That old woodworker at the lumber yard gave me some advice I still think about

I was grabbing some maple at the supplier last Tuesday and this older guy, probably in his 70s, saw me picking through the pile. He just came over and said, "Stop looking for the perfect board, find the one that's gonna make you work for it." I didn't really get it at first but after a few projects I see what he meant... the flaws teach you more than the clean cuts. Has anyone else had a random conversation with a stranger that actually changed how you work?

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xena_williams2d ago

Isn't it funny how the BEST lessons come from people you never expected to learn from? I had a guy at the hardware store tell me once that trying to fix a crooked nail just makes it worse, and that's stuck with me more than any YouTube tutorial ever did. Sometimes the people who have been doing it forever just SEE things differently than the rest of us.

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