Thread: 'nother newbie

Hello all
I am recently returned to Oz from the UK and have set up house in a derelict cottage (or more accurately in the caravan behind the derelict cottage) in Tassie. It's a nice place but built of baltic pine so getting the right bits and bobs in the right material is proving a challenge and so I am turning to my woodoworking skills to solve the problems. I have at least identified a source of baltic pine, so it is more a matter of turning the sizes I can get into the sizes I want that is a challenge.

Most of my tools are en route from the UK still so I have been on a bit of a buying spree for the necessaries for the job in hand. This has led to a need to avoid duplicating what is coming while ensuring I have what I need. Apart from a new handsaw, and some cheap chisels for putty-removal I have managed to do that so far and have been having a splendid time running up bills in hardware stores. Am just about fully equipped (well, once my stuff gets here) but still don't have a workshop so am using the house for that purpose at present (leaving the lino on the floor to protect the boards). The lack of a workbench is a problem that I hope to solve soonish, but not till my stuff arrives so I can stow it at one end of the shipping container and set up my workshop at the other end. In the mean time I am making do with a couple of saw benches and a 44gallon drum when I want things closer to eye level. Oh, and a collapsible laminex table that came with the house and is useful for laying out things like window frames ...

I am terribly rusty with my woodworking skills having been stuck in desk-based jobs for some time and so am relying on your expertise and knowledge to alert me to opportunities and solutions that I may not know exist, or if they do, have not considered applying them to the particular challenge.

You might think - but why doesn't she join the renovation forum - stupid woman? Well, basically because much of what I am doing is repairing existing fittings, constructing new mantlepieces and such so I feel it is more in the lines of woodwork/furniture restoration than actual renovation. That latter activity will come along once i have the plans drawn up and approved by council.