How did you get your start?

[Joe Shinall]

Ok, so I'm bored and enjoy everyone's conversation on here. I've always wondered how everyone got into woodworking.

My story:

Been handy all my life, come from a family of DIY'ers. Mainly because we were broke and had to do it ourselves. Everything from home repair to car repair. I built my first engine at 11. Put up my first sheet of drywall at 12.

One day about 2 years ago I wanted a new entertainment center but couldnt find one to fit my 50" tv without paying a grand! Went to borg and bought some birch ply and oak for face frame and with a circular saw, some c clamps, and a one of the boards for a straight edge I made my cuts. Needed a way of joining them so I bought my first piece of woodworking tools. A Kreg jig and wood glue.

Never saw or knew how to build something like a cabinet, I just looked at my kitchen cabinets and saw how they did the face frame and went from there. Built the middle of the center to house the tv and was going to do bookcases for each side. Still working on that (2 years later), but that's another story. My avatar is of me sitting inside of that piece. I tried to stain it and screwed it up of course, so I ended up painting it black and I just put some molding on it this week to try and make it look not so boxy and plain. I am now getting around to starting those bookcases.

Anyways, I had so much fun I started Googleing woodworking stuff like crazy everyday. I found this site and saw that a UniSaw was a great tool and found a great deal on one and bought it. Let's just say it's all down hill from there. I'm a self taught, self screw up, woodworker now and would never have it any other way.

So what's your story?

[Josiah Bartlett]

My dad built a log home when I was 3 years old and I got to play with all the scraps. When I was a teenager and I wanted an electric guitar I made one. I found a Delta contractor's saw at a yard sale when I was 16 and dragged it home and used it for 10 years until I could afford a Unisaw, and its been a slippery slope from there.

[Neal Clayton]

dad was a real estate developer, so i kinda grew up on job sites. didn't really take to it right away, but grew up in new orleans so always had an appreciation for architecture and such from ages past. wound up in the software business out of college but when that kinda dried up, i needed something to do so found an old house to work on and been doing this since.

[Mark Woodmark]

When I was a kid, I watched my dad build things....or try to. He would begin with a plan and then start to build, then he would get his tractor stuck, which happened on every project he built, he would start cussing and screaming. This caused him to do even more stupid things until he either gave up or hurried through the thing and turned out the worst piece of s@%t you ever saw. One time he built a wheel barrel. most beautiful thing you ever saw, had two wheels. It was painted two tone green. Only problem was the handles were too low, so that when you picked them up to move the thing your load slid out the front. Then there was the wood fence. Got the post in ok, but he tried to level each slat that run horizontally between these post instead of following the ground. Thats when the whole nieghborhood got to hear the cussing and screaming. Anyway back to the question. I decided I wanted to do better than he did with building things. I figure in another 10 or 12 years, I will acheive this goal.

[Joe Scarfo]

I discovered Nahm and New Yankee Workshop right after I bought my first house.. a 1000 sq ft fixer upper...

Been accumulating tools and buying fixer uppers ever since... Rigth now I'm working on a 4000 sq ft monster that incl a separate 1300 sq ft heated and insulated garage workshop.

I will will miss watching Nahm.

[Bill LaPointe]

My Dad was always building or fixing something and always let me help. Kinda grew from there. Served a machinist apprenticeship as a youngster, although I never really worked at the trade. Always loved tinkering and building, a lot of DIY stuff. Operated a commercial surplus and salvage business for many years and we built many missing or broken parts for the equipment because they were no longer available or too expensive to buy. When I sold that business I kept a lot of the tools that are in my shop today. Built 3 homes for my family over the years, because I enjoy doing that kind of thing. We have also operated several pawn shops for years (still have two that my wife looks after) so I am able to take home "the good stuff". Semi-retired several years ago and pretty much live in my shop doing whatever seems like a good idea at the time. Have learned more in the last few years from folks like yourself than I ever did on my own.

