Lost my enthusiasm
#21
I agree- the “ never enjoyed” comment caught my eye. Life is too short to do stuff you don’t enjoy

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#22
How about teaching? Pass on some skills to the neighborhood hoodlem, or better yet some local vets. It is amazing what woodworking can do for PTSD. Now that school is out there is bound to be some younguns looking for something to do, the Boy Scouts have a woodworking merit badge, although you will need to go through a background check before they'll clear you as a couselor.
Train to be miserable...
that way when the real misery starts you won't notice.
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#23
I'm the exact opposite.  I've been a wildlife photographer for the last 11 years (as a hobby).  Invested a lot of money into photography and over the last 1 1/2 years I felt myself getting bored of it and the people that sometimes go to the same spots I went to.

Rather than giving up my hobby I decided to pick up a new hobby....wood working.  I'm now enjoying doing something different and I know my photography passion will kick in soon enough.

I'd say keep your stuff, find something to occupy your time for a spell and I'm sure the "itch" will need to be scratched soon.
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#24
Hi
I am 72,been a wood turner for a lot of years,unlike others I like solitude and don't care about windows.My first shop was a stand alone.I di Craft shows,got an order one year for 100 wine stoppers for a company.Close to Christmas and a deadline.Made the deadline,locked the shope and never went back for 3 months,didn't want this turning into a job.Eventually went back and turned at my own pace,yes I love turning.Moved in 2009 to a house with a basement shop,perfect set up.Dec 15,developed a breathing problem and lack of energy,ended up on home oxygen,24/7.Had an oxygen line run into my shop,but lost all interest in turning.Had to use a portable tank to get down to my shop and then transfer over.After many tests,it was recently determined that I did not have COPD,as they first thought,but something called Interstitial lung disease.Had a lung biopsy done,no cancer or other lung issues just some scaring.Doc put me on steroids,my energy level is up and I am back in my shop turning again and still love it.I use a mobility scooter when I go shopping or out around my property,this gives me a lot of freedom.Anyway,I just wanted to say,that twice I lost the desire to woodwork and twice I got it back.Now I try and turn a little every day,even for a short period of time.I am glad I got my enthusiasm back and I wish you all the best,glad you are feeling better.


Mel
ABC(Anything But Crapsman)club member
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#25
Shocked 
(07-01-2018, 01:44 PM)doobes Wrote: I've been doing woodworking of one sort or another virtually my entire life. Started small, and have built a fairly respectable number of pieces which now grace my home.

Trouble is, I can't seem to motivate myself into doing it any longer. I turned 60 this year and it seems like my entire life has gone topsy turvy.
Only you can tell if you should still keep your tools just in case your interest in woodworking comes back.

About 9 years ago, I sold everything once I felt I would no longer play golf...I didn't even give too much thinking about how much I should recoup. Very expensive golf equipment was sold within hours...I listed them at 30% of its original price even though it was in top condition. Never look back and no regrets because I hate seeing stuff occupying space.

If one day I decide to stop woodworking because I have to be dragged into the shop, 100% sure I will sell everything without thinking if I will become motivated again. That day may never come and I will kick myself for holding onto tools that other woodworkers can use them. I do know two persons in their late 70s who have tons and tons of tools even though they rarely use them...they spend their time mostly traveling. Not counting minor home fixes, they have not built anything for at least 5 to 6 years. If I stopped building for more than a few years but still kept my tools, that can only mean one thing: I have gone senile.

Simon
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#26
Good for you! Don't sell your tools just yet, you may get back to it one day. You may decide you can do both.
RD
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"Boy could I have used those pocket screws!" ---Duncan Phyfe
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#27
The "never enjoyed doing" comment aside, yes, it has happened and I'm sort of in it now.

Built a lot of stuff for the house and family...fairly active for 20 years. Winters only as summers here are too short to spend them in my basement shop with only a tiny window.

The window thing bugs me too, but I rationalize it as I am usually in the shop winter evenings so it's too dark to see outside and too cold to open the windows even if I had them. My next shop, when the kids and job are mostly gone, will be above ground I think. That's a number of years from now.

