I have made a couple of Shaker style side tables with little drawers and I thought I might try my hand at some wood carving. Instead of purchasing some handles I have decided to make my own by carving a little decorative base and attaching a turned knob. Well I quickly discovered some very useful facts
1. God does not reward impatient wood carvers. Even the smallest amount of change to the shape you are carving takes ages and any attempt to speed the process up is bound to end in disaster.
2. The book "Simple Projects for Beginning Wood Carvers" cannot be honestly written and sold. Wood carving starts at extremely hard and goes up from there.
3. Wood is evil and does not enjoy being carved and will not under any circumstances co-operate in the process. It can be tamed but never domesticated.
4. Huon pine is lovely timber. I have a few odd bits of it and I suspect that over time I will make good friends with it and it will consent to being formed into the shapes I have in mind.
5. Also wood carving is great fun.
6. I have had the chance over the last week to spend large uninterrupted time turning perfectly good timber into shavings and sawdust. I have been having and orgy of wood working. Now I have sometimes thought that perhaps it might be possible to turn some of my meagre skills and enjoyment into cash by making and selling objects but now I am not so sure. I realised that I do not spend time in the shed to make things. The actual making or producing useful and sometimes beautiful objects is not the point of the exercise for me and is in fact an artefact or by-product of the activity. It appears that for me at least the process of making and learning is far more important and satisfying than the actual production of objects. I have made houses and buildings full of objects over the years but when I look back on it it was the process I enjoyed far more than the completing. I am not sure that this is a good attitude to have for anyone contemplating making money from wood.