The 6 questions I ask before every project

You're a few years in. You've made some things. Some went well, some didn't, and you've got a scrap pile that tells its own story. But you're standing at the bench again and the question is the same: what do I build next, and how do I not mess it up?

That's where I always start.

I met her at a meetup. She is a restorer, told me about a free workshop space in Prague, and somehow that was enough to finally get me off the couch and into a shop.

My first project was a butcher block for her, with 'Dice Dice Baby' engraved on it. She had just had a baby. It felt right.

That first project taught me the basics. The second one taught me something else.

Same wood, same techniques. A gift for a game I run with colleagues. I thought a handmade prize would make it more interesting. I was gobsmacked by the reaction. Two years later he sent me a photo. Still using it. That's all I'll say about that.

This is the one I learned from.

I wanted to make something with no connection to food, using a technique I had never tried: pencil boxes with splines. 45-degree angles, rabbet joints, hand planing. What could go wrong.

First mistake: I assumed the shared workshop blade would be clean. It was not. Someone before me had been cutting rough wood and it burned straight through my purpleheart, a piece I had paid around 50 euros for and cannot easily replace in Prague.

Second mistake, same session: I was too shy to ask if the router was properly set before doing the 45-degree trim at the top. You can guess what happened. Technically still 45 degrees. Just a lot of it.

I kept that box. It sits on my shelf as a reminder: don't be shy. Don't pretend you know when you don't. We all start somewhere. It's still perfectly usable.

When I wrote all of this down, I noticed something. Every project that actually got finished, and turned out well, followed the same logic. I was making decisions in a specific order without realising it.

So I wrote it down as 6 questions.

Not just a box or a shelf. What's the purpose, who is it for, does it matter? Projects without a reason drift. This question grounds everything that follows.

Not how much time you would like. How much you actually have. Hours, weekends, weeks? Intermediate woodworkers are the worst at this. We know enough to be optimistic and not enough to know why we should not be.

Name a number. Keeping it cheap is not a budget. The purpleheart I burned cost me around 50 euros for that board. That is the kind of thing you only forget to account for once.

Check the scrap pile first. Seriously. Some of my best projects started from offcuts I almost threw away. Buy only what you actually need.

This is what separates projects that just get done from projects that move you forward. Deliberate practice, not accidental practice.

This is the circuit breaker. Look at your answers to 1 through 5 and decide: am I being realistic, or just optimistic? If something does not add up, now is the time to adjust. Not halfway through the build.

One more thing: you can run this list backwards. No project in mind but want to practice a new technique? Start at question 5 and work your way up.

I have a few weddings coming up. Here is what the list looks like right now:

01.  A meaningful, memorable gift. Something they will actually keep. Not a bottle of wine with a bow.

02.  The deadline is real. I have 5 weekends.

03.  Offcuts plus one trip for American cherry and paid hours at the workshop. Budget: around 150 euros.

04.  Fewer species than past projects, more intentional.

05.  A curve with an inlay, laser-engraved custom design, sides at 45 degrees. Three things I have not done together before.

06.  Yes. It took me a while to land on something I believe in. I think it will be beautiful.

I have answered all 6 questions. I think it is doable. I have been wrong before.

We will find out in the next issue.

What are you building next? And which of these 6 questions is hardest for you to answer honestly?

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