[Dave Gaul]

I would have to give credit to my Dad.. he has always been a DIY'er, so I always watched & helped as a kid. My first personal ww'ing experience as a kid was in Boy Scouts, making the Pinewood Derby Cars!

I have always loved all things wood, and buying wooden pieces always seemed overpriced to me, so I started making things myself!

[Prashun Patel]

Wow, I give my dad credit for a lot of things in my life - but my love for woodworking/tools isn't one. He wouldn't know a tablesaw from a tablespoon.

I picked up my first tool after I bought my 1st house 10 years ago. I started doing 'handyman' type stuff for myself because I was (and am) cheap. That evolved into trimwork and light construction, plumbing, tiling. Once all the rooms were done in the house, I got bored and started doing small furniture projects.

I learned everything I know (which fits into a tablespoon) from the Internet.

I just love where this craft takes me.

[Troy Turner]

We lived in a house about 10 yrs ago that had an oddly wide (4'6") window. She wanted a shelf to go over it with a dowel that she could put a curtain on. So we went to the home improvement store to look at shelves. They had a 5' long shelf "kit" with braces for $35. That happen to be on the same asile as the lumber. Hmmm, a 1x6x6 for $2.75. Surely I can make this...she reminded me I didn't have a tool one and asked what I needed :)

Needless to say, $400 later, she had her $35 shelf :) I've more than paid for the tools just building what she shows me a picture of. Good thing is, she gets what she wants, it's solid, will last, and I love doing it.

[Larry Fox]

My dad definitely provided me with a good base as he is (and has always been) something of a "tinkerer" whereby he is always messing with something. This certainly helped bring out the innate curiosity about how things work etc. that I seemed to always have had.

I really got started into wwing when I bought an old house and started doing a restoration of sorts on it. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed for sure but have always been a pretty intuitive and spacial thinker and I looked at some of the wwing in the house and convinced myself that there was noting there that I could not do - and it turns out I was right (there was a lot of aborted attempts along the way to proving this). We have since sold the house but it really "stuck" with me because I love wood and there is something about the sensory qualities that is has (tactile, smells of some of them, etc) and the fact that it is a natural product and every piece is different that really appeals to me. I think that if it were more like metal I would not have stuck with it.

Another observation that I have made is that the wwing community is one of the more open, helpful and genuinely friendly ones that I have had occassion to be involved in and having that community to tap into makes it pretty easy to advance your skills (and comiserate over failures with).

[Chas Fuggetta]

I was a precision sheet metal worker for dang near 20 yrs. I've always liked working with my hands and don't like paying someone to do something I can do myself so anything that had to be done to the houses I've owned I've done myself. I still have an arm's long list of things to do.

I love the look/smell/feel/working of wood so much more than metal that I decided it would be a good hobby. The very first furniture project I did was a simple step stool for my daughter when she was 3. I made it out of some wood I had laying around, 1" walnut. :eek: Definitely not the wood to use for a piece of work made by a novice that's going to be used and abused. It now has lots of paint stains, nicks and dings, but it's lasted 5 yrs and still in use today.

[Terry Hatfield]

My wife had always wanted a dining table big enouogh for 8 or 10 to sit and eat. Back ini 2000 we looked at dining room sets and I convinced her that we could spend the same amount of tools and I'd just build it. It has been an excellent arrangement for both of us. I got a hobby that I love and a bunch of tools to make that hobby very enjoyable and she got the furniture that she wanted. Matter of fact, I've built pretty much every piece of furniture that is concievable for me to build in our entire house and now I'm building more to replace the stuff that I built originally. Love this hobby!!!

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[Myk Rian]

Always been mechanically inclined, beginning with tearing a clock apart that my Mom gave me. Never did get it back together.
Built and raced RC boats for many years, and sold them all when I started building and flying kites.
After I retired, my Wife wanted a lighthouse to replace the POS we bought up north. Then she wanted plant stands. Several thousand dollars later, I have my wood shop.

