Maybe this is the beginning of a thread of interest maybe not.... I've been
reading this ng for awhile now and see quite a few regulars, a few
participants that post only once and awhile, the occasional lurker who's
name I haven't recalled seeing before....What's your story? How did you get
started in woodworking?
I'll keep mine short. My grandfather was a carpenter out of necessity, had
to find some sort of work to support his family. Passed it on to my father
who also worked with his hands out of necessity in order to put himself
through college. I grew up learning from him. When I was young he was the
manager of a local millwork operation and he drug me to work with him in the
summers while I was out of school. I learned to use the tools in the shop
at an early age. Learning how to work with my hands backfired on me since I
dropped out of college to get married...I just knew I could make a living
without a formal education. We divorced 6 months later and I never made it
back to college.
Fast forward 14 years....I remarried a woman with 2 young daughters. I've
put a shop together mostly because I wanted to build them things they would
cherish and use...like my father did for my sister and me. That's where I
am today...I build things for the builders I sell lumber to so I can justify
the expense of the equipment I have in my shop so I can periodically turn
out piece by piece for my daughters and wife.
What's your story?
On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 7:55:20 -0600, mel wrote
(in message <[email protected]>):
> What's your story?
After reading a lot of these, I feel ashamed! Ok, I like many others took the
required shop class in 7th grade, but it wasn't really until last year that I
got into building things...OK, things isn't the right word. Building a
playhouse. Actually if I had known it was going to end up costing me this
much, I would have found another hobby (nah, but it's a good lie anyhow)...
Two years ago, I had the idea of closing off the bottom of my daughter's
slide, so she would have a place to have a "house". She declined my offer.
The next year, she asked me if I would consider building her a real house.
hmmm... Well, that's a lot more project that I had ever done before, but how
can you tell a 4/5 YO that? OK, I'll do it. Now, where to start? I started
looking at plans all over the place, and there was one that I kept using as
the measuring stick because I liked the look and the style, unfortunately it
was built by Norm Abrams, and I wasn't sure after having watched NYW several
times that I would be able to do it. None the less, I decided to buy the
plans and video and see if I could do it. After watching the video and
looking over the plans, I decided to go for it. 2.5 months later I had it
built (just in time for her 5th birthday). To this day, both she and I enjoy
having tea parties in it. I've slowly added things to it as I had the time,
benches and a nice fold-away oak table (how many playhouses do you know with
an oak table? -- leftovers from a project I did for my wife).
So, I've been spending a lot of time building functional things around the
house (like cabinets in the garage, so it could become my full-time shop),
but at some point I really want to do more fine furniture stuff. I guess I'm
in this for the long haul after ordering a General 650 cabinet saw to replace
my Dewalt 744 portable saw that I've been using. Amazing what happens when
you have a hunk of iron parked around, you end up using it. :-)
Wayne
My parents, younger brother and I moved into a new home when I was 11 and
there was a couple in their 70's that lived across the street. He was into
woodworking and liked to make Grandfather clocks and our family quickly
became friends with them and spent almost every sunday evening together
playing cards and such. I hung out with him after school and helped on
several of his projects and was eventually allowed to use the jointer and
various saws and started to learn to make things on my own.
I took some woodworking classes in 7th and 8th grade but was frustrated with
it since I was limited in what I was allowed to do at school and could do
almost anything I wanted when I was next door. I learned a lot hanging out
with Carl and after my wife and I were married I met another guy that was
doing similar types of things and played around in his shop a few times.
Got away from woodworking for a few years but had a small shop in the
backyard (8'x12' very small) and was limited on the tools that I had. My
father-in-law built a sizable shop in his backyard so I started getting the
itch back again so I doubled the size of mine and started to accumulate a
few more tools mostly as they were needed for various home improvement
projects around the house.
I attended my first woodworking show about a year ago and that really got me
going. Purchased a new table saw, jointer, planer, band saw, drum sander
and a couple more routers since then and have once again enlarged the size
of my shop. It is now 12'x26' and I'm still banging into the walls.
Anyway, I'm thankful for Carl, who passed on about 6 years ago and the great
things that he taught me. I've signed up for a woodworking class at the
local college this spring and I'm looking forward to that and I really enjoy
the time that I get to spend in the shop with our 3 kids (4, 7, 8) and my
ever so lovely wife who has no problem with me spending money on tools. :)
:) :)
Best to everyone,
John Voss
Prescott Valley, AZ
My story begins the same. My grandfather was a cabinet maker and my
father worked in his shop all through high school and college. My
grandfather died at an age of 62 from lung cancer and my father kept
most of his old equipment. Dad went to college and became a math
teacher but always stayed in cabinet building, whether it was for
family or the church, etc, never really for profit though. I started
getting into it shortly after high school and have been learning from
him ever since. Now all the equipment is in a shop that I built
because there's more room and it's heated. A couple of month's ago I
started a custom cabinet building business as a part-time job and it's
keeping me busy as I want to be at it. So far it's been dressers,
vanities and entertainment centers but now I have my first order for a
complete kitchen.
When I was a kid in grammer school (pre-1966) I used to enjoy hanging
out in my grandpa's shop in his basement. Add to that my uncle up
there in St Albans, Vermont used to build boats for Lake Champlain and
my own father's woodworking shop and I was hooked before I was 12!
In high school I took "shop" for all 4 years and it just continued on
from there.
Terry Sumner
mttt wrote:
> A common one - sick to death of dealing with Technology and a strong
> desire to build something tangible.
Hey, this stuff *is* technology. Before woodworking, we were living in
caves.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 17:40:55 GMT, "Jon Endres, PE"
<[email protected]> brought forth from
the murky depths:
-snip-
>Got a house, got married, found out the old tools in my grandmothers
>basement were something worth having, and Dad had been saving the tool sin
>his basement for me anyway, so I was most of the way to a shop. I sunk a
>few bucks into some more tools, accessories and lumber, built a few things
>for the house, and now I am undertaking my largest woodworking project I
>think I will ever do. Bought a sawmill, and I am using the trees on my
>property to cut a 2600 square foot timber frame house, a new 24x40 shop
>building, and will do all the kitchen cabinets, built-ins, and a lot of the
>furniture for the new house.
Wow, cool story, Jon. Got a website up for the pics yet? Let's see!
>I actually feel like Im just getting started.
I think that's pretty universal.
--
Don't forget the 7 P's:
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance
----------------------------------------------------
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming
"mel" <[email protected]> wondered:
What's your story? How did you get started in woodworking?
I'm gonna blame it on my Old Man as well. We didn't have a pile of
money, he was in school, my Mom worked as a secretary. He was a Ham so
I learned electronics in the attic and how to work on the car in the
driveway. When something broke we fixed it, when we needed something,
odds are we made it. Helped neighbors put up their houses, we drew up
the plans for our new one when I was a teen. I worked as a mechanic and
a truck driver, ran a mechanics shop for Navy, fixed my own stuff and
anything I ran across, still do. There was a RAS and a cabinet saw out
in the garage growing up, and a pile of handtools. I made my own
drawknives after learning how from the blacksmith across from my
Grandfather's office. I miss that man,a civil engineer who became a Dr,
as well as the smith. My Old Man is in Seattle. Quiet and strong,
always willing to answer a question if I'd thought about it and hadn't
come up with the right answer. I still like the smell of fire and hot
steel. I still work on my own trucks, the mechanics just don't do it
right. I'll have to stop that pretty soon, it's getting hard to bend
and work under them. So, nature or nuture, I don't know, both maybe. I
love turning, though, short attention span. %-)
Dave in Fairfax
--
reply-to doesn't work
use:
daveldr at att dot net
American Association of Woodturners
http://www.woodturner.org
Capital Area Woodturners
http://www.capwoodturners.org/
Larry Jaques wrote:
> On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 19:15:29 -0500, Silvan
> <[email protected]> brought forth from the murky depths:
> >Hey, this stuff *is* technology. Before woodworking, we were living in
> >caves.
