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Last night I pursued one of our naughty cats into my oldest daughter’s closet, where I saw something that was just shocking.
It was a …¦ well, it’s difficult to describe. Imagine a blanket chest without a lid. What form of furniture is that? A feed trough? In any case, it was chest-like. And it had some Southwest touches. The top edge had a cut-out that looked like stair steps. And that same detail was repeated in the plinth.
It was built using white pine. The corners were joined with finger joints. Large ones. Let’s call them “elephantine thumb joints.” And it had a water-based topcoat on it. I know this because the grain was clearly raised.
I had built this monstrosity right after college and apparently had done a good job of blocking its existence from my memory. It had been a gift for my wife, as I now recall, and it was the “payoff” for me buying a Skil cordless drill, which lasted about a year in my shop.
In retrospect, I wish I’d thrown this project out with the drill.
(And why did I need a cordless drill? To screw together the finger joints of course. I didn’t have enough clamps at the time to do it right. Or I didn’t know better.)
The whole experience was like bumping into an old friend at the store who hasn’t aged well. After getting over the denial that I had built this Franken-trough, I considered hauling it to the curb this morning. Friday is garbage day here. But then I saw something that changed my mind.
My daughter was using it like a corral to store her collectible Breyer horses. They were lined up in there in their tack and other very expensive accessories. It was evident that this abomination of a project still had an important job to do for my daughter. And so I decided to delay its date with the curb.
The good news here is that if you simply persevere you will get better. This morning I set my coffee down on the lid of the blanket chest that is on the cover of Issue 10 of Woodworking Magazine. It also has finger joints at the corners, but that is where the similarities to its crazy grandma locked in the upstairs closet end. The joints are airtight (even without the help of Phillips screws). The miters on the plinth are just so. The finish is nice and smooth.
The bad news here is that craftsmanship is always a moving target. In another 15 years, this new blanket chest might be stuffed in a closet somewhere in the house, and its replacement might be in our living room. This morning it’s hard for me to visualize what the new one would look like, but that uncharted territory is one of the things that gets me in the shop almost every day.
P.S. I just couldn’t bear to take a photo of the original project. There already is enough ugliness on the Internet, don’t you think?
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I understand your decision to keep the dead buried. Besides, it is illuminating to sneak back once in a while, dig it up and be amazed at your personal growth. It seems as I get better at woodworking, I’ll need to invest in hidden storage.
the picture is very nice…great post i had fun reading it…
Reading your story made me consider the future fate of a pine toy box I recently completed for my granddaughter. It is my first piece of furniture made outside a class setting. It is far from perfect but she loves Grandpa anyway. My only hope is that it holds up long enough for me to replace it with a proper Hope Chest. Maybe 10 or 15 years, I hope.
I hang onto my old, ugly projects just like I keep my old grade school photos——the ones where I’m missing a tooth and my jumper is purple & orange, but my 6-year-old self still grins like a ninny.
They ain’t pretty, but they’re part of my past.
I finally hauled mine to the curb last month as darkness settled in and two ladies stopped their car, grabbed it, and hauled it away! I hope they paint it and use it for a garden tool storage box somewhere out of sight. At least they do not know my name if someone asks who built it!
Don
Hey Chris………..I kinda like the old ones, every Christmas I cringe when I see a few still being used that we gave away for the better. Let’s face it most are so over built they can’t help but this be around. I like looking back on the days when mastering the walnut button was a design element. Some of the pieces I return to are made of magnificent wood I wish I could get today without travelling 200 miles. There’s still a 3 legged stool that only stands when leaning against a wall, up in the atic. The obtuse stool served many years as a plant stand.
I don’t think there’s any builds ugly on the internet, I’m for snapping a photo as an addition to the woodworker’s rogues gallery. I’m with K. Mealy up top.
In 15 years when you’re ready to hide this one in the closet send me an email. I’ll buy it of ya.
As we say on Woodnet, "No pics, didn’t happen."
You’ve never made anything ugly, Chris. Or if so, you’ll have to prove it 😉
-Chris
I look back at some of my early pieces (some of which were done on an apartment balcony with 5 tools). It reminds me of where I have come from. I think, "That was the best I was capable of at the time." Stepping stones on the journey, so to speak.
It reminds me of two sayings:
"Nobody is born knowing this stuff. We all have to learn it somewhere." – me
"The perfect is the enemy of the good." – Voltaire
This reminds me of the few pieces I gave away to family when I first began. They hang on to them thinking they are going to go up in value some day .. Reality is, I can’t stand the sight of them and cringe when I see them.. the pieces that is 🙂 They are very early work, crude and I’ve evolved considerably. Even tried to get them back, but now they think they’re worth even more 🙂
Norman
I love the line "but that is where the similarities to its crazy grandma locked in the upstairs closet end." Very nice.
My first "real" woodworking project was a bracket clock. Clock were very big back in the late seventies. I did a nice job fitting joints tightly together, and the proportions were pleasing. All in all, not bad — but for one thing. Being cheap, I got the absolute maximum use of the wood I used, and I was pleased that I ended up with barely enough scrap to feed a termite. That also meant that grain that was supposed to be vertical ran horizontal in a couple of places, and vice versa. It looks so hideous now, with endgrain sticking out where it has no business doing so.
I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.
John
Well Chris I am with you, keep it hidden. We all have skeletons of some sort in our closets! I would like to teach a class for beginners where the projects are made of inexpensive wood and on the last day there is a celebratory bonfire to consecrate their efforts by burning that weeks project. Too many beginning projects are made of wood to precious to throw away and with workmanship too poor to keep.
DAMHIKT
My daughter is preparing to sell off her American Girl doll and equipment. My guess is your daughters horses will meet a similar fate and then you can get rid of the corral.
Mike
Chris,
I agree… you need to post it. How about adding a link rather than embed the image in a post. That way, those who can’t take it don’t have to look.
Jason
If you want to see it you’ll have to break into my house, sneak into my daughter’s room and get past the very dangerous fluffy cat.
Chris
Chris, your posts are always delightful to read. Your sense of humor is as sharp as your woodworking.
I am weaker than you as I have gotten rid of most of my earlier stuff.
Now, I really want to see it!
One of my first projects was an outdoor table. It was made by making an octagon and cutting round. For a beginner I think getting an octagon to fit together correctly is a challenge to say the least. Needless to say nothing lined up correctly. After I started to improve my skills, setting out at the table became harder and harder. Every flaw stood out like a sore thumb! I also wanted to toss it to the curb, but my wife stepped in. She said I need to keep it around to show how far I’ve come. She has always be been calmer and less rash then me :). I’m glad she convinced to hold on to it.
Mike
Aw, come on. As someone just getting started in this hobby, I know I would appreciate a photo.
NOw now fess up and show us the original, we are as a group tough and we can take it, bwsides it would further illustrate that you do get better with time.
I have my first dovetail project in my shop and have to bear it’s presense everytime I walk out there. But then it only serves to show that yes I have inproved if only incrementally.