How did you get started in woodwork?

[Dewy]

I started making things from wood when we moved from London to the country.
From no garden we now had one with a small brick shed.
Dad put a small bench with a vice in it and bought one of those new fangled electric drills with loads of attachments.
He had some wood to make trellis for the garden and I grabbed some to make toy swords.
Nailing a guard on looked lopsided so I cut half way through each to look better.
Hey presto. I had taught myself to make a halfing joint.
A couple of years later we did woodwork in the grammar school as a choice subject but had to drop art to do so.
This taught me M/Ts and dovetail joints.
When I married and bought a house I never thought of buying wall cupboards for the kitchen but made my own which are still there after over 35 years.
I made beds and bunks for my kids out of pine then later wardrobes etc out of contiboard.
Every joint was made with a saw and mortice chisel.
When I bought a small table saw some years ago I became hooked on power tools and have slowly built up a power workshop in the garage.
(Norm has a lot to answer for) lol
It's my ambition to replace all the contiboard furniture in the house with wooden furniture that I have made myself.
I cant think of anything better to pass on to my kids.

 

[ike]

Chris,

You crossed my mind when i wrote my potted history, as I knew you had lived in Belize. I remember Southwater Caye as just incredibly beautiful, far better than any picture postcard could do justice - like many other corners of Belize. Did you ever go to Blue Creek in Toledo - wow! like a vision of paradise. I particulalrly remember watching Blue Morphos fluttering lazily through the dappled shade of the rainforest - awesome!

Did you ever meet Charles Wright?. We were very good friends.

A natural love of power tools gave way to handtools

I'm a few years behind you, but slowly giving way now the power tool phase is wearing off!

cheers

Ike

 

[Chris Knight]

Ike,

I don't recall visiting Blue Creek although I did make a few excursions into the rainforest looking for jaguars - never saw any though! It was fun to come across Mayan ruins occasionally on those trips.

I don't recall a Charles Wright either - although it was a long time ago. I was pretty friendly with a guy called Barry Bowen who these days seems to own half the country. In those days, his father owned the Coca Cola franchise and the US divers franchise, the latter proving very useful for our scuba trips!

Nowadays the diving seems to be all tourists but in 1966 Barry and I were practically the only people doing any, or so it seemed and the reef and the cays were all totally unspoilt. I have never been back but I suspect things look a bit different now!

 

[houtslager]

well my "initiation" into the art of butchering wood began at an early age,with my uncle. He was your typical general carpenter - although he did a lot more then carpentry. For, he was 1 of 2 in the village in Ireland. Simarler to the book - The Village Carpenter- they did anything and everything to do with wood- from household needs , farming needs were also meet. Thrown in to this type of mundane but money earning work was the odd coffin/wagon/barrel etc......
He let me use his tools once I got to my teen years, and the bug BIT !
After a spell wearing the Queens' green I - through my father was sent on an apprenticeship to do in Germany. Here for 2 years I sweated to learn 1 German and 2 proper carpentry and furniture making.
I survived many a breakfast of beer , bread rolls and brätwurst. To be had after 9.00am after being at work since 7.00am
Then I found out that I was pretty good in the finishing area. So back to London to learn the arcane art of Antique restoration and french polishing.
After four years of this, I took the plunge and opened what was to be the first of SO MANY workshops LOL . Thereafter life as a journeyman in the true sense of the word, I bounced around Europe learning more of woodworking - shipwrighting, house building [cabins and green oaf framing] before settling down in Holland for the last 10 OMG ! :shock: here I have been making custom furiture from whole bars, office suites and home furniture and even the odd rocking horse.
Now , its time for another change, as I prepare to close workshop no.10 down ,pack it in a container for FLorida- where its always sunny in paradise :shock: lol ! not when the hurricanes pass by though !
Well thats all Folks !
c ya later