I'm throwing in the towel

[missionaryman]

I've always had a passion for woodwork, always been good at it too. As a school kid I did pretty bad at everything but would always top the class/grade/state at woodwork, later I joined a kitchen company as an apprentice cabinetmaker and a few months into my TAFE course I was being entered into skill Olympics by my teachers.
One ting lead to another in life and I had to leave my apprenticeship in the second year and do something else, a decade went by where I didn't do anything woodwork until I got a job at Boral Timber and had access to some great hardwoods at really good prices.
Slowly I began to buy bits and pieces of wood and some cheap tools and began to make stuff, I started with workbenches and sold them on ebay, from this I used the money to buy some more tools and started making chopping boards and selling them on ebay, I used the money from these to get more tools and then I made a bed for my kids and another to sell on ebay, bought more tools and made more chopping boards and got to the stage where I could get a proper cast iron tablesaw and an excellent SCMS, both were second hand bargains on ebay.
I have been wanting to move to the next level for years now and get planer and thicknesser and a domino and some other things but it just isn't happening.
Everytime I've had the goals in sight something has happened, on two occasions - one was the Blacktown hailstorm and the other was an un-needed baby bonus - I had the money in my hand on my way to Carbatec and the most unlikely circumstances required me to turn around and pt the money into something else.
Well this is the third time and this time the week before going to Carbatec to buy everything the global economy decided to crash and there are wiser places to put your money when you're a father of 3 toddlers.
That said I'm at the frsutrating place where I have a good tablesaw, a great SCMS, a big workshop and workbench and very little else. I can't spend the money on buying machined wood or getting wood machined as all of the wood I get is recycled and free - that's my budget.
I've made about 15 wokbenches and 125 chopping boards and I've had a gut full, I'm ready to put the whole lot on ebay and turn my back on it for good.

This last time was particularly bad because I showed my boys the plans I drew up for their bunks and they were so excited and I had to buy bullcrap Chinese made secondhand beds for them instead.

I dont think it's ever going to happen - at least not until maybe retirement which is about 40 years away so I'm thinking seriously on giving the whole bloody thing up.

Any words of wisdom out there?

[Groggy]

Stick with it. Time gives you options and opportunities. Maybe you can make and sell some items to fund tools. Watching the forums will also bring opportunities to get cheap items (router bits from www.sawandbits.com is a great example). Be a shame to just give up if you truly enjoy it.

[Wood Borer]

missionaryman,

Strength is being able to take the knocks and bounce back.

OK, many of us have experienced the gut wrenching feeling of hopelessness when all your plans for the future turn to dust. It's not fair, it's heart wrenching but it is part of the journey.

We all react similarly. Anger and throwing in the towel are often the initial reactions. What you do after that depends on whether you have balls or not.

Those of us giving you advise during this dark moment certainly spat the dummy when experiencing similar disasters but we had the determination to pick the dummy up again.

Yes, it's embarassing to pick up a spat dummy especially when you previously declared you wouldn't.

My advise is to close your shed for a short time and don't make any rash decisions until you have cooled down.

When the time is right, go back to your shed and open your eyes to see what you have rather than what you haven't got. Make sure you count your experience and skill. You might see things quite differently.

Dimensioning timber can be done easily without a planer and thicknesser but it will just take a bit longer.

Hang in there, you are being a bit hard on a good bloke and woodworker.

References: Been there and done that.

Experience: Picked up heaps of spat dummies

[Cliff Rogers]

Yup, I got a Shopsmith about 18months before the first of 3 was born & by the time the 3rd one had arrived, the Shopsmith was silent & it didn't get used much for about 7 or 8 years.


If you can't make fine furniture, make some rustic stuff for outdoor/BBQ use.
Sand the splinters off with a cheap handheld sander & coat then in polyu or epoxy.
Sell them at the markets/ebay as 'Australian made from Australian Timber.'

[Stevenp]

missionaryman, hang in there mate, we have all probably been through similar times. When my kids were little (Now in their 20's) every time I managed to scrape up enough to get something for the shed, something else came up, school fees , school clothes etc . I now have a pretty good selection of good quality tools , but it has taken over 20 years and had to put up with a lot of crappy cheap tools in the meantime.
Dont give it up, give it some time and do something else maybe ,but hang in there if you really enjoy it.

[Chesand]

Do as Woodborer has said - let your mind clear.

We all need a spell from our hobbies now and then and we come back with renewed enthusiasm

[Scribbly Gum]

There's some good advice here MM.
My father made many of the items of furniture in our home with one saw, two chisels and a hammer. We thought that he was the world's best craftsman.
Your kids aren't going to worry about what kind of tools you have, they only see the love that you show.
So- chin up old son - the glass is always at least half full - not half empty.
Churchill was invited back to his old School to speak to the students.
He told them only three words..............
Never give up...........!

