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Release time: 2021-12-08 07:00:00 Update time: 2021-12-08 07:00:00
Released at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 8, 2021
Written by Greg Behr, WRAL contributor
Just like clockwork, after experiencing an incredibly busy annual work plan and reaching its climax in the early autumn, my year-end mentality changed to a desire for a simpler, practical and craftsman lifestyle.
After raising my head on the whetstone made by deadlines and events, I began to fantasize about having a real whetstone on which I will sharpen the necessary tools, not only to build everything we need in our home, but also I need to find someone Satisfaction in life.
In this state of craftsmanship, my only real carpentry training took place in a middle school store class about 30 years ago (where I made a very inferior Scooby-Doo clock) is irrelevant.
All I need is the right attitude. Oh, and the right tools, materials, and, damn, when I build these future heirlooms, someone may peep into my garage, so I should look at the well-dressed part to make sure they suspect me of the kind Something made by yourself.
So, just like many of us have the right intention and passion for life-changing, I go out and buy everything I might need (and want) to build an aviary. I have to start somewhere and work hard to make a cedar bar canoe.
Mastercard will soon be sweating with shiny new tools, wood and materials more expensive than ever before, as well as new work boots, flannel shirts, etc.
But now I am ready to dive in. I'm ready, I don't even need to look at the plan. In terms of my appearance and intentions, I am a craftsman. I can intuitively know this aviary. The size and angle will appear in front of me like poems of the soul, body and the earth, forming works that my two little daughters will not only be proud of, but will also inspire them to become their own craftsmen. We will be the kind of family that spends the evenings and weekends creating instead of consuming. Yes, this aviary is the gateway to our entire future.
I put the plank on a brand new miter saw, ready to make the first cut. For the first time in decades, I cut with such a tool.
"Wow. It's difficult to get the marking line to align perfectly with the laser mark on the saw," I thought. "Wait. Should I cut directly on this line? In front of it? Behind it? Will the second piece of wood on the other side be the same size? How can I make them even if the roof is right on top?"
I opened the insurance and pulled the trigger. "Oh my god, it's loud and it moves very fast," I thought. "Didn't I almost get my thumb broken by a band saw during class in the workshop? What if something goes wrong? Is the aviary really worthy of me being unable to work because I have half of my hand?"
I shake off the butterfly and cut it open. Then, I do the same thing to the other side. After a few more cuts, I have all the parts ready for assembly.
I spread out the cut part and realized, oh yes, the angle of my cut edge is too steep. The piece of wood I cut for the roof doesn't fit here. hypotenuse. In the two years when I studied geometry in high school, this has been a struggle for me.
"Do I want to learn the Pythagorean Theorem again? Do I want to go back to the store and buy another $50 plank? What if the guy at the lumberyard asks me why I need another plank? Will he see that I'm just a pretender?" When I left the workbench, I thought to myself. "I want to know if that editor returned me an email. I should check."
I piled the wood on the garage wall, cleaned the sawdust from the saw, and put it back in the box. I will be back this weekend.
Maybe I can become the kind of craftsman who focuses on the skills I have developed over the years and writes about the future I want to share with my family. Maybe one day my daughters will read my work and find inspiration from this craft.
Greg Behr is the local husband and father, as well as the writer and co-founder of GBW Strategies, the strategic communications company Triangle.
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