Woodworking as a hobby

[Zac wingert]

I work with wood as a hobby. When I come home from work, I fiddle with wood or my tools not watch tv etc.. I am a lawyer (public defender) by trade and work with wood for fun. I am grateful that I do not rely on my woodworking skills to make a living. I have other hobby’s, fishing, trucks, aquariums. But working with wood is the most gratifying.

I recently was asked to restore a child’s high chair made of koa. The thing was just gray from being in the garage for years. When I was done and returned it to the owner, a friend, the response I received was much more fulfilling than I expected. Apparently the chair was in the family for decades and there was some animosity because it was kind of cast aside to the garage to the dismay of others. It was built by the patriarch of the family. Point is, It was not a paid job, but it made me feel great. Meaningful. I’ve only received great feedback at the creek, and I am thankful. In other forums with other hobbies, there is just so much trash talk. Thank you all. I will be a contributor very soon.

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Dont know now why the first photo is sideways..

[Ben Zara]

Restoration looks good. Woodworking is a great hobby, and the reaction one gets from non-woodworkers from a job well done is typically better than money.

[Rod Sheridan]

Well done Zac, you managed to make yourself, and someone else happy while enjoying your hobby.

It doesn't get better than that..............Regards, Rod.

[Frederick Skelly]

Well done Zac, you managed to make yourself, and someone else happy while enjoying your hobby. It doesn't get better than that..............Regards, Rod.

I agree with Rod. That's doubly great! Well done Zac.

How did you get rid of the gray - just sand it out? What finish did you use? (I've never worked with Koa and didn't know it would gray-up like that.)

Fred

[glenn bradley]

I agree that the craft is rewarding in many ways. Nice job on the restore and I imagine the look in the owner's eyes was worth the effort. I find giving of my skill to be a great reward and do my fair share of pro bono work. If we didn't get value from giving, why in the world would we make elaborate cutting boards :). The item I spent more time than made any sense on was a set of coasters for my MIL. She loved them and that was more than enough payment for me.

[John K Jordan]

...work with wood for fun. I am grateful that I do not rely on my woodworking skills to make a living. ...

Zac, I agree completely! I've been retired since 2006 but woodworking (mostly woodturning) will always be a hobby for me. I have accidentally made some money with turning but I think if it turned into a job it wouldn't be fun anymore. I know an number of people who turn to sell and with a couple of them it seems that they have more stress than I want to deal with. For me, it's so much more enjoyable to simply make things and give them away.

Great job on the chair!

BTW, photos sometimes are displayed sideways or upside down due to the camera metadata embedded in the file. Running them through an image editor such as Photoshop should fix them. I'll try that with yours.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

Zac, I'm very glad you're enjoying this avocation...it can be fulfilling in many ways and as I have a good friend who does the exact same kind of work you do, I can appreciate that you need to be able to unwind from a heavy workload that likely has a lot of emotional stress, too. Bravo on the restoration of that chair!

Since retiring from full time work last fall, I have moved my own woodworking from primarily an avocation to something that does produce a few shekels of income (albeit with a large investment to recoup), but I'm still doing a lot of things for myself and our home just because I enjoy it and crave learning new things.

[Bill Carey]

Zac - very nicely done on the restore. I bet your friend's eyes lit up when he saw the chair. And like others have said, that's the reward that is worth more than money. I've been making saw dust for 40 years in one way or another, and while I was installing millwork I got paid well, and deserved it. But with the things I make, I've never been paid, and fortunately have not needed to get paid. So the rewards I get from making something and giving it away are what I enjoy the most. Funny thing is, I recently made something for myself - for the first time - and it just wasn't as much fun as making something for someone else. Turned into a "job" kinda. But as soon as I cleared it out of my shop, I found 2 book matched walnut pieces I had sliced years ago, and had an idea for a small cabinet for my daughter. Can't wait to get back to it - much more fun.

[David Eisenhauer]

Nice work on the chair, and, sounds like it may help the family some too. We all get something valuable from amateur woodworking, whether it has any monetary value or not. Join the crowd and stick around and we will keep the trash talk down to a minimum.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Beautiful job, that'll be in the family for another 100 years and hopefully stay looking just as good as your restoration.

I'm a retired software developer so my skillset was not really a manual hands on trade. Now i'm retired, I enjoy making stuff in my garage. There is definitely something to be said for puttering around in my garage and making stuff, even if it's just simple things to store a tool, you just get such a nice sense of self satisfaction, naturally that also comes with a certain level of frustration when you cut something a little short even after measuring three times and still screwing up the cut.

Then when you present a finished piece to others, they are gob smacked that you could produce such a work of art. "Where did you learn to do that, who taught you?" are most of the normal questions. My answer is usually forums like this and YouTube.

Again well done.

[John K Jordan]

I'm a retired software developer so my skillset was not really a manual hands on trade.
...when you present a finished piece to others, they are gob smacked that you could produce such a work of art

Retired software developer here too. However, I had an overpowering drive to take mechanical and electrical things apart and make new things when I was young. And an elderly gentleman in my church took the time to teach me the basics of woodworking when I was a young teen. I feel so fortunate to have had those experiences.

As discussed here before, I think it's a shame that hands-on skills are not universally taught to kids. With the demise of shop and art classes in public schools it is now up to us to pass these things on.

I too get plenty of people amazed and sometimes speechless when they see and hold some of my woodturnings. If possible, my response to young and old is "Here, let me show you" and then "Now you try it". One adult friend, a scientist, calls me the shop teacher she never had. :)

JKJ

[Charlie Hinton]

Nice job on the restoration, it's beautiful again.
Woodworking has been an on again-off again hobby for many years.
I retired in January and woodworking has been my go to activity along with turning the garage into a dedicated woodworking shop.
Woodworking is very therapeutic on many levels for me and it's so easy to spend whole days in the shop.
I have given all the good stuff away as gifts and there is great satisfaction in giving someone something that is one of a kind.
Sometimes I think about trying to sell some things, but so far I have not tried to do it.
When it comes to putting a price on something, for me it's either free, or I want to charge $50/hr + materials + overhead .... LOL. .... Retired yes, but still have that manufacturing mindset when it comes to providing goods and services.

[Bill Carey]

funny - I retired after 50 years in construction, and took an offer as a consultant for a software company in Denmark. Office is above the shop - I get frustrated and down I go to make sawdust.

[John K Jordan]

...Sometimes I think about trying to sell some things, but so far I have not tried to do it.
When it comes to putting a price on something, for me it's either free, or I want to charge $50/hr + materials + overhead .... LOL. .... Retired yes, but still have that manufacturing mindset when it comes to providing goods and services.

I sometimes get asked to make something and asked the price. If it's something that I can make in an hour or two is tell them $75 or so.

Or I offer it for free - if they come to the shop, let them help pick out the wood, design the shapes, and watch and learn how it's done. For some steps I put a tool in their hands and let them make some shavings, and always, get them involved sanding and finishing. Mostly people want something for a gift - I think it will mean so much more if they can say they had a hand in making it. That's far more fun than a few extra dollars! So far, everyone but one has chosen the hands-on method. :)

JKJ

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Awesome job is the resto! I agree with Rob, made yourself and someone else happy, it just doesn't get ANY better that that! I just love to see that smile when you give the person the piece you made. Or restored... Gotta love it. Good job!

[Chris Hachet]

Restoration looks good. Woodworking is a great hobby, and the reaction one gets from non-woodworkers from a job well done is typically better than money.

AGree on both counts. I find both Zac's restoration and building things in my shop highly satisfying.

[Zac wingert]

I agree with Rod. That's doubly great! Well done Zac.

How did you get rid of the gray - just sand it out? What finish did you use? (I've never worked with Koa and didn't know it would gray-up like that.)

Fred

Got out the gray with a lot of sanding. Initially tried to use a block plane and card scraper, but that didn't really work out. 1/4 sheet sander and by hand for most of it and used a dremel roatry tool with sanding spindle for the edges and inside of those curves. sanded from 120 through 1000. The finish in the picture is probably after the initial coat of danish oil. Never used danish oil before but I had some so I tried it out. It was the "fruitwood" color. The finished product was actually a lot nicer after a couple of coats of oil, then two thins coats of de-waxed shellac, and buffed with paste wax.

I suspect finish was never appliec in the first place, or just coated with oil or something. It had been stored in an open but covered carport for years.

[David Eisenhauer]

I am with John K. When folks ask "how much would you charge for...……..", I invariably offer to do the work for free if they buy the materials and help out with the project, as long as it is not repair/restoration work. At the very least, it is my intention that they take the project home for the finishing phase that they will perform. The ones that are not interested in helping with any of the work are gently directed to seek elsewhere as I am now retired and have vowed no more cash work before building all the stuff I promised my wife over the last 30 years or so.

[Charlie Hinton]

I thought I was the only one that put off things for myself (and wife).
I gotta stop doing that.
Seems like both of us are always taking care of other's needs ahead of our own.