Why I Love Woodworking

So, why is woodworking something I enjoy? To answer that, I need to return to my childhood. I remember being four years old and with my grandfather. We were in his little workshop in his backyard. He loved to have everything organized. Each item had its place, and he could put his hand on whatever tool he wanted without even thinking about it.

To the right of the window was a small cabinet complete with two doors on the front. A small key was in the keyhole. I remember my grandfather opening it up and the doors swinging open. Inside were different chisels of various sizes, a small hand plane, a small tenon saw, and two different sizes of a hacksaw. He kept all these tools in this small cabinet.

I sat there on a wooden stool that used to belong to my great-grandfather, watching as he cut some wood to make the frame for a soil sifter. Putting the frame together, attaching the wire mesh, and then putting the item to work, all of it done in what seemed like minutes. (at least in the eyes of a kid)

I was amazed at how he could put these seemingly random pieces of wood together to make something useful. It wasn’t a work of art, but it worked, and I loved that.

That, for me, is why I love woodworking. You take this natural material and turn it into something different, whether it be a cabinet for the bathroom, a garden bench, or even building the workshop itself. While I appreciate modern tools and how they speed up the process and make things smoother and more accurate, there’s still something to be said about doing the finishing touches in that old way.

What I hope for is my lifelong passion and thrill of producing something that readers can relate to, as they too have experienced the same kind of thing.