Embarrassment of riches

I’ve said before I have too much stuff in my woodshop. Well, I mean it this time. No, really.

I’m about to make some raised-panel doors for a cabinet project, and I’ve been shopping around for a set of bits that are good enough for good results, but won’t set me back a ton of cash. Trouble is, even the cheap sets are expensive. Still, I need them.

My woodshop isn’t large, so before any big project like this the first step is a thorough cleaning to make room. As I’m putting things away on shelves and in drawers, I came across a couple of those wooden specialty bit boxes, you know the kind that look like big wooden bricks. I use these specialty bits only rarely, so they live more or less permanently stashed away.

One wasn’t marked and out of curiosity I opened it to find a wonderful raised-panel bit set. This wasn’t a cheap set either, but a nice set of heavy-duty Whiteside bits that a little Googling tells me costs a couple hundred dollars. The set is brand new, and I now remember that I got it some 13 years ago for a project that I ultimately ended up not doing. Needless to say, I was overjoyed.

But also somewhat dismayed.

If I have so much stuff in my shop that not only can I “lose” a valuable bit set like this by cramming it into a cabinet filled with other things already crammed in there, but totally forget that I even had it, then I just have too much stuff.

My shop is generally neat and orderly, but clearly I need to do a full inventory of everything I own. I’ve never done this before in decades of woodworking. I’d say it’s long past due.

A.J.