Woodworking

I'm diving into woodworking trying out a new hobby. Is anyone on here a woodworker ? Or does any one have any funny stories, advice,project ideas ?

So far I have managed to cobble together an anorak chair a nameplate thing with my name carved in it. A little key holder with a slot for mail... a few other small projects like that.

As a hobby: Birdhouse lamps, bread board table tops; garage cabinets; reloading bench; some house cabinets from re-purposed pieces. You can do quite a bit with a decent table saw, router, biscuit joiner, circular saw, drill press, radial arm saw, and a few sanders. Everything cabinetry requires really accurate cuts; you have to check and recheck settings. If you want to get into fine cabinet making you'll need the better equipment and the cost is marginally higher by at least 1/3. The low-end is a drill press repurposed to do mortise and tenon and high-end is dedicated mortise and tenon station. And, the more stations you have the more room you need. Lots of good stuff online. Just have fun.

Joey Cataldie on here is pretty good with wood! He's done some beautiful work, mostly with cypress. His handle is JCcypress.

I have definitely found out the hard way about the importance of keeping a good eye on the angle of my table saw blade. I managed to pick up a full size older used craftsman table saw but the blade tends to walk on me. I'm still trying to find a good deal on used drill press, router table, pocket hole jigs , biscuit joiner. Also in the process of enlarging my wood shop. The previous owner was using it as a horse barn with one large enclosed storage room with 2 horse stalls built onto the side. I plan on pulling down the dividing walls on the stalls and the wall blocking the storage room so I will have a large open area to play =). Still undecided if I'm going to pour concrete into the stalls ... just seems like I could do just fine with a dirt floor and save that money for projects.

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Love to be in my woodshop. I enjoy making nice things out of different types of wood. I think my favorite is the lathe. I love turning wood and creating something different every time, especially bowls.

I have watched videos on YouTube of wood turning it looks very fun. However a lathe is kinda far down the list of things I want to pick up. My father has one that I could use if I had to make something though. I need to head out there and use it sometime just to get some experience with it.

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I think I'm going to try something a little more complex for my next project. I'm thinking of making a small dresser that will fit inside my closet. I think it will be a nice skill building project and it will be inside a closet so there is no reason I couldn't use pine to make it.i definitely don't feel comfortable dumping a whole bunch of money into nice wood on a project like this not knowing if I can make it look good or not.

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Measure twice, cut once, swear profusely!

I did historical reproduction architectural millwork professionally for 8 years, loved every minute of it. My best advice...don't skimp on anything sharp, spend the money for GOOD blades, especially if you want to get into cutting hardwoods. Take the time to learn your machines, and how to properly set up and align them. And most importantly, never get too comfortable around your tools. In our shop it was never the new guys that got hurt, it was the guys that had been doing it long enough to get comfortable and lose respect for the machinery.

My tip would be always know the cut you're making. Set it up properly. I tried to clean up a dado in a small piece one time free hand without the fence. Guess whose knuckle went into the dado blades? Other than scar tissue I'm fine but always think about what you're doing.
That's my canoe.


And one of my few gun related projects

Look up a copy of "The Anarchist's Toolchest" by Christopher Schwarz.

Also go to PBS.com and watch all of "The Woodwright's Shop" that you can stand without becoming one with your couch.

My old lady be working that wood

I have been in wood working most of my life (now 67). One suggestion is that the table saw will be your most valuable tool and will take care of better than 80% of your woodworking needs. The better and more tuned the table saw the better your final project. Older Craftsman table saws with a cast iron table can be tuned pretty good. You can find articles on how to tune a table saw through Google. You will need some machinist measuring instruments, but I've found the cheap Harbor Freight to be sufficient for tuning woodworking machines. Check and adjust everything and make everything as square and aligned as possible, you will thank yourself later with the quality of your work. As for blades, do not skimp, expect to pay ~$100, but they last pretty much a life time for a part time woodworker with a little care and sharpening infrequently (carbide of course). If you become more serious watch for a good used Uni-saw later down the road, I used a Craftsman for a long time then finally ran into a good deal with a Uni-saw, difference like night and day.

Tips on working safely. I did have one accident it was with a table saw, emergency room where a good hand surgeon did a wonderful job of patching, still have numbness, but full function with the tip of that finger. If you are tired stop, if things are not going well stop, learn patience (I had to), you can always stop and come back later. Good work requires sharp tools, so whenever in the shop be alert. You apparently are a shooter, those tools should be handled just like you handle your firearm, and can do just as much damage. There are a lot of things I could suggest and help, but this is getting a little long for a forum, so have fun with your new hobby and be especially careful.