Thread: As a Woodworker, when do you ever feel “in over your head”?

When the wood moves. I'm a metal worker. Wood isn't ductile so that was a hill to climb, but it's movement that really gets me. Maybe someday I'll row a feel for that.

Oh yes. Just yesterday.

I spent a couple of hours carefully inlaying a nice bookmatched piece that I hand planed. Then I mixed my epoxy and poured it over. Then I watched in horror as trapped air started coming out from under the inlay. Then I very gently took a blowtorch to it, killed a few bubbles, but more kept coming out. Then I gently blowtorched some more, and then more bubbles formed, and more blowtorch, and then the epoxy started to dry and turn milky white.

And now I want to take a big blow torch and burn my shed down

In response to the title of your thread, most of the time. The passing years have taught me some useful mechanisms to defend against a complete lack of training.

1. Ensure every permanent action is really well considered.
2. Mark, mark and mark some more. Top, bottom, left, right, front, back, waste or not etc.
3. If in doubt, do a test piece.
4. Learn to recognize danger - the easy way.
5. Measure and measure again. Check for square. See 1.
6. Ask someone who knows. That's what the WWF is for.
7. Use good tools and keep them sharp.

mick

All the time when I start a never done project and that’s the challenge that keeps me doing woodwork. I choose projects that I think I might fail at just to test myself.

SB

Every time I chat with you buggers here I realise I am only scratching the surface and have SOOOOO much more to learn

When do I feel in over my head? Today! Been chasing my tail all damn day fixing what I just screwed up only to screw up the fix so I have to fix the fix with another damn fix!

Yo dawg, I heard you like fixing things...

I've only been doing woodwork for 30 years or so, so I still get out of my depth fairly often. It's the only way to learn. Glider's advice is about as good as you'll find.

If you get into trouble, try something. If it works, you've learned something. If it doesn't work, you've learned something.

The beauty of working with wood is the relaxing rewarding challenge of new projects, stretching yourself.
For me it’s hands and head but then if or should I say when I muckup either reworking the project or walk away for a while & regroup.
Worse case it’s just a piece of wood and I can start again, the wood doesn’t mind.
Cheers crowie

Regularly over my head, especially with the weird projects that I am volunteered to complete or fix from the Woodclub.

Keeps the brain ticking over.

I've certainly had my share of projects that looked beyond me, but when you break them down into smaller bits it become much more do-able.

I do not get in over my head but I can become trapped in my head. I experience fear and trepidation. I can succumb to procrastination. I then take baby steps cautious & meticulous in every detail. I run through every step, process and idea in my head again and again. I talk to myself as I try to reassure myself of what I am doing and to help me learn what I am doing as I am doing it. Then at the end of the day I tend to quietly sit with my days work and I try to see how I feel about it. Over time I feel better in myself, however since the nature of woodworking means that no two tasks are ever the same my neuroses never goes away. It's good to be mad.

FYI: - The originator of this thread is a spammer who posted links to Teds plans ripoff.
The original post is a cut and paste from part of a thread on another woodwork site.
The poster was banned and this thread was deleted but restored due to interest.
Dave..

I was wondering about that. I always treat first-and-only posts with suspicion (especially in a different font), but there was nothing obviously spammy about it so I figured it might be ok