Does Anyone Do Woodworking

[damagi]

[quote="wa2crk"]Hi Gang]

I actually run into that when I do one of my other passions - teaching karate. We have a move that we sometimes call the mayonnaise jar based on the motion. One day a kid mentioned that mayonnaise comes in a squeeze bottle, not a jar. I quickly renamed the move to the pickle jar, since I doubt we will have technology to have squeezable pickles anytime soon

From a younger perspective, I think that one reason I like woodworking is that it gives me a deeper understanding of how things are built and work. Granted, I am an engineer, so its right up my alley. But I think things like woodgears.ca are really great, as well as some of the "hacker spaces" that have sprung up here and there. Basically, embrace movement and technology as a part of embracing the older crafts. Shoot, why not build an awesome computer case out of wood...old and new world join forces

[JPG]

I actually run into that when I do one of my other passions - teaching karate. We have a move that we sometimes call the mayonnaise jar based on the motion. One day a kid mentioned that mayonnaise comes in a squeeze bottle, not a jar. I quickly renamed the move to the pickle jar, since I doubt we will have technology to have squeezable pickles anytime soon

From a younger perspective, I think that one reason I like woodworking is that it gives me a deeper understanding of how things are built and work. Granted, I am an engineer, so its right up my alley. But I think things like woodgears.ca are really great, as well as some of the "hacker spaces" that have sprung up here and there. Basically, embrace movement and technology as a part of embracing the older crafts. Shoot, why not build an awesome computer case out of wood...old and new world join forces

Gee! That oughta let the RFI escape more easily!:D

[wlhayesmfs]

I enjoyed wood shop in Jr High and High school, of course it was mainly hand tools. You learned to put square corner and plan boards with a hand plane. I still have a little wheelbarrow planter I made some 50 years ago setting on a shelf. My father and grandfather were excellent carpenters. I spent most of my younger years adding on to our small home. They saved all year and then would do a add on when we got the money saved up. That home went from a four room house with no basement to a three bedroom, living room, family room and two car garage and full basement while I grew up. I think that had a lot to do with me admiring and liking wood working. Today they either buy the house done or have a remodeler do it.
If we keep an eye on this thread it could be the longest one we have had.

[bikermike81]

I am a young guy (still south of 30 for a couple more months), but I know that many of my interests are more "mature" than many of the people that I know that are my age. One thing I have come to realize in getting into this hobby is that there are a number of factors which fight against it from a young person's traditional perspective:

• Time is a premium. Good quality work takes time...including the practice time to learn the skills before doing the actual project.
• Space is a premium when you are young. This comes into play both in terms of workspaces, but also in terms of transporting and storing materials (ie: I have to borrow a truck when I want to get materials since my mini cooper just can't fit much). Beyond that, having the space to keep the scraps is not as easy when space is tight.
• Money is at a premium. If you are older and established, then you are more likely to have disposable income. Granted, many young people spend fistfulls of cash on electronics and whatnot, but lets face it - woodworking is an expensive hobby. Beyond the cost of tools, the materials can be really pricey.
• Perceived quality is skewed. While IKEA stuff is not really good quality, the cost of putting something together that looks good and is better than what you could get is high - both in terms of time and money. In a situation where people's living situations and preferences are subject to change, its hard to justify the time/effort/expense of doing fine work if you are going to move 10 times before you settle down. In that time you could easily go from big to small to big places. Further, while I know IKEA stuff will fall apart, its hard to justify paying 10-100 times as much after tools and materials for something that looks similar to most people.
• Knowledge is tough to come by. This may seem odd, but its harder than ever to find true knowledge about woodworking. Sure, there are clubs and such. I have had great luck there so far, but its still tough. I have met more than one person who was concerned about doing lessons anywhere other than woodcraft because of liability concerns. As much as you can read online, it takes real experience - not cheap, and not always convenient.

I got into woodworking as an active choice. I am still "getting into it", and fully accept that I have at this point gotten more into tools (specifically shopsmiths) than I have gotten into woodworking. I come from a post-shop-class era (my brother took it, but it was cancelled by the time I got to middle school), and I wasn't lucky enough to be able to get into woodworking and such before my grandpa lost his vision to macular degeneration. It will definitely take time to get good, but I know it will be worth it in the end. Finding time...now thats the real challenge.

my man you hit the nail on the head , time ! while i do move around a bit time is of the essence working a full time plus job and trying to raise a family time is hard to come by. more than a few times in conversation with the wife or co workers i have heard" man i wish there were just a few more hours in the day"

Tools yes they are expensive but i have been getting allot by buying well used tools and refurbishing them if you have the know how scour craigslist hell thats how i got my greenie. As far as materials , well myself i try and salvage as much as i can and save everything about a month ago i found an add on craigslist about free mahogany ! Turns out there was a yacht on this womans property for like ten years and it started to rot and it was too far gone to be sea worthy ever again , so her nephew cut it up for her and i loaded as much of it as i could in the bed of the truck and headed home to comence stripping off all the crap wood and what not. I replaced my front doors to my house not long ago and just realized i saved the old doors and they are in my basement well guess what is going to become an outfeed roller stand you guessed it an otherwise set of doors that could have easily been disposed to the dump.