> A wooddorking shop is merely a larger, less-smoky, more well-lit
> cave, sir. <grunt>
My point exactly! Silvan this is why I tell you not to round off your
mallets all the way, they're just genteel clubs. %-) Besides sometimes
int's nice to have a flat side to strike with.
Dave in Fairfax
--
reply-to doesn't work
use:
daveldr at att dot net
American Association of Woodturners
http://www.woodturner.org
Capital Area Woodturners
http://www.capwoodturners.org/
Silvan wrote:
> Fewer cave bears and saber tooth tigers too, fortunately.
But I MISS the taste of bear, that's what the big mallets are for. <G>
Dave in Fairfax
--
reply-to doesn't work
use:
daveldr at att dot net
American Association of Woodturners
http://www.woodturner.org
Capital Area Woodturners
http://www.capwoodturners.org/
"B a r r y B u r k e J r ." wrote:
> A few years ago I spent a summer at Denali Park in Alaska. The
> grizzly bears I saw, luckily from far, far away, probably miss the
> taste of you! <G>
> I swear some of those things are 12 feet tall.
Hey, I'm crazy not stupid, I try to fight in my own weight class.
That's why God made black bears, burger size.
Dave in Fairfax
--
reply-to doesn't work
use:
daveldr at att dot net
American Association of Woodturners
http://www.woodturner.org
Capital Area Woodturners
http://www.capwoodturners.org/
Greetings and salutations.
I came to it through the painful necessity of
living in a 50 year old house, owned by a university
professor (my father). Since there was not much
cash to spare, we did a lot of rebuilding on our
own, so my carpentry skills got built up pretty
quickly.
I am also, by nature, a problem solver
and "fixer", so, repairing furniture and building
stuff to make life easier was a natural step.
Now, I do it to stay saner after having
to wrestle with the complexities of keeping
computer systems and networks up, and, creating
web pages and such.
Shop time is good time.
Regards
Dave Mundt
I got into woodworking via marriage. My wife, though I
haven't been able to document it, must've been related
to Sarah Winchester, the sole heir to the Winchester
Arms fortune.
That needs some explaning for the rest of this to make
sense. Sarah was a superstitious lady who was convinced
that the souls of all the people killed by the Winchester
rifles were out to get her. A psychic told her that
as long as she kept building onto her house they'd never
find her. And that's what she did. Must've been a
contractor's nightmare because she had them build
stairs that end at the ceiling, closets that are 3 inches
deep, beautiful stain glass windows with another wall
a foot from their outside faces, columns installed upside
down and a third floor door that opens into a light well.
If you ever get to San Jose, CA go see The Winchester
Mystery House, just for the woodwork - lots of nice
stuff.
So back to the woodworking topic. Wifey, apparent heir
to Sarah, was also an Interior Designer (not decorator)
After purchasing our first house my woodworking (and
plumbing, electrical, stucco etc.) avocation began.
"Let's move the kitchen over there and make this room
into a dining room. And see that window, make it a large
sliding door. And that door, make it a window and put
the sink in front of it. And since you're moving the
kitchen over there, take that washer and drier and put
them over here, behind the wall you're going to build.
Oh and there should be louvered bifolding doors to hide
them. Now this wall between the new dining room and
the living room - open that up for six foot bifolding
doors as well. And when you're done with that how about
converting what's left of the one car attached garage
into my spinning and weaving room?
Note that bearing walls, iron vent pipes, copper
pipes and wiring are never a consideration in any
Interior Design class. "Just cut a big hole, trim
it out and put in the doors/cabinets/windows etc.."
And that's how I got my first power tools - a good
Sears drill and a Skil worm drive circular saw. They
came in handy when I got to convert half of a four
car detached garage to a jewelry shop. Water, gas
electricity, sewer line, insulated walls and ceiling
and painted sheet rock - with carpeting of course.
Many years later, and another wife and a few "significant
others", I got the entire four car garage to play/work
in. Conveniently, I also FOUND NORM and was reborn!
Not long after that I found this group and what a
blessing that was. There was a whole world beyond
Norm and the later discovered Roy. Krenov and Nakashima
and Maloof, Stickley and Morris and tools that didn't
require electricity. DeCristaforo and all those joints,
shellac!
And that's how I got on the slippery slope.
charlie b
ps - I think guys are either genetically programmed
or are trained to solve rather than just
describe problems. Woodworking fills a basic
need for males - an infinite number of problems
to solve - forever.
> What's your story?
I have been reading all of the other stories about guys whose father
or grandfather taught them woodworking. Well, my Dad is a great fella
but is totally incompetent with any tool. I got interested in
woodworking when a friend built a rack for me to hang my guitar on the
wall. I couldn't believe how simple he made it look.
It wasn't long after that that Norm's show began. One of his earliest
projects was an adirondack chair. I had always wanted one so, armed
with a set of measured drawrings (thus spake Norm) and some
rudimentary tools, I built one. I still have a photo of myself
sitting in the chair on New Year's Day after spending the day building
it. I was exhausted but so proud I could bust.
Dick Durbin
B a r r y B u r k e J r . wrote:
>>Fewer cave bears and saber tooth tigers too, fortunately.
>
> On the wrong day a cabinet saw or a shaper could be either of those
> animals! <G>
Granted, but at least they don't poop.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Then you've never seen a Drilldo before. <vbg>
> http://www.extremerestraints.com/stat/SD800.html
I really don't want to know what you were searching for when you
found that, Lar.
As for the original question: Started off innocently enough by
wanting to re-finish/restore an old china display cabinet that came
from my grandmother's farmhouse. By the time I got down to the bare
wood (it looked like they decided it was easier to just slap a new
coat of paint on the thing rather than cleaning it whenever it got
dirty), I had started to accumulate various tools. Also, by the time
I got down to bare wood, I realized that I was better off building it
from scratch than trying to restore it.
So I started off by buying a few basic handtools and a routah.
Then I started building boxes. Then I branched out to making other
household stuff (headboard, artists easel, etc.). Finally I got the
Neander disease. Tools began showing up in my mailbox and on my front
porch. Saws, planes, braces, more planes, some more saws, even more
planes, spokeshaves, a drawknife or two.
As I accumulated tools, it only seemed appropriate that I learn how
to use them by making things. So it was a highboy, a shoji screen, a
workbench, an entry table, some bowls, some carving, etc.
And it's been all downhill from there ... on rollerskates ... with
a jetpack on my back ...
Chuck Vance
Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> [little snip]
>
> Yeah, I <scritch, scritch, scritch> know that feeling well.
> Bent crowbars, empty wallets, the whole schmear. But I got
> sidetracked into just collecting tools, no longer doing any
> woodworking. Whadda maroon! <:( I'm starting my recovery
> this year, though. Look for that carving bench soon...right
> after I finish the cabinets for the tools, so I'll know where
> they are and can get to them again. (Both projects are already
> started.)
Any info you care the share about your carving bench? I was
thinking about making a portable carving bench *top* that I could put
on my regular workbench when I want to carve. I was thinking this
would get the work up a bit higher (a good thing both for my eyes and
my back), and it would be a better solution than having a dedicated
carving bench. (Space-wise, at least.)
