what is wrong with me??

[Kevin Gregoire]

i am one messed up person and i cant figure out what is wrong or how to fix it?
i have been into woodworking for a few years now and i have gotten by in my
little shop (11x22) by using a 220v heater in the winter and a few strong fans in
the summer and about a month ago a friend of mine helped me install my trough wall
a/c unit i have had for a year.

and now that i have it i haven't had much interest in going out to the shop to work
the past several weeks. im in south dakota and it has been hotter then hell here for
a month now and i finally have a great way to cool down my shop but i haven't had
the urge to go out and work, so what is wrong with me? :confused:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Kevin....I don't find that unusual. I take it in spurts too.

Something inspirational will come along and you'll go out there.

[David Nelson1]

LOL Kevin,

Let the power company have control of your Tstat during the hottest weekend of the year. You'll go out there!!! Don't ask me how I know this. :rolleyes:

[jared herbert]

heat saps my energy and inspiration, even though I have an air conditioned shop, I still have a hard time getting motivated.

[Jacob Mac]

Nothing is the matter. Just find a project that really inspires you.

[Chris Fournier]

Ha, this is a human condition that we all suffer from. I put more miles on my crappiest motorcycles in my youth than I have on my latest and greatest bikes that eat miles up in comfort. I've caught more fish on cobbled together tackle than I have on my current graphite this and anodized ruby encrusted billet aluminum that gear. You couldn't keep me out of my woodworking shop when it was in my Dad's dark and dank garage and I had five humble machines that cost about 10 percent of the ones that have long since replaced them. Back then woodworking was a revelation if not magical. I was bowled over by every new skill I acquired and what could be done with it. Now woodworking is largely a known process and when I stare down a project I see the work involved and I see a "job". If I air conditioned my shop I wouldn't have to worry about dust collection as it would likely be the last refinement before I merely visited once in a while to turn the lights on and revel in what I've amassed over the years.

No worries, you'll get back in the groove. As others have said, the inspiration will come and you'll be at it hammer and tong, albeit in comfy air conditioned comfort!

[Neil Brooks]

Amen to all the rest of 'em.

It's cyclical. It comes and goes.

Some months, I'm a _fiend_ in my shop -- many hours as I can. Some months, I've forgotten it's there.

I'm "thinking woodworking" during the down times :)

[Craig McCormick]

Hmmm I just spent two years selling off tools that took thirty years to collect. Now I just read about woodworking. My shop is now storage and a place to watch tv when my MIL stays with us.

Craig McCormick

[anthony wall]

after reading all of your symptoms i diagnose a visit to your local tool shop and the purchase of a couple of new tools,this visit you must be on your own or at least without the better half ,it works every time .now pull yourself together and get off to the tool shop

[Peter Scoma]

+1 on buying a new tool, however, I know where you are coming from.

My other passion in life is mountain biking. This past winter (NE) I wanted to ride so bad I'd go out after work in single degree temps, onto pitch black trails deep in the woods with 2 helmet lamps and spiked tires to bite into the ice. When spring came around and the days got longer, all i wanted to do was work in the shop. Go figure.

PJS

[Stephen Cherry]

Absolutely nothing wrong. It's a hobby, do it when you want.

I have hobbies that I have not done in years, and others that I do all the time, but they could switch at any time.

[Jerome Hanby]

Sounds like you are getting along too well with your wife or girlfriend. Pick a fight and you'll be back in the shop in no time. Don't table saw angry!

[Terry Beadle]

I recommend what I call a piddle-ing project. Some small project that you can do in a session/day. Like a pepper mill, or a picture frame, or a small dovetailed box with sliding lid. I also recommend switching to a lathe project vs a flat stock project if you've been working a lot in flat.

Another one is to make a wood plane. Then put it under your pillow and sleep on it....the shop will look a lot more comfortable after that !! Hoot!

Enjoy the shavings.

[John Coloccia]

When I was airplane building, the one rule I tried to follow is to go into the shop EVERYDAY, and do SOMETHING. Doesn't matter what. Spend a minimum of 5 minutes every day. Just 5 minutes. Sweep. Put a couple of tools away. Throw out some old junk. Empty the dust collector bin. It doesn't matter what you do, but do something every single day....just 5 minutes.