[Mike Harrison]

A EE for 35 years, I grew up having to make do, and became pretty good with my hands along the way. My father was handy with his hands as well. Over the years I collected a variety of tools but never developed a hobby, except Amateur Radio.

When I first retired I had a difficult time as I had had no other hobbies. THEN, I saw Norm and that was it. Been fifteen years or so now but I still enjoy the hobby.

[John Carlo]

Ben, my principal came to me and said he needed another teacher to be able to offer one additional hour of wood shop. I told him I had never even been in a shop and he said he said the two shop teachers would help me build some nice Christmas presents after school to get ready to teach second semester. (My certificate covered all subjects grades 7 and 8.) That did it! Then we moved into our house which a builder had left unfinished and the parents of some of my students helped us move in and gave me a Shopsmith as a gift and there we go. Today the shop is a 24' x 44' 1000 square foot heated and air conditioned garage in the back yard. Ben created an addict. Just ask my wife!

[Cary Falk]

My dad die it as a hobbyand my uncle did it as a profession. I was swinging a hammer as young as I can remember. When I got in high school, I started to work for my uncle on weekends and summers.

[Rod Sheridan]

My father was an electrician by trade, and a jack of all trades, master of none as well.

I guess that Dad probably worked on household projects to save money, however he didn't enjoy any of those tasks as a hobby.

My Dad had gardening as a hobby, something I share with him.

I took wood shop in junior high school, and was hooked, unfortunately I'm also hooked on vintage motorcycles, so that makes 3 hobbies, two of which support Leonard Lee and family:D.

My Father-in-law is a retired master cabinet maker (English) who has an enormous assortment of tools and knowledge, almost none of which he is willing to pass on. He did the work to support his family, he has no interest in it now that he's retired. (Just like my father had no interest in "work" as a hobby).

My youngest daughter likes hands on work, she is qualified to operate all the shop machinery except for the new sliding saw/shaper. She is making herself an oak desk at present, however nursing studies have that on hold until the end of the semester, at which time she can be trained on the new saw.

Once a month I host a group of women from a non profit who are making new kitchen cabinet doors, nothing fancy, just slab melamine, however they've developed all the wood working skills to make the doors, and have them fit the original hinge positions.

A couple of the women have also made the occasional project for their own use, using my shop.

The non profit provides insurance coverage for these activities.

I enjoy wood working, and like sitting in a room of furniture that I've made, it has a nice feeling to it.

Regards, Rod.

[Jim Rimmer]

My dad and grandfather were both carpenters. I spent most of my time with my grandfather and learned a lot from him. He was an Oklahoma pioneer type (born in Ok before statehood) and fixed and did everything around his farm. He was the guy you would hire to fix things around the house if you couldn't do it yourself. I always loved the smell of fresh cut wood in his shop. I worked with him building new houses, adding on to existing, leveling and remodeling houses that were moved, electrical, plumbing, drywall, roofing, you name it. Took industrial arts in college and have slowly built up my shop. I've built everything from gift boxes to a desk of pecan and buffet from maple. Love it all.

[Louie Ballis]

As a kid my dad always had rental property, almost all of them bought as fixer uppers. Consequently I was his unwilling helper on these weekend adventures.

The funny thing was I absolutely hated it. I decided then that I would never do that type of thing under my own free will. And that I better get an education and pay someone to do that for me.

Flash forward a few decades. I became a chiropractor, husband and at the age of 42 a father for the first time (second one due august 4 this year).

After seeing a neighbors "Rainbow Play System" which is just a fancy way of saying a wooden swing-set with slide, (plastic) rock climbing wall, fort etc, and then seeing the price (over 5000.00) I thought that even as a young(er) guy I had built or help build more complicated things than that (my dad also like to add bedrooms/bathrooms to these houses).

So after about $700 of matierials, a borrowed chop saw, battery powered drill/driver and 3 weekends, not only did I have a better "play system" (IMO) I was fully bit by the ww bug.

