How did you learn woodworking?

Glad this thread popped up to the top again, gives me a chance to get to know backgrounds from the names I see every day. Here is a short version of my sawdust trail. I got my first taste of woodworking in Jr High shop class in 1965. Unlike my daughters “tech-ed” class today with a few anemic band saws and a hobby belt sander, we had serious industrial grade woodworking machines in our school shops back then. My first 7th grade project was a simple rectangular walnut cutting board. I proudly took it home, and it became the family cutting board of choice. Forty years later, my Dad is still using that very cutting board almost daily. You can just barely make out of couple of the letters of my name I stamped on the side with 1/4 inch letter set. Throughout the years wherever I lived I always had basic hand tools, an electric drill and some form of workbench. Even when we lived in a trailer for 8 years I converted one of the "rooms" into a (very) small shop, but used it mostly for rebuilding VW engines and such. However I didn’t start working wood seriously until 1987 when I finally had enough space to do that. A 23 x 29 ft basement. 20 years of upgrading and constantly re-arranging and I finally have things to where I want them (sortof). No formal training other than high school woodshop, but that was 38 years ago. Like most folks here, I learned by reading reading and more reading... and making LOTS of mistakes, and I continue to learn that way.

Well my dad was an english major with his major hobbies involving books, crosswords (in Ink mind you), and electronics (remember Heathkit and Bell& Howell), so I didn't get much inspiration from him regarding building stuff. My inspiration came from my uncles and my grandfather, which bolstered by a few drafting and shop classes helped me get to going.

While in the military I got back to the states and bought a house and began to do some stuff(Deck, chair railing, and crown moulding), but my wife (now my ex wife) didn't approve any larger tool expenditures, thus hampering progress and sending me into remission if you will.

Now remarried, things have changed and my hobbies are allowed to flourish as I take on projects like a kitchen remodel, Pergola, concrete countertops, and currently working on a crib for my new baby boy due this month. This site (and its members), along with many magazines and books are helping me build the skills that I get to practice in the course of these projects.

However there is no substitute for getting out there and making some sawdust... Everybody's shop, tools and skill vary thus making it an adventure every time. I almost have my wife broken of asking how long it will take to do X, as most of the projects are new to me, thus taking longer to figure out.

Carl B

Dad

As a youngster (3,4,5) I was only allowed to use "used" boards and nails for my projects. I learned early how to straighten nails and drive bent nails. I can't tell you how many times my mom had to walk me to the doctor for tetnas shots from stepping on nails. I took shop in school and learned some. My Dad liked to putts around and my grandfather gave us his lathe, when he couldn't use it any more.

As others have posted, the art to woodworking comes from trial and error. I have created many disaterous mistakes and tried to correct them. I'm still learning.

My Grandpa did ww, my dad did ww, so I had to do ww. I hated it at school, but that was most probably because I had the most useless teacher. I didn't know how to make sqaure marks (I don't know what it is called in English) on the sides after planning and what it was used for. When I left school I played rugby which kept me busy, and after a knee injure I had to stop. Looking for a hobby I started playing with wood, and now I'm hooked.

Ace I too had a Grandfather for you (Oupa) and a father that did working. But the thing that got me hooked was actually at school. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to be taught, woodworking and metal working or Industrial Arts as the subject was called, by a few gentleman in good facilities at a pretty rough public school. Hey Ace they were both Afrikaans chaps at an English Highschool. (This is a crazy comment only South Africans can understand the history of).
These guys bought really good wood called Kiaat. Each year of my high school career, we tackled more and more complex projects. I still have some of these pieces of furniture. We learnt all the basic joints, how to join and smooth two boards together and then how to turn on the lathe (which until a few days ago when I was reminded of this by a another post on this forum I had forgotten).

Our projects were starting out a money box. With simple but joints and a hole and a bit of plexiglass( we called it perspex) thrown in.
Next year a truned lamp for which we had to laminate wood for both the base and the post and turn it down and put a hole in the base to mount the post.
Next year a serving tray with dovetail joints in the corners.
Next Year a small side table with a design in the top laminated boards cut out on the band saw and tennon joints for the shaped legs.
Final Year the mother of all projects was a complete telephone table and draw. This consisted of table top, and padded seat and under the table top the draw for the phone book. (does anyone use these today?). The frame for the telephone table was a series of flat 5/8 x 2" wood layed flat and dovetailed at the corner uprights of the same material. This project was a culmination of all we had been taught with a little pressure added in to increase the work output in a specific time period.

