Motivation

[Protoclown]

I have been trying my hand at cabinet making for just over two years. My first project was a Toy Box for my nephew.

After much blood (quite literally) sweat and tears I completed my first project. It gave me such a buzz to be able to design and build furniture from scratch.
With this new found enthusiasm I decided to buy a woodworking book and make some of the projects that are detailed inside them. Obviously to do these projects I had to purchase a few additional tools, such as a band saw, more clamps, biscuit jointer. I only bought the less expensive end of the market, the likes of TITAN and Macalister. Just in case I was going through a fad.

Since starting out I have built an Ottoman, a sewing storage table, wine holder, Coat rack and numerous bird houses.

Whilst I still enjoy making these items I do find I lack motivation to get out to the garage a ‘crack on’ with things. I seem to be getting increasingly frustrated (read angry) with the small details for example when a mitre joint doesn’t quite fit or when the wood isn’t quite square when I cut it despite measuring numerous times.

I now find myself at a crossroads.
1. Do I carry on as I am and try to soldier on through it and learn from my mistakes.
2. Invest some more money on more essential tools to get better accuracy. I currently use a circular saw to cut most of my timber, would a table saw give me greater accuracy. Planner/Thicknesser?
3. Give-up and just get used to the fact that it really wasn’t for me.

I work full time and try to get out in the garage after work and at weekends when I can. I have had no lessons in woodworking other than when I was at school some 16 years ago! Maybe I am being a little bit overly critical of myself.

I guess everyone out there lacks motivation from time to time.

:?

 

[bosshogg]

Investing money in the hope of gaining more accuracy IMHO is not the answer, learning from your mistakes is the only true way of learning. As Albert Einstein so eloquently put it "anyone who hasn't made a mistake, hasn't attempted anything new" so your in good company there...bosshogg

 

[barkwindjammer]

Excellent work there Proto, from those pics I would guess you can do probably all thats needed at your level of skill (I'm in the same league-budget tools), I think its like learning anything new-its a whole lot of effort, you might be like me and spend a lot of time thinking what 'stages' you need to go through, and a lot of time trying to find that router bit you had in your hand 5 mins ago etc etc, just keep plodding m8 would be my advice, if you stand and watch any tradesperson and think how effortless they make it all look-they met the same hurdles as you, try to get small project comissions from family and friends-that will give you more focus :idea:

 

[studders]

Investing money in the hope of gaining more accuracy IMHO is not the answer,

I 'think' I know what you're saying but don't 100% agree. Assuming the OP is using power tools rather than hand tools to do the major cutting out of components then, having half decent tools such as a Table Saw can save an awful lot of frustration. My own efforts, and resultant satisfaction, improved no end simple by changing from a 'usable' Table Saw to an accurate one.

 

[Ch1ppie]

I agree with studders here. I have used budget power tools for some years now, and the most used are starting to fail.. I am replacing with higher spec replacements. For for key tools requiring power and accuracy - deffo worth the investment. Takes out a lot of frustration and increases productivity = greater satisafaction quicker !!

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

I quite like the sawing table. Some nice work.

The fact you're asking number 3 tells me your hearts not really in it so it maybe time to quite the fad and move to the next one.

If im wrong and looking at your work I hope I am, then a bit of 1 and 2. Investing in a table saw, mitre saw and thicknesser/planer will greatly reduce your frustrations in un-square timber but its not the answer to all the little details, mistakes are best learn't lessons and sometimes doing it all by hand and getting it right is more rewarding.

A professional will know what tolerance he/she will get away with where as a beginner/amateur/hobbyist thinks everything has to be mm perfect. In many cases it what defines a pro from amateur. Don't be to hard on yourself if a mitre is a deg off, as a pro I can tell you its well within an acceptable tolerance. Also Hand Made isn't meant to be perfect!

 

[Dibs-h]

+1. Machining metal - yes accurate to 1000's of an inch, but wood nearest 1mm or 0.5mm is perfectly fine!

Dibs

 

[DOOGYREV]

You will find motivation and inspiritation comes from the most unlikly of places, Usually it will creep up on you and grab you when you least expect it, and that is such a great feeling, and you can get so much done, its not worth giving up on.

As hobby, I would reccomend using hand tools only, the satisfaction is far greater, and a challange more rewarding.

Although my advice would be to, get a table saw and a planer, nothing expensive or fancy, the cheapest ones will be a vast improvement on accuracy compared with what your doing now, then do nothing, just wait for a project to find you!

Once it does, and if you get frustrated when a mitre doesnt quite line up or if it isn't quite square, just come and ask us. As said above there are many tricks of trade to get around 'the small details'. Before the Internet they might have taken 50 years to learn, now you can know it in 5 min's.

 

[mailee]

Looks like your doing well so far and better equipment can only enhance that. I had started small with woodwork as a hobby and it gradually grew. As it did I bought more and better tools and it became self funding. I made things for friends and family to start with and word got around and it started to expand. I am now self employed and enjoying it with a much larger customer base too. Go on and enjoy it, you have the talent for sure. :wink:

 

[drillbit]

From your photos, what you have done looks really great.

But I agree that if you are asking 3. then maybe you are already starting to go off it.

I am probably at a similar stage to you - been learning for about 6 months, produced a few pieces, and still making numerous mistakes. I find that power tools do not really improve my accuracy - in fact, I find I can make mistakes much more efficiently using power tools. Out of this entire forum, I would bet I am the most skilled producer of offcuts

I guess one difference between us though is that, even though I make loads of mistakes and get really frustrated, I am still totally addicted to it, and can't wait to get woodworking when I get home.

What causes me to make most mistakes is

1. Impatience
2. Impatience
3. Blunt tools
4. Starting out with stock which is not square

I can't help the first 3, but on number 4, I think there is one tool I think would make a big difference to me - a planer /thicknesser. The reason being that the cheap pine I can afford from a local builders merchant chain is always very cupped / warped / bowed. Although I plane as much as I can out by hand, I sometimes find I just lack the stamina or skill to get it perfect, so I still always end up working with slightly curved stock, and that means nothing ever quite fits perfectly. Even when trying to just saw a length, I often mark it all round with a square and find there is a 1-3mm difference between the end and the start - makes it hard to cut it straight. I think that starting with really straight edged timber would not make me an expert, but it would give me a better fighting chance.

Unless you are in love with woodworking, I would avoid spending a lot of money on power tools. But if all that is putting you off is that fact that you are not producing perfection - I would say, most of the time it's only you who notices.

 

[Protoclown]

Guys,
A big thank you to everyone that has commented on my post.
I think half my problem is that im a surveyor draughtsman by trade, so accuracy is always paramount and in some instances mm perfect.
My wife has told me that when i prepare my projects and draw up 2d/3d drawings with a cutting list the finished article is always much better as opposed to when i try and make something out of scrap bits of wood without a plan.

My mum has recently asked me to make her a couple of floor standing cupboards to go in her downstairs toilet, they are all designed up i just need to purchase the wood i feel much more confident about my ability when i have plans to guid me.

I'm definately in agreement with Studders, ch1ppie and Hudson i really do believe i will get my mojo back if i purchased a table saw to have a better chance of producing more accurate cuts. A planner thicknesser will come at the end of the summer, hopefully.

Although i put comment 3 in the post its not something i would have taken lightly, i DO still have a passion i think i just hit a trough of frustration that day when everything was fighting me.

@ Hudson, Do pros even use 2part filler when things don't quite meet up?

Doogyrev and Drillbit, i know exactly what you mean, sometimes i am chomping at the bit to get home from work and do something woodwork related. I will definatley be using this site more for tip/hints. After all its what it was desinged for.

Mailee, You sound like you have fulfilled the dream! I would love to get to a stage where i can become a self employed cabinet maker. My idea is to save the profits (allbeit small at the moment) from any sales to purchase the next big tool.

Again thanks for all you support and comments about what i have achived so far.

 

[MatthewRedStars]

Do pros even use 2part filler when things don't quite meet up?

