Shoutout to the endless sanding on that custom banister

Spent four days just sanding a curved banister by hand, and my arms are still sore. The client wanted a mirror finish, so no shortcuts. How do you deal with jobs that drag on forever?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_leo1mo ago

Does the client even know what 'mirror finish' costs in sweat and time? That kind of detail work is a long haul of pure boredom. I just tell myself the check better be as shiny as the banister.

butler.joel1mo ago

Clients pay for an outcome, not a diary of your work day. If they wanted to understand the process, they'd do it themselves. Their job is to have the vision and write the check. Your job is to make the vision real, however boring the steps are. Expecting praise for the grind is like a baker wanting applause for preheating the oven. The shine is the product, and the product is what they bought.

the_mila1mo ago

Watching my neighbor detail his car every Sunday, I see the same thing. He spends three hours just on the wax and buffing, and most people just see a clean car. It's like that with so much stuff, from hand-stitched clothes to those perfect latte art pours. The final product looks easy, but the work behind it is endless. Honestly, that mirror finish banister is just the tip of the iceberg. We're surrounded by invisible labor that nobody pays mind to until it's not done right.