> > And it's been all downhill from there ... on rollerskates ... with
> >a jetpack on my back ...
>
> JATO-assisted wooddorking at its finest!
*meeep* *meep* *whooooosh*
Chuck Vance
Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> [carving bench]
>
> 24x40" 6/4 Jarrah top & 1x6 rails.
>
> Popular (however the rec.norm spelling goes) 2x2 legs.
>
> Tilting top, bench pups, staggered (6") 3/4" holes.
> I'll work out the tilt mechanism when I get there and
> have had a chance to see how much sturdiness I need.
I like that idea. Maybe rig something like they use for drafting
tables.
> I have an idea for a removable sandbox weight and will
> show that to you once it's done. I figure if I make it
> easy to remove/install, the bench will be easier to move
> out of the way of my wood stack when necessary.
>
> I've wanted to do some relief carving for a long while
> and will finally start this year. (Promise!)
I'll file that statement away for future reference, Lar. :-)
> I kinda liked that doghole mounted carving vise in one of the
> mags last year (2?), I think FWW.
Hmmm ... I don't remember seeing that, but that's what I was
thinking about doing as well. I just have to verify that my dogholes
are spaced uniformly enough to work. :-)
> And I really liked that
> carving bench in Landis' "Workbench Book", kwim,v?
Ayup. But it might be overkill for me. I do a carving project
about every third or fourth one. Wait a sec ... that means I would
use it even more than you, Lar.
Chuck Vance
Just say (tmPL) Heh. :-)
Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On 25 Jan 2004 11:37:03 -0800, [email protected] (Conan the Librarian)
> brought forth from the murky depths:
>
> >thinking about doing as well. I just have to verify that my dogholes
> >are spaced uniformly enough to work. :-)
>
> You might have to switch to 1/2" dowels, eh? <tsk tsk tsk>
> That's whatcha get for using jummyjunk, erm, pineywood, son.
Er, no ... the reason I'm uncertain about the spacing being dead-on
enough for mounting a carving bench that way is because I was fairly
casual in laying out the holes. One slow day after I finished the
bench I just decided to add some on. I took a long
ruler/straight-edge and went to work. Grabbed my crispy MF Holdall
brace and a 3/4" ship's auger and had 'em done in about 30 minutes.
(The bit was almost smoking hot to the touch. :-)
So they might be off by 1/16" here or there. Not a big deal for
how I use the dogholes on a daily basis, but too much for attaching a
carving benchlet.
Chuck Vance
Let me drop some line too about my history.
My last name is woodworker(nadjari), does it mean anything? yes, this
was may grand grand father's job. My two brothers are woodworker too.
But this not the reason why I got to woodworking. about 10 years ago I
migrated to US and one day I stopped in a furniture store with my
wife, she was going to buy a side table for $300, which was a lot of
money for me. I told her give me $50 and I build it for you, I got the
money and bought some wood and built a table. it came out very bad :-(
then tried the next and the next one.
Now I have all kitchen, many tables, cabinets, entertainment center
and keep it short a 30X40 garage shop and also I built my garage
myself. so happy now and I enjoy a lot just like all of you.
Thanks
Maxen
On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 13:55:20 +0000, mel wrote:
> What's your story?
Dad was a general contractor, and from an early age I was with him to many
of his jobsites, and when in my teens I worked full time in the summers.
Also took all the middle and high school shop classes - mechanical
drawing, metal shop and wood shop.
First year of marriage, SWMBO bought me a RAS for Christmas. Still using
it today after 33 years.
Added a bedroom and two bath addition on to our first house doing all the
work ourselves. Later on, we built a 3000 square foot tri-level home. I
also built some of our furniture along the way.
-Doug
My first woodworking project was carving my initials on my school desk in
second grade. Second project was refinishing the desk. Actually true.
Dave
"mel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Maybe this is the beginning of a thread of interest maybe not.... I've
been
> reading this ng for awhile now and see quite a few regulars, a few
> participants that post only once and awhile, the occasional lurker who's
> name I haven't recalled seeing before....What's your story? How did you
get
> started in woodworking?
>
> I'll keep mine short. My grandfather was a carpenter out of necessity,
had
> to find some sort of work to support his family. Passed it on to my
father
> who also worked with his hands out of necessity in order to put himself
> through college. I grew up learning from him. When I was young he was the
> manager of a local millwork operation and he drug me to work with him in
the
> summers while I was out of school. I learned to use the tools in the shop
> at an early age. Learning how to work with my hands backfired on me since
I
> dropped out of college to get married...I just knew I could make a living
> without a formal education. We divorced 6 months later and I never made
it
> back to college.
>
> Fast forward 14 years....I remarried a woman with 2 young daughters. I've
> put a shop together mostly because I wanted to build them things they
would
> cherish and use...like my father did for my sister and me. That's where I
> am today...I build things for the builders I sell lumber to so I can
justify
> the expense of the equipment I have in my shop so I can periodically turn
> out piece by piece for my daughters and wife.
>
> What's your story?
>
>
>
Swingman wrote: I was expected to "use my head for something besides a hat
rack" and, as
adjunct to that, never got the idea as a kid that there _anything_ I
couldn't do.
Dad's...God bless them. I've had that same fearlessness to try something
I've never done that you speak of. I'm not sure exactly when it began but I
do remember my father coming home one Friday evening and telling me I
couldn't drive my first car (a sweet 65 mustang sold it for $2000 back in
1980) till I changed the u-joints. He handed me a box with the u-joints and
told me I could find them under the car....that was the extent of his
instructions. Looking back today changing u-joints is easy but to a 15 yo
who'd never worked on one I was baffled...but I did it. Then there is the
story of trying to change the starter on the same car...after spending an
entire Saturday struggling with it and bound and determined to not ask for
help my dad in his wisdom came to check on me..."you know son? That's not
the right starter for this car." Learned something that day too...ask for
help.
On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 20:17:34 -0500, Roy Smith <[email protected]> brought
forth from the murky depths:
>"Jon Endres, PE" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> Dad had been saving the tool sin his basement for me anyway,
>
>I've seen some tools that are vices, but I've never actually met one
>that was a full-fledged sin :-)
Then you've never seen a Drilldo before. <vbg>
http://www.extremerestraints.com/stat/SD800.html
-
Every day above ground is a Good Day(tm).
-----------
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming
mel wrote:
> name I haven't recalled seeing before....What's your story? How did you
> get started in woodworking?
I remember the *how* of it, but not the *why*. I bought a miter box and
backsaw, borrowed a jigsaw, and made a house-shaped curio shelf thingie for
the wall.
I suppose it was some off-shoot of my first refinishing project. My
girlfriend had graduated from college, and had decided to get an apartment
here so she could stay near me. She needed furniture. We went to a used
furniture place.
I was looking at some cheap dresser with no pulls, and I said "I can fix
this. Just put some new pulls on it. It will be fine." Some passing
sales guy hear this and said, "Oh, you like to refinish furniture do you?
Come look at this."
So he really put me on the spot in front of my girlfriend, and we wound up
buying the thing for $70, rather than the $20 dresser we had been looking
at previously. It was covered in white paint, and someone had done a
really bad job of stripping it. It was absolutely hideous, and I couldn't
believe we actually paid $70 for the stupid thing.
So I got some junky refinishing book, some 3M Safest Stripper, some
Minwhacks stain and Minwhacks poly, and went to town on the thing.
The bored can see it on my web site, except that the traffic this post will
generate will wind up using up my bandwidth and shutting down my site. It
is the basis for the "hutch thing." It turned out pretty well!
I suppose the "curio shelf thingie" was a reaction to my having the stain
and poly laying around. I found some excuse to use the rest of it, making
the house-shaped thing, and another one, this one mushroom-shaped, for Mom.
Well, that's it in a nutshell. The curio thingies lead to a plant stand and
a few other projects. All of that was done in the kitchen floor. Then we
bought a house, and I got a $50 table saw, and laid claim to the shed as my
own. That was the beginning of my "real woodworker" period.
(Oh, the girlfriend in this story is SWMBO.)
> I dropped out of college to get married...I just knew I could make a
> living
> without a formal education. We divorced 6 months later and I never made
> it back to college.
No big deal. I have a formal education, and it qualifies me to do precisely
nothing in the real world. The job I have is the result of *vocational*
education. (I went to truck driving school four years out of college,
because I couldn't do better than Wal-Mart, and Wal-Mart wasn't earning me
enough money.)
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
mel wrote:
> Maybe this is the beginning of a thread of interest maybe not.... I've been
> reading this ng for awhile now and see quite a few regulars, a few
> participants that post only once and awhile, the occasional lurker who's
> name I haven't recalled seeing before....What's your story? How did you get
> started in woodworking?
>
[snip]
I saw that my father-in-law, being retired for a number of years (25+),
has no hobby (because work was his hobby), and is driving my
mother-in-law crazy. I decided that being bored after retirement was no
way to live. I started about 3 years ago, imersing myself into
woodworking. Of course it did not hurt that my father gave me my
grandfathers old TS. This was my first shop tool. Now if I am not
working on a project, I am working on some sort of jig, tool, etc. for
the shop. If my interest does not wane, I am looking forward to a second
career after I retire (15 years away) from the current one.
Jerry
mel wrote:
> What's your story?
I like making useful stuff. I especially like making useful things from
other peoples' castoffs. <g>
A goal I have is to be able to prototype anything I can think of (hopefully
for profit <g>.) I bought a tap and die set to put an aftermarket fence on
my contractor saw and the metalworking bug bit me. Today I found affordable
welding classes in my area. ;-)
Plastics and ceramics are sure to follow. I alreadly know quite a bit about
TTL and LRC circuits.
"From Ideas To Devices!"
-- Mark
"mel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> What's your story?
As a kid, I was used to having a shop full of tools, stuff that my parents
had gotten from my grandfather's estate. I also recall my grandmother
having some "mystery tools" that were stashed in a corner of her basement
garage that nobody ever used. She also had a workbench in the basement with
some old hand tools that she let me use whenever, so it was mostly a case of
idle curiosity. Dad had an old Gilbert tool chest with some semi-useless
tools, and I got them, and I remember the elementary school having a big
wall cabinet chock full of all kinds of hand tools from the Stanley plant
down the street, that once in a while I managed to finagle a look at, or
maybe some use. So it's been in my life since very early childhood. Even
stuff like cub scouts, and the fact my dad has 30 acres of woods and he has
always burned firewood, I've always been around it.
Junior high school my woodshop teacher was an older guy who had been friends
with my grandfather before he died. It was almost "assumed" that I was more
used to the tools than the rest of the kids were. Once I demonstrated that
I had a clue, he pretty much gave me free reign of the tools and the lumber.
High school I was on a college track but still found time to take two years
of woodshop, mostly lathe work and some clumsy attempts at hand tools, hand
cut dovetails and such, but the shop teacher didn't know enough to teach me
much.
Fast-forward to about three years ago, I hadnt done any woodworking in
about twelve years, except for a few years during which carpentry work was a
poor substitute. I was never really totally away from it, just not into
it as much as I was as a kid.
Got a house, got married, found out the old tools in my grandmothers
basement were something worth having, and Dad had been saving the tool sin
his basement for me anyway, so I was most of the way to a shop. I sunk a
few bucks into some more tools, accessories and lumber, built a few things
for the house, and now I am undertaking my largest woodworking project I
think I will ever do. Bought a sawmill, and I am using the trees on my
property to cut a 2600 square foot timber frame house, a new 24x40 shop
building, and will do all the kitchen cabinets, built-ins, and a lot of the
furniture for the new house.
I actually feel like Im just getting started.
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
>
> What's your story?
Must be a common genetic thread going on in here... My father was a
shop teacher in NYC. Back in the olden days, before day care, he brought
me to school with him on a regular basis- I remember being in his
classroom (woodshop), and having my own miniature bench and set of tools
he made for me. I spent a lot of time just absorbing knowledge in there
from age 2 until I started school myself, and then it was a "treat" to
go to school with Pop when my school was off.
Built my first bench in a closet when I was 5 or 6 from scrap salvaged
from Dad's woodpile, and made my newly born brother his wooden first
toy- a carefully jigsawed animal of unidentifiable species, which was
not-so-carefuly sanded and stained.
Whenever Pop changed schools or shops it was a new learning experience
for me and my brother- wood, metal, jewelery, ceramics, print. Most are
gone now- shop just isn't important anymore in schools.
When he died, my brother and I split the tools between us- I have his
machinist's chest, and some of the tools. All held in trust for my son
who unfortunately never got the chance to know his grandpop.
So now I go down to the basement, piddle around in the shop, use some
of his tools, and miss the old man.
Both Grandfathers and Dad were builders.
I was raised to not pay others to do what I can do for
myself. I'll do without first. It's almost a pathology.
--
--
Mark
N.E. Ohio
Never argue with a fool, a bystander can't tell you apart.
(S. Clemens, A.K.A. Mark Twain)
When in doubt hit the throttle. It may not help but it sure
ends the suspense. (Gaz, r.moto)
"mel" wrote in message
> who'd never worked on one I was baffled...but I did it. Then there is the
> story of trying to change the starter on the same car...after spending an
> entire Saturday struggling with it and bound and determined to not ask for
> help my dad in his wisdom came to check on me..."you know son? That's not
> the right starter for this car." Learned something that day too...ask for
> help.
Know the feeling ... could take apart with minimum supervision, and fix, a
Ford tractor, and put it back together with no parts leftover, by the age of
13.
Seems one thing that was always hanging off one of my appendages in those
days was an old fashioned grease gun ... for some reason society could not
have existed, as we knew it then, without the ubiquitous grease gun ...
everything needed a periodic shot of grease, and shame on you if you let a
fitting go dry!. Something you rarely see/use in this day and age.
I was never a mechanic, nor a worshiper of things automotive, other than out
of sheer necessity. Last time I worked on one of my auto's was right before
I bought that 78 3/4 ton GMC pickup ... the one with the big 454, or
somesuch? But up till then, I don't think I ever took my personal car to a
garage.
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 1/16/04
mel wrote:
> Maybe this is the beginning of a thread of interest maybe not.... I've been
> reading this ng for awhile now and see quite a few regulars, a few
> participants that post only once and awhile, the occasional lurker who's
> name I haven't recalled seeing before....What's your story? How did you get
> started in woodworking?
My father was a carpenter and I pretty much picked up the love for
woodworking from him. Grandfather was an iron worker.
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 17:14:18 -0500, Silvan
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Larry Jaques wrote:
>
>> A wooddorking shop is merely a larger, less-smoky, more well-lit
>> cave, sir. <grunt>
>
>Fewer cave bears and saber tooth tigers too, fortunately.
On the wrong day a cabinet saw or a shaper could be either of those
animals! <G>
Barry
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 21:15:27 -0500, Silvan
<[email protected]> brought forth from the murky depths:
>B a r r y B u r k e J r . wrote:
>
>>>Fewer cave bears and saber tooth tigers too, fortunately.
