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(11-26-2020, 01:46 PM)zaret Wrote: i understand and appreciate your situation... and to some degree, i have had periods of time where i can relate. cut yourself a break. the only true pressure to use, or not use, your shop is self-imposed, and you can control that. if you're not feeling it, ignore it. when you start to get the itch, go back. don't put pressure on yourself to insist on a short-term answer, just focus elsewhere for a while and work on your overall happiness.
^^^^ This. The shop will be there when you regain the urge to create something. As someone else noted, unless the need is financial, keep your tools as they will ultimately be used again by you when you, again, get the "urge" to make something. Life is an ebb and flow, nothing is consistent, I've faced stage 4 thyroid cancer and so far, so good; I live from test to test every 6 months. Yeah, its a PITA, but things are looking good and I expect to be on the planet for a while, so I'm designing a new project, in the midst of doing many other things. Everyone has their story, and their challenges. Be gentle with yourself, you are worth it, and don't second guess things that have brought you joy in the past. All of this will pass.
Credo Elvem ipsum etiam vivere
Non impediti ratione cogitationis
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11-26-2020, 06:47 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-26-2020, 06:56 PM by Handplanesandmore.)
This is what helped me, but not sure if it'll work for you.
Some people still woodwork or plan to woodwork in their 80s. I don't think I belong to that group of woodworkers. I'll hang up my boots before I turn 80 for sure. It's still a long way from getting there, but I downsize whenever I see idle machines and tools collecting dust. That has made my shop less cluttered and bigger.
Sold: a jointer, a lathe, lots of clamps, extra compressor, extra cordless drills, hand tools I hardly touched, Festool stuff hardly used, and extra dust collector.
I'm not ready to sell everything, but boy, it felt great when I saw them go. (Festool grabbed good money; others, I didn't care. Like they say, priced to sell.)
May be cherry-picking tools you love to keep, and unloading some would make you feel better.Also felt good when I imagined that the dusty tools landed in some good homes.
Simon
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11-26-2020, 09:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-26-2020, 09:15 PM by Handplanesandmore.)
Did I mention nail guns, biscuit joiner and woodturning chisels, too?
Every time I sold a big piece of bigger machine, I found time to reorganize my shop. Reorganizing is also less stressful than starting a new project.
Although I sell idle tools, it doesn't mean I don't buy new "toys." New tools may have a learning curve, and they offer some incentive for me to get into the shop -- even if it's just an hour or two.
Simon
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Long time lurker, first time poster.
What you are feeling is definitely unique to you even though many have been there too. That is because you are in it now, but a lot of us were and will be again. My journey in woodworking is only about 25 years old, and I am 60 now. I go through dry spells and have been tempted to get rid of everything before but for whatever reason I did not, and I always came back to it, very glad I did. My wife and I have a great relationship but it is also nice to be able to go into the shop and veg out or tinker, or think about what I will do next, even then it may take weeks or months before I actually start on it. I have a 122 year-old house on 10 acres we bought almost 2 years ago, and I have a mortgage and something always needs to be done. It's funny, my wife sometimes goes and buys something made from wood, and I will say, you know I could have made that, and then a while later she starts throwing a bunch of things she wants made at me, and I say you know I could never get all of that done because you want it all now, plus, it is all conceptual, no sketch or picture, and she wants me to be inside her mind and I have never figured out how to do that.
I guess it is also true that this pandemic crapola has also implanted a measure of depression in most of us, to varying degrees, and it's real. But you know it will pass. Don't dump your tools and shop, you will not be happy with that, you will swing back around later and say, why the heck did I do that, it was stupid. Let the stuff sit there and collect dust for a while, however long, and then something will click and you will take a day, go out and clean everything up, get organized, and start back at whatever speed you want. I have done this several times. There are no rules to go by in this situation, it is the epitome of individualism, and there is no criticism from anyone that cares or is worth listening to any way.
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Thanks everyone. It's unanimous, I'm keeping my shop. I guess I've been on a self pity stretch. Talked it over with LOML also.
I don't need the money (even though selling the shop would only mean a small % of what I put into it) and the space, I had this home built in 1998 with shop (the un known call it a garage) designed to be a shop. Although it would be nice to be able to park my vehicles in a HVAC controlled garage.
Jim
Jim
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11-27-2020, 11:19 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-27-2020, 11:20 AM by Hank Knight.)
Yea! I think that's a good decision. Sounds like you have an understanding wife.
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(11-27-2020, 06:31 AM)Surrywood Wrote: ....... and she wants me to be inside her mind and I have never figured out how to do that.
We hope you never figure out how
g
I've only had one...in dog beers.
"You can see the stars and still not see the light"
The Eagles: Already Gone
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Glad to hear it. I remember after I built my kitchen I didn't step foot in my shop for almost 6 months. Needless to say, when I did go back in spent a week doing rust removal.
I am not totally retired, but even so, I have 2 or 3 hobbies besides woodworking.
I cycle, I walk, I do some hiking. We like to find cabins in the mountains to stay at and do some hiking.
All this gets me out of the shop, too much time in there can burn me out, but that's me.
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Sometimes our hobbies last for a lifetime, other times they last for a season. I've done photography both as a hobby and commercially for most of my life. But there was a time I didn't want to pick up a camera. And that was okay. I needed the break. Fortunately, the break came between film cameras and digital. When the time came that I wanted to start shooting again I had (and am having) a lot of fun learning about the different aspects of digital photography.
So, if you've lost your passion for ww that's okay. No need to beat yourself up. If you want, sell off your excess equipment. You can always replace it down the road if you want. Or, you might find an entirely new thing.
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(11-27-2020, 10:59 AM)Halfathumb Wrote: Thanks everyone. It's unanimous, I'm keeping my shop. I guess I've been on a self pity stretch. Talked it over with LOML also.
I don't need the money (even though selling the shop would only mean a small % of what I put into it) and the space, I had this home built in 1998 with shop (the un known call it a garage) designed to be a shop. Although it would be nice to be able to park my vehicles in a HVAC controlled garage.
Jim Hang in there. I haven't been actively involved in meaningful shop time for 2 years. Moved to NC coast, retired in May, finally started converting my new garage into a shop.
I like woodworking in the rainy, cold season Dec - March. Hope to have my shop running in the next month.
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