Now 3 years later I have a fully equipt dedicated (albeit small 13x22) woodworking shop (keep meaning to post some pictures here), countless jewelry boxes, coffe tables, toy boxes, endtables, hall trees, shutters, a wet bar or two, I get more satisfaction than I can tell you here.

My dad just shakes his head.

[David Helm]

Started with a 9th grade shop class in 1957. After 4.5 years in military, including a stint in the garden spot of SE Asia, a degree in economics, 2 kids, retail work and a divorce, I discovered building. As a hands on GC, building from foundation up, including cabinets and finish carpentry; always small time, no money but much satisfaction, I found that I really had a talent for playing with wood. Didn't have a shop of my own till thirteen years ago, when the main selling point of my current home was a 900 square foot separate building. (The story of my shop rebuild comes later).

[Joe Shinall]

Well it's good to know that everyone else can pretty much credit their dad and grandfather like me. Will be good if the next generation credits us for the same.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Well I'll be yet another one who can say it started with my Dad WAY back when I was but a toddler. "Helped" (I should say hindered) build many extensions to homes, a couple green houses, storage houses.

Too bad MY sons don't have that much (or any, I should say) interest in what I do. I have to compete with Nintendo.:mad:

[Ted Calver]

My dad started me, but I ran out of steam during a long run in the military. My wife keeps tryng to restart me, but I think I need some carb cleaner or something 'cause I never seem to finish the "you need to make a...." list :)

[Nancy Laird]

My husband has been a woodworker for about 50 years--he got his first lessons from his dad. When we married a little over 27 years ago, I soon learned that if I wanted to spend any quality time with him, I had better be in the garage/shop. I started helping him with things--holding, sanding, stripping--and things have evolved from there. We both spend inordinate amounts of time in our three-car-garage sized shop. I turn and scroll saw, and I can do just about anything in the shop---except I will NOT pick up a router. They scare me to death!!!

[Larry Alles]

My father, who will turn 95 this year, was a great woodworker. I was always in the basement with him when I was younger. He made children's
table and chair sets, toy boxes, and other furniture. Now that I'm almost retired, I hope to do the same thing. I have a roll top desk just about finished.

[Larry Alles]

:pMy father, who will turn 95 this year, was a great woodworker. I was always in the basement with him when I was younger. He made children's
table and chair sets, toy boxes, and other furniture. Now that I'm almost retired, I hope to do the same thing. I have a roll top desk just about finished.

[Charlie Kocourek]

Like many of you I spent a lot of time working with my father. He did all sorts of things. Rebuilt engines, spray painted cars, repaired what ever was broken, carpentry jobs, plumbing, etc.

I had a great wood shop teacher in junior high. (Mr. Brown at Vaughn Jr. High) I built a trestle style coffee table in his class. The table turned out pretty good, but what really left an impression with me was the encouragement I received.

[Glen Butler]

You want a story and I have been wanting to write this down somewhere, so here it goes. I started working with dad as young as I can remember. Well prior to 10 it was mostly visiting dad and playing around on the job sit. He is a general contractor as well as his father was. At 10 was the first time a really used a power tool. I was cutting 2 x 10's with the circular saw for a set of footings. He got a shopsmith soon after, and I think I used it more than he did building toys for myself. Hockeysticks, boomerangs, a go cart, craft projects, and I turned a little. Later he would upgrade all his shop tools to stand alone.

I worked summers and after school with him while he did concrete and got through school. After he graduated college he decided to stay in building and landed I believe his first real contract though he had done an immense amount of work for his father. We did framing, finish, concrete, painting, sometimes roofing. When I graduated high school I could frame a house and read plans, order materials; could pretty well run the job on my own. At 23 my brother and I started a framing crew. Shortly after we both got our own license and split up, runnings our own framing crews. Then we started landing our own contracts.

When I had fancier things to do I used dad's shop. One of my clients wanted more than she could afford in her house so I saw the opportunity to get a nice shop going. I would do all the woodwork in her house for cost if she bought the tools. She went for it and I now have a really nice shop that I would have never been able to afford otherwise.

