Truth be told, during hunting season, hockey season, fishing season and NASCAR, I don’t really do much woodworking. When I am actually in the shop, I’m often watching my other hobbies on cable as I dream about the projects I’ll actually build someday. But, that doesn’t mean my shop can’t look like I’m woodworking. Here’s my trick for that “gettin’ it done” effect: I buy a big bag of wood chips from my local pet store. Aspen is my first choice, because with that stuff it looks like I’m building projects from all sorts of white woods—ash, maple, birch, pine, even poplar. I just sprinkle it all over the tools that make lots of big chips. A little on my router table, jointer, planer and under the lathe usually does the trick. If you don’t have dust collection, just dump it liberally all around. Once the chips are down, as they say, I’m the busiest woodworker I know. And I never miss a minute of my favorite shows.

- L. A. Zee; Slackerton, Wisconsin