Popular Woodworking 2003-12 № 138, страница 111

Out of the Woodwork

Lessons from a Bird Feeder

Sometimes the goal isn't to build a perfect project.

Having children was a bonanza for new woodworking opportunities. For my first-born child, I designed and built a crib, changing table and five-drawer dresser. I hand-scraped the projects to achieve the mirror finish I wanted. Everything had to be perfect, which required my wife's cooperation (she didn't go into labor until the night I put the last coat of finish on the crib).

Fast-forward a few years and I'm enjoying building toys for both my children. Each toy became a study in perfection.

One afternoon my 4-year-old son marched up and said, "Dad, let's build a bird feeder!" The engineer's wheels in my mind immediately began to spin furiously. First, I needed to design the perfect bird feeder. Next, it required suitable materials and an outdoor finish good enough to endure the weather.

I turned and looked at the eager child who was thinking this would take no more than 14 minutes. I was panic-stricken. How could I make my child happy and satisfy my own expectations of perfection?

I grumpily walked to the shop. What was I going to do? Then, I did the smartest thing ever. I looked at my son and asked, "What do you want to do?"

He was now in charge. "Dad, we need some wood." I pointed to the large scrap box. Wood started flying until he held up a piece of³/4" x 6" x 10" mahogany plywood scalloped at both ends. Next he held up a piece of cherry ³/4" x 1" x 6", followed by maple ³/4" x 3" x 8", then mahogany ¹/2" x 2" x 8", and finally a piece of walnut 1¹/2" x 1¹/2" x 10".

I was shaking when I asked, "What's next?"

"Dad, we need to stick these little ones to the big one." I thought dowels, biscuits and glue would be best. I then looked down at the smiling child, gulped hard and realized that hot-melt glue better fits the attention span of a 4-year-old.

Next I asked, "How should we arrange the parts?" Without a moment's hesitation, he placed the parts into an approximation of a rectangle. I shivered; the parts were different shapes, sizes and species. Didn't this child know I was in pure agony? I looked into the youthful eyes and saw only joy; we were building a bird feeder!

I bravely picked up the demon hot-glue gun and crudely stuck those parts together. I looked at the project and thought, "What have I done? I hope nobody ever sees this!"

I quivered and asked, "What next?"

"We need some birdseed, Dad." I shuddered and thought, "What no finish?" Against my desires, I walked over and carried a huge bag of birdseed over to the workbench. The child vanished into the bag and came out holding a cup of seed, which was proudly dumped into the "monster" piece.

The bird feeder was then promptly marched to a stump in the back yard. My son looked up at me and almost burst with pride. I re-

by Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson, a chief engineer for an industrial equipment manufacturing company, started woodworking 25 years ago as a hobby. He enjoys designing and building furniture, big and small.

ceived a big hug and, "Thanks, Daddy." Then he ran away to the next adventure of the day.

I then had a transformation similar to the Grinch when his heart began to grow. I realized that when working with children it's most important to make them happy. Starting and finishing a project within the attention span of a 4-year-old created a happy child. The fact that I thought the result was not good enough to burn was not important.

That was 10 years ago, and it was the start of many fun projects with my children. As they grew, so did their attention spans and expectations. Swords made of dowels taped together became cars, tanks and trains. Band-saw puzzles grew into band-saw boxes. Plywood action-figure silhouettes became intricate scrollsawn Christmas ornaments. An ugly bird feeder grew into an elegant seaman's treasure chest.

The perfectionist in me never died. I just realized my projects must meet my requirements while a child's project must meet a child's requirements.

The greatest gift I could give to a child on that memorable afternoon was happiness, not an extravagant wooden bird feeder. The memories are forever; the bird feeder lasted two weeks. PW

112 Popular Woodworking December 2003