Oh yes! Filler and coloured waxes are rarely in the cupboard at our place!

Quick cheat - If a mitre has a small gap on the outside thenna quick rub with the back of a chisel will bend the fibres and close it up.

 

[mtr1]

Do pros even use 2part filler when things don't quite meet up?

Heck yes, I would be surprised to hear that other pro's say they didn't(weather they like to admit it or not is another thing).

A table saw is needed for sure, but you can cut accurately by hand with a little patience. I would be more inclined to get a P/T, and have my stock accurate.

 

[woodbloke]

I have been trying my hand at cabinet making for just over two years. My first project was a Toy Box for my nephew. After much blood (quite literally) sweat and tears I completed my first project. It gave me such a buzz to be able to design and build furniture from scratch.
With this new found enthusiasm I decided to buy a woodworking book and make some of the projects that are detailed inside them. Obviously to do these projects I had to purchase a few additional tools, such as a band saw, more clamps, biscuit jointer. I only bought the less expensive end of the market, the likes of TITAN and Macalister. Just in case I was going through a fad.

Whilst I still enjoy making these items I do find I lack motivation to get out to the garage a ‘crack on’ with things. I seem to be getting increasingly frustrated (read angry) with the small details for example when a mitre joint doesn’t quite fit or when the wood isn’t quite square when I cut it despite measuring numerous times.

I now find myself at a crossroads.
1. Do I carry on as I am and try to soldier on through it and learn from my mistakes.
2. Invest some more money on more essential tools to get better accuracy. I currently use a circular saw to cut most of my timber, would a table saw give me greater accuracy. Planner/Thicknesser?
3. Give-up and just get used to the fact that it really wasn’t for me.

I work full time and try to get out in the garage after work and at weekends when I can. I have had no lessons in woodworking other than when I was at school some 16 years ago! Maybe I am being a little bit overly critical of myself.

I guess everyone out there lacks motivation from time to time.

:?

An interesting one. The keyword here is 'buzz' and most of us hereabouts strive to achieve that buzz, sometimes elusively. It was there at the beginning, so what's happened to it? To begin with, the power tools may have have little effect on the finished article, most of the stuff will have been made and finished with hand tools. Hereabouts may be the problem...how good are your hand skills? How good are your sharpening skills, because this is paramount to achieving good work? If you've only been at this game for a couple of years in the evenings and weekends, then I suspect, probably not too refined.
Also, how fast are you trying to make stuff? Slooooooow down and really think your way through what you're trying to achieve...you're not up against any deadlines ('cept maybe SWIMBO's)
I'd pick a small project, say a dovetailed box and try and make it as carefully and methodically as possible. You will make mistakes (we all do, there was never a perfect job) but the important thing to do is to look objectively at it and learn from the obvious errors that you've made...this place is a great forum to see what they are.
Finally, I'd get round to see other forum members in your local area and chew the fat, see what's being done in the way of good work and generally get the mojo working again - Rob

 

[DOOGYREV]

Do pros even use 2part filler when things don't quite meet up?

I would agree that we have all used filler, especially if its something thats going to be painted, but (for me anyway) it is still a last resort on a wood finish, as the colours are hard to match with the wood, given the wood will change shades slightly once varnished, and it can also bleed into the grain and you wont see where until you varnish.

There are still a few things you can do before you get your filler knife out.
1. when you have glued and cramped a piece together, grab a handful of sawdust (from the same wood) and rub it into all the joins while the glue is still wet.
2. For halving joints, mitres, tenon shoulders etc... assemble it dry then run a hand saw where it doesn't quite marry up, start in the gap and cut away the bit thats touching, if theres still a gap close up the joint and repeat.
3. when its not end grain, just glue an other piece to it, doesn't have to be the right size, once it is dry then you can make it the right size. its not called Joinery for nothing :lol:

A phrase I have always remembered, from when I did my apprentiship, when I got annoyed with 'trivial' stuff was.
"Don't worry about it, a blind man would like to see that!"