Man the sense of satisfaction we got from all these projects and we did the majority of work by hand with chisels and hand planes. We had the machinery but we not allowed to use it as part of the course. (Old School).

Between this and my Dads tinckering around the house mostly DIY and shop cabinets, I got hooked.

But my Dad did something else. He bought a machine the likes of which do not exist today. It was called a EMCO Star. More importantly he let me use this machine starting at the age of around 12/13. He did not give me much training and left me to it.

Now the Emco Star had everything in one. Bit like the shop smith but only more the size of the mini sears bandsaws.

It had a disc sander, belt sander, table saw, coping saw, lathe, thickener or plane as it is called in North America, jointer, bandsaw all built into one.

My favorite was the bandsaw and up to today I still have this romance with the band saw yet most frequently use my table saw.

So between my school teachers and my Dads workshop I came to woodworking.

Now this paragraph is deliberately written for those who live in the developed world or even more specifically North America.

You have very little awareness as to just how luckly we are to live in a part of the world where Maple, Oak and Poplar to mention just a few woods, are in such abundance that the price even though we think it is high is affordable. Heck we burn the stuff here around camp fires.

Secondly while we all haggle, debate and research the best price of machinery, I would not have even progressed my hobby in woodworking past DIY if I had to buy the tools I have now in the currency of South Africa. The market size in South Africa for these tools is so small and the landed price when converted to local currency Rands is so high that it amazes me that there are woodworkers with shops in South Africa. I am sure Uys will agree with me when I say it is not a common thing for many Male South Africans to have a table saw or band saw let alone a jointer and others.

So I have to add the third element that got me into Woodworking as a hobby has to be the fact that whilst not cheap or free, coming to Canada has made it possible and I thank all Canadians for allowing this to happen.

Thats my long story.

I'd have to say learning woodworking is a continuous process for me. My dad is a retired machinist - a very inventive and active guy. His approach to woodworking was generally very utilitarian. Growing up, the workshop was the most fascinating place in the house. There was always something great going on down there. My brothers and sisters and i couldn't help but pick up the basics.
I always had one foot in the water and got more and more involved with woodworking as i went through college and grad school, building architectural models and my own furniture designs.
With all the commitments that come with having a 9-5, two young kids, a wife, and a 92 year old house, i'm developing my skills mostly through books, forums like this, and a lot of trial and error. There are a couple of other woodworkers i know, and we share our experiences and dilemmas.
Paul Hubbman

Jeff H.,

I had a similar experience but it was my own mother who asked the question, "How did you learn to do all this?". I've think part of it relates to the way I always kinda got mechanical things. Mom re-told a story about how she bought me some shoes (PF Flyers) and there was a small build-yourself toy that came with it. Salesman told me that my mother could help me build it when we got home. My mother spoke up and told the salesman, "shoot, he'll have it together before we get to the car". Woodworking seems to be an extension of that, to some degree, at least for me. No formal training, but lots of reading magazines and books on the subject at hand and watching those who were good at woodworking do their thing whether on TV, VHS, DVD or in person. I've had a blast making flat projects and fairly recently adding on the spinny stuff. Hope to keep learning new skills as long as I'm around.

I did take one semester of shop in high school. The only thing I remember building is a Mahogany phone stand. Mom liked it. I remember using Deft as the finish. Other than that, I have no memories of the tools or how I built the thing.
Other than helping Dad with carpentry projects at the lake house, I'm learning one wrongly cut board at a time. Usually one right after the other. Jim.

Almost six years ago I went from 20 acres to a two bedroom apt. I was going stir crazy and friend at work who does fabulous furniture said " You ought to turn pens on a lathe." and I said "Errr, ok, how exactly does that work?" He told me and I went to Woodcraft and , decided that carving would be cheaper. Found out that my brain doesn't come up with carving ideas and my hands didn't like working after I got home from work. A month or so later I went to WC and said "I want a lathe and what ever comes with it." John was gracious and honest enough to say that I only needed a skew, parting tool, and a spindle gouge to get going. I've been at it ever since.