The first workshop task (after making the coffee and turning the lights on) is turning dirty rough bits of wood into clean, square, smooth lovely bits of wood. Aka "milling". Joint a face, joint an edge, plane to thickness, cut to width, clean the last edge and cut to length. FETWEL. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over...

By the third rotation of the pile you've stopped thinking. It's just timber and dust and the roar of the dust extractor and the small satisfaction of a board that comes off the machine flat and stays flat when you set it down. A few years ago I did this entirely by hand and am ever so happy not to be any more.

Finding, selecting and milling parts for two tables, as well as gluing the panels for the tops, took most of the day. I consistently underestimate how long this stage takes. Still, the stack looks lovely, and square flat stock makes everything downstream of here easier.