Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A fresh start for Fresh Shavings...

   Well, here we are, almost 3 years since my last post. That's how my hobbies go sometimes - I might not hike a trail or pick up one of my guitars for years but I eventually get back to it. The truth is, between work and life obligations I was short on time... and woodworking inspiration. But here I am reorganizing the shop, finding time again, and finding new inspiration.

   One thing that I had problems with was how the shop was set up. When I first moved the shop to the basement, I had located it in a cozy back alcove. As my tool collection grew, I felt my space needs were greater and I moved the shop area to another part of the basement. Based on the influence of so many professional and hobbyist shops, I was looking to put the table saw front and center and needed to relocate the space to accommodate the design. But, it just didn't feel right. Over the years I have pulled away from the table saw, partially because my saw is relatively inadequate for fine woodworking and because my attitudes about the way I prefer to work wood have evolved. I also have fond, youthful memories of spending time with my grandfather in his dinky little garage shop and I think that those early years imprinted a great deal more than I had originally thought. I guess I just underestimated how important it is for me to "feel" good in a work space.

   So, there's some shop workstations, cabinets, wall organizers, and a workbench to build. Then, I have a couple of home projects in mind before an eventual guitar build. I would also like to revisit the hand plane tune up video. I've had so many great responses to that video, but the filming quality was pretty awful and the live format made it too long and difficult to follow.

I would like to add that it's been great getting back into The Woodwhisperer chat room and rekindling some old friendships. It's nice to know that you can pick up where you left off that easily. If you haven't checked it out, I suggest you do.

Muddler