Can you suggest simple stress releaving projects?

[Matt Lau]

Hey guys,

I had an episode of a lot of stress recently, but am now doing better.

This all let me think a lot about stress reduction and keeping things simple.
Do you guys have some things you recommend for stress reduction?

I'd love it if you had a list of projects.

-Matt

ps. On my list, so far I have spoons. It's pretty relaxing.

[Nathan Johnson]

Exercise
Proper nutrition
Adequate sleep
Music
Meditation
Breathing exercises

[Patrick Chase]

This all let me think a lot about stress reduction and keeping things simple.
Do you guys have some things you recommend for stress reduction?

I like to release stress by starting sharpening threads on SMC. I like to think of it as "flame-annealing".

(that was a joke. I swear)

[Steve Kaminska]

That's the beauty of working with my hands. I can't dwell on my problems, I have to concentrate on what's immediately before me. It doesn't matter if i'm rebuilding an engine, knocking a dent out of a fender, or woodworking, I find i'm refreshed mentally after an hour or two of some activity.

As long as its something I don't have to do... I need to replace the heater core in my wife's car, that won't be a stress relieving project!! :)

[Mike Brady]

i learned to saw dovetails by marking and cutting sets if I was feeling stressed. It also took the stress out of gaining that woodworking skill.

[Justin Ludwig]

I like to drink beer and practice cutting dovetails. I figure if I can get it down while buzzed, once I go at it sober I'll be ready.

[Patrick Chase]

I like to drink beer and practice cutting dovetails. I figure if I can get it down while buzzed, once I go at it sober I'll be ready.

What if it's like shooting pool and you get better at it (as far as you can tell) after a few drinks?

[Ted Calver]

gardening
exercise
Tai chi
deep breathing

[John K Jordan]

Do you guys have some things you recommend for stress reduction?

ps. On my list, so far I have spoons. It's pretty relaxing.

Spoon carving? I was going to recommend carving. Carving, whittling, with gouges and knives. Nothing is more soothing.

A few years ago I learned chip carving and that's another great stress reliever. I like chip carving on wood turnings which is a bit tedious to set up, but free form chip carving is the opposite of tedious. I even got great satisfaction from my practice boards. Minimum equipment needs too - just a knife. Or two if you want keep one foot on the wild side.

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JKJ

[Chris Parks]

Any manual activity seems to take the mind away from the stress. I found that once I admitted to myself and a few others what was causing it then the problem began to fade. Any activity is really just a band aid in the end.

[steven c newman]

Maybe one of these?
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Then throw a couple seat cushions in it, sit back, take yer shoes off, and just rock....

[Tom M King]

Come work for me for a week. You'll be too tired to have any stress.

[john zulu]

I would say turning wood is stressless? One of my favourite past time nowadays. Other wood projects needs a lot of planning and thinking.

[Justin Ludwig]

What if it's like shooting pool and you get better at it (as far as you can tell) after a few drinks?
Then I’m going to ask my wife for an increase in my beer allowance - the successful completion of her projects depends on it. :D

[James Pallas]

Don't do anything that requires the use of glue:)
Jim

[Derek Cohen]

Hey guys,

I had an episode of a lot of stress recently, but am now doing better.

This all let me think a lot about stress reduction and keeping things simple.
Do you guys have some things you recommend for stress reduction?

I'd love it if you had a list of projects.

-Matt

ps. On my list, so far I have spoons. It's pretty relaxing.

Matt, consider a trip to Perth :)

Tidy the workshop. Tune up and sharpen all your tools. Make a few jigs ....

.... nothing demanding here, but it is goal-directed and allows you to futze around in the calm. A little quiet jazz in the background can only be better. :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[John C Cox]

I find quick projects that have a defined "Start, Work, Done" cycle are very satisfying.... And big complex projects can be very unsatisfying because of the same effect... But in my case - break it into small "I did this thing" tends to be very good as well...

What you mentioned is one of the reasons I build guitars... It helps give me some satisfaction of getting things done....

[Jim Koepke]

Making shavings, thin float away mesmerizing shavings. Sharpen the blade in your best plane and see how thin you can get a shaving.


I need to replace the heater core in my wife's car

People use their car heaters in Los Angeles? :confused:

jtk

[Simon MacGowen]

Woodworking itself is a stressful activity unless you don't care about the outcome. When you don't care, nothing is stressful.

So if you are really looking for a wood project to relieve stress, it should be one that is almost foolproof.

Try a thumb hole bookmark (Google to see the various designs). Drill, saw and plane (or chisel ), and you have some good gifts made from scraps and by hand to give away.

When you are tired from the activity, turn on the music, read a book, and put one of your freshly handmade book page holders into service.

Simon

[Mel Fulks]

I like John's whitling sugestion. Look up "tramp art" ,carve a wooden chain (sure someone will post a LINK) ,trade it for food.

[William Adams]

I've found my Bridge City Tools Chopstick Master great for this sort of thing --- if nothing else, I'll pick up a suitable piece of scrap and work it down to make into a suitable set of blanks for making a pair and then set it aside.

[Simon MacGowen]

I've found my Bridge City Tools Chopstick Master great for this sort of thing ---.

May be not for Matt, but spending $200(?) on that gadget would sure add stress to me (and my wallet)!:D:D

Simon

[John K Jordan]

I like John's whitling sugestion. Look up "tramp art" ,carve a wooden chain (sure someone will post a LINK) ,trade it for food.

John Lucas sent me a link to a video once about carving these little "pliers" from a single piece of wood, thought it might be right up my alley. It sure was! - I made one right away. I find it very relaxing to do small things like this where if I did mess up, no problem!

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Someone mentioned woodturning - that's another thing that is totally relaxing (once you learn the basics). Grab a piece of wood, spin it and make some shavings, make something or not, no stress. If I make something then give it away it puts the stress of life even more into perspective. These are my favorite two stress relievers:

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Now I'm way too relaxed just thinking about it, someone quick, send me some stress. :)

JKJ

[Ron Lindner]

A few years ago after a heartattack I was told to take it very easy for a week letting things heal. Had a couple of stints. Bored I sat down at my bench and sharpened every chisel and plane in the shop. That was last time every tool in my shop was sharp.
To do relaxing work I like to do boxes.
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[Ron Lindner]

And more boxes

[Ron Lindner]

386134Let’s try that again

[bridger berdel]

spoon carving is pretty right on. green wood (tree prunings). a stump or chopping block, a hatchet, a spokeshave and a carving gouge. keep it simple, have fun.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Matt, we need to find you a wife.

[Lee Schierer]

Come work for me for a week. You'll be too tired to have any stress.

I was going to say go dig a ditch, because after doing that ll you will want to do is sleep.

[Phil Mueller]

When looking for something especially relaxing, I make cheese boards out of my scrap pile. Find a bunch of off cuts, hand plane a straight edge and glue ‘em up however they may fit. Often glue up one piece at a time...no stress. Cut it square when the glue is dry. Sand and slather with mineral oil. The outcome really doesn’t matter. It’s all scrap...destined for the fire pit, or a cheesboard...either way, doesn’t matter.

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[Kevin Smira]

As a sufferer of PTSD (thanks 20 yrs of military!!!), I find that when my stress builds up to the point of not knowing how to calm it down, if I pick up a handplane and a pc of wood and just start making shavings, that's the most relaxing thing I can do. With absolutely nothing in mind to do with said pc of wood, I'll just plane away making nice, long, thin shavings. As much as it would pain me to know that I just handplaned a pc of $15/bf pc of anything down to nothing, the $15/bf was much cheaper than any drug or therapy I could get my hands on, so it's a win/win for me.

[chris carter]

For reducing stress, I like long-term projects. The kind of stuff that you can do in an afternoon or two make me stress out about finishing in time for the rest of the week, so I stress and try and work faster, and get frustrated with things. Conversely, the slow long projects that will take a month or two or three or more have end points that are so far off that I really don't care how fast I'm working at the moment because it's almost meaningless in the grand scheme of things. The other thing is projects that don't have lots of repetition. So things with lots of drawers or other massive multiples of the same stinkin' part are things I like to avoid.

The other stress relieving thing is to try and learn a new tool, or new technique, on some scrap wood. There's no end point. There's no worry about quality. You can do it 10 times or whatever and not worry about screwing up most of it. And when you are finished, you chuck the wood in the bin and never have to look at it again, yet you feel very accomplished because now you can do whatever technique you couldn't do before.

[Ted Phillips]

Two ideas which I use (in addition to Spoon Carving!) for stress reduction:

1. Get a nice sketchbook and draw. I find I can flesh out ideas for future projects and keep track of my ideas as I doodle. Paul Sellers is a big proponent of this method.

2. Get some scraps or a length of 1x4 and build a dovetailed box. As a famous author once said - "Everyone has a fixed number of bad dovetails in their system. The trick is to cut all those bad dovetails as quickly as possible so you can proceed to making good-looking ones." As they say - practice makes perfect! And even fugly boxes can be used to store stuff in the shop!

TedP

[Matt Lau]

Thanks, guys!

My project had been to organize my (offsite) workshop--then, I realized that I go there maybe 4 hours every 2 months if I'm lucky. I'm going to perch my Blum benchpony in my room for basic stuff (spoons, boxes, etc) and do some woodworking.

[Matt Lau]

One project I'm thinking of doing: cejilla

These are traditional capos in the Spanish tradition.

[Flamone LaChaud]

Matt, we need to find you a wife.
He said he was looking for a way to remove stress . . .

[Brandon Speaks]

For me stress relief if essentially an activity that takes enough attention that I cant switch my focus back to my day job or other stressful subjects, but not enough that I have to concentrate hard on the task expending mental energy. Basically one that allows the mind to wander but not to anything complex. TVs and such can sort of do this but I think anything with a screen introduces its own stress element.

My go to is fishing, yard work, or a walk (in the woods, walking around the block is not distracting enough to keep work off the mind). Assuming you are mainly talking about wood work projects though my go to projects are small carvings that I am already familiar with. I have to pay attention to not cut myself, but am not trying to figure out a complex design or how to create a new effect which takes more mental energy. I could see something like dovetail boxes fitting this once I am good enough that they become a bit more automatic, I could see stock prep maybe doing this also. Sharpening knives fits for me, planes and chisels not as much since it is less automatic for me and takes more concentration. Some types of turning can work well, again depending on familiarity with the project. I used to turn a lot of wooden musky lures and that was perfect, bowls not so much for me as I am less experienced and they take more effort, they could be perfect for others though.

[Matt Lau]

Thanks, guys!

I'm going to definitely try these.
Also, I've found a pretty simple (actually silly simple) solution to my portable workbench solution...I've got two hideahorses and a top that I made from a free (mystery wood) coffee table. I was thinking of just doweling it to the top (loose dowels).

More to show that I'm a pretty silly guy that misses things right in front of me.

Thanks for the neander wisdom and support.

[Jim Koepke]

As a sufferer of PTSD (thanks 20 yrs of military!!!), I find that when my stress builds up to the point of not knowing how to calm it down, if I pick up a handplane and a pc of wood and just start making shavings, that's the most relaxing thing I can do. With absolutely nothing in mind to do with said pc of wood, I'll just plane away making nice, long, thin shavings. As much as it would pain me to know that I just handplaned a pc of $15/bf pc of anything down to nothing, the $15/bf was much cheaper than any drug or therapy I could get my hands on, so it's a win/win for me.

This is where using wood for heat comes in. All the mill ends or off cuts are cheap stuff that can be turned into good looking lumber with a little time on the bench under a plane. Even if it comes out perfectly smooth, it can still be burnt later.

Some of my firewood ended up becoming a box:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?259750

It worked out well and the would was bought for less than $10 for a cubic yard scooped into my truck.

jtk

[John K Jordan]

This is where using wood for heat comes in. All the mill ends or off cuts are cheap stuff that can be turned into good looking lumber with a little time on the bench under a plane. Even if it comes out perfectly smooth, it can still be burnt later.
Some of my firewood ended up becoming a box:


You're right about that - not much is more satisfying than making things from firewood! I've been known to abandon the splitter and head for the bandsaw when I see an interesting chunk of wood.

A piece of wormy persimmon made some nice handles and a big chunk of figured white oak gave me several small bowls instead of BTUs. Well, I still burned the waste.

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JKJ

[Matt Lau]

He said he was looking for a way to remove stress . . .

Lol. I've observed that a good wife is a blessing from God. A bad wife is worse than a hemorrhoid, and makes anything seem like hell.

At my practice, it's humbling and inspiring to see some couples that have been together for 40+ years.

