Woodworking is most commonly considered an activity that refreshes the body and soul—something we do that takes us away from the stresses and work of our everyday lives. It’s a simple pastime for many, something people do when they have down time and want to spend a few hours creating something.
However, true craftsmanship in woodworking often resembles something more like a sport than a pastime or hobby. It requires a significant amount of discipline and the honing of skills through regimented practice over a long period of time to achieve excellence. There is something of a competitive nature about it, as well.
Here are some of the ways in which woodworking might resemble a sport at a high level of artisanship.
It requires tremendous focus and energy
In the sports world, you often hear athletes being referred to as being “in the zone” at certain times of the game when the results matter the most. In woodworking, too, there is a sort of heightened level of focus and energy. A skilled woodworker will very much get “in the zone” when visiting their local lumber yard in Houston and working on a project. After a certain amount of time in the shop spent working on the project, the rest of the outside world sort of melts away, and your focus is entirely on the wood and your tools.
Physical skill
Most people who attempt to define what makes a sport truly a sport point to the physical skill required. It’s why there are those who would be loath to consider NASCAR or competitive gaming a sport, but point to many of the more traditional sports (or those found in the Olympics) as “pure” sport.
While anyone is capable of doing simple woodworking, there is absolutely an element of outstanding physical skill that separates the finest workers from the hobbyists. These are people capable of working with their hands for a full day, who have trained themselves in everything from the broad strokes of a handsaw to the smallest shavings with a file or plane. Being able to work the tools and the wood in exactly the right way to achieve the desired result is something that not everyone can accomplish. If you’re an amateur woodworker, you know just how difficult some types of jobs are—yet, there are professionals and highly skilled craftsmen capable of achieving excellence with those jobs thanks to their practiced and honed skillsets.
Repeated practice
True excellence in woodworking is only the result of years and years of practice and repetition. Even the most gifted athletes only become the greatest competitors in their sport because they practice harder than just about everyone else. The same is true in woodworking. While practice doesn’t make perfect, it definitely makes perfection seem much more attainable. The most skilled craftsmen in the world got that way because they were willing to work for their excellence.
For more information about developing your woodworking skills, visit a lumber yard in Houston today.