A mid-life crisis?

“No matter how insignificant the thing you have to do, do it as well as you can, give it as much of your care and attention as you would give to the thing you regard as most important. For it will be by those small things that you shall be judged.” Mohandas K. Gandhi

As I was working hard, planing some ash stock to make a sewing box, it occurred to me that I  had been concentrating for a good few hours on what, in the big scheme of life, is fairly meaningless. Ought I to be wasting my sunday evening on the "simple" task of making four pieces of wood to perfect dimensions, all square and true? There are so many other things that really need doing. Am I burying my head in the sand? Am I procrastinating to delay more important tasks (mostly work related)?


Probably. But one thing is certain: I had not thought about everyday stresses in all that time spent in the deep immersion of my woodworking.


I could try meditation, yoga, fishing…


At least this way I am producing something that will hopefully be of use, be aesthetically satisfying and god willing be appreciated for years to come.

The tail vice and bench dogs

For planing boards and a variety of other tasks where the workpiece needs to be flat and firmly held, one option is the tail vice with a bench dog system. See how I made mine very easily here.