Am i the only one who loves woodworking?

[npalen]

I spent 10,000+ hours between 2000 and 2012 building 95 custom acoustic archtop guitars. Does that count as woodworking.
Nice work on the end tables! They should last for many years.

 

[smstonypoint]

I spent 10,000+ hours between 2000 and 2012 building 95 custom acoustic archtop guitars. Does that count as woodworking.

I don't know if it counts as woodworking, but it counts as "luthiering."

Any customers that we would recognize?

Steve

 

[GreenYellow]

I knew there were other woodworkers out there! Don't worry CalG, i don't intend to change this into a woodworking forum.

Nice projects guys.

I work in an office all day designing digital media, ads, publications, and other computer dependent stuffs. Making sawdust is one of my therapeutic pastimes. I think too many people forget there's a world outside of computers/electronics. (another story)

I have a pretty good stockpile of lumber. I cut all the trees, milled a lot of the lumber myself (paid for some of it to be milled) and stack dried it all. I have a 12x16 building stacked floor to ceiling with lumber, plus a couple of stacks of red oak still drying under the tractor shed. In the building I have red oak, white oak, walnut, cherry, cedar, pecan, hickory and catalpa.

My shop isn't huge (20x24), but I set it up where I have decent work space. The table saw feeds right onto the work table, etc...

Keep making sawdust guys! It's good for ya

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I knew there were other woodworkers out there! Don't worry CalG, i don't intend to change this into a woodworking forum.

Nice projects guys.

I work in an office all day designing digital media, ads, publications, and other computer dependent stuffs. Making sawdust is one of my therapeutic pastimes. I think too many people forget there's a world outside of computers/electronics. (another story)

I have a pretty good stockpile of lumber. I cut all the trees, milled a lot of the lumber myself (paid for some of it to be milled) and stack dried it all. I have a 12x16 building stacked floor to ceiling with lumber, plus a couple of stacks of red oak still drying under the tractor shed. In the building I have red oak, white oak, walnut, cherry, cedar, pecan, hickory and catalpa.

My shop isn't huge (20x24), but I set it up where I have decent work space. The table saw feeds right onto the work table, etc...

Keep making sawdust guys! It's good for ya

As my old boss used to say, "Sawdust is the world's greatest tension reliever". BTW, I love working with Pecan; kind of a cross between Walnut and Oak...if you can imagine such a thing.

 

[s219]

You'll know when I win the lottery or get rich somehow, because I will build a huge woodworking shop fully equipped, and spare no expense. I love woodworking, but a shortage of time, space, and equipment makes it a small hobby right now. My dad always woodworked and let me help, but I really got the bug in middle school wood-shop class, and still have visions of their shop setup in my head when I plan my dream shop. The right equipment really makes a difference.

 

[GreenYellow]

You'll know when I win the lottery or get rich somehow, because I will build a huge woodworking shop fully equipped, and spare no expense. I love woodworking, but a shortage of time, space, and equipment makes it a small hobby right now. My dad always woodworked and let me help, but I really got the bug in middle school wood-shop class, and still have visions of their shop setup in my head when I plan my dream shop. The right equipment really makes a difference.

I have the same dream. I vowed as a young boy to emulate my grandpa in his ability to build anything. Most of my passion for creating things stems from him -- though I have a long way to go to live up to his ability.

Equipment really does make a huge difference. I don't have what others might consider "nice" equipment... But it does a good job. I have a belt drive table saw from the 50s. It weighs 300-400 pounds and runs as smooth as a German sewing machine. Most of my equipment is just fine, but certainly not Grizzly, Jet, Hobart, etc...

 

[fordmantpw]

I knew there were other woodworkers out there! Don't worry CalG, i don't intend to change this into a woodworking forum.

Nice projects guys.

I work in an office all day designing digital media, ads, publications, and other computer dependent stuffs. Making sawdust is one of my therapeutic pastimes. I think too many people forget there's a world outside of computers/electronics. (another story)

I have a pretty good stockpile of lumber. I cut all the trees, milled a lot of the lumber myself (paid for some of it to be milled) and stack dried it all. I have a 12x16 building stacked floor to ceiling with lumber, plus a couple of stacks of red oak still drying under the tractor shed. In the building I have red oak, white oak, walnut, cherry, cedar, pecan, hickory and catalpa.

My shop isn't huge (20x24), but I set it up where I have decent work space. The table saw feeds right onto the work table, etc...

Keep making sawdust guys! It's good for ya

I'm on the computer all day as well (programmer), and I love wood working as well. However, I get very little time between working 50 hours a week and raising 3 kids. I built a changing table we used for all 3 kids, a baby bed for my oldest, and various bookshelves before the kids were born. I tell myself I will have more time when they grow up so I try to spend my time with them for now. They are only young once...

 

[GreenYellow]

I'm on the computer all day as well (programmer), and I love wood working as well. However, I get very little time between working 50 hours a week and raising 3 kids. I built a changing table we used for all 3 kids, a baby bed for my oldest, and various bookshelves before the kids were born. I tell myself I will have more time when they grow up so I try to spend my time with them for now. They are only young once...

I understand. We have 3 young daughters. It's certainly a juggle.
The oldest 2 are old enough (and interested enough) to "help" me with projects. I love it when they do because we get to spend time together and teach them about something besides their iPhones. Good daddy/daughter time for sure. I can't help but reflect on the countless hours I spent in my grandpa's shop with him.

 

[fordmantpw]

I understand. We have 3 young daughters. It's certainly a juggle.
The oldest 2 are old enough (and interested enough) to "help" me with projects. I love it when they do because we get to spend time together and teach them about something besides their iPhones. Good daddy/daughter time for sure. I can't help but reflect on the countless hours I spent in my grandpa's shop with him.

I wish my kids were into helping so that we could spend time together doing those things. My oldest daughter (12) would rather sit and play on her iPad or read a book (we limit electronics quite a bit so her fallback is reading) than do much of anything. My son (10) says he wants to help, but 2 minutes later he is gone and on to something different. He has ADHD, and he gets distracted way too easily, so he's not much 'help'. My youngest daughter (6) is the same way. So, our time together is usually spent doing things that don't take much time and we can switch to other things quickly. Card games, board games, playing catch (for 3 minutes at a time ).

I spent many summers with my dad helping him out. He was a carpenter and a teacher (teaching building trades) and I spent my summer vacations learning many carpentry skills. I remember cleaning copper plumbing fittings, putting trim down, and even putting outlets in when I was 10-12 years old. It didn't seem like it at the time, but now I realize how much I really enjoyed spending that time with my dad.

 

[downsizingnow48]

About the only time I make things out of wood is when my wife asks. Just after we were married she bought a wonderful old oak chair with a broken back. The only woodworking tools I had at the time were a handsaw and chisel. I took it all apart, cut out the broken parts, made new grooves for the cane, and reassembled. That chair has been in our dining room in every house since.

Just last month she asked me for a table to fit between our chairs in the TV room. Coffee tables were too big, end tables too small. So I made one out of knotty pine.