Thread: A lovely article on the makings of a woodworker and a workbench

That's a wonderful story, with the main villain that devilish ex-pathologist and purveyor of all things wooden, Ian (The Extraordinaire) Wilkie. My mate!

Thanks so much Evan

Regards from Perth

Derek

Evan,

That’s a fantastic find, an it was truly a lovely story to read.
Ian will soon find this if not or ready and will be blushing,
Ian top job,

Cheers Matt.

A wonderful story indeed

Geez fellas, all I did was use up a few scraps to reduce my wood-pile in what I thought might be a good cause. I had very limited storage space & a basement workshop barely 3M square, so stuff had to move through quickly. When a work colleague expresses a desire to get into woodworking but doesn't have anything to work on, I saw it as a great opportunity to get rid of some spare wood...

Karen is the one you should expend your praise on, she has taken the ball & run with it, and is now a far better woodworker than I'll ever be (& much more famous!). Apart from being one of the most meticulous woodies I've known, who does some very artful stuff, she's a great person with a strong social conscience & I reckon she's paid that bench forward many times over, particularly helping & encouraging other women to break down the barriers & get into woodworking.

That log cabin workshop of hers is something to behold (& can you imagine dismantling two very old log buildings, labelling each & every log, then dragging them all home & putting them back together?!) It wasn't just a simple exercise in over-sized Lego, either - a lot of the timbers had deteriorated & had to be replaced/remade and the layout wasn't exactly as original, so I believe there was a lot of time spent head-scratching as the work progressed.

I saw the workshop when we visited "the farm" last time I was in Canada. That was quite a while back now & just before it was fully finished. It still needed some insulation & provision for heating (you definitely don't work in an unheated building in an Ottawa valley winter!). We stay in touch so I have had plenty of updates on the 'shop & sundry projects.

But rest assured, about all I did was give some pretty minor initial help & a few words of encouragement, Karen grabbed the ball & kicked all the goals!

Cheers,
Ian

Ian,

I actually saw this first in a tour with Vic Tesolin, where I noticed the angles on her wonderful “little” (but perfectly sized, and clearly perfectly utilised and cared for) workbench had the same stylings as yours, and then she mentioned your name. It was just wonderful to see that article written up and it really shows a person who has found their passion - and you can be so proud that the workbench you built is her spacecraft in which she is exploring the woodworking universe. Her log cabin is just fabulous and shows the effort and dedication and commitment she has put into pursuing her craft.
Bravo!
It’s a delightful read.


Siggy