[Doug Carpenter]

I worked at a bike shop as a teen. One day the owner decided the store needed a new planter outside in the parking lot. They assumed since my name was carpenter that I was one. They told me to design something and build it. so I did. I had metal shop the year or two before so I figured I could handle it. The owners brother was a property manager and started hiring me to do odd jobs. Before long I started doing bigger jobs. Now after 20 years in business I'm like,"what happened I just wanted to work on some bikes!"

My father was handy with a golf club. If he had carpentry skills I never saw it. I figure with a name like carpenter it must run in the family....somewhere.

[Billy Trinh]

I would be the first generation in my family to have interest in woodworking. I started WW about the same time that I joined the forum. Equipped with a circular saw and a drill to do small house repairs like replacing cabinet/sink bottoms for the house we recently bought, my first dip at woodworking was to make a crib for my new born daughter. It turned out pretty good, which confirmed my interest in WW.

Since then, the request list has been getting longer and longer from LOML for baby furniture and small things around the house. I've been slowly adding tools and self built shop furniture to the 1 car garage area designated for shop space. The rest of the garage is for parking and other items storage-- sometimes used for assembly and finishing.

With no experience or mentor at operating woodworking tools, I've been pretty much a sponge and read up on safety, usage, and learn tips & tricks from forums like SMC and magazines. I take extra caution when using tools but so far, sharp hand tools has more shares at my skin than I'd like.

[David Cefai]

I bought a new but unfinished sailing dinghy in 1976 and fitted it out myself. About 5 years later I had been married for 18 months and there was a baby on the way.

My wife was concerned about the fact that she would be "ignoring" me while looking after baby. "What will you do?" she asked. I replied that I had been considering trying to start woodworking. (At the time I did not have a single woodworking tool). "Brilliant" said she and - literally - pushed me out of the front door and dragged me to a tool shop.

Three daughters later I am about to start on some living room furniture for 2 of them who have bought a house together and are on the verge of moving in. The eldest recently reminded me that many years ago I promised to build a cradle at 8 months notice when required. Hmm.....

[Steven Green]

Pop was a contractor I was getting in the way when he was building frames when I was four, one of his summer employees was the high school woodshop, architectural drawing, drafting teacher, straight downhill since then, I'm a contractor by trade and a woodworker to keep my head from exploding.

[Chip Lindley]

My paternal grandfather was handy with tools. Tools in his garage shop were strictly off limits but totally intrigued me as a grade schooler. I inherited his woodworking interest. Santa brought me a little finishing hammer, sack of 4d box nails and a big chunk of cedar board when I was 4. I filled that plank FULL of nails! Parents found one nail I drove into a window sash only 1/8" from the glass! Guess i'm just good!

First project was a pair of speaker enclosures to match a Fender Bassman amp when I was 19. Lacking real tools, I used a kitchen chair as workbench, and finger-jointed the corners of pine 1x10s with a 1/4" drill, hacksaw, and wood rasp. It was ugly but I *made it fit!* My Grandpa rounded over the 3/4" edges on his little Craftsman shaper! Once covered with black vinyl, grill cloth added, and genuine Fender hardware installed, the speakers could barely be discerned from the real thing.

The WW'ing BUG really bit me when Fine Woodworking magazine became available. Great basic information, and insight from master woodworkers drew me in, hook line and sinker! When I discovered local estate auctions, good, old Delta/Rockwell and Powermatic equipment replaced my Crapsman stuff forever! Now if I only had an old warehouse for a shop!!

[Dave Schreib]

I would consider my WW hobby as an offshoot of a bigger DIY hobby. Like many others I got into DIY when I was young and poor(er). First project happened to be WW. I built a railing to enclose my front porch. Then I built a patio off the back of the house. Then in the next house it was another patio and finished basement. And the list goes on and on.

