What's The Longest You've Been Separated From Woodworking?

[Julie Moriarty]

I'm going on about two months since I was last in a fully functioning workshop. All my tools are in storage and we're at least 6 weeks away from moving into a new house, if all goes well. I've been reading some FWW mags to get me through but all that's done is make me want to go out and buy a piece of wood and a small plane and keep planing until the piece is nothing but shavings.

Has anyone experienced this kind of withdrawal?

[Mike Henderson]

No, but that reminds me of a story a buddy of mine told me. He served in the infantry in Vietnam and was wounded in the forearm. They treated him and he was in the US doing physical therapy. For the therapy, they gave him a 2x4 and a bench plane and told him to make something. I'll tell the rest as he told it to me.

"So I take the plane and start making shaving like mad."

The nurse comes by and asks me, "What are you making?"

I tell her "A toothpick!" She just nodded and walked off.

"They didn't care what I did, as long as I exercised the arm."

Mike

[His name was Dan Lunsford and he served with the 1st Cav. He and I went through OCS together.]

[Mike Cutler]

Julie

Believe it or not, I'm going on over two years. All
My projects , including my kitchen stopped dead one day.

[Matt Day]

Julie

Believe it or not, I'm going on over two years. All
My projects , including my kitchen stopped dead one day.

Don't leave us hanging Mike.... What happened?

[Scott Brandstetter]

Julie
I absolutely understand your pain. We sold our house a few years back and ended up living in a tiny apartment while we built a new house. I had the hardest time being away. I did manage to build a dock on the lake the house was is on, and a few things in the house, but, the feeling of getting the shop back was amazing.

One thing that helped was I had plenty of time to design the new woodshop. Hard part was once I moved in, it took great strength not to rush it just to get to building stuff. I took the time to do it right and I am so happy I did. Good luck with your new place.

[Rick Potter]

Would it help if you posted your address, and we all send you a bag of sawdust??

[Glenn Clabo]

Five years! We moved from a house with a full shop to a condo in Boston. I broke out my cameras and walked the streets. http://www.glennclabo.com
Then a few months ago we moved to a house in MI. The shop is slow in returning...but there will be one some day.

[Mike Cutler]

Don't leave us hanging Mike.... What happened?

Matt

Two years ago I literally woke up one morning and couldn't move my right arm. The shoulder had just completely locked up. After four or five months of intense therapy, I was scheduled for surgery. I tried to use the table saw in that time period, but the pain was incredible. No,way I could keep building cabinets.
Just before my surgery, a year ago last January,my wife was diagnosed with cancer, so the surgery was put on hold. 14 months of chemo and surgeries for her later, I finally had my shoulder operated on this past April. Problem was that in the Febuary time frame, the other shoulder locked right up.That one was operated on this past June, so I am finally at the end of everything.
My wife is getting progressively better, the chemo really whacks a person. So now, it's time to get back to things. She's back at work on a limited basis, and is getting back to her old self. She's wicked smart.
I was actually cutting Spanish cedar yesterday for drawer linings. I bought a 1912 Gustave Stickley # 909 dresser, and lined it with the cedar. Part of a walk in closet we're doing. I should be able to get back to the kitchen by November.
I kinda did a lot of damage to both shoulders through life. The Doc' asked when I had broken my shoulder, and I told him I had never broken it. He told my " yes you have, twice." I knew we were in for a wild ride at that point.

We have always been very fortunate in our lives, especially our health. A Cold or flu was about the extent of our medical histories. Sometimes fate just has to throw you a curve ball to see if you can still hit it. We both did.
Life is good at this point.

[Robert Engel]

This should be a reminder to all of us that we should cherish every pain-free, healthy day that we have and stop wasting our time and energy trying to change things we cannot change or worrying about things we have no control over.

And to think I quit ww'ing for almost 2 years because I thought I was burned out after a kitchen build.........

Good luck to you both and continued good health.
Take a close look at your diets the most important aspect of your health is what are you eating?

[Keith Hankins]

Many years ago, I moved from a house with a shop of about 12x20 (maybe) to A ranch house with no shop. I built an out building(12x16). It had no electricity and not insulated. I ran everything with a generator. At the time my TS was a Shopsmith and my DC was 220 so it was not used (other than mice to nest in). After the first fall, I gave it up. I lived with that for 2 years. I moved into a new home and a 2 car garage became my mecca! Not been without since. It was hard!

[Pete Givens]

The first 30 years of my life! :p

[Prashun Patel]

+1. I was blind until at 30 I picked up my first hammer and saw.

[mreza Salav]

I started 2005 or 2006. Then we moved to Chicago for a year and I was away from my shop and any woodworking for a full year.

[Mike Ontko]

+1. I was blind until at 30 I picked up my first hammer and saw.

:rolleyes:

[Jesse Busenitz]

Since May I've spent all of a couple hours in my shop..... Moving shop in between all the many activities of summer..... It's been one of the busiest summers ever, but I'm just about ready to get things up and running and go back to full time shop work:cool:

[Bruce Wrenn]

Year and a half when my job took me on the road. Boy was I glad to be back home!

