A
Anonymous
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Not sure if this is 'general' of 'off topic' but the moderators can move it if needs be.
Sorin's question prompted me to think about my own 'history' with woodwork as I only really got into it big time later in life - actually when I was laid off during the recession and I had to make some money somehow! I was 45 and hadn't really done anything serious with wood since first year grammar school in 1959 when we had one term of woodwork followed by one term of metalwork. I'd done the usual putting up shelves and assembling flatpack stuff, but no real starting with a piece of wood and creating something.
In 1993 I was unemployed in the USA and there's no hope for Brits in the US consulting scene when there's a recession, neither is there much in the way of unemployment or welfare benefits, so I did a lot of other things. One of them was to take up woodwork because I'd been inspired by Norm Abrahms on NYC and by This Old House (we bought an old New Englander that needed fixing up - badly). Yes, good ol' Norm! Still wish I had his workshop, which was actually only 10 minutes down the road from where we lived in Lexington, MA. Well concealed and you'd never know it was there...
I took a course with a master carpenter in Maryland to learn about power tools and techniques and spent $300 on a table saw (still running to this day - a Delta cabinet model). The first big item I made was a wedding box for my step-daughter's wedding (see the website for pic) and that was it, I was hooked. The techniques came in useful in fixing up the house, and I even set up a little office business making desktops, putting up shelves etc - even made a bit of money!
In the mid 90's I was elected to the Woodworker's Guild in Lexington. I spent a lot of time trying to make joints that you couldn't see, mostly on fancy boxes using different types, and colours, of wood. They all sold, which was very encouraging. I've made furniture, trivets, fancy boxes, all sorts of stuff. I've used my skill as a carpenter to rebuild the bedroom wing in our bungalow to make it 3 beds and an en suite instead of 2; I rebuilt the old garages outside and made them into my workshop; now I'm taking some small commissions inbetween my consulting work (I'm a full time management consultant and travel all over the world).
Most recently I've joined the local artists group, Borderlands Artists Consortium, and found this forum. BAC are mostly painters and printmakers, but there has to be room for some 3D art and next year I plan to build pieces to exhibit/sell in their shows. Artistry and functionality in wood...
Sorin's question prompted me to think about my own 'history' with woodwork as I only really got into it big time later in life - actually when I was laid off during the recession and I had to make some money somehow! I was 45 and hadn't really done anything serious with wood since first year grammar school in 1959 when we had one term of woodwork followed by one term of metalwork. I'd done the usual putting up shelves and assembling flatpack stuff, but no real starting with a piece of wood and creating something.
In 1993 I was unemployed in the USA and there's no hope for Brits in the US consulting scene when there's a recession, neither is there much in the way of unemployment or welfare benefits, so I did a lot of other things. One of them was to take up woodwork because I'd been inspired by Norm Abrahms on NYC and by This Old House (we bought an old New Englander that needed fixing up - badly). Yes, good ol' Norm! Still wish I had his workshop, which was actually only 10 minutes down the road from where we lived in Lexington, MA. Well concealed and you'd never know it was there...
I took a course with a master carpenter in Maryland to learn about power tools and techniques and spent $300 on a table saw (still running to this day - a Delta cabinet model). The first big item I made was a wedding box for my step-daughter's wedding (see the website for pic) and that was it, I was hooked. The techniques came in useful in fixing up the house, and I even set up a little office business making desktops, putting up shelves etc - even made a bit of money!
In the mid 90's I was elected to the Woodworker's Guild in Lexington. I spent a lot of time trying to make joints that you couldn't see, mostly on fancy boxes using different types, and colours, of wood. They all sold, which was very encouraging. I've made furniture, trivets, fancy boxes, all sorts of stuff. I've used my skill as a carpenter to rebuild the bedroom wing in our bungalow to make it 3 beds and an en suite instead of 2; I rebuilt the old garages outside and made them into my workshop; now I'm taking some small commissions inbetween my consulting work (I'm a full time management consultant and travel all over the world).
Most recently I've joined the local artists group, Borderlands Artists Consortium, and found this forum. BAC are mostly painters and printmakers, but there has to be room for some 3D art and next year I plan to build pieces to exhibit/sell in their shows. Artistry and functionality in wood...