John Steffen @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community

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218 posts in 3475 days

Location: Farmington, IL
Website:

I'm 29 years old from Central Illinois.

My father is a blacksmith/millwright but I was never really interested in any of that growing up. I was always more into video games and computers. That lead to me getting a degree in Computer Science. I'm currently employed as a Software Architect, but constantly find myself wishing I had gone for Mechanical Engineering or something a bit more tangibly rewarding.

I recently purchased my first home. It's a 1917 American Foursquare that's still in fairly good shape. Seeing all of the nice woodwork in this house made me want to learn more about woodworking. As I've researched it over the past six months I've decided that it's a hobby that interests me a great deal. It doesn't hurt that my lady finds it less undesireable than any of my other, nerdier hobbies.

I'm working on setting up shop in the third stall of my garage. I'm going to build a wall and insulate it, most likely getting a wood burner to heat it during the winter months. I've ordered some tools from Grizzly and picked up some other things locally. My limited budget meant I had to sell my car (still have my truck) to fund my purchases.

I look forward to learning a lot and sharing my progress here at LJ.

Cheers,

-- Big John's Woodshed - Farmington, IL

Latest Activity | view all »

commented on	Ever have a day ,U don't feel U don't get a thing done	09-18-2010 05:18 AM
commented on	Hoarders on A&E (episode: Lori/ Jo)	09-14-2010 02:44 PM
replied on	Paypal blues	09-11-2010 04:35 PM
commented on	Let's whisper with the Wood Whisperer	09-11-2010 04:58 AM
commented on	Marble Tower	09-10-2010 06:59 PM
commented on	Introducing CreativeHands Network!	09-07-2010 10:14 PM
commented on	TV stand shelf	09-06-2010 09:42 PM
replied on	Gun show tomorrow and I need a new handgun	09-04-2010 07:54 AM
commented on	COMPLETED ELECTRIC GUITAR	09-03-2010 06:32 PM
commented on	wooden macbook	09-02-2010 03:54 AM
replied on	Joining two MDF slabs, face to face, and getting it flat	09-01-2010 04:26 PM
replied on	Like a Kid in a Candy shoppe... :)	08-31-2010 12:24 PM
commented on	Clown toothpick holder	08-29-2010 11:07 PM
replied on	grizzmans new look	08-29-2010 01:22 AM
commented on	A short introduction....	08-28-2010 09:34 PM

What's this?

Latest Projects | view all 1 »

Latest Blog Entries | view all 8 »

Garage Workshop Transformation #2: The Ultimate Tool Stand

07-19-2010 04:15 PM by John Steffen

As evidenced in my first post in this series, I have a severe lack of organization in my garage/shop. Two weekends ago I threw up some shelves with my ‘chop saw’ (that’s for you Don) so we could get my soon-to-be wife’s si...

11200 reads | 7 comments | Continue reading »
Garage Workshop Transformation #1: A Loooong Way To Go

04-26-2010 04:03 AM by John Steffen

Today marks a good day to start documenting my garage’s change into a work space. My table saw finally arrived. It has been sitting in my dad’s machine shop for a few months. While it was there he built a rolling base for it. My da...

2326 reads | 11 comments | Continue reading »
Sketch This! #4: Ottoman/Coffee Table

02-03-2010 06:06 PM by John Steffen

While I’m not one for sitting on the couch too often, I’m inclined to watch a couple shows during the week with my lady (if I don’t watch TV with her at least one or two night a week she gets grumpy). And then there’s Sund...

4885 reads | 6 comments | Continue reading »
Plywood as Flooring

01-31-2010 04:59 PM by John Steffen

I’ve been weighing plywood floor as an option for the main floor of my home (and possibly the second floor and even attic when I finish it). And I was even more inspired by AllorNoThumbs project here: http://lumberjocks.com/projects/27373 ...

56824 reads | 11 comments | Continue reading »
Sketch This! #3: Booth

01-25-2010 05:34 PM by John Steffen

I’ve always really liked the idea of having a booth or booths in my home that would be separate from the dining room and used more regularly as a breakfast nook, or a place to study or just to have more room when we have family over for the ...

1807 reads | 7 comments | Continue reading »

13 comments so far

Max home \| projects \| blog 56000 posts in 4693 days #1 posted 01-13-2010 07:00 PM	Glad to see that you have made Lumberjocks a part of your Woodworking experience… *Welcome* -- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT
SnowyRiver home \| projects \| blog 51458 posts in 3900 days #2 posted 01-13-2010 07:07 PM	Welcome aboard. Nice to have you join us on Lumberjocks. -- Wayne - Plymouth MN
woodworm home \| projects \| blog 14471 posts in 4010 days #3 posted 01-13-2010 07:33 PM	Welcome to Lumberjocks! -- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.
Scott Bryan home \| projects \| blog 27250 posts in 4242 days #4 posted 01-13-2010 09:20 PM	Let me welcome you to LJs. I am sure that you will find being a member of this group to be an interesting, as well as exciting, experience. Have fun and enjoy. -- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine
Splinterman home \| projects \| blog 23074 posts in 3781 days #5 posted 01-14-2010 12:05 AM	WELCOME to LJ’s ….the best place to enhance your woodworking skills and knowledge.
Bureaucrat home \| projects \| blog 18341 posts in 4072 days #6 posted 01-14-2010 03:35 AM	Welcome to Lumber Jocks! This is a great place to get – or give – advice about woodworking on the forums and the project posts are a wonderful source of new ideas. I love this site, I hope you will enjoy it too. Look forward to seeing your projects and posts. -- Gary D.
a1Jim home \| projects \| blog 117655 posts in 3997 days #7 posted 01-14-2010 03:39 AM	Welcome to LJs a place were there are great people,super projects and outstanding woodworkers.Enjoy
Karson home \| projects \| blog 35193 posts in 4820 days #8 posted 01-14-2010 11:04 PM	Welcome to LumberJocks. Glad to have you aboard. † -- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Appomattox Virginia [email protected] †
ND2ELK home \| projects \| blog 13495 posts in 4194 days #9 posted 01-15-2010 05:13 AM	Welcome to Lumberjocks. The projects are an inspiration, the information is priceless and the people are supportive. The only problem is, the site can get addictive. God Bless tom -- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa
Gary home \| projects \| blog 9398 posts in 3853 days #10 posted 01-15-2010 07:03 AM	Welcome to the site. Glad you found us…enjoy -- Gary, DeKalb Texas only 4 miles from the mill
cabinetmaster home \| projects \| blog 10874 posts in 3978 days #11 posted 01-15-2010 04:06 PM	Welcome to LJ’s. We are here to help you with your woodworking endeavors. Feel free to ask for advise. But Be aware…this site can be very addictive…………LOL -- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps
WistysWoodWorkingWonders home \| projects \| blog 12785 posts in 3577 days #12 posted 01-25-2010 07:30 AM	Hi there, I too am somewhat new to LumberJocks and would like to welcome you to the site. The folks here are great and the projects will absolutely blow your mind. There are some very talented people out there… Sit back, enjoy the ride and be careful, this site is extremely addictive… Welcome to LJ Wisty -- New Project = New Tool... it's just the way it is, don't fight it... :)
davidroberts home \| projects \| blog 1027 posts in 3906 days #13 posted 03-21-2010 06:49 PM	A man who would sell his car to buy tools. That that’s the kind of guy you can believe in! You da man. -- Better woodworking through old hand tools.

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John Steffen