How did you come to be in woodworking?

[Roy Smith]

I've seen some tools that are vices, but I've never actually met one that was a full-fledged sin :-)

[Dick Durbin]

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

[Neuromancer]

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.

[dave]

"mel" 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

[Cape Cod Bob]

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.

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 20:17:34 -0500, Roy Smith brought forth from the murky depths:

Then you've never seen a Drilldo before.

Every day above ground is a Good Day(tm). ----------- Website Application Programming

[Wayne Brissette]

On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 7:55:20 -0600, mel wrote (in message ):

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

[Grandpa]

My father was a carpenter and I pretty much picked up the love for woodworking from him. Grandfather was an iron worker.

[Mark]

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.

[Bill McNutt]

My story?

Father teach. Long time ago.

Bill

[Terry Sumner]

(Good read snipped)

LMAO!

Terry

[David E. Penner]

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

[Ryan Morin]

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.

[mttt]

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!

[BIG JOE]

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

[Silvan]

Hey, this stuff *is* technology. Before woodworking, we were living in caves.

[MaxEN]

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

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 19:15:29 -0500, Silvan brought forth from the murky depths:

A wooddorking shop is merely a larger, less-smoky, more well-lit cave, sir.

- Every day above ground is a Good Day(tm). -----------

Website Application Programming

[dave]

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

[C]

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.