Fear of wood

Roger Tulk

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St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
I have a number of unfinished projects because sometimes I get to a point where I am afraid of the next step, thinking it's something that I probably am going to screw up. This is fair, because I've screwed up my share of things in my lifetime. One of those projects has to be restarted because the carefully measured parts have developed some unwanted curves. I wonder if anyone else suffers from this syndrome, where you leave a job because you aren't sure you can complete it properly.

I have grabbed the bull by the horns this spring and am working on two wooden planes I wanted to build, and some cutting boards for friends. No fear of the cutting boards, but I was concerned about the planes. I have them underway and one is nearing completion, and turned out to be less difficult than I expected. I just realized this spring that if I screw up the job, I can always buy more wood and start again.

Just me thinking about the jobs as I was putting my tools away for the night...
 
Roger,
I used to have this notion that whatever I made had to be the very best I could produce the first time I tried. That's a ridiculous notion, but it took a very long time to overcome. My work improved vastly when I finally got over it. Now, I just keep working on something until it's the way I want, and I care almost not at all how long that takes. Ironically, once I overcame my first-time perfectionism my work got much better. I'll bet yours will, too. Sometimes I will give my project a rest (and myself) if I seem to come across some obstacle. When I return to the project I find that the problem now has a solution.
 
I was chopping the 1 1/4" square through mortise in the second arm of the slant arm Morris chair that I was making for a Christmas present for my daughter and her husband. I finished it and was dry fitting when I realized that I had chopped the hole in the wrong side of the board. I made a plug from an other piece and filled the hole.

A 1/4" square is now the shop mark i use in each piece I make.

A little trick I have learned: Cut your pieces from the biggest to the smallest. That way if you mess up, you can use that piece to make one of the smaller ones.

Most importantly remember that you are supposed to have fun. It's just a hobby for heavens sake.

Good advise Bruce!!
 
I've noticed that many woodworkers seem not to progress in their skills over time, and I believe it's because they're afraid to try new things for fear that they'll not be successful. Other woodworkers seem to only want to do new work because doing the same thing over and over bores them.

But each finds satisfaction in their choices. You just have to decide what kind of woodworker you are and what gives you the satisfaction you seek in doing woodwork.

Mike
 
I've never made a mistake that couldn't be fixed and I've made plenty of mistakes trust me. The worst was sanding through the veneer on a $20,000 table at the end of my apprenticeship. I about puked when it happened, but the fix ended up being easy and that table later won an award in a national competition. Mistakes can be fixed and the fixing is usually the best learning experience you can get. If/when you get stuck, that's what a forum like this one is good for. Post it up and see what the collective brain comes up with as a fix. There's always a fix.
 
i think there is another group that tries to make the next project alittle different to gain the new skill set and has grown threw the set back and do the same thing the same way. i havnt gotten bored but do enjoy the learning of new ways. and have made mistakes and agree with mark that there usually is a way to fix it.
 
It's not unusual to hit a wall (or three) at some point in a project. When that happens, I do what others have said: walk away or change focus in some way. If I stand there looking at something that doesn't seem to be working out, I get to where I can no longer see it for looking at it!!! Sometimes, I'll stroll around the yard to get some fresh air; other times I'll focus on another task in the shop. Whatever the case, when I go back to the original project, a solution suddenly appears!

Finish has always been my wall, even if everything else falls into place. I've been bad about trying different types of finish just for the experience. Although I know I can trust finishes like EM6000 and its associated products, I've branched out to find out about other products. That bit me on the nose on my credenza project when I used some pre-cat lacquer on the top for toughness and it started failing (cracking up) after a few weeks. I'm not concerned about having to re-do the finish; it's an inconvenience that will have to wait until I finish my platform bed and nightstand so I'll have room!

I know my problem is brain cramps! I tend to over-think a task at times and make it seem harder than it has to be. Knowing that about myself makes me face that fact, deal with it and move on with life. :rolleyes:
 
Roger,
I used to have this notion that whatever I made had to be the very best I could produce the first time I tried. That's a ridiculous notion, but it took a very long time to overcome. My work improved vastly when I finally got over it. Now, I just keep working on something until it's the way I want, and I care almost not at all how long that takes. Ironically, once I overcame my first-time perfectionism my work got much better. I'll bet yours will, too. Sometimes I will give my project a rest (and myself) if I seem to come across some obstacle. When I return to the project I find that the problem now has a solution.

