A couple of Zines ago, I asked you if you considered home improvement projects woodworking or not. Wow, did I hit a nerve. It would appear from the volume of emails I received that almost all of you have considered the question at one time or another, and that many of you feel strongly about the fruit of your analysis. (To read a compilation of your replies, go to our Reader’s Response page.)
One curious thing jumped out at me as I read though your missives: gender made a significant difference in how you would answered the query. Women (as determined by this highly scientific survey) are much more likely to think of home improvement tasks as woodworking. Men, for some reason, seem to think of the exact same projects as just work. On the other hand, men are often willing to use the promise of home improvement projects as a reason for purchasing expensive new woodworking tools. Which could lead to my proposed new book: “Men are from Toolville, Women are from Lowe’s”. Don’t look for it on bookshelves any time soon; I’ve got some tasks at the house that I’ve just got to get around to first. (Maybe a couple of new tools will help me get going.)
– Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal
