Does Your Significant Other Like Woodworking

[Rich Riddle]

Do you have a significant other who enjoys woodworking? Mine has started to ask lots of questions about it, and well it scares me. Shop time is a sacred time and happens in a masculine place.....

[Moses Yoder]

My wife knows enough about it to understand the process, which is a good thing. She would never be interested in building something so long as she can get me to do it for her. Having someone alongside would not be all bad, it would lead to a better understanding of each other. One thing I am learning is that I have zero control over my wife; the only control I have is over myself. I have taught my wife to look for rust and she is the one that found an A45 for me, the aluminum version of the #45 combination plane. She has actually found numerous tools for me, and is on the lookout for the #1 plane.

[Shawn Pixley]

My wife doesn't do much woodworking (mostly turning). She is interested though. She silversmiths / goldsmiths and other atristic pursuits. She doesn't mind my tools nor me, hers. We actually enjoy working on things together. We have restored / renovated a couple of houses together with her an equal partner in the labor. When we return from this trip, we will do a knife making class together. The class is focused on the scales.

So, in short, I am not bothered in the least about these things.

[Lee Schierer]

My wife has no interest in becoming a woodworker. She does however enjoy coming up with ideas for things for me to build for her. She loves having things made out of wood. That's okay because I have no interest in learning how to knit, crochet or do needlepoint.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Probably the only reason she'd have anything to do with me.

[Jerry Thompson]

My wife can do about anything. She re-built a carburetor on our Land Cruiser years ago. She wanted a book shelf and made it. She sewed our daughter's wedding dress and made most of out kids clothes. She reads plans/drawings with the best of 'em.
Now this is no foolin' you know wood workers do not lie. Once I bought 100 pounds of steel wool and she knitted us a stove.

[Bert Kemp]

Sounds like she better then a 3D printer:D


My wife can do about anything. She re-built a carburetor on our Land Cruiser years ago. She wanted a book shelf and made it. She sewed our daughter's wedding dress and made most of out kids clothes. She reads plans/drawings with the best of 'em.
Now this is no foolin' you know wood workers do not lie. Once I bought 100 pounds of steel wool and she knitted us a stove.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Does Your Significant Other Like Woodworking (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?222933-Does-Your-Significant-Other-Like-Woodworking)Nope...
I give her credit for trying a lot of things, but, she shows little to no interest in using most of the power tools.
Once in a while she'll use the CMS, but, not often.

Honestly?

I'm glad she doesn't - from a safety standpoint. I don't think she fully comprehends how fast things can go from bad to worse once the ball is in motion.

[David Weaver]

No, she doesn't like it at all. It "makes dirt".

My daughter LOVES it, though (but she's only 5). She will be in the shop with me every second she gets a chance. I don't give her much other than scrap and some rasps and sandpaper, but she can really make that last in terms of fun.

(everyones' wives are different, but I wouldn't want mine in the shop, and she wouldn't want to be there).

[Dave Anderson NH]

My wife has no interest in wood or woodworking other than there being firewood for the wood stove and enough lumber for me to build what she wants. This year it was a new deck, a new patio, and some fence. On the other hand she can read mechanical drawings, operate a CNC milling machine, do mechanical part inspection, and other supposedly guy stuff. Many years ago when we were poor she replaced the pump in our washing machine after buying the correct parts. She's been around specialty manufacturing and machine shops all her life and when she comes down to the shop she makes sure I'm not performing any operation on a machine before she makes her presence know. She fully understands what can happen when you startle someone operating a power tool. Her mechanic skills are actually a good bit better than mine.

[Rick Potter]

My wife has designed all the cabinetry in two houses, and knows what tools I have. She has no interest in becoming a woodworker, but once when I was at work, she went in the shop and made a couple of basic drawers for a closet organizer. They are still in service after 15 years.

As mentioned above, she knows what tools I have, and I never try to hide them or buy secretly. Her standard answer if I ask about buying something is...."If you want it, and can afford it, get it.". Smart woman, she knows neither of us would spend money we don't have.

[Larry Edgerton]

My wife and I just moved in to a new replica of a one room school with every piece hand crafted in my shop, so ya, she loves it. I don't really want her to learn as she is the type that would get hurt, but she does relieve me of some sanding and painting chores from time to time. She never complains about the sawdust that I always carry in with me because she knows that is what pays for what we have. Love her to no end.....

Larry

[Jim Koepke]

My wife is stubborn about her wood working. She doesn't want anyone nearby watching. She wants to use all power tools. She is terrible about putting tools back in their proper place. She has a difficult time doing anything if I am in the shop. She also has a difficult time working on her own. She doesn't want any help when she is having difficulties.

So yes, she likes to do woodworking, but we would have to build a separate shop for her, besides there aren't many power tools in my shop.

jtk

[Steve Peterson]

My wife has no interest in woodworking. This is fine with me since I would worry too much about her safety.

The best part is that she lets me do anything I want in the shop. It is where I go to get away after a long day at work.