My work isn't getting better yet, but my blood pressure came down a lot when I came to this realization myself. TV Shows are not reality. Not everything matches up perfectly the first time. As I've gotten older and more experienced with many things - woodworking, painting, car repair, lawn maintenance, everything - I've come to understand that I'm a "learn by doing" guy. The first time I do something, I'll take 5 times as long to do it and only score a 75% on my personal perfection test no matter how careful I am. Each time I do a technique or task, it's always faster and better. It's just the way I am.
 
It's not unusual to hit a wall (or three) at some point in a project. When that happens, I do what others have said: walk away or change focus in some way. If I stand there looking at something that doesn't seem to be working out, I get to where I can no longer see it for looking at it!!! Sometimes, I'll stroll around the yard to get some fresh air; other times I'll focus on another task in the shop. Whatever the case, when I go back to the original project, a solution suddenly appears!

Finish has always been my wall, even if everything else falls into place. I've been bad about trying different types of finish just for the experience. Although I know I can trust finishes like EM6000 and its associated products, I've branched out to find out about other products. That bit me on the nose on my credenza project when I used some pre-cat lacquer on the top for toughness and it started failing (cracking up) after a few weeks. I'm not concerned about having to re-do the finish; it's an inconvenience that will have to wait until I finish my platform bed and nightstand so I'll have room!

I know my problem is brain cramps! I tend to over-think a task at times and make it seem harder than it has to be. Knowing that about myself makes me face that fact, deal with it and move on with life. :rolleyes:


That's me in a nutshell.

I often procrastinate when I'm treading into new territories in woodworking. I'll worry about doing something I've never done before (or done well) that isn't anywhere near the stage of the project I'm at. So I take a break for awhile.
A good example is on the office desk I'm making. This is probably really stupid but I've never make a drawer and used the metal extension slides. I've made a bunch of drawers and never worried about fitting them properly before but I'm worried that I will somehow get these all misaligned and ruin the drawer fronts :( It's probably 2 weeks before I need to install them but I think about it quite often during the day.
 
I have a number of unfinished projects because sometimes I get to a point where I am afraid of the next step, thinking it's something that I probably am going to screw up. This is fair, because I've screwed up my share of things in my lifetime.

This is not an answer, just a tale of my own experience. If I am unsure of a process or trying something totally new, I make a prototype out of scrapwood (old pallet material glued into blanks is a favorite). This allows me to go through the process once and greatly increases my confidence (and gives me the ability to rethink how I was going to do something) during an actual build. Also, the Nike slogan really applies here; Just Do It. Not everything we make will be perfect. Certainly some will go straight to the burn pile but, experience isn't learned by drawing, pondering or dreaming. It is gathered by doing.

I feel your pain on neglected projects or those that suffer delays as this really invites a mental disconnect or allow the material/parts to do things it wouldn't have if it had been assembled. My currrent build isalmost 3 months overdue because of things I cannot control; it happens and we all hate it :). I try to console myself after finally completing something that has taken too darn long bu doing a bunch of quick pieces (this is a great time to get started on Christmas presents; only 255 days and 13hours to go). Most important of all to me however is enjoying my shop time, no matter what I am doing.
 
Hehe, been there but then I decided that if I let fear of failure paralyze me I'd never get anything done (and indeed I generally mess up most new things I do about once on average, sometimes irrecoverably sometimes not).

My latest problem is that I kept getting 50% done with something and then it get "re-prioritized" which does NOT (contrary to popular opinion) make things go faster. Finally just started adding them to the end of the list and being like "yep once those other 6 things are done we'll get to it".

I've also found that there is a limit to my "failure free" time in the shop.. eventually if I'm tired or distracted enough I just quit, its not safe and it ruins more than its worth.
 
I marvel at folks that can multitask and can have several projects going at once.

I have always been sequential. Do one thing at a time, finish it and move on.
 
If given a choice between having a metal shop or a wood shop the smart choice is always leaning towards a wood shop! With a metal shop if you make a mistake what do you do with whats left over? With a wood shop you can always use putty or add some molding or save the pieces and do something abstract or the most important reason is when your wife asks what the heck is that, you simply say oh nothing I was just cutting it so that it fits in the wood stove! :) Oh yeah a wood stove! Hmmmmm! :) Russ
 
Roger,

So there was this guy, who wanted to be a playwright. But he kept messing up. So he made up this motto for himself, something like 'try again, fail again. Doesn't matter. Keep trying. Fail again. Fail better.' ;)

And with an attitude like that, he won the Nobel Prize. They don't give one for woodworking, but those are words to live by in the shop... ;)

Best,

Bill
 
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