I was curious as to how long any of you guys will go between projects?  I always feel a bit guilty if I don't have something going on regular schedule, mostly because of the well into 5 figure investment I have in tools. Other than for work or medical reasons, how long has your longest stretch between projects?

As a commercial woodworker - around ten minutes

Don't feel guilty, @HowardH - feel lucky. Woodworking as a hobby (irrespective of $$$$ tool investment) is an enjoyable and rewarding pastime which should be free from any form of pressure, deadline or guilt, especially when it's self-imposed. Relax, chill out, enjoy your hobby, and remember that those neatly-stored and cleaned boxes are ready and waiting for when the next project comes along.







You really need to get that toy chest started ..... and sweep your driveway.

"I have had the guilty feeling not because of my tool investment, but because of the time remaining for me to do projects actively given my age. I'm planning to start disposing of my tools and machines in about 10 to 15 years."

I was thinking the same last week. I have two SILs and two Grandsons who are now both pre-teen. The bulk of my tools will go to the four of them. Some were given to me by my Grandfather and Great Uncle back in the 60s. Closing in on 70 so not a lot of years left I figure. Fifteen if I'm lucky. I hope I'm here long enough to get some time in the shop with the Grandsons. They don't have much interest now, hopefully they will later.

I would suggest a change in perspective, among the most productive activities over the long haul are workspace organization, maintenance, alignment and calibration of your machines, and honing your skills like hand tool sharpening and joinery fabrication.  I prefer to learn and develop new skills on smaller jobs that only might take a few days to execute, rather than on a large build where a less than perfect outcome has much higher costs down the line.  I may only build 4 or 5 significant projects in a year, but I spend at least a few hours of most days in the shop.  Of course, being blissfully retired from the workplace for over 13 years makes that easier to accomplish.

@Crazyraceguy The distinction between different aspects of the trade has become blurred over the years, especially as guys have expanded their skillset to increase the scope of their work.  In the UK, what’s generally accepted is;

Carpenter = framing, studwork, joists, floorboards or panels, roof trusses and other roof sections, bargeboards, fascias, fencing, external cladding etc. etc. In other words - anything fairly rough, mostly hidden, and to do with the actual structure of the building, as opposed to anything decorative.

Joiner = anything decorative. Kitchens, doors, windows, staircases, baseboards and all other trim, panelling, custom client work, flooring, canopies, pergolas, decking, etc. etc.

My business card says ‘joiner’ on it, because that’s what I mostly do. I refer to myself as a ‘woodworker’ on here simply because ‘joiner’ isn’t really a common term in NA, and I’m conscious of the forum’s largest group of users. I don’t know what else to call myself which covers the scope of my varied work.

The actual truth (as you’ve seen from project pictures I occasionally post) is that I do all of the above, plus traditional cabinetmaking as well. A cut’s a cut - irrespective of whether it’s an 8” x 8” roof purlin or a tiny rosewood panel moulding.

Snip.
Carpenter = framing, studwork, joists, floorboards or panels, roof trusses and other roof sections, bargeboards, fascias, fencing, external cladding etc. etc. In other words - anything fairly rough, mostly hidden, and to do with the actual structure of the building, as opposed to anything decorative.

Joiner = anything decorative. Kitchens, doors, windows, staircases, baseboards and all other trim, panelling, custom client work, flooring, canopies, pergolas, decking, etc. etc.

Snip.

I do nothing of the sort of work outlined in the examples given under your "Carpenter" or "Joiner" term.

"Woodworker" is an encompassing term, and that's how I refer to myself, being a furniture maker (carcases, tables, chairs, etc.). Under "Woodworker" we also cover cabinet makers, woodturners, woodcarvers, etc., hats that many furniture makers, including myself, may also wear. That's why woodworking is fascinating and never boring. You can always learn some new skills if so desired even if you've been in it for decades.

Here, within the woodworking circle, no woodworkers I know call themselves carpenters, although I never correct or explain when people (non-woodworkers) refer to me as a carpenter. Those are also the people who usually won't notice a small error or imperfection you've made on a piece if you don't point it out!

As for business cards, this retired fellow still has fun in his woodworking interest:

So many people insult the CNC guys, saying "It's not real woodworking", but I completely disagree. That is a skill too. The machine might do the actual work, but you have to know what to tell it. Those things are a funny combination of smart and stupid. They will do exactly what you tell them....you better know what that means. It won't think for you, adjusting to "what you meant" versus "what you said".

@Crazyraceguy You're 100% on the money regarding CNC. There's a small local company who have invested very heavily in the technology, and some of the work they turn out is absolutely mindblowing. Last time I was down there picking up some 'carvings' they'd done for one of my jobs, they'd just finished machining an incredible curved staircase. Sure - I could have built it to a similar standard, probably taking somewhere between 3 and 4 weeks. It had taken them a day and a half from start to finish. Same goes for the company I use for my occasional granite or quartz kitchen countertops (worktops in the UK !!) - they have a £250,000 CNC water-cooled carbide cutting/routing machine which can do literally anything imaginable including heavily molded (moulded in the UK !!) edge profiles and super-perfect scribes to uneven walls. But as you say - it's all down to flawless site survey measurements and the skill of the guy writing the program (programme in the UK !!). Garbage (rubbish in the UK !!) in = Garbage out.

And as for those who say it isn't real woodworking = BS. Virtually every precision component holding an airplane (aeroplane in the UK !!) up in the sky is machined to critical tolerances on CNC. Would anyone claim that's not 'real metalworking' I wonder?

