Following is a list ( not exhaustive) of the most common posed questions I've received from friends and customers. I've answered briefly, but am always happy to respond in more detail to those who contact me. How did you get started in woodworking? Following my dad’s footsteps I became a “fixer upper” by taking on several home projects like: built in cabinets, desks, shelving units, etc. 2. Did you have any formal training in woodworking? Nothing like woodworking classes, but instead I watched plenty of YouTube videos and read a lot of online blogs, tips and “how to’s.” What impresses you most about other woodworkers? Obviously their skill level and detail of workmanship; however most of all is their overall desire...
Once I began to hone my craft from hobbyist to woodworker, my friends began to take notice of the quality and creativity of my craftsmanship. With that came plenty of suggestions: "have you considered making.....?" Although flattered I have also become a realist who recognizes very quickly the limits of my skills or the time and effort that would be involved in trying certain things. As every woodworker advances we also become more aware of our own idiosyncrasies that we factor into any project. I am one who gets distracted easily so simply making the same thing over and over again, no matter how good I've become at it, becomes less interesting let alone challenging. Enter new challenges worth tackling. One of...
Oftentimes when I'm seeking advice from friends who are authorities in different areas of life I’m less interested in options and more interested in concrete recommendations. With that in mind, I'm offering my favorite woods that I use along with my reasons why. First off, I use primarily hardwoods. Softwoods like pine are great for construction but they lack the stability needed for cutting boards, utensils, etc. My “go to” woods are maple, cherry and walnut because of their hardness and contrast with each other; oftentimes I will substitute mahogany or padauk for the walnut while keeping similar characteristics. Of these my favorite wood to use (perhaps surprisingly) is maple. It is a clean, light colored wood that shows its...
I don’t subscribe to a lot of woodworking blogs because sometimes too much information makes matters more confusing rather than clearer. That said, I have subscribed to Paul Sellers blogs, as he is one of the real online pioneers (IMO) of woodworking. A recent blog post of Paul's called “Election Day” talked more about his woodworking ideology than about specific tools or products (https://paulsellers.com/2017/06/thursday-8th-june-2017/). In his blog Paul identified a certain passion that I immediately related to: the concept of “It’s not what you make but how.” I don’t want to take credit for anyone else’s work so I encourage anyone reading this blog to check out his. That said, the concept of “how” over “what” is something that attracted me to...
Every woodworker knows that once friends and family know you have a shop and a few tools, all sorts of random requests come your way. Everything from, "could you remodel my kitchen" to " can you repair a drawer in an old chest". For a carpenter, every request is a bit like a challenge issued.........we hate saying "no" to any project because "sure, I can do that":). It's a blessing and a pitfall. The blessing is that you get the pleasure of helping out a friend, solving a problem, or "fixing" a treasure. The pitfall is that we "wood guys" can end up taking on projects that are either beyond our shop capabilities or that divert our focus. Did I...