This accomplishes several things:

1) it keeps you engaged in the shop...you won't loose your place, and you won't start forgetting where you left off or where things are. THAT's demotivating, believe me
2) it gets your shop clean. When the urge strikes you, you will walk out to a beautifully clean shop....that can be inspiring
3) it develops a habit of keeping the shop in your life even on those days that you just don't feel like it. It's like exercise. I love riding my bike...I could ride all day long. Somedays, I just loathe to get started, and that's when it's most important that I do.

[Brian Tymchak]

I recommend what I call a piddle-ing project. Some small project that you can do in a session/day. Like a pepper mill, or a picture frame, or a small dovetailed box with sliding lid. I also recommend switching to a lathe project vs a flat stock project if you've been working a lot in flat.

Was thinking along the same lines, only to add more motivation, promise to make something for someone else, maybe as a gift, etc. Fear of missing a committment :eek: usually gets me out of the recliner..

[David Hostetler]

When my muse has left me to my own devices, I typically dig through the firewood pile and find something that I can chuck up in the lathe and just start turning. No real purpose or design. I don't know if I am using the right term for it, but I call that "Free Form Turning", I just kind of let whatever the wood wants to be come out. More often than not, it wants to be thrown in the smoker afterwards... But I get shop time, and stress relief...

Honestly, even with an air conditioned shop, it is very tough to get motivated to get up off your back pockets when it is 100+ deg outside...

[Brian Kent]

Nothing wrong with you. You're just normal. I was really getting on my own case for not doing woodworking for months. Sawmill Creek made me still feel like a woodworker as I moved tools to a new city, drew up ideas, added shop lighting, bought plans, got a good deal on some wood. And now, all of a sudden I am moving on a couple of exciting projects. Can't tell you why. It just happened.

Go ahead and sit around until all of a sudden you couldn't stay out of the shop of you tried.

[Chuong Nguyen]

I get the same way man. I'm actually more motivated in the winter, since I cherish my spring/summer and fall months here to outdoor activities..
I don't have heat or a/c in my shed, but find i work better in the cold than sweat dripping humid heat!

[Jeff Monson]

Normal for me also, I have gone a couple months now with now shop time. After going to a recent WW show, Ive got the itch to get going again. Dont stress over not being motivated, its a hobby we all enjoy. Just remember to keep it that way.

[Kevin Gregoire]

thanks for understanding and its nice to see im not the only one with this problem!
hopefully things will change soon and i get back out their.

[Neil Brooks]

thanks for understanding and its nice to see im not the only one with this problem!
hopefully things will change soon and i get back out their.

Much respect to John C ... I tend to take an opposite approach. I'm (barely) a hobbyist, and if I try to "force" (for lack of a better term) myself into my shop, I either get sloppy, or I just don't have fun.

If I PUSHED that theory, I'd probably start hating my shop, as a place of "have-to," rather than "want to."

My shop and I ... I think we understand each other ;)

[Glen Butler]

Those are some great ideas John.

I personally really enjoy working in a hot shop. Ice cold Dr. Pepper tastes so much better and the glue sets as fast as the clamp can tighten. I just get so much more done.

[Hans Braul]

When I was airplane building, the one rule I tried to follow is to go into the shop EVERYDAY, and do SOMETHING. Doesn't matter what. Spend a minimum of 5 minutes every day. Just 5 minutes. Sweep. Put a couple of tools away. Throw out some old junk. Empty the dust collector bin. It doesn't matter what you do, but do something every single day....just 5 minutes.

This accomplishes several things:

1) it keeps you engaged in the shop...you won't loose your place, and you won't start forgetting where you left off or where things are. THAT's demotivating, believe me
2) it gets your shop clean. When the urge strikes you, you will walk out to a beautifully clean shop....that can be inspiring
3) it develops a habit of keeping the shop in your life even on those days that you just don't feel like it. It's like exercise. I love riding my bike...I could ride all day long. Somedays, I just loathe to get started, and that's when it's most important that I do.

John - great advice! I've heard the same advice for writers with "writer's block". I think there is real merit to it. You are right on the money about how inspiring it can be to walk into a clean, organized shop with a project idea in your head.