My father was an electrician, but growing up in an apartment in manhattan there was very little work that we could do around the apartment - it was a rental and there was no garage/basement where one could store or use tools. When something broke, we called the buildings superintendent.

As a young adult I was so clueless that one time my future inlaws asked me to mow their lawn while they were in Italy. I agreed, but when I went to their home I could not figure out how to start the mower. I had never used one before. A quick call to Europe taught me that you start a mower by pushing the primer bulb a few times and pulling that cord thing. That was news to me. I have come a long way since then.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I grew up on a farm with 10 brothers & sisters. I never had an interest or even thought of woodworking or carpentry until I was required to take shop class in 1969 when I was in the seventh grade. I have been doing woodworking since that time & I have been making my living as a carpenter since 1975.

[Tim Mahoney]

While in high school I worked weekends in a local lumber yard. I got to know lumber and some good carpenters while delivering lumber and one suggested I try to get into the apprenticeship program. I took a test and was very lucky to get into the program. 4 years later I was a journeyman carpenter who dabbled part time in woodworking. Now I mostly dabbled in woodworking and really love it.

[J.R. Rutter]

I probably got my start in the back seat of a 1966 GTO, LOL...

My grandfather was a professional cabinetmaker, and my dad was a contractor who I worked summers for from age 15 to 17. He is retired now, but earns his golf money doing built-ins and closet systems. My dad traveled 2500 miles to help with my first cabinet door order 10 years ago, then helped with the first order after I moved my shop to a commercial space 5 years ago. Couldn't have done it woithout the "can-do" attitude that he passed on to me.

[Karl Brogger]

How did I get my start? I needed a job, 12 years later I'm stuck doing it as its the only thing above shoveling poop I can make a living at.

[Brendan Plavis]

Started when I was five. My first real project was when I drifted down stairs, found some nails, a hammer, and a few pieces of plywood, and made a small workbench(its still standing 10 years later(given that its all ply, so it is sort of rickety.)

I inherited the knack from my grandfathers, one is an engineer, the other is an ex-submariner. Both can build decent stuff, although their kids cannot build ****.

By 10, I had already assisted in the creation of a picnic table as well as a deck platform(its on the ground but elevated so you are off the Cape Cod prickly grass/red ants.) As of this year, I am building my first and definately not last, computer desk(cheap, using construction grade pine, and a piece of melomine.)

Although these efforts were hindered by my overly Pain in the ... mother, who thank god is now out of the house on account of divorce... since she made me wear goggles to drive nails/screws(only time something struck me was the other night when a piece of wood flew off the mitre saw that I am borrowing, and struck me between the eyes(I dusted off the bible that eve...) and wouldnt allow me to use powertools by myself even at age 15(father trusts me fine.)

Tommorrow I will be hopefully purchasing my first piece of equipment. A bandsaw. And with plans to by the end of the summer purchase a mitre saw and a router table.

[Bert Pacleb]

I became interested after building some poker tables out of 3/4 plywood, by just using a jigsaw and electric staple gun, during the big poker boom of 2004. Then got a craftsman router as a present for xmas, to help build tables faster.

After building and selling some tables, the LOML wanted a base made for some cushion/seating thing she got in the clearance part of IKEA. This was a 4x4 seating for the baby that was to come at the time. From there I was hooked into getting tools and wanting to build more.

I went though a new Delta benchtop TS, and 2 used contractor saws (now all 3 sold) before finding a deal on a new Delta Contractor saw at Lowes. Since then I have been mostly commissioned to make some cleats and one large project to hold 4' x 8' foam core and gator board.

My latest project is making some frames for a bathroom mirror for my cousin.

[Leigh Betsch]

Started out as a machinist and then a moldmaker. Learned to love building things. Then went into engineering where I don't get to do hands on building things. So I stated to do woodworking as a hobby. My first love is still metal but wood is a lot faster and furniture is more usable for the entire family. And I'm still adding metal working tools to the shop so I can do some simpler metal work when I have time. Like this little metal block plane.

