So, we are just a few short weeks away from Get Woodworking Week 2014, and I am excited about what I am going to read coming from blogs, companies, woodworking magazines and a lot of other folks around the Internet.

This is now our third year of doing this exercise, and I have seen some tremendously creative ideas for pushing the concept. Videos. Articles. Strange projects (Just what the heck is a B’rall, anyway?)

The best question I have ever received about the week came from Steve Ramsey over at Woodworking for Mere Mortals.  As you can see in this video, he was perplexed by the meaning of ‘Get Woodworking Week.’  Well, Steve, I’m here to answer your question.

At first, Steve thought – perhaps – that Get Woodworking week was some kind of order. “Get Woodworking, or I’ll give you the back of my hand.” Or, maybe an order as voiced in the famous 1975 Disco song by Van McCoy: the Hustle. You know that one… I think the only three words in the song are, “Do the Hustle.”

I mean, I can understand you may not want people sitting at tables off the dance floor, watching the disco-frenzied, polyester-wearing skilled dancers strut their stuff, but maybe it’s a good idea to ask for their participation. You know, could you please do the Hustle? Would you like to try the Hustle?

Or, perhaps Steve pondered, is it some sort of hyper conscious type of transcendental meditation where you have to hike up a mountain, partake of some mind-altering chemical compound and deeply reflect on woodworking until you, “Get it”, man.

“Yo, bro, after inhaling those heady cedar aromas while sitting naked on the mountaintop under the full moon, I totally get woodworking.”

In many ways, Get Woodworking Week isn’t one of them.. it’s both. After all, the main goal of the week is to find someone who has never done any woodworking, get them into your shop and just have them see what woodworking is all about. Doesn’t matter who it is or how old they are. A parent. A neighbor. A friend. A child.

In that way, it’s a Hustle-like order – stop thinking about woodworking, and try it for once.

Even more important, Get Woodworking Week is also an opportunity for people to understand what makes woodworking such a great hobby to pursue and skill to master. Once they understand how joinery choices affect the look and strength of the project, they will have a new appreciation for what goes into building a quality piece of furniture – and a better appreciation for how much skill it takes to make it happen.

So, mark your calendars for February 2 – 8, and take that week to do something special to help people get woodworking – in both senses of the term.

And, if you plan on writing posts to help spread the word about Get Woodworking Week, be sure to let me know so I can link to them here.