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Journey to Woodworking

1K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  Cornfed1341 
#1 ·
The Beginning...

Ok, so to start this off, I wouldn't consider myself a "woodworker". I like the tools, I like the noises, the saw dust, and getting lost in my shop… drinking a brewski, while rocking out to 80's hair bands (Motley Crüe, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Poisen, etc,). However, I am also a mechanic and metal working machinist by trade.

So I am green as they get when coming into this world, but I am a big DIY kind of guy, and would love to learn this trade.

I made this topic a series, because I wasn't sure of the response I would get, but I am hoping to motivate myself as well as all the members of the lumberjocks forum. Maybe bring you back to the beginning.

So now it's your turn… As the title suggests;

How did your woodworking journey begin? What caught your interest? etc.
 
#4 ·
Many years ago, I was far too broke to make Christmas as wonderful as I would have liked for my two year old daughter. A chair her size was far too expensive to buy so I proceeded to attempt to make a little rocker out of tuba fours. I got lost in the project, a feeling I rarely ever had consumed me with the project. It came out poorly as I would view it now but I was moderately happy with it at the time. It hasn't broke over the last 35 years although it never was particularly aesthetically pleasing. I don't often get inspired and get that single minded in what I am doing but woodworking seems to trigger it more often than not.

Just build something. Whatever it is will get you going to do more.
 
#6 ·
... It hasn't broke over the last 35 years…
- mingfrommongo
Looks like I pipped you by about 10 years mfm...

I repurposed this ex-air force foot locker on the balcony of a block of flats,
Furniture Musical instrument Couch Product Rectangle

using a Black & Decker drill loaded with a sanding disc and some hand sanding blocks. Cut some brass corner brackets out of a doctor's name plate and polished with brasso, added two ornate brass door knockers for handles, bought some wood trims from a crafts shop (pretty novel back in those days… no CNC or laser) and replaced all the screws with brass ones. With the drab grey color gone, it was finally stained… didn't know about finishes back then so it has lasted well. It can be dated as I moved into my first house in 1975.
Here it is now (45+ years later) with the vinyl couch replaced by leather,
Furniture Couch Rectangle Wood studio couch

the brass well tarnished and me no better at chess… but it's longevity may be attributed to the lack of a two year old.
 

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#9 ·
I've always had a knack for building things since I was a little kid. My dad is a carpenter and I'd help him in the summer with anything from pool decks to kitchen remodels. He gave me a bunch of hand-me-down tools but I really got enabled when my wife's dad died unexpectedly. He was a music teacher and had a construction business on the side for the summers so he could help ends meet. I got most of his tools when he passed and that kicked off my shop. So for me it's following in the steps of my loved ones / inspirers / role models, as well as having the mindset to create.
 
#10 ·
Thanks Corny... Unfortunately it was only a refurbishment and not a real build… but it may have started this bloody expensive pass-time of woodworking.

- LittleBlackDuck
That seems to be the way I tend to do things, more of a re-purposing then building from scrap. i.e. half of my shop is made of old bathroom vanities
 
#11 ·
Interesting topic…...............
I bought my first electric drill in 1982. I was already married. I set aside money for the purchase from the glass bottles I handed over. One bottle is 12 cents and the drill (large) cost $ 34.
I learned to "Prioritize" the tree at the age of 3 (1962). I had a little hammer …...... I almost killed my own Mother while she was sleeping. May God grant her Health. LOL …..
At the age of 9, my father made me a burner from a soldering iron, I first drew or translated portraits of Pushkin, Yesenin, Jack London, Ivanhoe, Nich, Rebeck and other famous people through copying paper, and then burned …....
At the age of 25, I built my own brick house, at the age of 27 I graduated from the Skryabin Academy.
So, I don't remember what made me LOVE wood and metal. And at the age of 40, I started thinking ….. I must leave something behind and start working. Seriously …... I built a Forge (blacksmith shop) 80 sq. meters, carpentry shop 50 sq. meters. I JUST love to create something …
https://zen.yandex.ru/media/woodythings/vliublen-v-derevo-i-metall-raboty-aleksandra-gannenko-5f435d0a21f7ec0724850b76
And this video, a gift from his grandson for 60 years -

 
#12 ·
I love working with stone -



I have the only car in the world (homemade). It was designed and manufactured by my friend Vasily Zatsepin. In a homemade competition, she took 3rd place in 1991.


I apologize for taking a long time …......
 
#13 ·
What a great story Sasha!!! So everything in that video is hand made? and from the video I am assuming that you or your Grandfather lived in the Northern "Siberian" portions of Russia. Why did you become an animal doctor?

Sorry for all the questions, I am always interested in the way other country's / cultures do things.
 
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