My last big project was an entertainment center finished almost three years ago. Since then I puttered....made 1.5 small boxes more as an experiment in continuous grain. One was supposed to be keep sake box for,daughters high school,graduation - it wasnt finished until after her freshman year of college. The other one is still sitting on the miter bench untouched for months.

I'm quite bored of cabinets, and have inlay and veneering stuff in mind now. Job is a hassle, and my kids are approaching college age and I'm more motivated to hang out with them.

I have done some home improvement items, recently replaced carpeted stairs with oak treads. Had plans to do same in upstairs hallway this summer, then broke my collarbone mountain biking with my near college aged boy I'm trying to spend more time with. Now, no floor and no mountain biking. Arrghhh (titanium plate surgery this Tuesday). The home projects seem less stressful, and are new challenges.

Honestly I don't really miss it right now. Although your post was timely as just today, laid up on the sofa, I put in some woodworking DVDs I've not watched in years. Part about f my thinking, too, is we may move in 5ish years and I'm not sure I want to build yet more stuff that we would have to move to a new house. Maybe this winter I'll try veneering some boxes as gifts.

And before anyone asks, I'm keeping the tools. ?
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#28
I went through a complete burnout period a few years back.  Done everything I ever wanted to do in woodworking, and it just got repetitive.  I know I'm capable of doing whatever I want, and I guess the 'challenge' was  an important part of what I enjoyed.  Every now and again I'll feel the 'spark' and remember the days when I woulda rather been in the shop than anywhere else... but nowadays it's just one more thing I can do.
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#29
I went thru phases where I lived in the shop, and then didn't go out for weeks at a time.  My dry spells were mostly associated with health levels than anything else.  I worked in a small crowded shop for two decades, but turned out some nice projects and enjoyed the woodworking. Last year, we finally completed the dream shop.

It gave me more room, but didn't change the cycle much. If I got bored, I turned to other interests for a bit, but always came back, often combining them.  For example, I built a beautiful gunsmith's tool chest, with intricate detailing. Two hobbies coming together.  Pistol racks for the gunsafe, with drawers for mag storage.
Rod holders for the boat house... a beautiful Brazilian Cherry fly rod rack for the tying room... 
Big Grin. Incentives to get back to work in the shop.  Heck, even a custom cane led to learning to use a spoke shave. 
Big Grin

If you find you just won't, then sell, but don't rush into it.  You just might find that tickle of an idea... 
Rolleyes  ... I think I need to...
Jim in Okie
You can tell a lot about the character of a man -
By the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
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#30
Doobs, You are entering your "Golden Years". They are truly golden, except for the growing old part. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it - it's that simple. I don't imagine anybody's forcing you to go into the shop and work. I think we all have periods of disinterest and lack of motivation. I know I do. Sometimes I don't go into my shop for weeks at a time. But then I find myself in there tinkering with something and the next thing I know, I'm back at it because I still enjoy it. If I felt like I HAD to go into the shop and work, it would definitely not be fun. I just take it as it comes. Most of my projects take much longer to complete than if I worked on them constantly. But I don't care. I do it because I still like it and I don't have to meet anybody's schedule except my own.

On a parallel note, we have a similar history with old injuries. I have a bad shoulder from a car wreck many years ago. I finally went to the orthopedist an got it worked on. I started going to the gym and re injured it because I didn't know what I was doing. I laid off for a couple of years and went back to the gym recently. This time I hired a personal trainer to supervise my workouts and help me avoid hurting myself. He has a shoulder problem similar to mine from a football injury, so he knows what I should do and not do. I have been very happy with the results. It's been a year and a half now and I feel better than I've felt in years. I've lost 30 pounds and have much more stamina and energy than I've had in a very long time. At 74, my attitude and overall mental condition are positive, which probably contributes to my continued enjoyment of woodworking and life in general.

My only advice to you is to do what you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it (within reason, of course - there are some things we just have to do, like them or not). Also, consider finding a knowledgeable person to help you with your yoga and/or workout routines. I've found I can exercise my whole body without endangering my fragile shoulder if I do the right exercises and avoid the ones that will hurt me. My trainer has been an invaluable help with that.

Good luck.
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