David Croteau
06-15-2006, 4:38 PM
Hello,
I've been lurking and I wanted to jump in and thank you for the interesting information I've already found here. Since I also anticipte having lots of questions, an introduction seems in order.
My wife and I are in our mid-40s and a few years ago we bought a run-down 1940s house (seemed like a good idea at the time!) on a nice 5-acre wooded lot (which is really why we bought it). For the last couple of years, we've been fixing it up--much of it gutted to the studs, two new additions, new electrical, HVAC, roof, etc. We designed the renovatins and contracted out the major work up to rough drywall stage. Since then, we've done ourselves the cedar siding, finish electrical work, two baths and utility room including tile floors, painting, finish trim work, a rehab of crawl space, etc. Right now we're installing wood floors (antique heart pine w/tung oil); half the house's floors are done, half will be done later this summer. We're trying to keep a bit of a rustic feel (e.g. window trim and an accent wall are recycled from house's old pine floor boards) and the texture and depth of these old wood floors are working out beautifully.
So far, I've mostly an armchair woodworker--always interested by never having the time or space to do much since other, more immediate, projects loomed. Now though, I'm about to go through baptism by fire. The shell of the house is nearing completion and I need to move on to building a houseful of furniture! (We like simple lines of rustic farm/ Shaker/ Arts&Crafts.) The list includes: bathroom vanity, closet organizer, kitchen cabs & island, built in bookcases, two fireplace surrounds with built-in shelves, one bed and one Murphy bed, complete office furniture, entertainment center, etc. Needless to say, this a long-term effort! While it's intimidating, I look forward to learning by doing and I hope this forum will help me to avoid some common (and costly) newbie mistakes.
I should mention that I have a workshop space a little smaller than a two-car garage along with a few basic power tools to get me started--Jet contractor table saw, DeWalt benchtop planer, Jet jointer, Delta dust collector, etc. I know I'll need to invest in some more/better tools to tackle the range of projects I'm contemplating, but I do have a modest budget.
I stumbled onto this site because of SketchUp. I read something in the paper about the free Google release and thought it might be useful for designing furniture projects--not knowing some of you were already experts at doing this! A few Internet searches later and I came across Sawmill Creek. I've been poking around in the archives and I really appreciate the fact that there seems to be a wide range of experience and ability welcomed here. I'm not starting from scratch, but I still consider myself a beginner.
Let me end with a broad question: In an effort to limit the number of dumb questions I ask here....given my background and upcoming agenda, are there a couple of "must have" reference/introductory books you would recommend? I know this varies by personal preference but any leads would be helpful in navigating the clutter of books out there.
Thanks in advance for your help. I look forward to learning from this forum. (I promise future posts will be shorter!)
I've been lurking and I wanted to jump in and thank you for the interesting information I've already found here. Since I also anticipte having lots of questions, an introduction seems in order.
My wife and I are in our mid-40s and a few years ago we bought a run-down 1940s house (seemed like a good idea at the time!) on a nice 5-acre wooded lot (which is really why we bought it). For the last couple of years, we've been fixing it up--much of it gutted to the studs, two new additions, new electrical, HVAC, roof, etc. We designed the renovatins and contracted out the major work up to rough drywall stage. Since then, we've done ourselves the cedar siding, finish electrical work, two baths and utility room including tile floors, painting, finish trim work, a rehab of crawl space, etc. Right now we're installing wood floors (antique heart pine w/tung oil); half the house's floors are done, half will be done later this summer. We're trying to keep a bit of a rustic feel (e.g. window trim and an accent wall are recycled from house's old pine floor boards) and the texture and depth of these old wood floors are working out beautifully.
So far, I've mostly an armchair woodworker--always interested by never having the time or space to do much since other, more immediate, projects loomed. Now though, I'm about to go through baptism by fire. The shell of the house is nearing completion and I need to move on to building a houseful of furniture! (We like simple lines of rustic farm/ Shaker/ Arts&Crafts.) The list includes: bathroom vanity, closet organizer, kitchen cabs & island, built in bookcases, two fireplace surrounds with built-in shelves, one bed and one Murphy bed, complete office furniture, entertainment center, etc. Needless to say, this a long-term effort! While it's intimidating, I look forward to learning by doing and I hope this forum will help me to avoid some common (and costly) newbie mistakes.
I should mention that I have a workshop space a little smaller than a two-car garage along with a few basic power tools to get me started--Jet contractor table saw, DeWalt benchtop planer, Jet jointer, Delta dust collector, etc. I know I'll need to invest in some more/better tools to tackle the range of projects I'm contemplating, but I do have a modest budget.
I stumbled onto this site because of SketchUp. I read something in the paper about the free Google release and thought it might be useful for designing furniture projects--not knowing some of you were already experts at doing this! A few Internet searches later and I came across Sawmill Creek. I've been poking around in the archives and I really appreciate the fact that there seems to be a wide range of experience and ability welcomed here. I'm not starting from scratch, but I still consider myself a beginner.
Let me end with a broad question: In an effort to limit the number of dumb questions I ask here....given my background and upcoming agenda, are there a couple of "must have" reference/introductory books you would recommend? I know this varies by personal preference but any leads would be helpful in navigating the clutter of books out there.
Thanks in advance for your help. I look forward to learning from this forum. (I promise future posts will be shorter!)