Sick of woodworking??

[Greg O]

Is this a phase I am going through, or is it all over?? I have my gar....shop setup with all the tools I think I will ever need, built a few projects, nothing to fantastic, cabinets for our bathroom, stereo cabinet, and some other piddley stuff. I am in the process of building a desk for my daughter, but fail to get out there to finish it!

Then today I fellow and I were talking tools, and he asks me if I want to sell my jointer that I bought a year ago. I had to think about it, I still don't know what the answer is! Will this go away, or am I doomed?! Greg

[philski]

Burnt out are you? I find that absence makes the heart grow fonder. In other words, get away from it for awhile. Do your woodworking because you WANT to do it, not because you HAVE to do it. (Assuming you don't do woodworking professionally - which is a whole nudder subject)

Philski

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Take a break and DON'T sell anything. The value of your tools will change little if you don't use them, but will be costly if you decide to replace them in a year or two.

Do you subscribe to any magazines? If not, wait a while so you get a break, then pick up a copy of one or two from the newsstand and see if any of the projects get you wanting go get back in the shop. Sounds like you've built some good projects that are useful. How about something that you don't really need but would find challenging to work on? Who cares if it takes two months or two years to complete.

[patriarch]

"Greg O" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

If you want to do something, but not commit to anything large, try a couple of simple boxes, using hand tools you own, with wood already in your possession, preferably scrap, or something set aside as an offcut. Take your time, and don't worry about fancy joinery. Plan on an oil or shellac finish, rubbed out simply with wax. Use this as an excuse not to start anything larger for a while. Maybe store a special handplane in it, or some special old chisels.

I find the commitment to complete is one of the biggest hurdles to enjoyment in a project. I'm happiest when the project is done because I'm finished fooling with it.

There's a mission-inspired bench/table/blanket chest on my bench right now, which I started on 15 months ago. I may finish it before Thanksgiving. And a pair of maple night stands, next to those. The birdseye maple drawers are done, but the tops need leveling, and there's maybe 3 hours past that to the first coat of shellac. I'll get back to them soon. The kitchen upper cabinet prototypes need to be completed. There's real deadline on those. And the oak mantel for Dad.

The fun is in the design. And the handcraft. Deadlines are for work.

Patriarch

[charlie b]

Make some shop furniture - no pressure - they just have to serve their purpose. Get away from plywood and face frames and have a go at solid wood stuff. The joinery involved should keep things interesting and challenging for as long as you want to stay in woodworking.

An early shop furniture project was a wall hanging tool cabinet. Started with routed dovetails for the carcase/carcass and then started making modules for various tools using finger joints, dovetails, sliding dovetails, stopped dadoes ...

Kept finding space for more modules and finally quit after making a 4x4x3" dovetailed little drawer.

there are kids in the neighborhood then Kid Projects might get the juices flowing. anyone who does water colors? Maybe they might like an easel - that folds into three different configuration AND will fit under the bed when not in use some books - Krenov's The Fine Art of Cabinet Making or The Impractical Cabinet Maker, any by Doug Stowe, ...

As for getting rid of a stationary machine - Buy Once, Cry Once and Will It to a Woodworker.

This too will pass.

charlie b

[Andy Dingley]

So don't just build piddley stuff.

There's a whole lot of "useful" "house" stuff that's useful to own, but basically tedious to make. Worth doing if you want to keep things off the floor, but there's no reward or real pleasure in making the stuff. Do to omuch of this and anyone will get stale.

If you've always wanted to, make yourself a lute (conga drum, boat, carved jester or whatever) Do something with no real point, other than the pleasure of actually making it.

I'm just finishing off a small medieval ark - like this

half the size. It's of no real purpose, except that it's a chance to make something with a "clamped front", an early precursor to frame and panel construction.

[Ba r r y]

Do something else for a while. If you don't do any woodworking for a while the answer will become clear, you either like it or you don't. If it's still not clear, wait longer.

Don't rush into selling things, replacing them will be a pain if you miss the activity.

Barry

[Swingman]

This too shall pass ... just remember that there is an extremely fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness".

Dave Barry?

[Al Reid]

You need a diversion.

For me, I spend most of the spring/summer working in the yard, mowing grass, trimming trees, maintaining the pool, etc. I hardly get a chance to do any WW. Come fall/winter I can't wait to get back to the shop. SHMBO always has a long list of stuff she wants. This year it's a table, chairs and bar stools, more picture frames, shelves for her sewing room and an island for the kitchen. I can't wait to get started.

[Bob]

"patriarch [e-mail]" I find the commitment to complete is one of the biggest hurdles to

I'm going to print this out in 64 point letters and tape it to the electrical subpanel right above my workbench. You may have just increased my enjoyment of my HOBBY 1000 fold in the next 10 years.

Thanks! Bob

[Swingman]

My #1, immutable, unyielding rule in the shop is:

"It is absolutely forbidden to start a new project until the current project is complete."

