Why do you do it?

[garywayne]

For years I have been watching technology take over peoples lives, skill levels have dropped and the demise of the craftsman. Please, don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking anyone here, I realise you are all either skilled or striving to become skilled , like myself. I love power tools. What i'm talking about is (I hope this isn't political), greed/mass production.

As a child I wanted to be a craftsman with real skills. I'm not to good upstairs, but my hands want to make and repair things.

I worked on the buildings. Not very satisfying. I took a welding coarse, which I enjoyed. I done precision engineering for two years, but it was all CNC. Type in what you want, and watch it being made. I wanted to make it. So, not very satisfying.

The best thing I have done, until now, was start my own British motorcycle restoration firm. The 80's recession forced closure.

Woodwork has always been in the back of my mind, but for some reason i've never done it.

Now, my lovely wife and I are trying to do up the house and garden so that we can sell up and move to Spain. My wife has done some furniture restoration, and would like to have a go at turning. I would like to be able to become a cabinet/furniture craftsman, and we want to set up in business in Spain.

Even if I get to old to handle cabinet/furniture making, we could still carry on restoring well into our 100's.

That's why.
Thank you for asking.
ATB Gary.

 

[Anonymous]

I like to make things. It is a nice feeling to make something that looks good and other people like. Mikie

 

[Keystone]

None of the above wasn't an option!

For me it was the combination of several things. Started years ago because it was cheaper for me to make a certain item than to buy it. I was in the US Army back then, and we had a woodcraft shop on the Fort that I could use for free. Just had to buy the wood, sandpaper, glue etc. All the tools and such was provided. I found that I rather liked it. I then started making things for fun.
After the Army I became an Officer in our Federal Prison system. Now contrary to what you may have thought you knew, there was very little "Job satisfaction" in working in that line of work. I know it is hard to believe, but it's true! Woodworking became an out for me. Time spent in my shop became a way to forget about work, and have a sense of accomplishment doing something productive and enjoyable. Now that I am retired it is a nice way to spend time during the long cold winters that we can get in Minnesnowda!

 

[DKMWT]

My woodwork life started about 1974 aged 8 while watching my Dad. And loving the smell of fresh cut pine from the Grahem Reeves timber yard in Totnes. Where they made roof trusses. So you could say it was the love of wood.
Then I went to secondary school where I did woodwork from the first year. With that and a constant supply of wood and nails from my Dads work and umpteen wheels I made endless go karts. Now with a Nova 3000 lathe I make endless bowls and other things that start there life in a spin. And my newest addition to the workshop at the begining of the year was a Woodrat.
So all of the above apply accept for employment. And due to my shed being reduced to scrap by fire on the 7th April 2004 I can't really say tool collecting because nothing in my shed is more than 18 months old.

 

[OPJ]

I was never an overly practical person when I was at school, more into art and technical drawing really, I couldn't get to grips with things like metalwork either. I sat my GCSEs and then went onto A-level without any real thought as to what I was going to do with myself, career-wise. The subjects I chose were my strongest (art and graphic design, etc) but beyond that I could see no appeal.

So, I dropped out of my A-levels in the second year, literally one month from the exams. But I still couldn't see where I was going.

During that summer (2003), I took up someone's advice and decide to learn a trade, based on their thought that there will always be a requirement for skilled tradesman. Carpentry and Joinery was the chosen subject and my interests in woodworking steadily grew on from there.

I gave Good Woodworking a chance to perhaps broaden my horizons a little more and I'm now considering going back to college in a couple of years to do cabinet and furniture making courses, perhaps even woodturning if I can find one locally.

I find it amazing to think of what I know now compared to what I knew when I started the course nearly three whole years ago - back then, I couldn't tell you the difference between a dovetail joint and a piece of T&G boarding!!


I suppose my part-time job had some influence on my selections also, working in a so-called "timber yard", where I've been for the past 3 and a half years. But this job replenishes my bank account, that's all. My love is long lost at sea with this company, the same old job of 'serving' customers should now be long far and beyond me.

If you're wondering what I mean at the start there, although we have a decent sawmill and a good deal of space, I think it's all wasted on this company. We sell pressure-treated softwood - which species('), we can't even specify - and, erm, green oak. Even with the mill, we end up buying half our stock in. Plus, we seem to stock more and more imported "garden products" than I've ever seen timber in the whole yard!

I just look at where it's set (a nice setup hidden in the woodland), halfway between Bristol and Weston-super-mare and wonder why we can't stock all manner of hardwoods with the facilities we have?
We don't even stock sheets of Exterior MDF or WBP Plywood!

Then again, perhaps that's just my view, how I'd like things for my own benefit. Perhaps this isn't the time and or the place...

 

[Colin C]

I started helping my dad ( or getting on his nerves ,depending on who you asked, I was 6),

He was a labour and a good diy'er, so I got my bug from him.
I was better than most at school for woodwork and metal work but left school wanting to be a chippy or sparks, its funny how life can take strange turns.

After being mane redundant from my first job ( making wooden moulds for lintels ) after 6 months. I found a job as a furniture restorer and cabinet maker , thats was almost 22years ago ( where did the time go).

So now my job is also one of my hobbys, I also have to buy tools from most of the trades ( its a real shame :wink: ).

