2010 Woodworking New Year’s Resolution

I’ve never been big on making New Year’s Resolutions, but this year I decided to make a couple personal and woodworking resolutions. Resolutions are like goals, they need to be realistic and you have to have a plan in place, on how you are going to achieve your goal. I’m making two woodworking resolutions this year.

Respect Dust
Everyone knows that dust is some really nasty stuff. Don’t lie to yourself, you know it’s true. It can cause any number of diseases and cancers. I think most of us, who are non-professional woodworkers, think we aren’t exposed to enough dust to worry about it. I’d think anyone really knows for sure how much is “safe”. I have had this attitude from the beginning, even though in the back of my mind I knew I was just trying to justify not dealing with the issue.

My steps to address this issue are really simple and basic. An obvious first step, where possible improve dust collection at the source. This last year I already took some steps towards this, when I bought a new dust collector for my larger pieces of equipment. Some of this equipment has some pretty subpar dust collection, like my band saw and planer. I need to find a way to improve the dust collection on these devices. Next, as money permits replace hand power tools (sander, router, etc) with tools that have dust collection (that works). Until some of these issues can be addressed and improved, I will use an effective dust mask. I will also strive to keep that dust mask on, even after I turn the tool off. There is still dust floating around after a power tool is turned off. Also, as money permits, I need to add ambient air cleaning to my shop. Every new tool purchase will be made with dust collection in mind. I will not buy a new tool unless I have a way to collect its dust. You might know, I love my hand tools (most 100% dust free), but I’m not ready to give up some of my power tools. Although, I can find ways to use more hand tools, that don’t cause as much dust as the same power tool operation.

Improve time management and quality
Being a “part-time” woodworker, I don’t usually have long stretches of time where I can work in the shop. I generally head to the shop with the intention to complete as much as I can, in the shortest amount of time. For me speed greatly decreases my quality. I know this and yet I still rush myself. My plan to improve this process is to literally plan my project builds. Before I even step foot into the shop I will have decided the steps I will need to perform to complete the project. I’ve done enough projects, I can give a pretty good guess on how long a given step might take, without rushing the process. I’m hoping that choosing the steps I can complete in the given time, will give me motivation to slow down. I certainly won’t walk out of the shop if I complete an estimated 8-hour day, in 6-hours. I think having daily goals can help improve my sense of needing to complete entire project quickly. The ultimate goal is to complete the project, but setting smaller goals and achieving them with greater quality and satisfaction will be even more rewarding.