TABL ES & C HAIRSTABLES & CHAIRS^112929
into the shop to see what’s going on and to shoot the breeze.
More than one asked me in the afternoon if I was still working
on the same leg I had been working on in the morning. As the
table got closer to completion, they became more complimen-
tary, saying it was looking good and that I was really talented
to be able to make something like that.
The ego boost felt good, but as the smokers went back to
bookkeeping and planning production schedules and mak-
ing calls, I trudged on around the edges. I had plenty of time
to think, and I realized that talent or skill doesn’t have much
to do with it. What’s important is keeping at it and staying
consistent. Making an edge smooth is a basic woodworking
task. When I was learning the trade, I was put to work making
things smooth. When I had my own shop and hired someone,
the new helper’s main task was the same chore. It doesn’t take
much time or innate ability to learn to hold a tool or abrasive
to the surface and push or pull until it is nice and smooth. It
takes something else.
The nice sounding word for what you need is perseverance.
The honest word is stubbornness. I wanted the edges and
the curves of this thing to have the same buttery appearance
and feel as the fl at surfaces of the top and legs. Sometimes it
takes a lot of tedious work to get what you want. If I deserve
any kind of compliment for this little table, it’s only because
I stubbornly kept going long after I became bored and tired.
My wife tells me I’m the most stubborn person she’s ever met.
I’m inclined to agree with her, after I explain to her that in my
family, we identify that character trait with the word nobility.
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