Article - October 16, 2009
Every Friday, I include a personal note in our Newsletter where I discuss some random event or concept. I never really know what I am going to write until I am sitting at the keyboard on Friday morning. Today’s newsletter note turned into more of a blog post and its something that I would like to hear people’s thoughts on. So I am re-posting it here. Enjoy!
I have a question for you. Have you ever taken the more difficult path on purpose? You could do something the easy way, with results that were just as good, but there was something about the more difficult path that drew you in. I confronted this as I was preparing for this month’s Guild project: a wall-hanging tool chest. I wasn’t sure whether to opt for a new joinery gizmo I am reviewing, or go the more challenging route with traditional dadoes (made even more complicated because of excessively undersized plywood and the fact that the dados are stopped). So as tempting as it was to try the new gizmo on this project, as it surely would have made life easier, I decided to opt for the dadoes. And while I’d like to claim some herioc noble reason, the truth is that the simple path just wouldn’t have done much justice to our viewers. The fact is, if you haven’t dealt with undersized plywood and stopped dadoes yet, you will. So you need to know how to deal with it, with or without a gizmo. And there is plenty of time to show how the gizmo works on future shows. So I wonder how many of you own something like a Domino, an FMT or a DowelMax, yet you still occasionally make your joints the old-fashioned way. Maybe you own a planer but you still break out your #7 and the smoother just for fun. Or perhaps you have a nice dovetail jig on the shelf collecting dust, because you really enjoy cutting them by hand. I know I could say yes to at least one of those scenarios, and I know I’m not alone. If you really think about it, we all share this common trait. Aren’t we all intentionally taking the more difficult path just by being woodworkers? In today’s day and age, do we really need to make our own furniture by hand?!?! Of course not, but we do it anyway. No matter how many splinters, cuts, and backaches we get, we would still rather be in the shop than just about anywhere else. So here’s to the difficult path! I shudder to think of a world without it!
Copyright © 2006-2023 The Wood Whisperer Inc. The Wood Whisperer, The Wood Whisperer Guild, TWW, and TWW Guild are trademarks of The Wood Whisperer Inc. All rights reserved.
This site uses affiliate links. Given this, please assume that any links leading you to products or services are affiliate links that we will receive compensation from. However, there are millions of products and services on the web, and I only promote those products or services that I would use personally. The Wood Whisperer abides by word of mouth marketing standards and holds integrity in the highest regard. Should I ever be compensated to write, I will make full disclosure. I always give honest opinions, findings, and experiences on products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely our own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. All content on The Wood Whisperer is copyrighted, and may not be reprinted in full form without my written consent.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |