I recently posted this query on our WoodCentral message board: “From your interactions with other woodworkers–and from your own personal experience–what sorts of traits and interests distinguish woodworkers from other people?”
“…artistic talent, either expressed or repressed. Many are also musi clans or artists.”
“Quite a large number of engineers take to woodworking. My guess is that it is an extension of the creation/building process.”
“I think we’re Inherently ‘cheap.’ We see something we want and say, ‘I can make that myself, for half the price.'”
“Was I doomed to this fate? I’m a guitar-playing, engineer, cheapskate. I would add a sense of humor to common traits.”
“Creativity linked to an appreciation of the beauty Inherent in the raw materials are two of the outstanding attributes that drive woodworkers.”
“Most have mechanical aptitude; we are tinkerers.”
“I savor the almost mystical link to the past that occurs when I work wood with hand tools. Each time I see the sheen, feel the satiny texture, and smell the aroma of freshly planed or carved wood, I know it is exactly what my father, grandfather and great-grandfather experienced.”
“Most of the woodworkers I know are carvers/sculptors, and most are retired. I wish more youngsters would get into carving, because I’m afraid it is a dying art.”
“Time is a critical item. I’m in my late 20s, and I started carving in high school. I get fidgety and bored with slow progress.”
“Most are well-educated, either formally or via self-education; and most are blessed with an insatiable curiosity.”
“…patience. Also, the desire to create something that didn’t exist before.”
“Few seem to fit the ‘average’ bracket. Some look like they could lift a Unlsaw, others may have trouble with a dovetail saw. That, and flannel…there’s always the flannel. Then there’s the ‘gregarious’ thing. At wood shows, I always end up chatting with total strangers.”
“Woodworkers are not boring people. They see the lion trapped in the stone and are compelled to release it.”
“The better woodworkers tend to be meticulous to the point of perfectionism, though usually not to the point of neuroticism.” “Many woodworkers are mechanically inclined, artistic,
independent, and generous with their time, knowledge and production. They tend to love their mothers…uh, let’s not get carried away.”
“The answer is simple: facial hair seems to be a common denominator (with the exception of the ladies who grace us with their presence here on the messageboards). After that, we like tools. Things that go ‘whiff, whirrr, bang, buzzzzz, zuuubaaa, whack, rrrrrrrr, and whizzzzz.””
“For some reason, we are all ‘Mr. Fix-its.’ I wonder why?”
“My dad was a printer who built boats in the basement. His dad died when he was four and he was raised in an orphanage. I found out recently his dad was a carpenter. Do you suppose it could be in the blood?”
“While most people enjoy the outside appearance of furniture, you can always tell a woodworker: he’s looking at the underside of everything, checking out the drawer construction and finding every flaw.”
“Ouch! A common trait: something less than 100% of original, factory Installed finger equipment.”
Thanks to Barb Siddiqui for her editorial assistance.
What are your thoughts on this? Add your comments below!