I decided to try a first step toward more complicated woodwork. Rather than just making butt joints (for a shelf that will hold a lid to a compost pit) I tried to make lap joints, using a handsaw. Boy was it hard. I mean, every instance is sloppy. Wow. It really gives an appreciation of the complex joints I see on the site and the book I bought (Sobon). It's hard to believe that I could ever do the precision sawing to make, e.g., twinned mortise and tenon joints, or what have you. Very hard work. Maybe my handsaw is now good, I bought it at Home Depot, but I think rather I am to blame. If practice makes perfect, I'll need about a century.
