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Thread: Can you suggest simple stress releaving projects?

  1. #31
    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.

  2. #32
    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.

  3. #33
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    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

  4. #34
    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.

  5. #35
    One project I'm thinking of doing: cejilla

    These are traditional capos in the Spanish tradition.

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick McCarthy View Post
    Matt, we need to find you a wife.
    He said he was looking for a way to remove stress . . .

  7. #37
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    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.

  8. #38
    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.

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Smira View Post
    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
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    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.

    crop_xxx_2015_IMG_4737.jpg whiteoak_bowl_02.jpg

    JKJ

  11. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Flamone LaChaud View Post
    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.

  12. #42
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    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.

  13. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Lau View Post
    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

  14. #44
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    Mickey Rooney?

  15. #45
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    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.

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