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I owe my woodworking skills to my grade eight shop teacher and my ego. In the intermediate grades we were given two hours each week for a semester to hone our carpentry skills. The other semester was devoted to home economics. The fact that I managed to escape the former without a loss of digits and the latter without poisoning anyone is testament to good teaching not natural talent. I am not a natural carpenter and I know that. I have examined the master- crafted woodworking projects of my friends: beds, tables, shelves and cupboards with awe. Visiting their woodwork shops is like a trip to a foreign country for me. I have no idea what all those tools are for. So it was with sinking heart but great resolve that I agreed to build a computer desk for my wife. Actually ego had everything to do with this doomed project. I have openly criticized the workmanship and/or design of every computer desk she had looked at. I knew what was wrong with them all. Finally, in frustration she said, “Well if you think you can do better, go ahead.” Now this is tantamount to telling Evel Knievel he cannot leap over Niagara Falls. The dare had been made. I had to put my hammer and saw where my mouth had taken me. Now remember I said I was no carpenter and my last occasion to hold a woodworking tool had been grade eight. All true. No exaggeration! Now I could have contracted the job out to a real carpenter but that would have been expensive. I could have purchased a set of woodworking plans and attempted to follow them. That would have been far too sensible. So there I was with my Home Depot woodworking tools: hammer, saw, vise, screw drivers, wood glue, sander, and workbench. I was ready. When they told me at the lumber store to buy extra wood for my project “just in case”, I should have had a premonition. The first set of wood ended up in the middle of the garage-converted-to-a-workshop floor. I escaped with numerous cuts, scrapes, abrasion and a near amputation of my right index finger. Who knew those new saws would cut so fast? The second set of materials fared better but the desk was uneven and looked as if a ten-year-old had built it. But I was learning valuable lessons: choose the right tool; measure twice, cut once; clean up your workspace; put things back after you use them; create or buy a plan and follow it meticulously. My wife has her computer desk. The lumber yard is three times richer. I have a set of mostly-usable woodworking tools and can even call them by name. I have learned and relearned woodworking safety the hard way. The desk doesn’t look too bad. It cost four times what we would have paid to buy one already constructed—not to mention my time and a large supply of first aid supplies. My wife now has orders from three of her friends for computer desks like hers. I might just construct these woodworking projects now that I have a plan and experience—if these people are prepared to wait. Woodworking projects complement your home décor. Even if you are not a natural carpenter, you too can accomplish aesthetically pleasing woodworking projects with a few tools, a good plan, patience and a lot of Band-Aids. With downloadable plans available from such sites as Ted's Woodworking, even a novice like me can accomplish an adequate wood product. Be Your Own Carpenter!
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