Live from the Wood Shop
A Day in the Life
by the Dreaded Woodworker
Every morning after getting a large glass of water and getting an even LARGER cup of coffee, I look at the sign over the entrance to the wood shop which reads, “Put Your Boots On Babe” (credit to Ev, @tazboardstaide).
I open the door to the wood shop and take a look around. It gets me motivated, and lets me know what I need to clean up before working on the orders for the day.
My Work-Work Balance
Then…I go back inside and sit at my computer, doing my day job while day-dreaming about the wood shop.
When I am FINALLY finished with my 9 to 5, I put my boots on and head back into the shop.
Today I’m working on a couple of cutting boards. The first one has already been planed to the proper thickness, cut to size, and glued up. It’s almost done. Just need to sand it down, raise the grain with water, and sand it smooth again. I’ll hand-sand it about 5 times using up to 320 grit sandpaper to ensure a silky smooth finish. Then I’ll give it to Ev for customization. This can include engraving of a name or logo with our CNC Router, possibly a juice groove or handle cutouts, and maybe laser engraving or hand-done pyrography.
When she’s done, I’ll soak the board in a food safe mineral oil bath overnight, ensuring saturation. I’ll then set it to drip dry any excess oil, and once we take glamour shots of the board, we’ll package it and mail it to its new home.
A Hot Shop in the Summer (Cold Shop in the Winter)
While I’m working, I grab my phone, open the Audible app and pick up on my newest audio book where I left off the previous evening.
I regularly listen to audio books while I am working on your orders. It helps me concentrate and forget the fact that it may be below freezing or almost 100 degrees in the shop. The wood shop—a two-car garage—is neither heated, cooled, nor insulated. (I do have a small space heater that I used to warm my hands before frostbite sets in, and several fans for summertime cooling.)
Dedication to the Job at Hand
I’m not gonna lie; I would much rather be in my comfortable house watching the newest latest show on Netflix. However, someone—maybe one of you reading this—paid their hard-earned money to get a board from Tazboards, and to show our appreciation, we will NOT make you wait any longer than agreed upon to get your order to you.
Once I get started, I forget about the temperature and GET BUSY!
We appreciate you, and thank you for the love!