The first set of hand-sawn and sanded cedar hooks ready for giving.
“It’s not my best work, ” he said with a dispirited note.
“Hmm,” I replied. “And what have you said to me over the years when I stress about writing the best?”
After a long pause he said, “The best is the enemy of the good.”
“Well, my dear, what you have produced is good. AND I can’t wait to see the next set.”
His brow furrowed. “The next set?”
Today we worked on the next set. He directed me.
“Pull the saw toward you.” “Please move your fingers out of the way.” “Hmm. Let’s try the straight saw not the fret saw.”
And so on and so forth.
He worked with his pocket knife to clean up an edge on a piece. And as he worked he said, “For the next project we’ll need a chisel. Between 3/4″ and 1″ and …”
I took notes.
The chisel and other instruments are in the basement. He can’t navigate down those stairs yet so I continue to learn as I apprentice as a woodworker.
“And we’ll need to make a leg vise,” he added.
“But of course,” I said. Then I took a deep breath and asked, “Okay, what does a leg vise do?”
And as he explained all I could think was what an unexpected and unexpectedly lovely journey!
Words + Images 