Loading ...Where’s the fun in carpentry work? Let me tell you where. It’s in the planning of what you will do, the choosing of the woods you’ll do, the act itself; in fact, all aspects of carpentry is fun if you let it. Of course there are some who are not suited for carpentry. I personally don’t like clowns, in fact I have an irrational fear of them, and yet the majority of people think they’re funny and cool and so on but whatever works for you man.
But when it comes to woodwork carpentry… ahhh, I feel at peace. There’s something about holding a piece of timber in your hands, visualizing what it will turn into after you are through with it. Will it be a cupboard? Will it be a hanging pot? A chair perhaps? Or maybe even a sports car if you are really ingenious. That last bit about the sports car may seem ludicrous, but don’t scoff too much cause it may well be possible, given that wooden robots were being made in Japan as early as the late 1800′s!
Imagine, robots in the late 1800′s using nothing but wood, metal and strings. With only 12 moving parts! I’ll let that sink in for a moment… in awe now? Good. That’s ingenuity at it’s finest. Granted Mr. Tanaka had a smattering of mechanical engineering knowledge, as well as some metal work and clockwork skill, but still. This illustrates the potential woodwork carpentry has in the right hands. Oh, and if you are wondering if Mr. Tanaka’s workshop languished in obscurity, don’t worry. His workshop eventually became Toshiba.
Doing carpentry also helps one to think in more precise terms. I am reminded of a carpenter joke I heard a few years back:
“A carpenter was giving evidence about an accident he had witnessed. The lawyer for the defendant was trying to discredit him and asked him how far away he was from the accident.
The carpenter replied, “Twenty-seven feet, six and one-half inches.”
“What? How come you are so sure of that distance?” asked the lawyer.
“Well, I knew sooner or later some idiot would ask me. So I measured it!” replied the carpenter.”
Funny stuff. I have no clue really how the joke ties in with what I said about precise thinking, but the connection is in there somewhere.
Bottom line is, there is no limit as to what you can do with carpentry. As a hobby, as a profession, or even as a means to start your own powerhouse tech company, carpentry never ceases to reward. I grew up a frustrated carpenter, and I still am. If you take a look inside my work shed, you’d find skewed furniture, uneven picture frames and crudely hammered floorboards. But the act of working on them? Perfect. I may not be the best carpenter out there, or even in my own home really, but by gum is my form perfect!
Check out the list of carpenters near your area and see if you can pick up a thing or two to help you become a skilled carpenter yourself.