Onya mate
Cheers from Tele Point
SG

[tea lady]

If it the only thing you enjoy and are good at I don't think it will let you "throw in the towel." Is there some other way you can do it? Is there a mens shed nearby? That is what I am doing. Who has the budget straight up to buy tools? And there are others to talk to there. Also others to talk to here. Maybe there is an opportunity to go in with a mate- new or old- to do the thing you love.

And the question of "better place to put your money in these hard times". I can't think of a better one then in something that you love and want to work towards making a living from.

There is a way. Don't give up yet. You wouldn't have told us if you REALLY wanted to.

[Rattrap]

Not wanting to get too spooky, sounds like karma or something is telling u that the time just isn't right at the moment. If its your passion then things will fall into place for u when the time is right.
Grease up your tools to stop them rusting & throw a cover over them. Give it 6 mths or even a yr before u make up your mind. The number of times in the last few mths that i've read or spoken to mates who sold their equip for 1 reason or another then a year or 2 later deceided to buy it all back, every 1 of em were kicking themselves for selling up.
Perhaps u just need to look into 2nd hand machinery. The beauty with much of the older tools is that they just keep on going & going & going.

[The Bleeder]

missionaryman,

If you give up now you'll 'kick' yourself later. For every time you say 'I could have built that' you'll 'kick' yourself.

How many times do you want to 'kick' yourself.

As others have said "DON'T GIVE UP".

Give yourself a break and then the rational side will take over.

Steve

[Ellemcbeast]

Only you can decide what is best for you, but there are some personal experiences you have already had, which on reflection, may influence your decision.

1. How did you feel before you got your first decent tools. Frustration? Wishing to engage the wood, but unable to do so? Unrequited talent waiting to create? Wondering how everybody else did it? etc, etc.
Do you want to go back to this place?

2. Then there were the feelings between ordering the tools and fully installing them ready for use. Great expectation?, At last I can participate!, How much can I achieve?
I am taking the first step on a long creative journey?
How quickly can you get to this place again?

3. Then the tools came into use and benches and breadboards flowed proving talent, practical skill and production capability. aAnd you brought joy to those receiving them and cash to your coffers for those willing to pay for your skills.
This place was very rewarding and is worth striving for again!

Simply put, you have made some significant steps on your woodworking journey and have encountered periods of joy and satisfaction, which have overcome frustration at the speed of tool collection and progress with production. Dont let the current temporary frustration cause you to go back to 1. The depth of the negative feelings you had then will increase if you do.

Don't look back and definitely don't go back there. At worst, pause, reflect and plan your next move forward. I think it will be a planer thicknesser and think of the opportunities that will come from that!!!!!

[bluegum30]

dont give up mate take the good advice offered here there been many times when i felt like chucking it all to the ???? house when i was younger with 4 kids and things were going pear shape.my two bobs worth clean your gear mothball it till this passes and belive me it will.all the best lloyd.

[masoth]

....... and I can't say better than all of the above - but I can say that the most depressinig sight is an empty shed. Now that IS something I have experienced. I was away from building for almost 30 years, and the odd thing is the tools still work.

[Allan at Wallan]

Hi missionaryman,

Many of us have experienced the highs and lows of living
and guess we can sympathize with you in some way.

However, I have found that if you believe in yourself, look
on the positive side and have a little patience, then things
often sort themselves out. Sure it might not happen today
or tomorrow but you will get the lucky breaks when you
least expect them and you will be on top of the world.

Hang in there and it will happen.

Allan

[Caliban]

In case being nice and understanding to you as everyone above has been, (and as I am normally inclined to be,) doesn't help you decide, I might add something more like nasty about the hard cold reality of being an adult, a responsible parent etc.
Have some pride man.
Did the Anzacs say they'd rather not stat at Gallipoli?
Do you want to be like Trevor Chappel, do you need to win everytime?
Have you not made really good stuff without great tools already?
One day you'll get there, and then there'll be no stopping you (unless you take your bat and ball and go home now)
Do you want to feel stupid later?
I remember the time when a bloke on the golf coursde spat the dummy and threw his clubs, bag, buggy and all into the dam swearing that he'd never be back. How embarrassing it was ten minutes later when he was swimming in the dam. No one stopped laughing when he explained that he was only after his car keys.
Give up if you want, but it is you who will suffer, no pain , no gain. If life was meant to be easy Malcolm Fraser would still be the Prime Minister.