>>
>> On the wrong day a cabinet saw or a shaper could be either of those
>> animals! <G>
>
>Granted, but at least they don't poop.
Perhaps not, but YOU DO when they turn on you and show their teeth.
--== May The Angst Be With You! ==--
-Yoda, on a bad day
--
http://diversify.com Ending Your Web Page Angst.
[email protected] (Dick Durbin) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > What's your story?
>
> I have been reading all of the other stories about guys whose father
> or grandfather taught them woodworking. Well, my Dad is a great fella
> but is totally incompetent with any tool.
Same here. My father had a small law firm before suffering a stroke
two years ago. Now he just watches TV. Very sad, wish he would have
developed a hobby at some point, but the law career was his job and
his hobby.
On the other had, both grandparents (one still living, one just passed
away) were into woodworking. One built his own house, including
making all his own trim. The other made furniture and even a boat.
I'm in the process of cleaning out Grandpa's house after he was forced
to move in with my folks. Lots of old tools. Some may have value,
some not. Too soon to tell. Most of them are still buried under
loads of useless junk he thought might be worth something some day.
(some of it actually is, including a case of Harley Davidson motor oil
cir. 1945 that Harley tells me is worth over $20K) Somewhere buried
in the junk is the Harley itself, which he remembers to be a 1920's
50cc job. Now I'm off topic....
Cheers
Joe
My father while never a career carpenter learned everything he knew
from his father who was. All through my childhood my dad was fixing or
building on to the house or cottage. He was never a "woodworker" just
liked to build and fix things.
A couple of years ago at age 21 with the help of my father I bought my
first house in October. He came to visit in December and while he was
visiting we decided to build a room in the basement for me to live in.
(lived with my sister at the time and I let her have the master
bedroom and the room accross the hall was to be set up for her unborn
child) Everyday when I got home from work I would head down to the
basement and work on it with him. We never got completly finished
while he was here but it was habitable. The unfortunaly 3 months later
he passed away. While at the funural everyone that I had talked to had
said when he returned from the trip all he talked about was how much
he enjoyed building with me and being able to pass on his knowledge.
It was from that point I decied to give carpentry and woodworking a
go. Turns out I really enoyed it and was hooked. When my nephew was
born I decieded that he needed a place to store his toys, and maybe a
place to sit. So I decied to build him a bench and toy box. Being my
first real woodworking project I was really proud of it even though it
could see the obvious flaws.
Now a year later with her out of the house I have decided that it is
time to buy a table saw and start on the list of projects for around
the house.
Being only 22 and willing to try my hand at new projects I figure I
have many years of sucess and failure ahead of me.
On 23 Jan 2004 06:36:37 -0800, [email protected] (Conan the Librarian)
brought forth from the murky depths:
>Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
>> Then you've never seen a Drilldo before. <vbg>
>> http://www.extremerestraints.com/stat/SD800.html
>
> I really don't want to know what you were searching for when you
>found that, Lar.
Worry not. One of the wreck.metalheads posted something about it.
> As for the original question: Started off innocently enough by
>wanting to re-finish/restore an old china display cabinet that came
>from my grandmother's farmhouse. By the time I got down to the bare
>wood (it looked like they decided it was easier to just slap a new
>coat of paint on the thing rather than cleaning it whenever it got
>dirty), I had started to accumulate various tools. Also, by the time
>I got down to bare wood, I realized that I was better off building it
>from scratch than trying to restore it.
That's precisely why I just painted this kitchen. The LVT
antique pewter birdcage hardware (which was destined for
fun in the shop) looks nice, BTW. Now I have to order more
to finish up.
> So I started off by buying a few basic handtools and a routah.
>Then I started building boxes. Then I branched out to making other
>household stuff (headboard, artists easel, etc.). Finally I got the
>Neander disease. Tools began showing up in my mailbox and on my front
>porch. Saws, planes, braces, more planes, some more saws, even more
>planes, spokeshaves, a drawknife or two.
Yeah, I <scritch, scritch, scritch> know that feeling well.
Bent crowbars, empty wallets, the whole schmear. But I got
sidetracked into just collecting tools, no longer doing any
woodworking. Whadda maroon! <:( I'm starting my recovery
this year, though. Look for that carving bench soon...right
after I finish the cabinets for the tools, so I'll know where
they are and can get to them again. (Both projects are already
started.)
> As I accumulated tools, it only seemed appropriate that I learn how
>to use them by making things. So it was a highboy, a shoji screen, a
>workbench, an entry table, some bowls, some carving, etc.
Cool.
> And it's been all downhill from there ... on rollerskates ... with
>a jetpack on my back ...
JATO-assisted wooddorking at its finest!
------------------------------------------------------
No matter how hard you try, you cannot baptize a cat.
----------------------------
http://www.diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development
---------------------------------------------------
My dad's hobby was "piddlin' around in the basement". He usually had no
choice but for me to be his sidekick. While he was "pidlin'" he'd
usually give me a few pieces of wood to do a little piddlin' of my own.
He'd get pretty involved in his hobby. I would usually get handed some
scraps of wood and few hand tools to keep me busy. One time, (around
age 6 or 7) I traced the outline of his hammer onto a board, cut it out
with a coping saw, rounded it with a rasp and proudly showed dad a
spitin' reproduction of his hammer in wood. He had a grin that wouldn't
go away. Dad mostly built practical things for the house, nothing fancy
but very functional. Mom was more of the artsy type with ceramics and
needlepoint. What chance did I have growing up with these two :~)
I got to high school at just right time. An old school house in
Elsberry, MO was revamped into the industrial arts building. Rockwell
and some other big iron companies of the day stocked the building with
the latest and greatest tools. Along with the wood shop, there was a
metal shop, electric shop, power mechanics and a drafting room. They
also provided some some great teachers. The teaching environment really
encouraged creativity. The more hours you where able to earn
(academically), the more freedom and time you had in the IA building. I
earned lots of freedom. (It's horrible that our court system has made
programs like this impossible today.)
My dad passed away when I was 16. Every project I've completed makes me
wonder if dad still gets that same grin that he did with that wooden
hammer.
That was all over 30 some years ago and I've been piddlin' with wood
ever since.
--
Larry G. Laminger
http://woodworks.laminger.com
Like many others here, my father did some woodworking. Nothing
extravagant, but when my older brothers needed a desk, he built one out of
plywood. When we got too many kids for the kitchen table, he made one--out
of plywood and formica.
My dad spent 40 years in elementary education, but he also contracted 2-4
houses per year for 20-30 years. Not that I did very much, except clean-up
and a few other tedious jobs. Did try to make some stuff at home, but
really had no idea what I was doing. And dad really didn't either.
Fast forward 20 years. I've finally finished formal education, got a job
at the university in Madison, met someone, bought and house, and realize
that I've got almost no furniture. Start looking at furniture and realize
that the stuff I can afford is crap; the stuff I like I can't afford. At
this point I think "Hmmm, maybe I should invest in some tools and build
some furniture." Long story, short, five years after that, I quit the
university (HATED being and academic) and with the support of my wife, I'm
now doing commission pieces. The funny thing is that most people assume I
got the "gift" from my dad, but he freely admits he was never a fine
furniture maker--he built furniture because the family needed it
yesterday.
One of the great joys for me now is talking woodworking with my dad. He's
83, recently widowed for the 2nd time, lives 2000 miles away, but I think
about him all the time. He was a great encouragement when I told him how
unhappy I was at the university and was thinking of a radical change in my
life. Plus when I do get to see him, we both love to go the Lee Valley
store (he lives in Vancouver) and look at the toys--I mean tools.
