The best time to try something new is in the dead of summer when all your friends are away at camp or vacation and the egg-frying properties of the sidewalk make outdoor activity impossible.
This year, my annual attempt to “make the most out of my summer” came around early July. At the time, I was pretty content working two part time jobs and watching Daily Dose of Internet on Youtube but I couldn’t help but feel unfulfilled. I hadn’t satisfied my creative instincts just yet.
One muggy evening, I finished dinner and walked outside to go on my daily solitary bike ride around the neighborhood, which usually involved a lot of internal monologue and using the curbs as a very toned-down half-pipe course. As I slipped on my Crocs, I noticed a piece of wood had fallen in the corner of my garage. I walked over and picked it up. It was a long stick of maple. As I rested it again in the corner where it had sat for the last 10 years with the other various wood scraps my grandpa gathered over the years, I wondered if perhaps there was something more I could do with this wood.
My younger sister was currently in the midst of remodeling her room, and I had just helped her replace the tarnished brass door knobs on her closet doors with more contemporary steel ones. The next step was to find a place to put her 20+ medals that were currently dangling precariously off a corner of her mirror.
So I set to work making her a medal rack. I sanded the wood to remove the paint and reveal the beautiful grain, sawed it down to size, then used the gas burners in my kitchen to give it a distressed antique look. I hammered in some nails, mounted it on her wall, and the project was complete.
After that, I decided that I was a woodworker.
There was something addictive about the woodworking process. It’s a somewhat oxymoronic feeling; dynamic monotony, so to speak: performing repetitive motions in a way that compounds to form something greater. My workshop may seem like a boring place at first glance, but even the most mundane work, such as sanding a piece before painting, becomes exciting once you have an end result in sight. As corny as it may sound, when I enter my workshop, I lose track of time. I become absorbed in the details, the cuts made down to the millimeter, the corners measured to be perfectly perpendicular. When I can see the finished product start to take shape, my enthusiasm only increases. It’s a chain of events — a positive feedback loop — that feeds my passion for woodworking.
My next project involved making a jewelry rack for my girlfriend, whose necklaces always got tangled up. I researched woodworking techniques and learned about rabbet joinery, proper table saw usage, and painting methods. This project was a bit more complex. I spent hours sawing, drilling, and sanding in my garage, which was not much cooler than the surrounding atmosphere, leaving me dripping with sweat and covered in sawdust. The jewelry rack project was a milestone for me because I was able to combine the skills I developed from other classes and activities. For instance, I created a 3D model of the rack on Sketchup before I made my first cut. I also had to resolve a lot of geometric issues, such as making sure the bracelet holder on the rack would accommodate the average diameter of her bracelets. During this project, I also developed my own methods of fabrication. In one case, I needed to cut brass tubes to serve as ring holders, but was unable to make a clean cut. To resolve this, I locked the brass tube in my drill, then used a hacksaw to score the metal as the tube spun beneath it. Ultimately, my efforts were well worth it, as the jewelry rack came out beautifully and still hangs in her room to this day.
My woodworking journey continued that summer as I found new ways to use the scrap wood laying around my house and neighborhood. I created a welcome sign using two planks I salvaged from my neighbor’s remodeling project and personalized wood signs (currently on sale on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/NEDAWoodSigns?ref=shop_sugg) using the leftover wood used to build our deck many years ago.
When school started, I decided to join the woods club. When I walked through the door, I realized I discovered an entirely new corner of the school. Before me lay an expanse of miter saws, planers, table saws, laser cutters, band saws, and a CNC mill! It was basically woodworking heaven.
The wood shop is now probably my new favorite place at school. Last week, I used the laser cutter to cut out balsa wood frames for an event I’m doing in Science Olympiad. The week before that I used the band saw and planer to make a jig for a different event. My experience in woodworking has heightened all aspects of my engineering interests. Not only did it improve my knack for design and construction, it inspired me to embrace my creative side, prompting me to undertake a capstone project where I am attempting to 3D print high quality saxophone mouthpieces (will be discussed more in a later post).
Wood is an amazing material. It’s strong, lightweight, flexible, and beautiful. When given the right tools and a solid plan, a few pieces of wood can become almost anything. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what woodworking has in store for me, and I couldn’t be more excited to see what’s ahead.
To me, woodworking isn’t just something I picked up as a way to get through the dog days of summer. It’s the culmination of years of artistic and engineering experience. It’s the ultimate expression of my creative abilities.
I had no idea you got into woodworking last summer! The stuff you made looks like it could actually belong on Pinterest. And you made an Etsy from it? This sounds like a ton of fun, and I’m glad you found something you enjoy and can even make a little money out of. I can tell you put a lot of effort into this, especially since you made 3D models and learned how to use new equipment. (Also, I’m glad I’m not the only one with a grandpa who gathers seemingly endless wood scraps in the garage; we can’t even put one of our cars in the garage because of all the DIY tools.)
Wow! I never thought woodworking as a culmination of art and engineering. But now that I think about it, I can definitely see how it is a culmination of both. Last semester in AP Physics 1, I was tasked to create a mobile. Although I was not excited at first, I wound up having a lot of fun. Sawing the wood was oddly satisfying but the coolest part was that I had to apply both science and art to create the finished product. Because my theme was superheroes, I got to pick out action figures for the mobile. Once I picked them out, I had to conduct torque calculations to determine where to hang my action figures on the wooden rods. When my mobile was finished, I felt really proud because it was amazing to see how the components of science and art played a role in the final product. It’s really neat that woodworking has become a hobby of yours because it really exercises your creativity and helps you develop the skills necessary for engineering or any practical job. I definitely agree that woodworking is a great hobby to explore during the summer.
Neil, I’m glad found something new to do this summer! It seems like you learned something new about yourself. Question: why do you think you like woodworking so much? Is it the feeling of creating something new? As a musician, I sometimes find it difficult to appreciate my music: hours upon hours of practice for a fleeting moment of glory onstage. Then again, cello is my best frenemy (you can read my blog post about that, lol). Anyways, I’m glad you found something you enjoy!
This is probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while. Your ability to just pick up on different activities is inspiring, as there are so many little hobbies I’ve wanted to learn. The pieces you’ve made are absolutely stunning, and I love how useful they are to those around you. I think it’s so cool how you use your woodworking skills for those around you, not just yourself. With your sister’s medal rack to your girlfriend’s jewelry holder, it was really cool to see all of the happiness you must’ve spread. I really enjoyed the voice throughout your post, I can’t wait to read more!
I have absolutely no idea why, but this post just resonated with me on an entirely different level. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the process of you becoming a woodworker, and how the skills that you learned could actually be applied. I enjoyed learning about how you found your new favorite part of the school in the wood shop. This was overall a very gratifying post as you come to realize the usefulness of learning a trade. This blog was easy to follow, and has a great story, and is a important read to learn something new about you that I most definitely would have never guessed. Although I do have some basic questions in order to see what aspects of woodworking you enjoy, such as. Do you prefer building functional things such as signs or shelves, or would you like to get into things that are more artistic (Akin to beautiful wooden chests and vases)? What tools to you first start with on your woodworking journey? Do you believe the experience you gained with the woodworking machines will have much carryover into your job? Overall this was a very satisfying read and I enjoyed learning something new about you.