[Callan Campbell]

We lived in a house about 10 yrs ago that had an oddly wide (4'6") window. She wanted a shelf to go over it with a dowel that she could put a curtain on. So we went to the home improvement store to look at shelves. They had a 5' long shelf "kit" with braces for $35. That happen to be on the same asile as the lumber. Hmmm, a 1x6x6 for $2.75. Surely I can make this...she reminded me I didn't have a tool one and asked what I needed :)

Needless to say, $400 later, she had her $35 shelf :) I've more than paid for the tools just building what she shows me a picture of. Good thing is, she gets what she wants, it's solid, will last, and I love doing it.
After that post, there is a Tim Allen/Binford joke in there somewhere. :p Probably the $400 tool purchases for the $35 shelf;)

[Callan Campbell]

Like many others, I struggled with early woodworking projects as a youngster. It did NOT come naturally for me, and neither parent was much help. They COULD realize good work when they saw it, just couldn't DO good work for the most part. So, I learned some from others, and the rest is basically self taught. We needed a bookshelf early on in our marriage, and there were no IKEA's back then, but we didn't like the particleboard stuff that was around at Target and other lower end stores either. So, that was the first large thing I attempted. Bad finishing on Pine, splotchy stain, glue marks peeking around at every joint, but it's held up over the years. Next project was a microwave cart, again Pine, but better than the awful bookcase!. From there it's grown in tool dollars spent, wood species worked with and projects either built from scratch or rescued from the trash and refinished. Still a hobby, but it's also kept our house together for the last 20 years as well.:cool:

[Kevin Lucas]

Simple... the wife said get a hobby and get out of the house )

[Tullie Templet]

My dad was a DIY'er so I guess it passed on to me. Always loved building or fixing up stuff. So when I got in high school I took up WW. In 1992 wheni was a senior I built a hexagon shaped end table with a turned led and some corbels at the bottom. The top was 3" deep and opened up with glass in the lid to display stuff in. I got 3rd place in the Louisiana state competition,but because I didn't study the tools and their proper names I didn't do good on the written test. After the competition a judge asked me " son is that your table". I said "yes sir". He replied " that table scored the most points ever in the state competition, but because you odviously didn't study you ended up third. I hope you learned a lesson from this." And I did, unfortunantely to late. So anyway that really inspired me. I have been wanting a WW shop since then and just recently I was able to put together enough tools to start doing what I love. I have built things in between but only with BORG material and nails and screws. So now hopefully I can now carry on with my addiction.

[Bobby Thistle]

My dad was NOT a woodworker. He attempted to make a couple of things in his day but I won't go into detail.

When I was 14 he hired a guy to finish our basement. I spent a lot of time down there watching him and how he did things. When he was finished I decided that I could do the same and so I talked my folks into letting me build a shed in the back yard. I had a ball doing it even though it didn't come out perfect... I didn't know how to make things square back then. However, almost 40 years later, that shed is still standing. In fact, I just shingled the roof last year.

I didn't get into ww as a full time hobby until about 15 years ago. I gave up one of my vices and started spending the money I saved on tools. I have an extremely well equipped shop today and just love spending time in it. My wife keeps me busy building things around the house, (which I completely redid when we bought it) She keeps 2 or 3 jobs for me to do ahead of the one I'm working on.

--Bobby

[Kevin Gregoire]

i had a class back in middle school and then again in high school and really enjoyed it. i still have my little stool i made more then 30 years ago now (holy sh*t i feel old)
and in my early twenties when i was living away from home my father built a wood shop out behind our garage but he only got to enjoy it for about six months before having a series of strokes that left him paralyzed and no longer able to do any work.
a few years later after he passed, we had to sell most of his tools to pay various bills.

i later moved back home to help pay bills and buy my mothers home from her, and after i was forced to retire because of medical problems i went out and cleaned up the shop and started slowly buying some tools and after almost a year i have most all of the tools i need except a nice router setup.
i have been slowly building jigs mostly and a few easy things such as the typical cribbage boards, bread boards, bird houses, etc...

one day i hope to have enough skill to build a dresser or something more complex.

