Thread: The story so far.......

Adam,
Sucked in, you haven't even contemplated what you need now you have entered the real of wood.

Have a look at the stuff some of the guys in here, Derek has more planes than the worlds airforces combined.

Sturdee buys orange paint in 220L drums for his jigs.


and thats just for starter. They still have a wish list longer than your arm, what hope is there for the rest of us, just starting out.

Welcome aboard, here you will find all the help and advice needed to avoid nails in your M & T's again.

Adam,
Welcome to another Perth woody. What a way to start - taking some near sh*t boards and making a table.
Looks like you have been bitten by the woodworking bug so watch out bank balance.
Look forward to seeing your pictures.

Had to get around the posting Nazi word killer for that one!You Didn't

Indeed, the bank balance is hurting.

Especially considering the new mortgage and little babylefty who should be arriving in a few months. Forget routers and planes, it'll be change tables, prams and nappies for me.

When I said "thats it for now" I didnt mean that's all I need I meant that's it for this post,

With regards to the collections of some other ppl, it seems that my age, or lack thereof is ahem....unsual.

On a trip to Timbecon on the weekend I swear I was the only guy there under fifty. This is the way I see it:

All the older/richer/retired guys who have the time and money to get into WW and then theres the youngun newbies like me who log on, looking to become masters. I'd like to know just how many hang on and actually end up making some nice stuff?

One final question. In order to
- Impress SWMBO (and get more funding)

- Improve my skills with planes (I'm one of those strange ppl who love planing an old board at 11pm with no particular proejct in mind)

-Get some easier project under my belt.

I'm plannign on making a few chopping boards with cast iron handles for Xmas presents.

The question? Where do I get Waney edge boards in Perth. And how much do they cost approx? Given they were selling these boards for $150 in Margaret river....................
I asked the guy at the margaret river gallery and he sort of smirked and avoided the Q

Back to work
Thanks
Adam

Welcome Adam

There's a place in Landsdale on Gnangara rd that sells wide rough sawn planks straight from the tree. I don't know the name of the place but it is a large yard selling mainly fire wood. I've never dared ask the price mind you.

There's also a new yard just up the road on the other side that sells recycled timber. while you're in the area Bills machinery is a fascinating place to wonder around, never know what you might find.

I also feel young when in Carbatech but now I’m approaching 40 I think that’s just an illusion, policemen look much younger than they used to as well

Cheers Dave

So, you were that young bloke in Timbecon at the weekend. Everyone was wondering what you were doing in there!

Welcome aboard, Adam. If you decide to join us all (the Sandgroper contingent, that is) at the Perth WW Show in August, you'll be welcome there too. We'll be easy to identify. We're the group of middle-aged blokes.

Col

Indeed Col,
The one thing I've learnt pretty fast is to go to Timbecon/Carbatec on the way home from work during the week.

They have the time then to give you all the advice you need (He spoke to me for 1/2 and hour on how to install a vise)

Whereas on teh weekend they scarcely have to time to open the cabinets for you, due to the proliferation of middle aged blokes.

!

Adam

Woodworking on the whole doesn't seem to be a young person's game. I'm 34 and notice from visits to most of the woodworking shows, suppliers and other woodie haunts that I'm in the lower end of the age demographic.

I did a survey on the rec.woodworking newsgroup in '01, and from 85 responses I came up with an average age of 47.47 years.

It's interesting to ponder why this is the case. Are the younger generation less interested in practical "life skills" like woodworking, or do the companion traits for woodworking (patience, self discipline etc) simply kick in at a later age ?


Justin.

I think that patience etc has much to do with it but, feel it also has a lot to do with more disposable income and more free time (families left home etc).

Personally I have been a keen woodworker since my early teens, I've had plenty of other hobbies but always seem to come back to woodworking.

I married young and we owned (well the bank did) our first house at the age of 17, it was necessary to save every penny and woodwork became part of that

We've saved heaps of money over the years and my tools very quickly return their initial cost, as a result SWMBO puts up little resistance to my buying "yet another" tool.

I have with very few exceptions made every item of furniture in this and every previous house.

Are manual art (metal working and woodworking) taught in schools these days?

Cheers

Dave

yes they do.

i am 16 and i build furniture from recycled jarrah. im finishing off a coffee table now and im getting wood ready for and office desk that i am building next.