David
"mel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>....What's your story?
My father has always been a craftsman, and a person who loved to work
with wood. As I grew older my interests started to move into that
direction as well. We would do a project together, more as an excuse
to hang out and talk, and I would slowly pick up things. We would
watch this old house, idolize Norm, talk about different things that
we thought were interesting.
And slowly, I started to acquire my own tools. Some I bought, some
were gifts from my father who having finally retired decided to
upgrade some of his older equipment. I recently bought my first table
saw, and biscuit joiner and finally feel that I have the makings for a
decent beginner shop. I really like woodworking and will always
attribute that appreciation to my father who helped foster that
interest.
My only regret is not starting to work with him when I was a teen, but
I was a stupid kid then who didn't want anything to do with his
parents. I guess its a part of growing up, thank god I am over that
phase.
> mel wrote:
> > Maybe this is the beginning of a thread of interest maybe not....
I've often looked at furniture and other items made of wood. While intrigued
at how it is made I never really pursued it. I know the limitations of my
hands. My wife collects dolls and she would buy doll sized furniture for
them and I'd finish it. Well, the stuff was generally crap. She said I
could do better. While I figured I was not up to the quality of the stuff
you see in magazines, I figured I could equal or better the doll stuff. So
I did.
Started with a cheap Craftsman table saw, then added a router, etc. etc.
As my skills improved, I bought some better tools and that made some
operations even better. I enjoy all aspects of woodworking from planning,
design, to the actual milling and cutting of lumber. It is very satisfying
to see a project come together, to see parts fit well. I make things for the
house, for gifts, for fun. Not for money as that would take the fun out if
it for me.
By the time I retire, I'll have a nicely equipped shop and plenty of
projects to keep me busy. Meantime, I'm enjoying the time I spend out there
and my wife enjoys what I make for her.
Ed
[email protected]
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome
I was 14 and a tree fell on out picnic table on the patio.
My neighbor had a radial arm saw and I "borrowed" some lumber from a nearby
construction site.
I was able to figure out the constuction of the table easy enough.
and in 2 days we had a new table.
2 days after that we had new benches.
And I was pretty much hooked.
My first real project was a drafting table I needed for HS. (working on the
kitchen table was killing me)
and been collecting "tools" ever since ;)
"mel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Maybe this is the beginning of a thread of interest maybe not.... I've
been
> reading this ng for awhile now and see quite a few regulars, a few
> participants that post only once and awhile, the occasional lurker who's
> name I haven't recalled seeing before....What's your story? How did you
get
> started in woodworking?
>
> I'll keep mine short. My grandfather was a carpenter out of necessity,
had
> to find some sort of work to support his family. Passed it on to my
father
> who also worked with his hands out of necessity in order to put himself
> through college. I grew up learning from him. When I was young he was the
> manager of a local millwork operation and he drug me to work with him in
the
> summers while I was out of school. I learned to use the tools in the shop
> at an early age. Learning how to work with my hands backfired on me since
I
> dropped out of college to get married...I just knew I could make a living
> without a formal education. We divorced 6 months later and I never made
it
> back to college.
>
> Fast forward 14 years....I remarried a woman with 2 young daughters. I've
> put a shop together mostly because I wanted to build them things they
would
> cherish and use...like my father did for my sister and me. That's where I
> am today...I build things for the builders I sell lumber to so I can
justify
> the expense of the equipment I have in my shop so I can periodically turn
> out piece by piece for my daughters and wife.
>
> What's your story?
>
>
>
Being a native Bostonian who had been transplanted to New Jersey, a
certain woodworking show became a habit of mine. What the host,
Norman, did was interesting, but more importantly, he had such superb
diction -- no trace of an accent at all.
After a lifetime of limiting manual work to changing light bulbs
(while mumbling "right is tight and left is loose") and calling
repairmen, yours truly decided woodworking would be a fine hobby to
carry into the retirement years.
At the tender age of 51, the corporate business world said, "Bob, take
this super early retirement incentive package, 18 months of full
salary, and be gone with ya'." Not being hard of hearing -- this was
pre-router whine/shop vac roar and radio blare -- my head said, "Hmmm,
maybe you could keep your job and escape downsizing for nine more
years or take the package now, not work, and get retirement pay as
though you had worked nine more years."
Not wanting anyone to think badly of my dearly departed mother as a
breeder of idiots (savant or otherwise), I said, "Oh, great financial
empire, I beseech thee. Give me the money; I can find the door
myself." And it was done.
With a pocketful of advanced salary, a working wife, a Woodworkers
Warehouse and 5 Home Depots nearby, a kazillion catalogs and a score
of books and magazines, I will become a gentleman woodworker.
Soon I discovered that I probably would not be able to match the
colonial cherry Queen Ann pieces in our bedroom. (I have since
realized I don't want to; real wood is a nicer color.) So maybe my
first project shouldn't be a Queen Ann highboy with cabriole legs,
carved shells and inlays.
How about an Adirondack chair?? It's big and sturdy and, with all
the woodworking I will do, I will be able to add "sturdy" to my
self-description.
Plans, plans and plans for Adirondack chairs. At last I found Jake's
Chair, designed by a certain Tom Gauldin, a Renaissance man who goes
by the handle of "Scoundrel." By the way it is a GREAT chair -
comfortable and good looking.
After much sawing, swearing, drilling, swearing, routing, swearing,
screw-drivering, and some swearing, the chair was built! Now, to make
it look "professional," I countersunk, puttied or dowelled everyone of
the almost 100 screw holes. Much sand papering, primer and two coats
of a glossy forest green oil enamel that would make Ireland's 40
Shades of Green envious; the work was complete!
"Come, working wife of mine. Come admire me and what I have created!"
And indeed, it did look mighty spiffy. "Now, dearly beloved, bend to
and we shall carry it onto its rightful place on our deck. There I
shall languish and praise the corporate reorganization that brought me
here!"
Ooops, the basement stairs are narrow and they have an evil witch's
nose bend to them. Perhaps if we catty corner the throne? Perhaps,
if we try it on its side? Perhaps, upside down? Perhaps, it won't go
up the %$%$ stairs!
"May I suggest you take off the arms, my woodworking hubby?"
"What and ruin the shiny green, my beloved? But yes, I shall because
I have more paint!"
"Where are those screw holes anyway?" Much scraping and, gouging
later. "Ahah, there's one screw, only 15 more to go to take off the
arms."
Days later, a badly beaten, much troubled Jake's chair was armless.
"Hey, Suzanne! Don't look at it, just help me carry the damn thing up
to the garage which has a real door and I'll try to rectify it there.
And stop saying, 'What a shame.'"
"Hold your end higher, woman!" "Lift and then turn, I say!" Perhaps
sideways? Damn, damn! It still won't go up the stairs!
And so it remains to this day, down by the woodpile, under a good
reading light, with a stack of catalogs nearby. And, what's even
worse, high gloss forest green enamel really shows the sawdust!
P.S. The chair back made the trip from NJ to Cape Cod where my
proud/wise ass wife set it up against a tree. "It'll make a lovely
trellis," she said with a smile.
Sounds like most of us had pretty similar starts into our addiction.
My grandfather owned a truck stop. Not the new-fangled, Flying J type, but
the old school, classic road house type. By default, my father ended up
working there, since he had always hung out there as a child and that's just
what you did back then...help out with the family business when your old
enough to do so. Changing split ring truck tires, being a diesel mechanic,
welding, and all other things associated with keeping a truck stop in
business is what kept my father occupied for most of his early life. To say
that he was (is) mechanically inclined would be an understatement. He went
on to be a towboat chief engineer and is now, on the threshold of
retirement, working as an engineering rep for a petro-chem shipping company.