And incidentally - the stellar work you turn out would exclusively be termed 'bench joinery' over here. It's highly skilled work resulting in a decorative + functional object, but built in a static shop (workshop in the UK !!) environment as opposed to out onsite. As you say, buddy (mate in the UK !!) -  a fascinating discussion.

Something else you might find interesting = trades over here refer to their fellow trades using certain universally-accepted terms;

Carpenters/joiners = Chippies
Electricians = Sparks
Plasterers = Spreads
Plumbers = Soaks

We also universally recognise the terms 'first-fix' and 'second-fix'. In the case of an electrician for example, he'll initially come onto the jobsite to first-fix = Running cables and ducting, installing switchgear, backboxes, positioning power supplies for lighting, installing the main circuitbreaker boards and so on. The protocol is to have everything dead and isolated except a single circuit powering sockets, so other trades have power for their equipment. Much of this stuff is run through framing and therefore becomes inaccessible later. Once the other trades have finished, he'll then return to second-fix = installing socket fronts, light switches, installing lighting fixtures along with all of the visible, decorative stuff - hooking everything up to the cables and power supplies he installed on his first-fix. He'll then test the entire installation and issue a Building Regulations NICEIC compliance certificate (same as code in NA).

Kevin

Those things are a funny combination of smart and stupid. They will do exactly what you tell them....you better know what that means. It won't think for you, adjusting to "what you meant" versus "what you said".

The hand tool only crowd could say the same about power tools.

I'm in the software field, as is my father, and we have been, to a certain extent, for quite a while. He used to have a sign on the wall that said something to the effect of "These silly computers only do what you TELL them to do, not what you WANT them to do."  I use a similar line at work almost weekly at this point.

@squall_line  your statement is far more eloquent.

@woodbutcherbower
Over here, the "first fix" would be called "rough electrical". It's pretty much the same as you said, running the wires, breaker panel, receptacle/switch boxes, etc. They are all dead, no devices in them, just wires sticking out. On new construction, they normally have a central hub for power. They put a small breaker box in a "stick" in a central location and the wires run straight to the main panel, which will all be removed later.
Plumbing is basically the same "rough plumbing". All of the supply and drain/vents are run, but non-functional.

Electricians here get the "sparky" name, similar enough.
The rest of the trades really don't though, unless you insult a "Pipefitter" by calling him a plumber.  hey are not the same thing...and they will tell you so. Pipefitters do fire-suppression sprinkler systems. The on time I made the mistake to call one a plumber, he said "Do I look like a turd-herder to you?" in a slightly agitated tone.

I have heard a lot of the UK terms from watching Youtube woodworkers.
It seems that a lot of them are in the UK or the US.

I have been tangentially involved with CNC, since 1980. I got my first machine shop job while still in high school. I worked for the Coromant division of Sandvik, as a "Manual Machinist", though they didn't call it that then. They had a couple of Bridgeport vertical milling machines. These were the first CNC machines that I ever saw.  They really only did one thing with them though. They were both equipped with fixtures that held onto insert holders. They machined the pockets that held carbide inserts for drilling heads. They really weren't so different than you can still see now, in that type of machine, and those are in the hands of hobbyists.
This was rather crude though compared to the CNC machining centers of today. 4 and 5 axis machines are doing far more than was possible back then.
Now it has been adapted to plasma cutters, lasers, 3D printers and realistically those little vinyl cutters too. The technology is definitely going to improve and be further adapted.
I'm still in the dummy phase of it though.  I can run the CNC "routers" as an operator, from the machine itself, but know nothing of the in-put side of it.
The beam saw is far more user-friendly as far as at the machine itself, but is also far less capable too. It can receive input from the engineers in the office, but in reality, you can do the same thing right on the touch screen.
I'm very much still in the learning phase of my Shaper Origin. I just don't get enough time for it, yet. Hopefully the new Studio package will help me along some.
I would like to get a One Finity machine for home use too. That's a retirement goal, but the shop to put it in has to come first.

 @luvmytoolz that looks fantastic. Is it the same (or at least carved too) on the other side?
Interior door? Certainly no one would put something like that toward the weather?
How long did it take to cut that upper portion?

@luvmytoolz that looks fantastic. Is it the same (or at least carved too) on the other side?
Interior door? Certainly no one would put something like that toward the weather?
How long did it take to cut that upper portion?

Thanks! On the other side it's just plain panels as it's a bedroom door, the girls side has the carvings just to give it something special to give them something pleasing to look at. As with most of my projects I severely underestimated the amount of time it's taking to properly sand in-between all the vcarving as Tas Blackwood can be a little stringy, Myrtle probably would have carved better, but not looked as nice however. I'm also incorporating a carved fancy'ish vent at the base to ensure air flow, another "simple" project that's taking me a while to get it to the aesthetic level I would be happy with.

For the large carving, it's based on a William Morris design from the late 1800's, (frontispiece of what is considered the first true fantasy book created and was J.R.R.Tolkiens inspiration!), his works and legacy (The Arts & Crafts Movement which later morphed into Art Nouveau) are just incredible sources of beautiful images and patterns. The keepsake box design released free by Micheal with Vectric is very much inline with Morris's type of designs.

@luvmytoolz  For your own daughter? That's kind of what I get from your wording. Cleaning fuzzies is one of those jobs that feels like it is never done, like filling pits in a slab table top that has a lot of figure/character. Have you ever tried a brass or plastic bristled brush? They can break this stuff out without rounding over the details, like sanding can. It is also faster and less nit-picky.