What's on your Bucket List ?

I was talking with a customer in the store about woodworking, politics and life in general when I asked him if he had seen the boards I was going to use for the Spice Chest. He hadn't so we wandered over to bench where the boards were. "Wow" he exclaimed, "these boards are too nice to be cut up for a spice chest, they deserve to be a pie crust table or a small tea table." Well, you know a pie crust table is on my bucket list I said to him and we debated the virtues of using these boards for the spice chest or a tea table with ball & claw feet. That whole conversation got me thinking about my woodworking "Bucket List". I have always had a list of projects that I wanted to do but I hadn't ever really written it down. So I thought it was a good time to look over my mental list and write it down.
So here is my "Bucket List". The first thing on the list was to build my own toolbox. So when I saw a toolbox plan in Woodsmith # 85 I knew I had to build it. It was a great challenge, mostly because it had a lot of drawers and a top that had to be neatly fitted. It was a project that I did early mornings at the store and it is now a centerpiece in the classroom.
The spice chest was a project on the list. The spice chest has a lot of drawers that are hand cut dovetails. This is a skill that I wanted to master so I chose this project specifically for that. I also think this project has a great historical appeal, it was a centerpiece of the house to hold your valuable spices and if you knew how to get into the hidden drawers then who knows what you might find!
I have always wanted to do a pie crust table. This is a project that would challenge your skill level in several areas. This is a piece that would call for great turning skills. You would have to turn the center column as well as the pie crust top. After you do the turning then you better have fine tuned your carving skills for the pie crust rim and the ball and claw feet. I have the plans, I have some of the wood, I have a lot of practice to do before I tackle this one.
I have always wanted to build my own workbench. A BIG, MASSIVE one that wouldn't move when I went to use it. The problem I have is that I don't have the big massive shop to put it in or build it in. This project would be a challenge, Can you make the top flat?, can you build the dovetailed Tail vise to the tolerances required to make it work well?, and oh what fun to build the storage module underneath!
In addition to projects there are skills that I spend a lot of time focusing on. These would include:
Sharpening, I am on a quest to learn as much as I can about what a sharp edge is and how you can achieve it consistently. Once you begin to understand what sharp is you will never work with dull tools again. Woodworking is so much more fun with sharp tools.
Finishing is another area that you can never learn enough about, There are so many different finishes, stains and dyes that you can literally spend day and night studying how all these finishes interact and how they can enhance your woodworking. Remember that most people will judge your woodworking by the finish you apply!!

Design is an area that I need to work on. I can build anything you put in front of me if I have the plan, but if I have to draw the plan I am in for a lot more trouble.

I suppose as time goes by I will add projects to my bucket list, and certainly I will finish some of the projects. Each project I do will help me to build the skills I need to become a better woodworker. What's on your bucket list??