Woodworking is a bit different than metalworking, even given their
similarities. Dad made things and did repairs around the house out of
necessity. Pride and a lack of money kept him from hiring a carpenter,
plumber, electrician, etc. At work, Dad had access to all the proper tools
needed and they were mostly of the best quality. At home, however, the tool
selection was scanty and of the lowest quality (cheapest) that could be had
at the time. Our projects were pretty rough, given the lack of always having
the proper tool for the job, but I didn't know any better as a child. I was
just thrilled to be hanging out and "helping" Dad with his list of
honey-dos.
I picked up the beginnings of my mechanical and woodworking ability by
wanting to be like Dad. It wasn't long before I was tearing apart and
rebuilding the lawnmower (not that it needed it), building pretty elaborate
tree forts out of scrap lumber, and tinkering with just about anything that
could be tinkered. I know now how valuable it was to learn how to "make do"
with what I had available tool and material wise. It taught me to think,
improvise, and do the best I could with what I had. I'm actually amazed at
some of the things I was able to accomplish.
As a teen, I worked as a fiberglass fabricator and learned more about power
tools. I had access to various quality tools; including a RAS, table saw,
bandsaw, and pneumatic tools, which were new to me. After work and on off
days, I was able to experiment and build as I pleased. That is how I
learned...either OJT or trial and error. Respect for equipment and attention
to detail were picked up during this phase and applied to other facets of
life as well. Time spent in that shop groomed ideals that I still follow
today.
Since then, I've done just about everything from rough remodeling work to
building some nice furniture. I now support my income and tool acquisitions
habit with carpentry work and a little furniture building from time to time.
Plus, I can't imagine anything more therapeutic than the smells and sounds
of woodworking. OK...maybe a grill, hammock, and margarita, but not much
else!
C Ya,
Mikey
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7th grade woodshop class, 1977.
I've built and tinkered (broke <G>) with things since I was old enough
to remember. I was building and flying big R/C aircraft, and bought a
table saw to rip wood for high stress parts. The more I played with
the saw, the more I remembered shop, which encouraged me to acquire
more tools, which had me flying less... <G>
Then I discovered the router and hand planes and forgot all about r/c.
It's a slippery slope!
Barry
On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 13:55:20 GMT, "mel" <[email protected]>
wrote:
I got started by building things to make life easier. Shelves,
brackets, stools, dog houses, etc. 40 years later that's pretty much
what I build now only it looks a little better now. What really got
me going was the purchase of a Parks Planer.
My father had a workshop in the basement where we lived in Montreal. My
first foray into woodworking at seven years old, was helping him paint part
of the house. I distinctly remember using some of his chisels to open paint
cans. Naturally, I broke off the sharp tips. He didn't get mad, just told me
to use screwdrivers after that. I also built a three level clubhouse in the
backyard. It towered above the hedges and must have looked like the biggest
eyesore to all the neighbours. My mother said I had a penchant for making
boxes. Big, little, piggy bank size to clubhouse size, they were all boxes.
I guess I still do it because my preference now is cabinetry, just another
type of box.
"mel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> name I haven't recalled seeing before....What's your story? How did you
get
> started in woodworking?
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 22:43:41 GMT, [email protected] wrote:
>But I MISS the taste of bear, that's what the big mallets are for. <G>
>Dave in Fairfax
A few years ago I spent a summer at Denali Park in Alaska. The
grizzly bears I saw, luckily from far, far away, probably miss the
taste of you! <G>
I swear some of those things are 12 feet tall.
Barry
Nearly the same, have several of my great grandfather tools hanging on the
wall. He built 1726 pianos in his lifetime. Shop was retooled during WWII
and made caskets for the govt during the war, retooled again after that.
Dad/Grandad made their fortune on a new product called "Formica". They cast
about for a while until they landed a contract with a hamburger joint called
McDonalds in the 60's. They sold some furiture. Never had more than 7 folks
working for them at one time. I've been gluing up countertops since I was
10. Have been part of just about every aspect of furniture building since,
home renovations mostly custom kitchens and offices. Got lost for a while in
the computer industry after taking several CAD classes but have since found
my way back to woodworking . Hey we all do something stupid when we are
young don't we? I did make enough cash in the I.S. biz to outfit the shop
pretty well. Been working as a tradesman in custom home building industry in
Southern Wisconsin recently. Pretty big market for the Chicago weekend
escapes around here. I've done some pretty cool high tech home offices and
builtin hide the bigscreen TV entertainment centers doing SC work for a
home theatre outfit. I would really like to get in to stairs. Most of what
you see around here are factory built, nothing hand crafted anymore. I
geally get inspired by Tom Plamanns work. If you haven't seen his website
take a look. http://www.plamann.com/sys-tmpl/door/ proof that not all
American hero's occupations have the word "ball" in them somewhere. I do
prefer to work alone as I have a tendancy to rub people the wrong way and my
shop indicates that... 40 miles from anywhere pretty much. Not a lot of
walkup business.
EJ
On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 13:55:20 +0000, mel wrote:
> Maybe this is the beginning of a thread of interest maybe not.... I've
> been reading this ng for awhile now and see quite a few regulars, a few
> participants that post only once and awhile, the occasional lurker who's
> name I haven't recalled seeing before....What's your story? How did you
> get started in woodworking?
>
> I'll keep mine short. My grandfather was a carpenter out of necessity,
> had to find some sort of work to support his family. Passed it on to my
> father who also worked with his hands out of necessity in order to put
> himself through college. I grew up learning from him. When I was young he
> was the manager of a local millwork operation and he drug me to work with
> him in the summers while I was out of school. I learned to use the tools
> in the shop at an early age. Learning how to work with my hands backfired
> on me since I dropped out of college to get married...I just knew I could
> make a living without a formal education. We divorced 6 months later and
> I never made it back to college.
>
> Fast forward 14 years....I remarried a woman with 2 young daughters. I've
> put a shop together mostly because I wanted to build them things they
> would cherish and use...like my father did for my sister and me. That's
> where I am today...I build things for the builders I sell lumber to so I
> can justify the expense of the equipment I have in my shop so I can
> periodically turn out piece by piece for my daughters and wife.
>
> What's your story?
I had a girlfriend once and, after a few beers, she asked to see my tool.
I showed her my garage and shop, and that made all the difference in the
world.
On 25 Jan 2004 11:37:03 -0800, [email protected] (Conan the Librarian)
brought forth from the murky depths:
>Larry Jaques <novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
>> [carving bench]
>> I've wanted to do some relief carving for a long while
>> and will finally start this year. (Promise!)
>
> I'll file that statement away for future reference, Lar. :-)
Of that I have absolutely no doubt. ;)
>> I kinda liked that doghole mounted carving vise in one of the
>> mags last year (2?), I think FWW.
>
> Hmmm ... I don't remember seeing that, but that's what I was
So much for my memory. June 2000, on page 18 of FWW was a
_shoulder_ vise.
>thinking about doing as well. I just have to verify that my dogholes
>are spaced uniformly enough to work. :-)
You might have to switch to 1/2" dowels, eh? <tsk tsk tsk>
That's whatcha get for using jummyjunk, erm, pineywood, son.
>> And I really liked that
>> carving bench in Landis' "Workbench Book", kwim,v?
>
> Ayup. But it might be overkill for me. I do a carving project
>about every third or fourth one. Wait a sec ... that means I would
>use it even more than you, Lar.
