Skill-Building Projects - Question of the Week

October 31, 2006 | Filed Under Blog, Question of the Week 

A major part of what I hope to accomplish with The Wood Whisperer, aside from the obvious videos and articles, is to give my fellow woodworkers a place to go when they just can’t find answers anywhere else. Whether you need advice on a technique, a tool, or even on your woodworking career, I am here to help. Now despite how much I try to convince my wife, I don’t have all the answers. But fortunately, I have a lot of friends in the industry. So if I dont know the answer, I probably know someone who does.

So as a new feature, I am starting the email question of the week. This weeks question comes from Tony.

He writes:

“I am just starting out, as a recreational woodworker, are there any key projects / techniques that you would advise I master as a way of ‘growing my skill set. I am planning to build my own Cabinet makers bench later this year and currently am working towards mastering the skills I will need for this.”

And here was my reply:

“Believe it or not Tony, one of the best beginner projects that will teach you some critical skills is a cutting board. A cutting board requires you to mill numerous pieces of stock perfectly flat and straight, then glue them up without any gaps. The top needs to be perfectly flat and smooth when its all said and done. If you can master a cutting board, then you are in pretty good shape for making a classic workbench. Its just a heck of alot bigger. :) In fact, one of the first projects I will cover is probably going to be a cutting board.

Now the other skill I would try to master is probably the mortise and tenon joint. You will probably make more mortise and tenons than any other joint. Find a system that works for you and stick with it for a while. Having that joint down will pay off big time down the line.

And if you are going to be making alot of cabinets, the things I would get practice on are cutting large sheets of plywood down to smaller, perfectly square pieces (alot harder than it sounds sometimes). You should also be comfortable making a dado joint. You won’t go very far with fine cabinetry if you aren’t comfortable with a dado joint.

Obviously, the list can go on and on. But those are the things I would teach a student if they came into my shop asking that very question. And just as an FYI, I wouldn’t get too hung up on “mastering” anything. The fastest way to learn is to simply understand a concept, apply a concept, and move on to the next projects. Make each project a learning experience. I like to think of it as learning on the fly. There is certainly nothing wrong with practicing, but I like to see my students jump right into a project, and learn along the way. If the mistakes are more meaningful, then the lesson is more meaningful.

So to sum it up, I would say you should pick specific projects that require certain techniques that you are interested in learning. Then make one of those items. Heck, make 10 of them if you want! But at least you are producing something with each round of practice and you will actually have something to show for your hard work. Many of my workshop “oops” projects have found a happy home in a relatives house. ”

Now if you have a question about woodworking, please feel free to email me at thewoodwhisperer@gmail.com

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!

Comments

2 Responses to “Skill-Building Projects - Question of the Week”

  1. Jeramy Phillips on November 2nd, 2006 4:24 am

    Great tip on the cutting board. Back in high school wood shop one of the first projects we did was a cheese cutter, essentially a small cutting board.

    Great show Marc, and keep up the good work.

  2. Ethan on November 3rd, 2006 5:50 pm

    I’m blessed with a mentor who is a bit older, has lots of woodworking experience under his belt, and does woodworking for a living. His shop is always open, which is helping me to overcome one of the bigger frustrations of woodworking in the beginning - the lack of tools needed to make woodworking more fun than hassle (especially when it comes to dimensioning lumber).

    He’s good at sending me off in the right direction, but he also wants me to make my own mistakes and learn from them. Actually, he says I make my own challenges, too… (I still haven’t figured out if that’s a good thing or not.)

    Anyway, my additional advice would be:
    Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, especially if you can learn from them! After all, it’s just a piece of scrap wood! You didn’t really try that technique for the first time with your only piece of Cocobolo… did you? Oh, you did? Well… who wants a box that big anyway, right?

    (Don’t be afraid to learn from OTHER woodworkers’ mistakes, as well!)

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