I never took woodshop in High School. It wasn't offered. It was offered in one of the middle schools I went to, but I was only there for half a year and that half was home economics. Like most other kids I knew, I was always trying to build ramps, tree houses, and all kinds of other stuff. I never had instruction on it though. At a certain age it didn't even seem important. Then I bought a house and not having a male figure in my life show me how to build birdhouse or spice rack seemed positively detrimental.
DIY projects abound when you own a home. Sure you can pay someone to do things but that cost even more money and my wife (and by proxy, I) is cheap. I would have to learn how to use the tools and do things that most people grew up learning how to do. Needless to say, my projects usually start out poorly and get better as I go along. Obviously there are learning curves in anything you do, but I felt the lack or wood shop in school or doing things like this at home made my curve larger.
This weekend, I started a project with my oldest. I won't mention what it is in case it goes horribly wrong. I have never done somthing like this, so there is again a learning curve. I do know how to use my tools though, just not expertly. Lessons have been learned. Did you know that you can't use a regular drill bit to drill through plexiglass. Well you can, but with disasterous results.
Hopefully Ashli is learning from this and it is a memory she can carry forward. Hopefully it turns out okay and it is something that will get years of use and she can be proud of her contribution, which basically amounts to handing me things, acting as a third or fourth hand, and occasionally manually screwing something in.
In case my wife is reading this (she is not), things that I could have used to make this project smoother that you could buy for me: A T-square, a table saw, a router, and a dremel. Oh yeah, and a bit for drilling through plexiglass and some of those quick release clamps.
1 comment:
I'm in the same boat. I loved woodworking in grade school but nothing prepares one for owning a 90-year-old house. Between the housing crisis and economy, it is vital to learn about fixer-upers. Good for the environment too - rather than knocking down old houses with a perfectly good foundation.
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