[Patrick McCarthy]

39 years and will hit 40th anniversary end of this year. In my mind I hear my wife saying "We all have a cross to bear in life, . . .and apparently Patrick is mine."

No one disputes I married much better than I deserved.

[John K Jordan]

Lol. I've observed that a good wife is a blessing from God. A bad wife is worse than a hemorrhoid, and makes anything seem like hell.

At my practice, it's humbling and inspiring to see some couples that have been together for 40+ years.

48 years for us. It took give and take, compromise of self and ego, cooperation in tasks, negotiation of priorities. Life is good.

Now who was it who said they were married for 50 years.... to seven women...

JKJ

[steven c newman]

Mickey Rooney?

[Mike Wilkins]

I had a stress relieving moment several nights ago. I smashed a door against the edge of the workbench that did not come out as expected from the glue-up. Felt much better after that.

[Matt Lau]

You guys are great guys. I'm certain your wives are equally swell.

As for life, I've come to the realization:
1. Better nutrition has helped-- I've made a pretty simple commitment to eating clean. As many veggies as I like, a set portion of protein, a limited portion of carbs....surprisingly, I feel like I'm running off rocket fuel.

2. Not stressing out about life helps-- Mom let me know that I'm being an idiot. I have a thriving business, and I have plenty of assets saved up.

3. My existing stuff is pretty great, I just need to modify it a bit.-- I'm in the process of modifying my Blum bench pony, and it's pretty phenominal how capable that plywood box is. It's more stable than a Sjoberg, and very compact. I've put wheels on it, and planning to put some sorta till (for holding saws/chisels/hammers).

4. Finally getting a vacation-- The last three years, I've been lucky to get two days off in a row. This weekend, I get *four*!

5. Maybe I'll go get a date?

In the background, I've been consulting with Stan about life, family, balance and stuff.
He's a great guy with lots of very grounded advice.

While I have a great dad...mine doesn't give good advice.

[Brian Holcombe]

Stress is part of the fun.

[Zach Dillinger]

Dovetail some pine into some white oak. Easy peasy, and as stress free as it will ever get.

[John K Jordan]

Stress is part of the fun.

Yikes, I've never found stress to be the least fun. It might help me stay focused and get in the "zone" to meet a tight deadline but otherwise, it's just..., ah, stressful. :)

JKJ

[John C Cox]

One of my best ever "Stress relievers" is to burn wayward projects that just are not going right. Yes - literally in a fire.... Last year I burned a guitar that was like a dead albatross hanging around my neck... Every time I fixed 1 thing - 2 more would pop up... It followed me around for 6 years as I slowly plunked around on it....

I built 3 other guitars in the mean time of that one - because it was always something else.... The last straw was when the 2nd replacement back went all lumpy on me due to seasonal humidity changes...

Best feeling in the world to burn it....

Another good one is to sell off the useful remnants of old projects/hobbies... Or even donate them to a club for sale such as for the upkeep of an enthusiast website...

[Ted Reischl]

Get a labrador retriever. Take it everywhere you go. You will wind up playing catch at least 5-6 times a day.

[glenn bradley]

I'm still on limited duty . . . I have caught up on a lot of picture frames and small gifts. On the other hand the boards from my last lumber haul before last Christmas are still setting on my bench; they exceed my lifting limit for a while yet.

[Matt Lau]

One of my best ever "Stress relievers" is to burn wayward projects that just are not going right. Yes - literally in a fire.... Last year I burned a guitar that was like a dead albatross hanging around my neck... Every time I fixed 1 thing - 2 more would pop up... It followed me around for 6 years as I slowly plunked around on it....

I built 3 other guitars in the mean time of that one - because it was always something else.... The last straw was when the 2nd replacement back went all lumpy on me due to seasonal humidity changes...

Best feeling in the world to burn it....

Another good one is to sell off the useful remnants of old projects/hobbies... Or even donate them to a club for sale such as for the upkeep of an enthusiast website...


Dude!

And here I was looking at one of my older guitars....I feel like I insulted the wood.

[Brian Holcombe]

If you learn, then you have the wood all the respect you had to offer.

[Matt Lau]

I actually have a plan to reuse that wood (the back and sides).

I have a plan for a small Torres guitar/requinto in the Spanish style.
It's 608 mm scale, and would make a great children's guitar.