There’s another piece of woodwork I want to share this week, but this one wasn’t built recently.
I built this porch swing when I was 18 years old.
It has been around all these years, and looking at it today brings back a memory that had a major influence on my life.
While I was building it, I had an accident with a circular saw and cut off my thumb.
Fortunately, doctors were able to reattach it.
Physically, I recovered. But the accident left me with something else that lasted much longer—a fear of woodworking tools.
After building this swing, I never really got back into a woodworking shop. I stayed away from the tools because I was afraid of having another accident.
And for a very long time, that was pretty much the end of woodworking for me.
Until Now
Looking at this old swing today and then looking at everything I’ve been doing lately makes me realize how significant this new chapter has become.
I’m using power tools again.
I’m learning how to build furniture.
I’m repairing old pieces instead of throwing them away.
I’m learning joinery.
I’m experimenting with epoxy.
I’m building a proper workbench.
And I’m even practicing new techniques on prototypes before trying them on the real project.
I’m also approaching tools differently than I did when I was 18. Experience has taught me that respecting a tool and being afraid of a tool aren’t necessarily the same thing.
That old porch swing has survived all these years.
In a way, I guess the desire to build things did too.
It just took me a long time to come back to it.
So when I look at the projects I’m making today, I don’t only see benches, serving boards, stools, crosses, or pieces of furniture.
I see something I walked away from when I was 18—and finally decided to try again.
Maybe that’s the real project I’ve been working on all along.
Sam and Herc