I am lucky to have started restoring early, as some of my tools would have cost me an arm and a leg now , also some have cost me very little eg, some of the carving tools i have made ( very easy to do with old brace drill bits)

I could now pick most if not all of the choices

 

[filsgreen]

My main reason for woodwork is the need for my own space. The workshop is my domain, my wife doesn't go near the place. Plus is it a man thing to have tools and workshops? I used to call mine a shed as it is only 13x7, but since I have been reading the posts on this site I think it is fair to call it a workshop as my workbench runs the full length.

Phil

 

[Alf]

Plus is it a man thing to have tools and workshops?

No necessarily...

Cheers, Alice :wink:

 

[filsgreen]

Sorry Alice and all the other female woodworkers I have since discovered on the forum

Phil

 

[Richard in Smithville]

Hello. I am new here so I hope you don't mind my joining in. My dad puttered around since I could remeber but what started me was when I installed my foot in my mouth. My wife and I were looking for a bed for my daughter. When we saw what we were getting for the money, of course I said that I could do it better and cheaper. I had to jump in with both feet then and it hasn't stopped. Even though I am strictly amateur, I get many paying jobs.

 

[Colin C]

Welcome Richard and happy reading

 

[DarrenW]

Two reasons really.

First was the hope of saving some cash making the furniture we wanted then the tools took over, but thats half the fun of it. Should be starting my first major piece of furniture this summer (a small dressing table for our guest room). Just about to get power connected to the shed, then I can make that all important bandsaw purchase to help the project along.

Secondly I design silicon chips for a living, which means staring at a computer screen all day designing something which would fit on a pin head. So you don't really get to admire your work afterwards, except down a microscope or on a screen. So designing and making something which people can actually see (and understand) will be a novelty.

D

 

[Flyer]

It would have been nice if all the information available today was within my reach when I started woodworking. However, it's great to see that 'Norm' has been such a good influence on people in spite of all the power tools at his disposal.

I have used the skills I acquired to modify my house; a much easier job here in Canada building with wood rather than working with bricks, at least it is for me.

I am now more interested in making smaller items, lathe work and such.

Ray

 

[Anonymous]

Just seeing if my avatar is working.

 

[Kacey]

I surprised my teachers and passed the 11+ and therefore missed out on practical subjects at school, but would have loved to have done woodwork.

Over the years I have done a little bit with wood including a Wendy House from Richard Blizzard. I am now trying a go cart.

Rocking horses are a future attraction, from plywood rockers to ?, some of them are way out of my league.

As you can see I like toys, whilst most of this site content seems to stem from highly skilled pros or amatuers with long careers in wood, mostly interested in quality furniture. I hope I can learn, as the techniques must be similar.

I like a bit of all the voting points but mostly the sense of satisfaction in creating something.

 

[Simoli]

The option for me isn't listed.

Need Hobby to keep me busy when retired.

I am far from retirement but figred I better get started now in order to be good at this by the time I retire. Nuther 18 years to go.

 

[Fecn]

I have many different answers to that one.. but I think it all stems back to Anwer 1.

Answer 1. I've just always been a practical sort of person I guess. I started out 20 years ago when I was around 13 with a workbench in my parents garage made from an old door... screwdrivers, hammers, handsaw and my first plane. I've always liked making things.. just for the fun of it.

Answer 2. Circumstnaces... Over the years, I slowly acquired more and more tools until around 3 years ago I reached critical tooling mass when I added a table saw and mitre saw to the collection whlst building a massive set of decking for my parents new holiday place. For many years I lacked any kind of workshop space, so the saws lived with my parents and saw no use until around five months ago, prompted by the arrival of a new addition to our family, my wife & I moved to a larger house with double garage and large (14x8) dilapidated shed (now rebuilt into my workshop.) The first thing I built in my new workshop has been a Nappy changing station.

Answer 3.Love of power... You really can't beat power tools. Superman may have the strength of ten men, but I have the power of two and a quarter horses (which is clearly better) in the palm of my hand every time I use my router. Power tools unquestionably give you super-human abilities and that's a hard feeling to beat.

 

[Zipperhead]

When we retired, we couldn't find 'flatpack' furniture to fit the odd sized walls of the 'study' and it worked out cheaper to build exactly what we wanted to fit. Family & friends must have liked what they saw and nowadays, my woodworking is basically a paying hobby. Most of what I have learned, down the years, has been through reading books or watching professionals. I guess there is a deep down satisfaction in creating something useful or pleasing to the eye from something as natural as wood.

 

[antonello]

Hi
I started working with wood, plywood and balsa in the early'60es, as I was (and still I am, even if I built the last about ten years ago) very fond of aeromodelling, wich helped me a lot, as if a model aeroplane is not very precisely built all you will have will be a bunch of toothpicks...
About 25 years ago I met a Colleague in the College who had a workshop with several woodworking machines, I was in need of some made-to-measure furniture and so all started.....
cheers
antonello

 

[brother]

When we retired, we couldn't find 'flatpack' furniture to fit the odd sized walls of the 'study' and it worked out cheaper to build exactly what we wanted to fit. Family & friends must have liked what they saw and nowadays, my woodworking is basically a paying hobby. Most of what I have learned, down the years, has been through reading books or watching professionals. I guess there is a deep down satisfaction in creating something useful or pleasing to the eye from something as natural as wood.

I know what you mean.