[ryanbp01]

... Does Anyone Do Woodworking anymore?

I would post some pictures of the stuff that I've done, but a) I really don't think what I have done is nowhere near as good as what I have seen posted and b) every time I've tried, even after I have followed even printed directions it doesn't work. You can try to talk me through it, but unless I see how posting is done, it just won't work for me. I figure I''m really going to "be up the creek without a paddle" when 35mm film is no longer made.

BPR

[ddvann79]

...Shoot, why not build an awesome computer case out of wood...old and new world join forces

I wouldn't consider it awesome and it's not really new anymore but here it is! Courtesy of our friend, Matthias over at Woodgears.

[TH workshop]

I am a young guy (still south of 30 for a couple more months), but I know that many of my interests are more "mature" than many of the people that I know that are my age. One thing I have come to realize in getting into this hobby is that there are a number of factors which fight against it from a young person's traditional perspective:

• Time is a premium. Good quality work takes time...including the practice time to learn the skills before doing the actual project.
• Space is a premium when you are young. This comes into play both in terms of workspaces, but also in terms of transporting and storing materials (ie: I have to borrow a truck when I want to get materials since my mini cooper just can't fit much). Beyond that, having the space to keep the scraps is not as easy when space is tight.
• Money is at a premium. If you are older and established, then you are more likely to have disposable income. Granted, many young people spend fistfulls of cash on electronics and whatnot, but lets face it - woodworking is an expensive hobby. Beyond the cost of tools, the materials can be really pricey.
• Perceived quality is skewed. While IKEA stuff is not really good quality, the cost of putting something together that looks good and is better than what you could get is high - both in terms of time and money. In a situation where people's living situations and preferences are subject to change, its hard to justify the time/effort/expense of doing fine work if you are going to move 10 times before you settle down. In that time you could easily go from big to small to big places. Further, while I know IKEA stuff will fall apart, its hard to justify paying 10-100 times as much after tools and materials for something that looks similar to most people.
• Knowledge is tough to come by. This may seem odd, but its harder than ever to find true knowledge about woodworking. Sure, there are clubs and such. I have had great luck there so far, but its still tough. I have met more than one person who was concerned about doing lessons anywhere other than woodcraft because of liability concerns. As much as you can read online, it takes real experience - not cheap, and not always convenient.

I got into woodworking as an active choice. I am still "getting into it", and fully accept that I have at this point gotten more into tools (specifically shopsmiths) than I have gotten into woodworking. I come from a post-shop-class era (my brother took it, but it was cancelled by the time I got to middle school), and I wasn't lucky enough to be able to get into woodworking and such before my grandpa lost his vision to macular degeneration. It will definitely take time to get good, but I know it will be worth it in the end. Finding time...now thats the real challenge.

there are all true and great points. the biggest thing i see is people old and young that are just turning into the micro wave generation. working with your hands is a dieing art. they say ill just pay someone to do this or that. im only 26 but where are the days where a young person could be under someones wing learning even though they dont have this or that and these or those but taking pride in learning or doing something they can use for the rest of their lives. i learned how to work on older cars by helping someone else take theirs apart and put it back together and i barely had a single tool to my name. now i have a 1980 z28 camaro and its 95% fully restored cuz i learned so much helping someone else on their project.

[terrydowning]

Time management is all about choosing. I choose to spend time in my shop not watching TV. I choose to spend time with my wife or kids and not in the shop. People are only as busy as they choose to be. Days are no shorter now than they once were so it's not time which in our current stae of being is linear and constant regardless of how we perceive it. I never ever buy the excuse "I don't have time" especially from my kids. I would always remind them that they have all the time in the world, they just need to prioritize.

For me woodworking and spending time in my shop is a hobby, and is therefore lower on my priority list. If a project doesn't get done then oh, well, it will be there tomorrow, no rush.

[billmayo]

If anyone is driving to Florida for a vacation this year, set a day or two aside to bring your Shopsmith headstock, SPT, etc. to my shop. I will be happy to show you how to rebuild and test whatever you bring only charging for the replacement parts. I enjoy these times with other Shopsmith owners and find it is a learning time for both of us. Contact me for additional information. Thanks.

[beeg]

GREAT to see that you haven't been swallowed up in a sink hole Bill.