[Ken Peluso]

Wow, I give my dad credit for a lot of things in my life - but my love for woodworking/tools isn't one. He wouldn't know a tablesaw from a tablespoon.

I picked up my first tool after I bought my 1st house 10 years ago. I started doing 'handyman' type stuff for myself because I was (and am) cheap. That evolved into trimwork and light construction, plumbing, tiling. Once all the rooms were done in the house, I got bored and started doing small furniture projects.

I learned everything I know (which fits into a tablespoon) from the Internet.

I just love where this craft takes me.

Wow I think Shawn and I are living parallel lives. That's my story to the t.

[jack duren]

I took 4 yrs of wood shop in high school from 79-83 and been drawing a paycheck as a cabinet maker ever since. Currently running a commercial shop in Kansas City...

[Jim Becker]

Started with some home improvement projects while at the same time getting very interested in furniture building from watching NYW. This was about 1997. Bought my share of "mistake" tools and then bought decent ones. Upgraded to better stuff when I moved to this property and then upgraded again to Italian and German stuff when I had a few very good years financially...figuring that I would never be able to do that when retirement rolled around...if it's ever possible to retire. LOL

My furniture work is generally Shaker or Nakashima inspired, but I'm not adverse to do things that are more eclectic. I've also discovered a niche with high-end tack trunks for the equestrian crowd in the last six months.

[Adam Moore]

I'm just getting started right now. I'm in what I call "The tool collection/breaking my wife in" stage. So it's been a slow start for me.

Over the past 5 or 6 years I'd been wanting to get into woodworking but just never did. I'd never taken any classes or really even worked with wood (other than building my 12x16 shed in '05) since my middle school industrial arts class back in . . . . '90 or so.

So about 16 months ago with my wife pregnant with our first, I decided to re-finish this toybox that my dad had made for me when I was 1 or 2. Even though I still haven't finished that thing, I got the WW bug.

I subscribed to Wood Magazine, Woodworkers Journal, and Popular Woodworking. Bought numerous books and read quite a bit on the internet just learning what tool does what and what I felt like I needed to get started.

But what's cool is, back about a year ago when I was trying to get started, my dad retired and told me he wanted to get into woodworking also. So we're actually kinda going through this thing together. Although, without a mortgage, a 1 year old, and a job, my old man has been able to round up more tools and spit out more projects.

[Steve Peterson]

I can remember times when I was about 10 and my dad would drag me along while he showed me how he could fix things. I was always really impressed and wondered how he knew so much about so many things. Often he would drag me along a week or two later to show me how to fix it again.

I started realizing that he wasn't really very good at fixing things. The bug to build and fix things was still there. I always liked building things throughout my life.

The bug to get into woodworking really bit me about 2 years ago when a used PM66 was foe sale just down the street. Since then, I decided to upgrade all of my cheapo Craftsman tools with real tools.

Steve

[Ramsey Ramco]

When I was about 4 my dad started building houses for a living, small operation but usually did about 5-8 houses per year in the upper middle market about 5000 sq ft minimum. He lost his father to a stroke at a very early age, so dad felt it absolutely necessary to be very close to me, ( Not complaining.) Well a new builder with a lot of work meant our quality time together would be me tagging along with him while he was at work, so I blame that for sparking interest. When I was in high school I took an advanced residential building course, where we built a house every year from start to finish, I excelled. My instructor hooked me up with a very upscale builder and I started working full time in summers and part time throughout school. Dad felt that I would have an unfair advantage being his son and refused to hire me, tough love i guess. I worked for this builder for about 3 years and then started my own remodeling company. I ran that for about 2 years and merged with Dad dropping the remodel from my company and changing it to enterprises, doing both now custom homes and remodeling, I would have to say I was born into it, Stealing all of dads tools as a kid. I probably would still deny it 20+ years later.