If u can save some money buy a jointer and thicknesser, then u can build projects very cheaply. u can dress and type of wood u wont and get wood from salvage yards and dress it.

I build all my furniture from rough 3x2, 4x2, 6x2, 10x2 and floorboards and i have never bought any jarrah.

Welcome aboard LineLefty and thanks for taking me back more than 25 years.

Like you I only had cheap and nasty tools when I first started mucking around with wood in the carport of the rented house. Not even walls!

I too had a young family and the budget didn't allow me to buy tools. Working a second job on the weekends killed leisure time besides I had to keep repairing that old car.

Time goes on and now the kids are educated and the house paid off. I am about to build a new shed because the 8m X 3m is too small for my woodwork. I spend heaps on tools (mainly really good hand tools) and I spend most of my weekends in my shed doing woodwork.

It is easy to become disillusioned with the cheap and nasty tools and having to put up with second rate reject timber. I am hoping my brief story spanning 25 years of woodwork gives you the encouragement to keep going with this wonderful craft.

Keep going, you will have no regrets.


- Wood Borer

Hmmm....

I started woodwork when my Grandfather tried to teach me a few things about banging nails & cutting things out of wood. Unfortunately in those days I was nick-named ' Lightning' - never struck twice in the same place - couldn't even make decent firewood.

Then about 25 years ago I got interested in Mediaeval re-enactments & found myself doing a fair bit of blacksmithing & armour making. I found my hand-eye co-ordination had improved somewhat & I could hit things with a hammer without hitting my fingers most of the time )

That lasted to around 2000 when my wheels fell off ( However I find the design skills I picked up from metal bashing to be invaluable & I rarely use published plans - just pictures & some dimensional data to plan my projects - keep a note book!

I have found that I can just about manage woodbutchering these days if I don't push myself too hard. I use a mix of power tools & hand tools depending on the task - I can recommend a nice Lee Valley hand plane or two, as well a some chisels & a 'Japanese' pattern saw.

I wish you all the best, specially with the new addition coming. Think baby furniture. Gates for doorways in the house are a good idea for keeping rug rats where you want them & giving SWMBO a break too.

Baby furniture hmmm,

Thats the trick isnt it. Make something to impress, which justifies the purchase of new tools.

A Lee Valley Plane may have to come later. I think a HNT Gordon one is the go. They're only around $150 and they look fantastic.

Went shopping at Big W last night and they had a router for $48.99. I couldnt believe that price! It was a little 500W GMC 1/4inch thingy. Ridiculous. There's no way I'm making that mistake again.

Thanks for all the discussion, The pictures of the hand nailed M&T joint table will be a few days off, I wasnt happy with the top so I planed the finish off and I'm smoothing it out again.

After this project I'll spend a few months liesurely snazzying up the workshop and workbench learning things as I go. (Attachign a new vise to a steel workbench will be a challenge)

Take it (q)easy

LL

Hi

Originally posted by LineLefty
Attaching a new vise to a steel workbench will be a challenge

It shouldn't be too hard. I installed a ww vice to my steel tube frame workbench. The location was previously the home of the 100mm engineers vice.

Let me know if you want pics.

(have to find a new home for the engineers vice now)

Regards

Peter

baby furniture ideas -

high chair which converts into a low chair+table. My mum bought me one of these dating probably from the 40s or 50s when my son was little. I sold it for about twice what she paid for it because it was so much nicer than the equivalent plastic ones.

gates for kitchen doorway - good idea - just make sure the spacing is right for the rails ( don't want to have to saw the little blighter free when his/her head gets jammed )... ditto with cot rails.

low chair. i've still got the one that was made for me when I was little, my son has used it, one day perhaps a grandchild will use it.

changing table ( though to be honest I reckon you're better off using the floor - they can't fall off of that )

coat racks to be mounted at child height ( bring em up to hang up their clothes ) )

I wonder if ages of women who do woodwork is different to that for guys. Don't know if it was the case here in Oz but in my school we weren't allowed to do woodwork or metalwork ( why would we ever need to ... isn't that what our husbands would be for ... ) so I only came to it when I bought my first home and I'm still a total amateur ... which means plenty of room for improvement My son and I made a table over christmas so at least he's getting a bit of an early start.