If you do choose to stick at it, you will find that its only you who notices these things, and we all make mistakes, were only human, after all if we didn't, pencils wouldn't come with rubber on the other end.

 

[woodbloke]

I would agree that we have all used filler, especially if its something thats going to be painted, but (for me anyway) it is still a last resort on a wood finish, as the colours are hard to match with the wood, given the wood will change shades slightly once varnished, and it can also bleed into the grain and you wont see where until you varnish.

There are still a few things you can do before you get your filler knife out.
1. when you have glued and cramped a piece together, grab a handful of sawdust (from the same wood) and rub it into all the joins while the glue is still wet.
2. For halving joints, mitres, tenon shoulders etc... assemble it dry then run a hand saw where it doesn't quite marry up, start in the gap and cut away the bit thats touching, if theres still a gap close up the joint and repeat.
3. when its not end grain, just glue an other piece to it, doesn't have to be the right size, once it is dry then you can make it the right size. its not called Joinery for nothing :lol:

The problem here though Doogy, is that the OP is a draughtsman and clearly likes to work to a very tight tolerance, which he aspires to do in practical work at home and the weekend. There's nothing wrong with the steps that you outline to correct faults, but I suspect that sort of approach would be anathama to him, as it would me. As I see it, he's on a fairly steep learning curve to achieve the high standards he's clearly aiming for which is why I mentioned the points I did.
Fwiw, I use the Liberon coloured wax sticks for any light filling that needs to be done. The other trick, as advocated by Robert Ingham, is to use very fine sanding dust which is then mixed with a runny 'superglue' to make an exactly matching filler.
The other thing that's eaually true is that only the maker knows and can see the faults in a piece, but I take the view that once it's done and dusted...that's it and I have to live with it for good or bad - Rob

 

[Dibs-h]

I think half my problem is that im a surveyor draughtsman by trade, so accuracy is always paramount and in some instances mm perfect.

You are probably right and perhaps need to reign in that almost OCD desire for accuracy. Not having a dig - I used to be like that myself - and it did take some time to learn to live with it and even embrace it.

The one thing to note is that wood moves, so one can't be perfect. As it might be perfect now - next week might be something else.

Dibs

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Yes I have a few different types of filler on my shelves. I even have containers of saw dust labeled with which wood it is to help colour match when I make mistakes or find faults. If the piece is to be painted ill not care that much as I know the paint will hide the filler.

It really is you that sees these things. Others will not even notice. Im my own worst critic and you are your own worst critic.

 

[bosshogg]

I Agree with the spirit of what is being advised to you here, but reiterate "Investing money in the hope of gaining more accuracy IMHO, is not the answer, learning from your mistakes is the only true way of learning "
It's as I was told, recovering from my stroke condition "your expectations are likely higher than is practicable" the answer is, if you really want to continue, perseverance.

The joy of working with your hands, is in the learning and creation, not the perfection, which comes later. Machinery takes the drudgery out of some hard work, but as has already been stated >if the setting/sharpness of the machine is not right< buying machines, only makes for more expensive mistakes.
Any good book on the subject will give you a method of working, but as in your own discipline, there are good and bad operatives, it depends how you adapt the methods to yourself.

The choice, as to whether you carry on or not, is yours and yours alone ...bosshogg :|

Anyone who says they have never made mistakes, has never tried something new. A. E. 8)

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

I too am in the vein of the perfectionist, it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes trying to reach the standards your head sets for yourself. But when friends and customers come into the shop they tell me that I'm being ridiculous. You've just gotta take a step back and think about the grand scheme of things, you can't spend forever tweaking the fit of every little piece that isn't sitting absolutely perfectly. As someone has said above, wood moves, ultimately you won't win.

I imagine most customers will be over the moon with what you produce for them.

I have to say spending money on tools to try and get your skills up to scratch won't work. But if you have sub-standard tools that are being counter productive to your efforts then get some new kit. A decent TS, SCMS and P/T would be my first ports of call when you can stretch to them. I imagine you will get more enjoyment out of the whole procedure.

Good luck with it all. Cheers _Dan