[Shawn Pixley]

I built and restored furniture in my teens and 20's for ~10 years. Then did nothing that would be called woodworking for 20 years or so (I don't consider building houses and remodeling woodworking obviously). Last year after my neck operation, I couldn't do anything for 8 weeks - very difficult.

Keep a stiff upper lip Julie.

[Charles Lent]

Julie,

Why don't you post your location (town and area - not exact location). Maybe there's someone on here who lives near there that would let you in their shop once in a while. It wouldn't be quite as good as having your own shop, but it might ease the cravings a bit.

When I moved here 32 years ago I did without a shop for 3 years and then built a 14 X 26 barn shaped shop building. During that shop-less time I learned how to use a Workmate, hand tools, and powered hand tools to do everything. It was very frustrating, but I made do and I built some pretty impressive projects for what little I had to work with. Progress was slow, mostly because the driveway was my work space. I had lumber under the bed, behind the sofa, etc. It was frustrating at times, but it kept the creative juices flowing and partially satisfied my need.

Charley

[Julie Moriarty]

Anytime you think you have it bad, you find others have (had) it worse and then you realize it's time to shut up and count your blessings. Thank you all for the enlightenment.

[Prashun Patel]

My brother in law always says if you get a bunch of people to gather round and throw all their problems out on the table, you'll likely wanna grab your own back.

[Charles Wiggins]

Almost 1½ years. When we moved from Asheville to Rutherford County we were paying both a mortgage and rent, so we had to rent cheap. It was a nice older house, but no basement or garage. The sad thing is that now I have a great shop but there always seems to be something else more pressing to do.

[Roy Harding]

16 months - I was on deployment with the Canadian Army. Although I DID manage to build some rudimentary shelves and such using scrap wood, a handsaw, a hammer, and some rusty old nails I scrounged from somewhere.

[Dan Rude]

I was down for 2 years recovering from GBS, even missing 2 years of my youngest son's life. Basically, woke up, ate went to work, came home took a knap, ate supper, then went to bed. Repeat. Now my shop is shrinking and it is not up and running yet. Have to finish the house remodeling. Still move slowly, and tire easily. Just have to stop the Wife from giving away my wood stash. :confused: She did allow me to get the SawStop 3hp Pro though. I go up and down now, going on 10 years. Family first keeps you going. Dan

[James Baker SD]

I had two spells of absence.

Most recent was the 5 years I was commuting 180 miles a day to work. Not much energy left over for the woodshop. Did manage enough time to keep the cast iron waxed so it did not rust on me.

First spell was the 2 years from "the accident", surgeries, physical therapy, and then another 6 months before I could even turn the table saw on to listen to its sound and yet another six months to get the courage to run a piece of wood through it. That was about 25 years ago.

[Moses Yoder]

I am not away from "woodworking" but no longer have a shop to work in. I do woodworking as a profession but really it is not woodworking. I am reading "The Impractical Cabinetmaker". This is probably permanent, has lasted 8 months now. I still buy tools but mainly I am focusing on my Coleman collection which can be done in a space about 48" wide and 24" deep. I still read the board, cannot stay away from it. I've tried.

[Roger Feeley]

I'm about to join the no-shop club. We are selling our house and moving in with our daughter and son-in-law while we build an in-law house on their property. The process will take about a year during which my big tools will be in storage.

Just a week ago, I coated all but one of my saw blades in stripcoat. I coated all my router bits the week before. This weekend, I bought that big Milwaukee tool chest that I will load up and that will be my tool 'suitcase' while we are building. I start the process tomorrow of figuring out what goes into storage and what goes into the chest. Of course, I will have visitation rights to the storage but I am limiting myself to that one chest and a few cabinets in their garage.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Well, I have been in Istanbul, Edinburgh, London, Budapest, Vienna...........but I think that Auckland is probably the longest I have been from my woodworking..........

[Julie Moriarty]

Well, I have been in Istanbul, Edinburgh, London, Budapest, Vienna...........but I think that Auckland is probably the longest I have been from my woodworking..........

Don't they have wood and tools in Auckland?

[Al Bush]

I'm going on about two months since I was last in a fully functioning workshop. All my tools are in storage and we're at least 6 weeks away from moving into a new house, if all goes well. I've been reading some FWW mags to get me through but all that's done is make me want to go out and buy a piece of wood and a small plane and keep planing until the piece is nothing but shavings.

Has anyone experienced this kind of withdrawal?

Sounds like an opportunity to try Marquetry. You can get by with a hand full of tools and some veneer. But be careful, I know some woodworkers who went down that rabbit hole, never to return to furnature making again.

[Mike Henderson]

Sounds like an opportunity to try Marquetry. You can get by with a hand full of tools and some veneer. But be careful, I know some woodworkers who went down that rabbit hole, never to return to furniture making again.

Many people use marquetry to decorate furniture. I know when I took up marquetry, it just added tools to my shop - I still needed all my furniture making tools in addition to the marquetry tools.

Mike

[paul cottingham]

Im in the midst of a drought right now. Sucks, but the pain in my hands makes it hard to do anything much. Im going to try some green woodworking, cause pulling is much easier and less painful than pushing. No vibrations either.

Can't wait to get my neck fixed. Again.