Yea the skills do diminish. I ahvent done anything serious inna while. But I did just finish 2 valances thats about it. Now I got a shed to build (FWW huh?). Soccer with the boy 4 days a week and teaching Karate to my boy and some disadvantage kids 2 days a week plus the kids school work, I dont even get to sit down until 830 PM.
If took me a month to complete the valances. But maybe the mortises were off because you have so much on your plate. I know the mistakes I made have been because my mind was else where or the kids playing in and around the shop.
My life is full, I wouldnt change it for the world and it sounds like yours is to.
Darkworksite4:
El americano pasado hacia fuera ase la bandera
Biscardi,
I hear ya man. When my kids were around those ages the exact same thing happened to me. It really cramps your style for awhile. The time thing clears up in time. Just get done what you can get done and enjoy it while it lasts.
Enjoy, Roy
It's comforting to see I'm not the only one with these frustrations. I have four kids (17, 8, 6 and 2), and my wife & I both work. The two middle ones play soccer & baseball. The oldest plays hs baseball, but he can drive himself, so we don't need to worry about him. The littlest is good at getting into trouble (unfortunately she's too cute for her own good). I don't have 8 acres, but there's always something I want/need to do in the yard.
Oddly enough, when I do get in the shop, my lack of time helps me focus better on the task at hand and I find I don't get complacent. The kids like it in the shop, too. They're happy just cutting a piece of 2x4 with a small saw, or sweeping (sure kid, sweep all you want). I try to encourage them, and I keep the power tools unplugged when they're with me. Made a couple birdhouses recently, and one has the Pinewood Derby coming up, so we've been working on his car.
Time lost in the shop isn't nearly as bad as time lost with the kids, although I sometimes feel like a tool collector instead of a user. Hang in there. And make sure you show pics when you do get to that highboy.
Look at the bright side, you have a shop. Since building our house two years ago, I've been so busy with a wife, 4 kids (9, 6, 3, 2mo.) and 2 acres to maintain that I haven't even had time to put a shop in the basement. The closest I've been to woodworking lately is framing out an area in our bathroom for the whirlpool tub. Lurking on this site is about all I have time for at the moment. Of course it could always be worse, I haven't been asked to sell my tools yet (not that she'd go there, who wants to raise 4 kids alone?).
Hang in there, I'm told it gets better in time. One can only hope. . . .
Everything in good time. You'll do it again but now may not be the time. I went through what you are going through and , well things change. There will always be the workshop. Do the family thing and maybe just make some time once or twice a week to spen a few hours out there. It will at least keep the appetite whetted.
Spend this precious time with the kids. There will be lots of time later for woodworking. I took all my kids through the Indian Guide/Princess YWCA programs then was a Scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts for several years. Also helped wife with Girl Scouts. Coached softball, hollered at football and soccer games. Lots of fond memories. Especially of those yearly travelling vacations that we really couldn't afford at the time. Once they started college I had to work two jobs. When we had 4 in college, the wife got a job.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
Ditto on the frustrations. This is as close have I have been to any other than utility ww in about 10 months. Can't blame the kids though. Long hours at the day job, lost both of my dear in-laws, etc. I did Indian Princesses and Guides with my kids and wouldn't trade those campout memories for anything. My daughter was "Shining Star", my son was "Silver Blade" and I was "Running Nose". My favorite event were the pinewood derbies. The first year we did two cars, one of which my daughter actually worked on and an oak bed Model "A" inspired stake truck that won overall. I declined the trophy since I didn't feel good about beating a "kid's car". At the next long house I voluteered to run the event for next year. We built a new track and created a "Dads" class. It's amazing how much time you can put into one of those cars. I learned most of the tricks and could really tune them to be fast and still be legal. We won better than half of the races we entered and all of a sudden I had a rep. For several years after I was out of Guides, guys who new guys that were in my tribe would find me and I'd tune and mount their running gear. I probably did a dozen cars for other guys. Now my daughter's is 23 and teaching and my son is 21 and going into the army on the 3rd.
Noonway!John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne
I know it can get frustrating. But believe me, the kids are going to grow up in the blink of an idea. When they're graduating from high school and three months from leaving your home, you will wonder where the time went. I spent very little time in the shop when my kids were little and have no regrets. With one in college and one not far away, I realize my kids are the best things I ever made, and I'm joyful for every minute I've spent with them.
I have terrible eyesight. I use a mortiser and install stop blocks for the beginning of the mortise, and run some scrap through. Once it is dialed in, I am good to go.
Do the same for the end of the mortise, and then fill in the blanks.
I also echo light. I must have 8-9 flourescent lights in my 2 car garage, and some gooseneck lights for the drill press and bandsaw. I have a Veritas magnifier light on my pittifull bench. I have some very powerful halogens mounted on a stand for special deals that I want to flood the light on a project.
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
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