Hombres:
My fears were healthy but unsubstantiated last night at ye olde woodshoppe. I am so proud of myself today. I hauled in my 2×6’s and went through my building plans with Wes, the instructor. I told him I was fine leaving out the curved cuts and details, because it would still look nice without them. He told me no, we were doing it all. There was only one other guy there finishing up a project, so I basically had private lessons. Wes would tell me which saw to use, and then just let me go on my own. I realized that I did know how to use all the equipment, how to measure and pick the best parts of the lumber and read the plans. I just needed some guidance, and that’s exactly what I got. I cut up my 8′ boards with the radial arm saw, then we measured and drew lines for the curved cuts with a flexible strip of wood. I ran 6′ pieces through the band saw and didn’t freak out once. I sanded the curves on the drum sander, then did the finish work with the hand sander. After a while, I actually felt like I knew what I was doing. And it was completely gratifying. I came home covered in sawdust, tears running from my eyes because of the dust under my contacts. I smelled like hamster cage, because I’m working with cedar. And I’m no longer intimidated by woodshop. I love it. Jenni