New Member

Greetings all. New member here. Originally from Wisconsin but currently living in Columbus, OH. Ive kind of caught the woodworking bug since my wife and I bought a house last summer.
It started out with building a work bench for my garage, then I made a box for holding all of my flags (I have various flags for my favorite sports teams, as well as an American flag and a Wisconsin state flag). Most recently I made a couple barstools for the bar in out dining room and a rack for all of my rakes, shovels and brooms in the garage.
When spring gets here, my wife wants me to make her a bunch of outdoor furniture: adirondak chairs, a bench, etc.
My no means am I a great or even good woodworker but Ive certainly improved from when I made my work bench. Ive learned a lot about accurate cutting, how to connect joints with screws (including learning how to do pocket holes and the value of drilling pilot holes), how to use clamps and make everything square, how to sometimes use wood glue instead of metal fasteners, sanding (I actually quite enjoy sanding) and how to apply stains and finishes (my finishes greatly improved when I learned that stain is stain, not paint).
Thus far, Ive always been a power tool guy but lately Ive learned the joy of using hand tools. I find myself more and more reaching for hand tools instead of power tools. For Christmas, my wife bought me a Stanley chisel set and Ive been messing around with them and its been quite fun. I now find myself looking at other hand tools. I want to pick up a back saw for doing precise work and a couple hand planers. I currently just use my belt sander with there are surface imperfections and had considered picking up a power planer but now I think that I want a hand planer instead. I also recently picked up a bit brace and an egg beater drill.
I want to continue to improve my skills and learn more traditional techniques, instead of just putting everything together with wood screws. I told my wife the other day that I want to start putting things together with as few metal fasteners as possible and instead doing dowels and wood glue. I also want to learn how to do finger joints, dovetails and tenons but that stuff is a little bit beyond my ability right now.