What kind of woodworking year will we have in 2012? No one knows for sure but I have some thoughts, and a few hopes.

To begin with, I hope the Mayans are wrong. Sure, according to them we’ll have almost all of 2012 to enjoy the shop before the end comes, but still. The next Star Trek movie won’t be out till 2013, and I’d like to be around.

I’m going to rethink putting my work into galleries next year. Two galleries sold my stuff in 2011, although not much of it. Not that they didn’t continue to ask for more items – they did – but I just wasn’t serious enough about it to force myself to create more product. I think next year I’ll try to really realign my schedule to do more items for sale.

This is the year I’m definitely installing a window in my shop. I talked about it here a few months ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. As soon as the weather warms up, that project is a go.

2012 should be the year we finally know what the Consumer Product Safety Commission will do about SawStop technology, if anything. (Please, don’t start debating SawStop.) I, for one, am very curious as to what their official take will be. And I mean “curious” literally, as I really don’t care what they do since I seriously doubt that I’ll ever replace my current table saw.

And finally, I plan to upgrade the router-table extension on my table saw with a new one I’ll design specifically for my saw. (My current one was just an old one I cut down and adapted to fit.) It’ll have a new plate and the best router-raising mechanism I can find, and will be a router table I’ll be proud to use for years to come.

Unless, of course, the Mayans get it right.

A.J.