This has become somewhat of a joke in my household. As a medic, I have a fairly large aide bag designed to treat significant traumas and yet when my wife asked for a band-aid, I did not have one.
Woodworking projects are much the same. When one first starts their hobby, the product of their work looks much like a growing puppy…awkward, lanky, and somewhat clumsy. With each new project we hone our skills and our work slowly becomes more professional looking. Likewise, in the early stages, our spouses and families often receive the lumbering works of our labor. With smiles and quirky looks they take them and proudly display them on the back of an out-of-the-way book shelf. With each improvement, our projects begin inching forward into more prominent areas of our family’s home.
Then one day, something happens. A stranger wants to buy our work! Cha-ching! We have arrived. Not yet a master, but still able to produce a professional quality product that a complete stranger not only wants to display in their home, but is also willing to pay a retail price for. Suddenly, that money pit of a hobby can begin paying for itself! The wheels and cogs begin to turn as we dream of the newest tool that can be added to the shop if only we can produce and sell x number of Willy Wally Widgets.
Word of mouth begins to spread. Before we know it, multiple strangers are placing orders for our various goods. Meanwhile, with every new order, our faithful spouses see fewer and fewer projects. Then it happens. Those words that make you realize you’ve been neglecting them, “When am I going to get my Willy-Wally-Widget?”
How did that happen?
For the hobbyist, balancing projects is a tough task. After all, our shop time is very limited. Often, this equates to less than 6 hours a week. Generally, woodturners can produce two or three projects in that time. However, if it is segment work or other woodworking forms, a single project may take several weeks on its own. Two or three big projects and all of a sudden, it has been months since we gave that love of our life a professional quality product.
The funny thing is that often times it’s just as simple to produce two as it is one. It takes longer to set up the saw then it does to run the cut. So why not run two? Produce one for that commissioned order, and one for that loving spouse or family member who use to cherish those awkward works of expressions we called a finished project? Maybe, at the end of the day, you’ll see that growing puppy smile that reminds you why you started your hobby in the first place.
See you in the vortex,
--Kevin