One of my other/many hobbies is woodworking. I’ll admit that most of what I’ve built is not artistic, and many of my projects follow plans published in woodworking magazines (including Woodsmith and American Woodworker). I’ll also admit that much of what I built as a beginner was…well…crap. More recent pieces have found a good place in our home or the homes of our kids. My basement workshop has been a retreat from the stresses of daily life and a welcome space to practice a craft that I admired from a distance for many years. Woodworkers fall into two broad “tribes” – Norm-ites and Luddites. The former are followers of Norm Abram and believe that a power tool exists for every task. The latter group eschews the use of power tools. I’m an unashamed self-admitted Norm-ite.
