I resisted using power tools for a long time mainly because they were scary. I can now see the value in them. They allow me to do things faster and, in some cases, more accurately than I can do them by hand. It's a bit like using computers though. It's tempting once you start to think that the computer or the power tool can do everything when, in reality, there are some things that can be better done with a pencil or with a hand tool. Rob Cosman is right when he says that woodworkers do what they do because they enjoy the process; however there are times when I don't really care about the process: I just want the thing built.
That's how it was with the dolly I built for the cabinet in which I'm going to keep my tools. I inherited the cabinet from Mum's house when she moved out and it must be just about as old as I am. There are actually two cabinets. I'm not crazy about the colours but they are made of steel; the drawers work well, and they're very sturdy. Richard will get one for his turning supplies and I'll get one for my hand tools. That's fitting because they spent most of their lives that I know about in the hobby room holding material for Mum's sewing and silver and tools for her silversmithing and lapidary.
Anyway, back to the dolly. I used a pocket hole jig to put the frame together. It was much quicker than doing the dovetails. Just about anything is and sometimes I just don't feel like practicing. Now the tools have a home that I can push rather than lug. Neither the cabinet nor the dolly is elegant and sometimes that's okay. If I had waited to make an elegant tool board I probably wouldn't have done as much woodworking as I have in the last four years. Now I'm thinking about how I can attend to the look of my galley shop (like a galley kitchen where you can stand in one place and reach just about everything.)
I'm listening to a very interesting audio book called A Whole New Mind. In it the author maintains that we are moving from a knowledge age to a conceptual age where we will need to use our right brains to bring ideas together. He urges people to keep design notebooks and to record the design of experiences and not just things. My little shop is functional for the most part. Now I want to make it more attractive. There are many problems of space to be solved and they will certainly call for all my creativity.
Tomorrow I'm going to buy some plywood so I can put a new top on the cabinet. The one that came with it keeps falling off. I want to make a holder for my screwdrivers and think about a base for the mini-bench. There are a few boxes that need to get done. I've got blanks in clamps right now and I surfaced another board so I can cut it in half and glue up another blank tomorrow.
Another of the great things about retirement is that I hardly ever watch the clock unless it's because I want the glue to dry faster. When I was teaching I often watched the clock just waiting for the end of the period. There weren't many times when the end of a class came and I was so absored that I wasn't sure where the time had gone. This is a whole new way of life.
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