Reply To: It Must Be Me
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Not to accuse any of these great teachers of gilding the lily, but I think, naturally, there would be a tendency to put forth the best and brightest examples of student development.
I also think Andy made a very good point about the difference in hands-on vs. remote instruction. While the videos and articles are invaluable, there is something to be had in one-on-one tutelage that cannot be gained any other way.
And it is certainly *not* just you. I must have made five different top rails for the front of my wall clock and spent hours and hours on the mouldings before I thought they were good enough. And that was still far from *perfect*.
I would also hazard to guess that even guys like Paul, Rob Cosman and others would readily tell you that when they first started their journey in woodworking that they certainly did not just pick up a saw or chisel and turn into a virtuoso in wood.
While I have had many reasons and occasions to be discouraged and/or frustrated in the short term, I never let it linger and just resolve to practice and learn to do it better. Sometimes it even works 🙂
I also know that for me at least, my own eye is far more critical of my own work than others’. This is true for me in my professional life as well; someone may tell me the lasagna I served them was the best they’d ever had and all I can see is that the layers of noodles are uneven. 🙂
Don’t give up, my friend. You’ve shown us all some things to be proud of.