I have a very simple wish, which is ‘better lighting’.
I currently work in a small workshop which is cold, damp, and poorly lit. My workbench is functional but when I’m hand planing I find that the lighting is just poor, which is slowing me down considerably when trying to achieve a perfectly flat edge.
My normal routine is this:
1. place board on bench and clamp between vice and dogs
2. hand plane one or two strokes
3. undo vice, remove board, and hold up to the window with my straight edge to look for light shining through any gaps
4. mark areas on the edge for adjustment
5. again place board on bench and clamp between vice and dogs
6. repeat a million times until insanity or victory
Clearly this is a recipe for madness, so my wish is for some simple fluorescent lighting that I will install horizontally at the back wall just above the bench surface so I can assess my progress while leaving the board in place.
Proposed location of additional lighting
Having said all that, the electricity is currently broken in my shop due to a faulty RCD device, so my real wish is for an electrician 🙂
Marty is a full time IT worker from New Zealand who is continuing a long journey to learn furniture making despite the common obstacles of limited time, money & workspace.