Noah B Woodworks

One of the worst habits a person can have is leaving work unfinished. It is a habit that plagues many, and plagued me for a long while. I recognized the importance of ‘finish what you start’ when I naively took on a colossal project at the age of 16. I set out to restore my dad’s 1983 F-250. I had grand, romantic plans to build a custom hardwood bed, interior and rebuild its powerful engine. I quickly ran out of money and motivation for the project, being 16 and all, and it sits unfinished to this day. I think about it all the time, and at some point in my life, perhaps when it slows down, I’d like to return to it. This experience taught me the importance of choosing my projects wisely.

To finish a project, you need a few things: A solid, achievable design, a plan for how to realize it, and the patience to finish it when you don’t want to. It’s that last part that I see friends and family struggle with. It is safe to assume that the last 80-90 percent of any big project will be an absolute slog. After weeks or months of working on the same thing, there is no doubt you will be tempted to move onto something new. Don’t. You’ll thank yourself when you push through and receive the satisfaction of realization.

You must keep strictly to this golden rule and make it a new standard. Make it a habit and soon it wont be a problem. Smaller projects are easier to finish and often as satisfying. I recently carved a tobacco pipe by drilling a few holes and shaped the exterior with a sloyd knife. I purchased the mouthpiece on amazon for 12 dollars and bang! It was done in a few days. With satisfaction, I witnessed the Osmo oil bring the wood to life and moved on to the next.

If this is something you struggle with, and this problem happens with any art in any medium, I recommend you think about what it means to finish something. For me, it’s easier to finish a woodworking project than a musical one. With music, there is always something to tweak or improve, in an endless cycle of adjustment. It’s difficult to finish anything music, probably because it is an emotional endeavor. Intimate in nature; I’ve always struggled to show it to the world. I find it much easier to complete my woodworking, because I can visually see when it is done. If I take any more wood away, there wont be any wood left. It also depends on your own ego. What is good enough for you? An important question to ask oneself. I’ve slapped many a finish on a one-day project and called it good ’nuff. Use your own discretion, and I’d never recommend you do this for any paying clients project, if you’re so fortunate to have one.

The next recommendation is for those who have a mountain of unfinished projects littering their livelihoods and occupying valuable space. Start with the smallest one and see it through. Work your way up by size and exercise the muscle of completion. DON’T start anything new, discipline yourself to never break this golden rule. You simply cannot get distracted until the mountain becomes a hill and the hill becomes a mound and the mound becomes something you can hold in your hand. Only then can you begin again with fresh mind and eyes.

It’s easy to feel intimidated, but with a little practice and strategic approach, it can be just as easy to feel the peaceful relief of achievement. Does the thing do what I need it to do? Does it look like shit? Does anyone care? Does unfinished and rustic-looking fit my style? There are a million objective questions with a million subjective answers in regard to this topic. What does finished look like to you?