Why do you do it?

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Why do you do it?

  • Love of wood

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Owning/collecting/using Tools

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • DIY/home improvement

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Inspired by TV shows

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Necessity

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Desire to make own furniture

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Desire to turn wood

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Employment

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
A

Anonymous

Guest
Why do you do it?

Thought it might be interesting to find out what motivates members to do what we do.

Was it watching Norm? Newly arrived baby needing cot etc.? New house requiring a 'little' work? Tools? Collecting tools? The beauy of wood?

Well, please let me know if I've missed any options from the poll


For me it was a mixture oif my dad being a chippy, watching norm, loving natural (unpainted) wood and being of a slightly creative nature that needed a physical outlet
 
Nice one Tony
Personally, I wanted to make furniture for the home. Stuff that was well made (like, yeah :roll: ), sized to fit my home and better than the "disposable" flat pack stuff.
Norm is a huge influence on me, giving me insights and confidence in my work. Why WW'ers critisise Him is beyond me-nothing else comes close. Tool envy is my only explanation. :twisted:
Recently, as my skills and toolbox have increased the love of tools themselves has been an increasing enjoyment(like you didn't notice :lol: ) but I'm pleased to say, the therapy is coming along well........
Merry Christmas
Philly :ho2
 
I originaly got into it due to wanting to turn wood. I had creative urges but no outlet for them (I can't draw, I am not musical etc). Turning filled that need very well indeed. :D

From turning, Norm inspired me to branch out into more general woodworking, and although I am still very much a novice, I am having a great time learning! 8)
 
Hi Tony

I saw the owning/collecting tools at zero, so I assume that Philly hasn't voted yet. :lol: :lol:

I'll get my hat and coat.

Sorry Philly, but I just couldn't resist.

Cheers
Neil
 
Partly the making and the need for furniture we could not find in shops. But like Tony I have a need to do something practical with my hands, a love of hand tools (a machine is nice but its just a machine) and now a love of wood and things made of wood in all thier forms :D


Bean ( waffling)
 
Primarily to do something pratical that was away from puters.

Running my own IT company I spend far to many hours slouched over a keyboard and while I love it I realised that I needed something else in my life.

I always wanted to make my own furniture and I suppose watching norm gave me some inspiration to get up and have a go at it.

Glad I did :D

Signal
 
I wanted to vote for most of the categories, they all apply to some extent.
I've always loved wood, I saw the possibilities through watching Norm after an operation, I have made some furniture and my wife would tell you I love tools more than her. Since buying a lathe I am now hoofed on turning and being retired I have more time to play.
 
Newbie_Neil":3jjkrukn said:
Hi Tony

I saw the owning/collecting tools at zero, so I assume that Philly hasn't voted yet. :lol: :lol:

I'll get my hat and coat.

Sorry Philly, but I just couldn't resist.

Cheers
Neil


Clearly neither has Alf :lol:

I'll join you with me coat!
 
Tony":rtkcr5c9 said:
Newbie_Neil":rtkcr5c9 said:
I saw the owning/collecting tools at zero, so I assume that Philly hasn't voted yet. :lol: :lol:
Clearly neither has Alf :lol:

I'll join you with me coat!
Yes I have.
tounge.gif
But acquiring a wide range of tools from which to choose came long after I'd got the wood bug. I voted "for the love of wood", but it'd be more accurate to say "for the love of working wood". Yes, I am a user!

Cheers, Alf
 
My choice for why I started isn't really in the list -- I love the artistic beauty of wood and what it becomes after being worked -- although ongoing pursuit falls in the areas of building my own furniture, DIY, and simply the love of wood.
The artistic pursuit is still there. I'm in a group exhibiting at 3 art shows next year in the Surrey/Hants area, this time with art for VIP's - Visually Impaired People. Wood is ideal for that as people do want to touch it, whereas they've been brought up to 'not touch art' and persuading them to do just that is a really tough cultural barrier to break down.
 
It probably started with my dad being able to make something out of nearly nothing (shortages after WWII).
Later with a young family some serious DIY was needed to get a house furnished as we wanted it.
Somewhere in the middle of my career I started to make small furniture as diversion.
Some years ago, while on holiday in Wales, my host introduced me to woodturning. It is a way of working with wood that gives a creative freedom within the bounds of technical limits that seems to fit perfectly to me.

When choosing just one item from the voting list, I think it has to be the first.

Hans
 
As a child I was lucky enough to have a family friend who had a workshop full of wonderful tools. Most where too dangerous for an 11 year old to use but with some persuasion I was allowed to use the lathe once a week in return for mowing his lawn, I caught the bug and 20 years on I still love it. So I guess childhood curiosity was the start quickly followed by the desire to turn.

cd
 
For me it all started with DIY/home improvement, then progressed into a hobby and now provides additional income as well as remaining my main hobby.
 
it's kinda hard to deny how I got started when Norm's router table dominates my shop.. the why's a bit more difficult to explain..

Having made everything I set out to when I first started, I guess I could stop.... only.... I get more out of it than just the finished item...

No need to explain that here I'm guessing... most of you will know where I'm coming from...
 
Although I have been turning for many years I really enjoy the work I'm doing, it's never a problem opening the workshop doors in a morning. From spending time designing the piece, to selecting the timber, right through the process. Being paid for doing something you want to be doing sometimes doesn't feel right.

As most of my work is sold through galleries, I also enjoy exhibiting at the larger designer fairs, meeting the general public, answering their questions and listening to their comments. Probably best of all, watching their faces when I've seen them admiring a piece and passing it them to hold and examine.

CC
 
My interest from wood began when i was a wee nipper watching my dad make things down the shed,
and seeing what furniture he brought home from work,
and him picking me up from school to go with him back to work in the afternoon,
with his colleague, this was when he was kitchen and bathroom fitting, and i was very happy whittling away some wood with a gouge or chisel,
but he made me promise to never take it up as a career,
well some 10 years later here i am working with him!
i guess the love of working with it never went away,
i was just focusing my attention on other career paths,
but now, i wouldnt have changed it for anything,
and i have to say since joining this forum, im now sliding down the slippery path... :lol: :lol:
 
Its not that I'm indecisive but I actually want to tick all options:

I love wood and working with it

I love owning tools and using them (I don't feel the urge to collect the just to stare at them ....yet)

I'm doing up our 18th C home

Some TV shows have inspired me (Norm, David Free etc) and some have annoyed me into action (Changing rooms etc)

Its a necessity (Because its now my job)

I desire to make my own furniture (but I keep having to sell it - see above)

Actually don't have much urge to turn wood - something to develop!

Employment - well it keeps me busy if not rich.

T
 
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