Steve

[Don Orr]

My wife is a gem-and I mean that seriously. She is interested in what I do in my shop, just not interested in doing it herself. We took a beginning woodworking class together because she though she wanted to be able to use my machines. She did great in the class but is not really interested in using the machines on her own. I will happily do anything she asks for her. She is very generous about my shop time and tries not to interfere. I did have to teach her to wait til I stopped with a machine before getting my attention-she scared the bejeebers out of me a few times coming into the shop with my back to her. The other thing she does is any time I show any interest in a tool or wood she offers to get it for me. Crazy, huh? I usually decline as she also never says anything about what I buy for myself. We are not rich but do OK.

Now to clairfy, my wife is a potter and has a COMPLETE pottery studio in the basement-and I mean COMPLETE. Most potters drool when they see what she has. She also does a lot of sewing like quilts and handbags and has a COMPLETE sewing room that includes several machines, 2 of which are computer based embroidery machines-each of which cost more the all of my machines put together. After I had my very basic shop built, she had a COMPLETE addition put on the house that includes a full basement. I call it construction envy. She doesn't really do anything half way. She is really an extraordinary woman and I don't know how I am so lucky to have ended up with her.

By the way, we have no children or pets, just each other. Life is good! (Except for not having kids)

[Joe Bradshaw]

My girlfriend has her 9x16 shop off her livingroom. She enclosed a screened porch and now has 2 lathes, a sharping station, a small bandsaw(the larger bandsaw is in the garage along with the drillpress). She mostly does turning with some carving thrown in. We spend quality time talking about and doing turning and looking at wood. I feel lucky.
Joe

[roger wiegand]

She designs, I build. I get the tools I need to build what she wants. Works perfectly.

(of course it's not quite that simple)

[Brian Ashton]

She did, and then she did 2 months with me as my offsider on a restoration job I'm on. She pretty much hates the work now and is more than happy to go back to admin work.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

my wife loves (to claim my) woodturnings

[julian abram]

My wife's woodworking interest goes like this, "Now I'm not trying to hurry you but after you finish building the bathroom cabinets, next I would like a new dining room table, and then a round coffee table, and I hope to do all new kitchen cabinets someday, and a large hutch for the living room, and....and.... and.... and...." I'm almost 61, not sure I will live long enough to finish all of her list.:)

[Roger Feeley]

My bride doesn't really have any interest in the process but she likes the results. I make sure to be very attentive to anything she might want that I could make and I try to deliver. It has paid off big and, anyway, she's worth it.

[Roger Feeley]

Yeah, my wife has to be supervised too. I like to tell the story of the only time I ever hit her. She was using the chop saw and I only looked away for an instant. I turned back just in time to see the blade descending towards her thumb. I had to act fast so I just plain clocked her. Saved the thumb and she didn't mind. It was a cheap lesson for me. I watch her a lot more carefully. It was also on my mind when I lobbied for a Sawstop.

[Don Morris]

When you marry the Swedish cabinet makers daughter, who walked through sawdust ankle deep as a kid, she knows wood about as well as most woodworkers. She doesn't do the woodworking, but designs for, appreciates greatly and understands woodworking needs. One of my Christmas presents was a Lie Nielsen hand plane. I never have to worry about asking her if I can get a tool that I want. Her response is usually "is that a good enough quality tool", because she knows that it's usually easier to work with quality tools. I inherited and refinished, most of her fathers hand planes, which we both cherish. As long as we can reasonably afford something, she has no problem with purchasing it to do a better woodworking job (or make it easier for me) as she likes the results...as I do.

[Art Mann]

My wife is the chief designer of our CNC router wood carving business. She knows the software and the equipment. She is also very familiar with the carving properties of a lot of different wood species. She does a majority of the hand painting. She can also run the router if she has to but I usually do that. At least she hasn't learned how to cut out and prepare the blanks (yet). Hey, I have do do something to earn my keep.

[Chris Padilla]

My wife has school smarts (PhD in electrical engineering...math guru) but no "street" smarts and not at all comfortable with tools. So I get my garage/shop to myself and she does a fair amount of the design and I somehow make it happen. She picks the colors, I paint. It works. :)

[Bill McNiel]

We live in a three story Barn that I have been renovating for 23 years. The first time my now wife visited she looked down into the shop from the 2nd Floor Living Room and asked "Is that an Aniversery Issue Delta Unisaw"? Understand, I have a custom extension table on the right side and slider on the left so only about 4" of the bottom of the saw is visible. She then identified each tool and manufacturer that was visible and noted that, for the most part, she had the exact same tools. I was pretty sure I had either finally met the "right" woman or one of my friends had gotten to her and was setting me up. It turned out that she was an rather accomplish hobby woodworker/remodeler.

She performs the majority of the work on our rental properties and has the same attitude as I regarding tool purchases (it has to pay for atleast 50% of its cost on the first project). She has a great design eye and appreciation for quality design and craftmanship. For the last couple of years she has been doing mostly sewing (she designs and makes her own patterns).

Only downside is.....she absolutely sucks at returning tools to their "homes". By chance our studios/shops are as far away from each other as is physically possible. She is on the South end of the 3rd floor and I am on the North end of the 1st Floor (need to install an intercom). I consider myself extreamly fortunate to have her in my life.

[eugene thomas]

My wife has sliver phobia. but she has good eye for design so my woodworking projects have improved with her input.