I’m slowly gaining confidence in my woodworking endeavours. So far I’ve avoided serious injury (apart from stabbing myself with a pencil), and I haven’t screwed anything up really badly (except cutting two pieces of wood an inch too short). I’ve made a good-looking mallet and a fully functional sharpening stone box.
I’m now working on the step stool, which involves dovetail joints. I have horrible memories of trying to do dovetail joints in school and failing miserably, but so far these ones are progressing quite smoothly. Of course I haven’t actually tried to fit anything together yet, so the big test is still to come.
I’ve discovered that using a backsaw is surprising easy, but sawing in a straight line is the tricky part. I’ve discovered that working with sharp tools is a joy, but they get blunt really quickly. I’ve discovered that marking which bits of wood are the bits you’re throwing away is really important. I’ve discovered that Jen likes how I smell after I’ve been working with wood.