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Don’t Push It!

May 30, 2013 By Richard Maguire 6 Comments

I’ve often found that the most rewarding things in life come from learning something new. Of course it’s always been said that knowledge is power but I think for me it’s much more to do with setting small personal challenges and being able to reach them; there’s nothing better than being able to do something today that you didn’t think you were capable of yesterday.

The trouble though with pushing yourself to the limit all of the time is that everything you take on has to get progressively more complex. So once you’ve mastered the art of dovetailing you’ll probably want to tackle a half blind joint, and perhaps then the logical step to raising the bar is to go for a full blind mitred dovetail (if you succeed no one will know that it’s there so you better take a photo!).  Eventually striving and pushing your skills to the max can simply strip away the fun so I’ve had to learn not to overlook the simple pleasure of building simple things.

The best  times for me with my woodworking are when I set out to build something well within my limits. When there’s no distraction from the doubts created by a challenge then I can enjoy working for all of the reasons I love and there’s still a fantastic sense of achievement. The results may not be world class but it’s great to think you’ve completed something new and functional all within the space of an afternoon.

Still if we all thought like I do then we wouldn’t have things like this!

The link to this video was sent through to us a little while back by a good friend Chris Buckingham – Thanks Chris, this really did make me feel useless. Mind you if you put your wallet in it you’d never see it again!

Filed Under: Lifestyle Posts

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About Richard Maguire

As a professional hand tool woodworker, Richard found hand tools to be the far more efficient solution for a one man workshop.
Richard runs 'The English Woodworker' as an online resource and video education for those looking for a fuss free approach to building fine furniture by hand.
Learn More About Richard & The English Woodworker.

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Comments

  1. Shaun says

    May 30, 2013 at 11:16 pm

    Oh well, if you bought it your wallet would be empty so it wouldn’t really matter. That is one of the most inspiring pieces of furniture I think I’ve ever seen, wish I could find more details on their work or could have visited the exhibit.

    Reply
    • Richard says

      June 2, 2013 at 9:24 pm

      Thanks Shaun, I felt very much the same and had to watch it a couple of times! It’s almost like self punishment… where on Earth would you start?!
      I’ll see if we can dig anything else out about their work and I’ll certainly let you know if we find anything useful.

      Reply
  2. Ken says

    May 31, 2013 at 9:34 am

    Hi Richard,
    An old saying is a man must know his limitations. I think when you try and go past them to much, it can kill any progress you might make. Just take it nice and easy build your foundations, then move to the next level.

    Real nice video fantastic skill, thanks for posting.

    Cheers buddy. 😉

    Reply
    • Richard says

      June 2, 2013 at 9:28 pm

      Hi Ken, very wise words, I don’t think it could be better put. They should have had some pretty sound foundations to build that!
      Thanks.

      Reply
  3. Sue says

    June 1, 2013 at 9:53 am

    Great stuff – really enjoyed watching.
    I like the Chinese saying “Don’t fear slow only fear stop”

    Reply
    • Richard says

      June 2, 2013 at 9:31 pm

      Thank Sue, that’s another good one. These days I think I’m somewhere between the slow and the stop!

      Reply

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