what inspires you when you need a new project?

[Bill Carey]

I was looking for a new project so went out to the pile (as my patient wife refers to it) and brought some boards in, checked for nails, sanded the off with 60 grit, and ran them thru the planer. Some hickory, some oak, some ash and a couple of pieces of pink and yellow mystery wood. Nothing moved me. I have a box in mind, but the wood didn't fit. Same thing with a lamp I want to make.

So what inspires you? How do you decide on the next project? Do you take request from family and friends? Look thru all those magazines we never throw out? Do some serious googling? Or do you have a long list you're working your way thru? I gotta find something or I'll wind up making more jigs - and I'm running out of room.

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[Bill McNiel]

Most frequently it is the client's request.

Every now and then it is a "need" for our home.

And then there are the projects that have been simmering in my brain for years and I finally am at peace with how I really want it to look and/or function.

[Bill Carey]

Ya, I thought of you pros after I posted. Most of the time you don't have that problem. What pays is what gets done. The starving artist thing is over rated IMHO.

[Ralph Okonieski]

As a hobbyist, my projects are requests from family members. I only make for family. One of these days I may be able to make something for myself 🤔

[Steve Demuth]

Working with a new technique or material.

[Simon MacGowen]

Mostly a new project is something more challenging than the previous one. Occasionally, it is a family request, but not too many. After all these years, pretty much anything that is a household need has been built!

With three to four exceptions that were made in the very early years, I have never done anything based on what I see on TV or a magazine.

"Or do you have a long list you're working your way thru?

Only a mental list, as there isn't enough time to be serious about developing a physical list. Lumber can be costly, damping the desire to start certain builds even though they have been on the "list."

Simon

[johnny means]

The mortgage.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Jeez .. this is a problem I will never have. I have a backlog of projects that is so long I can never die. Every time I turn around I see another one.

[John K Jordan]

Yikes! My shop time is primarily spent on woodturning and I keep a cloud of project ideas in my head all the time.

The wall clock inspires me. I look at it and if there is time available in the day I walk down the hill to the shop and start on a new project. Fortunately woodturning projects can often be completed much quicker than flatwood projects.

Unfortunately, even then the clock does not often cooperate. Most of the time it reminds me of other projects like trimming, feeding, grooming, digging, planting, fertilizing...

[Randy Viellenave]

The current issue of Woodsmith has a pretty cool lamp. I intend to make a couple when I get time (in other words, maybe never). I get inspired by the magazines, but more from things I see on this forum. of course the time is spent doing things that "need" to be done, but maybe someday that will change. Meanwhile, you could just send me all of your jigs, then you could make them again without running out of space

[Keith Weber]

I'm like Yonak -- I'm backed up for years, and I keep coming up with ideas of things that I want to build that gets added to the list, waiting for enough time to finally build them. I can't remember a time when I was looking for a project to do.

[Steve Demuth]

Jeez .. this is a problem I will never have. I have a backlog of projects that is so long I can never die. Every time I turn around I see another one.

Exactly. I'll be dead before I have the opportunity to learn and master all the things that interest me in woodworking, and in reality I am most inspired by projects that combine woodworking, glass and metal.

[Prashun Patel]

Bill, I feel your pain as a hobbyist. If I just built things my friends and family wanted, I'd be making a ton of cutting boards custom crap that they can't find anywhere for as cheap as they want to pay.

If I want inspiration, I've turned to Instagram. Find a couple woodworkers/furniture makers that you appreciate. For me two great ones are Mike Pekovitch and Tim Coleman. What I love about Instagram is there's not a lot of words and posturing to go through. You don't have to hear people's opinions or why their method is better or worse than yours. It's easy to just look at the pix. It's a nice rabbit hole that will lead you to other makers and methods.

And I'll give a plug for Hank Gilpin. I just love everything about his design and style. I've gone back to his website probably a million times for inspiration.

There are a couple people on this forum that I follow too. They have great online presences.

I'm not plugging any one per se, but my point is, find an artist or craftsman that you admire, and just follow them on line. You'll find the vast majority are highly accessible. Directly connecting to these people to ask questions and share and receive is in fact a tremendous source of inspiration for me.

[Mike Ontko]

I'm in the same boat (speaking of project ideas) as some of the others here--a hobbyist with more requests and ideas than I'll ever have time (or money) to pursue. What started me out as a serious hobbyist was the desire to make nice pieces of furniture for myself and my family members. I wasn't too far into that before requests and opportunities to do projects for others came up. So, if I'm not being forwarded a description of this or a picture of that, I find myself spending a lot of time either looking through books, magazines, web sites, etc, (Pinterest or Google are great places to thumb for ideas), or just sketching out ideas using the old-fashioned method of pencil and pad.

My biggest frustration is that I tend to look for and find interest in designs that are mostly beyond my current capabilities. I either don't possess the right equipment or the experience and skill to tackle some of the work that I like. But therein lies the challenge, and part of the reason I'm into this venture (or possibly the main reason that anyone pursues a hobby)--for the learning.

[Brandon Speaks]

I tend to think up project ideas much faster than I finish them so its not usually a problem. Between that and my wife throwing in requests I have enough to keep busy. Prioritizing what do do next is trickier.