Besides increasing your enjoyment of woodworking, and mitigating any guilt while adding incentive to finish something, an added benefit is that it gets you off the hook immediately when anyone asks you to do something.

[RonB]

Greg:

At the risk of sounding flippant I'll say "been there, done that" but you'll probably get over it. I don't know what all of your circumstances are, but a few years ago we moved into a new house and I was happily looking at a full basement finish. We had the contractor sheetrock the basement and install the bath tub. I did all of the doors, trimming, cabinetry, etc. I no more than started when my dad's health took a dive and he died. After funeral and estate matters I was able to convince myself that the basement was good therapy and it really was. But it took almost a year to get the final item, a pretty ornate wet bar, built and installed.

By this point I didn't give a damn if I ever looked at another piece of oak again and the West end of my garage (shop) collected a lot of dust from neglect. I even considered selling out and using the money for something else. Thankfully I didn't. Within a year or so I started diddling with small projects, then took early retirement. Since then I have built some pretty nice rocking horses for grandkids and friends. When my son wanted some unique coffee and end tables for his new home dad spend quite a bit of time designing and building them. I have taken on some other pretty challenging projects and have enjoyed building my competence in the craft like no other time in my life. I have acquired some new equipment and find myself rolling design and construction ideas around in my head quite a bit. I am truely enjoying the constant frustrations and challenges of being a woodworker and antique rebuilder again and think it will be my small retirement business.

Advice:

- Back off for a while.

- Keep the tools. Another smart poster hit it on the head - they are cheap to keep and expensive to replace. Besides, you can probably use some of them for normal home maintenance.

- Don't start any projects that are not fun for a while.

- Hit the wood and craft shows now and then. There are woodworkers out there that can provide real inspiration. Newsgroups like this one and abpw can do the same.

- If you have kids or grankids, you might find real rewards in planning and building simple projects for them. The same goes for wife, and other family.

- When you start to feel inspiration, don't go nuts. Take time to think, plan and rethink before you start. At least for me, this is the most enjoyable part of the craft and reduces the frustration that comes from error.

Hang it there!

RonB

[mac davis]

I think it's a natural process... you've probably been too focused on it for too long and your brain is telling you to "get a life"...

DON'T sell any tools!! Just put your shop and all projects on hold for a bit...

Tell your daughter that you'd rather spend quality time with her than be in the shop working on her desk... no matter what age she is, she should be suitably impressed.. if not, take the wife out for an adult beverage or 3 instead..

The mind is a weird and wonderful thing.. if, as I suspect, you have a real love for woodworking, it will be in the "back of your mind" and you'll eventually either come back to the shop with the old interest and energy, or decide that it just isn't your thing anymore (which is ok, too) and then decide if you want to keep or sell the tools..

damn... starting to feel like Dr. Phil here... Maybe you just need to have a beer and get laid?? *lol*

Mac

[Andy Dingley]

I have a whiteboard with a list of them, and dots alongside the ones already started. These are just the woodworking projects, not metalworking, sewing or software.

Score for today is 35

[David Hall]

The answer to this is pretty much dependent on where you live. If, for instance, you live anywhere near Pittsburgh, PA, then you are completely sick of woodworking and will never enjoy the hobby again. In that case you need to sell your tools immediately and for a great loss. You MUST NOT sell any of them to a friend or a neighbor as you will then constantly see them and be reminded of your dislike for woodworking. As a favor, I will take them off your hands and not even charge you for transportation or nuthin'.

On the other hand, if you are far from Pittsburgh, then you just need a break or you need to build something for YOU. Do some project that is not needed and not "rational" but that is kinda cool. Build a present for a friend or co-worker who doesn't expect it so that they can give you lots of WOWs and THANKS and "You MADE this ?!!!!".

But I really hope you live near Pittsburgh.

Dave Hall

[TeamCasa]

Greg, In my case, the joy my kids give me after I give them a finished project, IS the motivation to build the next project. Although I do burn out now and then, the cure usually is switching gears and make something from steel. I get to turn, weld, grind and pound until I'm ready to start woodworking again.

Side note on selling tools: A few years ago I sold my old 1952 Logan metal lathe. I have regretted that decision everyday until I recently replaced it (at a substantial cost increase). I will never sell another tool.

If nothing helps, you may just have to watch one on the inane home improvement tv shows.

Dave

[Swingman]

Are you married, Andy? Neighbor's and wives is where my self-imposed rule shines. ;>)

[Never Enough Money]

Put a TV and refrigerator in the wookshop. And a relaxing chair.

Invite peolpe over. Have a sharpening party.

That's my 2 cents.

[snip]

[Slowhand]

I went through this phase once. My cure is to only do projects from late October through Mayish. I hardly even visit my shop during the summer unless it's for something I'm building outside. I usually start off in October building something for the shop to get in the groove so to speak. Something simple. By May, I'm ready to call it quits. But in October, I'm sooo ready to start a project again. Works for me! SH

[Tim Douglass]

Always good advice...

Tim Douglass