Pffffft!
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On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 13:55:20 GMT, "mel" <[email protected]>
wrote:
What's your story?
Growing up my family had a picnic table that my grandfather built. It
was made of cedar and treated with that red "stain". Don't remember
what the stain was called. Anyway, the table was about 20 years old
when I was 12 and one of the supports for the legs fell off, rotted.
I called Mom at work and asked her to bring home a piece of wood so I
could fix Grandpa's table. Over the next few years more pieces were
found rotten and replaced. Finally, as with all things, it had to go.
When I was 21 I built Mom a new picnic table. I did save one piece of
Grandpa's table to use in the new one. Grandpa's table lasted 29
years. Mine has been sitting under Mom's tree for 13 now. Hope mine
lasts like Grandpa's.
Now I enjoy woodworking with my sons. Joshua, 5 and Adam, 3. This
spring we are tearing down the old playhouse from the previous owners
of our house and building a new 2 building, 2 level fortress complete
with rock wall, slide, rope swing, bridge, and a nice water canon
feature for those really hot days.
But mostly I, like others, will not pay others to do something I can
do myself.
Nick
Larry Jaques wrote:
> A wooddorking shop is merely a larger, less-smoky, more well-lit
> cave, sir. <grunt>
Fewer cave bears and saber tooth tigers too, fortunately.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> mttt wrote:
>
> > A common one - sick to death of dealing with Technology and a strong
> > desire to build something tangible.
>
> Hey, this stuff *is* technology. Before woodworking, we were living in
> caves.
25+ years in software... Some days I'd give anything for a cave and a fire.
This man's my new hero:
Ned Ludd born c.1790
Born in Anstey, he lent his name to the legendary General Ned Ludd and the
Luddite movement which was partly inspired by the French Revolution and the
writings of Thomas Paine. For a time the Luddites enjoyed great power
through sabotage and machine breaking across the country. There was,
however, little bloodshed and they seemed to enjoy popular support. Their
cause was acceptable working conditions and the restoration of reasonable
compensation for loss of work. The movement ended when over a thousand
Luddites attacked a mill in Lancashire in April 1812 and were repulsed by
troops.
Little is known about Ned, though his name carried the weight of armies.
"Jon Endres, PE" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Dad had been saving the tool sin his basement for me anyway,
I've seen some tools that are vices, but I've never actually met one
that was a full-fledged sin :-)
On 24 Jan 2004 09:48:57 -0800, [email protected] (Conan the Librarian)
brought forth from the murky depths:
> Any info you care the share about your carving bench? I was
24x40" 6/4 Jarrah top & 1x6 rails.
Popular (however the rec.norm spelling goes) 2x2 legs.
Tilting top, bench pups, staggered (6") 3/4" holes.
I'll work out the tilt mechanism when I get there and
have had a chance to see how much sturdiness I need.
I have an idea for a removable sandbox weight and will
show that to you once it's done. I figure if I make it
easy to remove/install, the bench will be easier to move
out of the way of my wood stack when necessary.
I've wanted to do some relief carving for a long while
and will finally start this year. (Promise!) My best
inspiration was the Mt. Fuji scene over the fireplace
in the Gamble House. The side scenes were nice, too.
>thinking about making a portable carving bench *top* that I could put
>on my regular workbench when I want to carve. I was thinking this
>would get the work up a bit higher (a good thing both for my eyes and
>my back), and it would be a better solution than having a dedicated
>carving bench. (Space-wise, at least.)
I kinda liked that doghole mounted carving vise in one of the
mags last year (2?), I think FWW. And I really liked that
carving bench in Landis' "Workbench Book", kwim,v?
----------------------------------------------------------------
* Blessed are those who can * Humorous T-shirts Online
* laugh at themselves, for they * Comprehensive Website Dev.
* shall never cease to be amused * http://www.diversify.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
"mel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> name I haven't recalled seeing before....What's your story? How did you
get
> started in woodworking?
A common one - sick to death of dealing with Technology and a strong desire
to build something tangible.
Grandpa putter'd in his basement woodshop. Don't think he was a craftsman by
any stretch.
I do have one amusing/fond memory of his work, tho'.
He was fond of making "Seasonal Yard Art" - plywood Santa's, Angels,
Pumpkin's, Easter Bunny's, ad naseum.
One year, I guess he was struggling for an idea to celebrate Spring. I
must've been early teens, it must have been late 1960's...
Well - God Bless this man, because Grandpa's judgment may have been a little
off that year. He decided to do a big plywood cutout of a African American
boy. Sitting, legs crossed - you guessed it - black-face and eating a large
slice of watermelon.
(Not a racist bone in this man - in fact, his father's place was a stop on
the Underground Railroad in S. Illinois and Grandpa used to tell me stories
about helping people make it North.)
Must've been only out there for a few hours - as all I had to do was point
it out to Grandma, who *fixed* the situation right quick! :)
Our time together was shorted by Alzheimer's.
Love you Grandpa - and I do miss you, very much!
On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 19:15:29 -0500, Silvan
<[email protected]> brought forth from the murky depths:
>mttt wrote:
>
>> A common one - sick to death of dealing with Technology and a strong
>> desire to build something tangible.
>
>Hey, this stuff *is* technology. Before woodworking, we were living in
>caves.
A wooddorking shop is merely a larger, less-smoky, more well-lit
cave, sir. <grunt>
-
Every day above ground is a Good Day(tm).
-----------
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming
"mel" wrote in message
> What's your story?
Breeding and lineage, just like a race horse. :)
Paternal grandfather was a rice farmer, blacksmith and wheelwright, made
most of his tools, and was self reliant and resourceful enough to figure out
a way to single-handedly paint smokestacks at a profit during the depression
in order to feed his family, buy back the family farm which had been
foreclosed upon when the banks failed and a bumper crop became worthless in
1929, and ultimately send 3 of four boys to graduate degrees.
Maternal grandfather was a rice farmer, hardware store and sawmill owner,
and cabinet maker who built his own house and furniture from wood harvested
on his property.
My father brooked no nonsense and was a firm believer in doing-for-yourself
instead of paying others to do (still does) ... a common trait in S
Louisiana, from whence I spring, when newlyweds start off with a shotgun
house and add rooms themselves as the family grows. (if you are a stranger,
you don't go to pee on a dark night in one of those multiroom houses and
find your way back to bed without a map or a familiarization course while
the lights are still on).
Dad always had the right tools for whatever job was needed and spared no
expense in that regard. He never said "buy the best and only cry once", but
looking back, I realize that was the unspoken philosophy.
I was expected to "use my head for something besides a hat rack" and, as
adjunct to that, never got the idea as a kid that there _anything_ I
couldn't do. If we, the church, or a neighbor, needed a new picnic table or
two, I was instructed to build them ... and not having done it before was no
excuse ... just "go take a look at Uncle Hugh's and build me four just like
that". I built the boat, and the trailer, I used to duck hunt and fish in
while in high school ... if I'd had time, I'd probably made an automobile
out of necessity, but I managed to make the $200 it took to buy my first one
(49 Willy's Jeepster) by loading hay out of the fields. (I did make a go
cart in junior high that was the envy of the neighborhood.)
In college, and when first married, money was short and I made the coffee
tables, night stands, bookshelves, etc, (poor as they were) to supplement
the garage/rummage sale items needed to furnish a comfortable life ... I've
never stopped since.
So I go back to the breeding/lineage first stated. I can afford the kind of
furniture I like, but I can't find it to buy ... so my lineage kicked in,
and here I am. ;>)
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 1/16/04