(D. A. Clark) wrote in message . com...
There are a many ways to work wood. I have cut, shaped and fastened
more projects in my head than I will ever be able to physically
accomplish. Mental exercises can make you a better woodworker; and,
words can be as solid as oak.

Ah yes, visualization. Visualization is hardly new ground. See the
wood, be the wood - been there done that. As for solid as oak,
perhaps you're unfamiliar with the umpteen varieties of canyon oak,
scrub oak, you-name-it oak that grow in the chaparral of the left
coast, but most them are splintery and brittle, and won't really hold
up to any meaningful scrutiny. Their best application is as firewood.

I think positive self-talk while doing the work is a mental
preparation is what helps me the most. I learned this as a baseball
player, going beyond the commonly-known visual technique of picturing
the perfect pitch, its velocity, spin and trajectory, then
visualization my perfect swing, solid contact, follow-through and pose
as the ball rockets through the air and clangs off the facade of the
third deck. This visualization breaks down if the batter is standing
in the box telling himself, "Don't swing at a bad pitch. Don't bail
out. Don't open up too fast, etc." He will invariably chase one in
the dirt, while bailing out and opening up his hips too fast. The same
applies to the dorking of the wood with, "Don't slip. Don't cut it
crooked, Don't don't don't don't."

And so therefore I ackowledge what it is I can do (say, put a perfect
edge on a chisel, and apply that edge to the work), accept what it is
I cannot control (an unseen pitch pocket, the neighbor's marijuana
party next door giving me a decent contact high, the amount of light
left in the day, the negligible amount of cartilage left in my hip
joints) and then let the outcome be what it is.

This isn't to stay I stay within my comfort zone, but I don't set
myself up for abject disappointment. When I am attempting to extend
my abilities, I do it on scrap - partially to save money or conserve
expensive hardwood, but more in keeping with the assertive, esteeming
message. This reduces stress (the inner conflict that occurs when the
body must resist the urge to choke the living **** out of some asshole
who desperately deserves it) in terms of the nearly always fatal,
"don't **** this up, it's $6.99 a bdft," while keeping me firmly
rooted in reality (the opposite of denial), which I would depart from
if I were to completely discard the notion that using up expensive
hardwood for the sole purpose of skill-building is a prudent use of
limited natural and monetary resources.

The process of evolving my woodworking process, if you will.

Not sure what your interest in panty lace is, but I'm doubly sure I
won't be participating in an in-depth exploration of the subject on
this ng. Not to say that panties themselves aren't worth exploring,
provided they're being worn by someone with which you have a more than
passing relationship, and they've extended a specific invitation for
the exploration. Speaking of extended, if you'd like to take a gander
at some long, stiff, thick, nice-looking wood, point your browser
he

http://www.klownhammer.org/yetmoreprogress

Yours in zen and the art of woodworking.

O'Deen